Back to Barry’s Bay

Ever since Carley Fortune made her debut in 2022 with Every Summer After, fans have been clamouring for Charlie’s book. Now, it’s finally time for Charlie’s happily ever after. In One Golden Summer, Fortune takes us back to Barry’s Bay, Canada, and introduces us to Alice, a photographer who is returning to the quaint lakeside community with her ailing grandmother. To her surprise, the teenage boy she had a crush on during her first visit 16 years ago is now the charming local she keeps running into around town. Charlie helps Alice step from behind the camera and shift the focus to her own life and happiness, and their flirtatious friends-to-lovers slow-burn is full of laughter, longing and sexy will-they-or-won’t-they vibes. Fortune’s go-to narrator, AJ Bridel, is back to perform this one, for a nostalgic and comforting listen that feels like a reunion with an old friend. —Margaret H.

Uncontrollable tears and laughter at the same time

Sometimes the bonds we make when we’re young stay with us for a lifetime. In My Friends, Fredrik Backman weaves a dual-timeline narrative centred on a group of four teenagers: Joar, Ted, Ali and a boy simply known as “the artist.” Twenty-five years ago, they found escape and comfort in one another during long days on a forgotten pier in a quiet seaside town. In pure Backman form, the messy parts of being human are front and centre—simultaneously ugly and beautiful and so true to life. He explores the meaning and impact of art, how it can connect us as well as change us. Those days on the pier are captured in a painting—one that would go on to become a masterpiece and, unexpectedly, change the life of a girl named Louisa decades later. I could listen to narrator Marin Ireland’s retelling of the old stories and Louisa’s new adventures on an endless loop. As always, Backman has left me wrecked and rebuilt in the course of one novel. —Tricia F.

Don’t even try to guess

I made the mistake (actually, it’s a habit of mine) of trying to figure out this thriller about two pairs of sisters who join forces to each find their missing sister. Oh, did I mention there are no bodies? Could they have been kidnapped and be living in pure hell? Ashley Flowers sure knows her way around twists. Leads go nowhere fast. Every now and then she throws something promising the listeners’ way and takes it back, or leads you one way that’s the wrong way. She’s also quite the narrator, along with uber-talented Saskia Maarleveld. What is very touching about this story is the power of sisterhood and its unbreakable bond. —Yvonne D.

A fine-wine scandal with a sparkling host

I used to be a bit skeptical about fine wine, until I was lucky enough to spend a week in Napa Valley with some industry elites who schooled me with their blind-tasting skills and incredible knowledge. And yet none had earned the title of Master Sommelier, a distinction so rare that your odds are better of becoming an astronaut or Olympic athlete. I never much wondered why, until James Beard Award-winning journalist Marc Fennell (It Burns; Nut Jobs) did. The ever-relatable Aussie (his go-to wine is the menu’s second-cheapest bottle) investigates a cheating scandal that marred the 2018 Master Sommelier exam, and the resulting documentary uncorks a world of closely guarded knowledge, secrets, privilege and even ghosts. Once you sample this intriguing saga, you’re going to want to drink it all down. —Kat J.

Holly Gibney is back!

Stephen King’s Never Flinch will leave you itching for more. Following two threats that eventually collide, Never Flinch brings back the awkward but loveable Investigator Holly Gibney and serves up some fun new characters like Kate McKay and Detective Izzy. Holly is one of my personal favourite side characters turned main, and her relatability factor went way up as this story adds more to her personality. King also takes listeners inside the mind of the killer, revealing the ticks and disturbing pleasures of a vicious, self-righteous murderer. While it is a bit of a chilling listen, it’s hard to not get immediately swept away in the amazing cast of personalities and terrifying details. —Nicole R.

A deprogramming guide for chronic inconsequence

Rutger Bregman warns you at the start of his book that you might actually regret listening because "once you put it down, you might just have to change your life." Not unlike Alan Carr or Annie Grace, who have helped millions tackle addictions with the repeated written insistence that they can do it, Bregman—the renowned Dutch historian who went viral for outraging the world's rich and powerful at Davos—is here to convince you through repetitive assertion that the world needs your talents. He argues that the point of life isn't to be happy but to maximize your impact, and the unfortunate fact is that most of the world's best brains are being used to maximize ad clicks, not solutions to human suffering. Both a wellness industry antidote and a rich history of effective change, Moral Ambition begs you to think not about "What's my passion?" but rather "How can I contribute the most to the world?" —Emily C.

More than enough

As I listened to the final installment in Kennedy Ryan's Skyland series, I was in awe of how she consistently manages to make me feel seen. Ryan has tapped into the real-life issues that I and so many fortysomething women I know grapple with daily. Whether it's dating after divorce, navigating single motherhood or caring for an aging parent, Ryan's mastery lies in her ability to weave these experiences into captivating romances. In Can’t Get Enough, we finally get Hendrix Barry's story. As everyone’s favourite rich auntie, Hendrix is dedicated to her friends, career and community, all while caring for her mother with Alzheimer's. When tech mogul and billionaire Maverick Bell enters the picture, their connection is immediate and electric. Maverick's love for Hendrix is unflinching, the kind of love that helps Hendrix fill her own cup, enabling her to continue showing up for everyone else in her life. Ryan has truly saved her best for last, and it was a delight to hear Wesleigh Siobhan and Jakobi Diem reunite to close out this series on a high note. —M.H.

