Cassandra Campbell has narrated 565 audiobooks on Listento.it by 493 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.3★ across 19,477 ratings. The most-rated is Where the Crawdads Sing.
Dragon Wytch
Summary
We're the D'Artigo sisters: savvy---and sexy---operatives for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency. But being half-human, half-Faerie short-circuits our talents at all the wrong times. My sister Delilah shapeshifts into a tabby cat whenever she's stressed. Menolly's a vampire who's still trying to get the hang of being undead. And me? I'm Camille---a wicked-good witch, trying to juggle faulty magic, gorgeous men, and the demonic war in which we're embroiled. Sometimes it's hard to know who we can trust... The equinox is coming, and mayhem rules. A crown-prince unicorn offers us a legendary gift, but it vanishes. Goblins and trolls swarm the streets of Seattle. And now Smoky, the sexiest dragon alive, decides to stake his claim---on me. Overshadowing it all, the third spirit seal surfaces, and Shadow Wing is after it. But I've discovered a secret that could change everything. A dangerous force from the past is rising again, intent on restoring