Love wasn’t the assignment...

One of my favourite author/performer duos is Katherine Center and Patti Murin, who deliver every. single. time. The Love Haters is no different. This sweet, sharply funny romance is about Katie, a filmmaker who takes on a last-chance assignment in Key West profiling a rescue swimmer who turns out to be more charming—and complicated—than she expected. What begins as a professional favour becomes something messier and more meaningful as Katie navigates family drama, past wounds and the slow process of learning to trust herself again. With unforgettable side characters, emotional depth and Center’s signature blend of humour and spice, The Love Haters is a charming, feel-good listen about self-acceptance and the unexpected places love can find you. —P.R.

An urgent call to action to protect our oceans

If you’re anything like me, “the next audiobook from Sir David Attenborough” is probably enough for you to add this to your library. Ocean will also be accompanied by a nature documentary and come out in time for Attenborough’s 99th birthday, which makes this audiobook truly special. As the world’s leading broadcaster and conservationist, Sir David has seen and filmed in just about every major ocean habitat there is. But rather than simply reporting on the creatures that make our oceans so special, Attenborough and his longtime collaborator Colin Butfield dive into the urgent need to protect and restore our oceans as a means to safeguard the planet from climate disaster. Though it might sound scary, it’s also a message of perseverance and hope, because the science shows that our oceans are so much more resilient than we ever could have imagined. —Michael C.

A new series to obsess over

A dystopian, enemies-to-lovers tale with a powerful heroine and a dash of fantasy? Dani Francis, did you write this for me? Needless to say, I inhaled this debut, which hooked me from the outset with its air of mystery and surprising humour. Wren Darlington has spent her life hiding—both her true identity (which even she doesn’t know) and her powerful psychic abilities that would mean death by execution. Both by chance and by her own mistakes, she lands herself in the Continent’s military training program where she now has the opportunity to join the rebellion of Modifieds (like herself) and cause chaos from inside enemy lines. One problem (among many): her attraction to her commanding officer. Amanda Dolan (Red Queen) is perfectly cast as Wren, and the twists that come in the final third of the book already have me aching for a sequel. —Katie O.

A reckoning. A prayer. A howl.

As I write this review I am still awestruck. This is undoubtedly one of the best books I’ve listened to so far this year. Rickey Fayne’s haunting debut grips you from the beginning with its Southern gothic atmosphere and taut emotional core. Fayne explores the idea that sometimes the devil we face is not a single event or person but the echo of mistakes made—and remade—across generations. What makes this novel exceptional is its intimacy, both poetic and raw. His characters are heartbreakingly real, and their search for meaning feels urgent and true. The Devil Three Times isn’t just a novel, it’s a reckoning. A prayer. A howl. And it will stay with you long after you finish it. —Dawn G.

Magical schools: What about the teachers?

We at Audible already love Emily Tesh for her jaw-dropping sci-fi about a space cult, Some Desperate Glory. Now, I’m beyond excited that Tesh is exploring one of my favourite realms of fiction: magical schools. It’s from the perspective of the educator this time. In this world, demonic summoning is an important skill for every magician to learn, and Director Walden is one of the best—she’s also really funny, practical and kind of a badass. The only problem is, one of the biggest demons there is has come to torment her teenage students, who are very reckless, as most teenagers are. What ensues is Tesh’s razor-sharp observations about systems and the human condition, coupled with complex, reality-based characters. Narrator Zara Ramm invokes the presence of Director Walden’s many sides, and it’s a real treat of a listen. The Incandescent is not to be missed for any and all fantasy fans. —Melissa B.

She walked so we could run ... away

You could say I’ve been a tad obsessed with parenting memoirs since becoming a parent myself, and few have spoken truer to me than Amanda Hess’s, in which she documents her pregnancy-to-parenthood journey in a chronically connected world. This isn’t a how-to guide disguised as memoir, to be clear. I’d call it more of a commiseration guide for anyone who religiously tracked their cycle in an app, spent restless nights googling whether their sleeping newborn’s grunts were normal, or found themselves in a niche parenting rabbit hole out of sheer morbid curiosity. No, it’s not just you, she seems to reassure with each chapter. It’s the system. Hess narrates, and her delivery is warm and intimate while also capturing the subtle humour and absurdity of this whole experience of parenting (and performing parenting) online. You may still feel tempted to move to an off-the-grid cabin in the woods after listening, but at least you’ll know you’re not alone. —Sam D.

These dinner reservations were made in advance...

Aliens are coming, and they’re hungry. Told from the perspective of seemingly unreliable Stasia Miller, Overgrowth follows the oncoming invasion of Earth by a man-eating alien species. Here’s the catch: Everyone knew about it! No one took Stasia’s continual reminders of impending doom seriously—even her own revelation of alienhood was ignored. One of my favourite perspectives has always been the unreliable narrator, and I have to give a few snaps to performer Caitlin Kelly. She delivers Stasia’s quirks and uncustomary ways well. Overgrowth also comes at the right time as social commentary surrounding commercial space travel grows. For horror fans, it serves as a fun reminder of the consistent question: We don’t know what’s out there, but do we want to? —N.R.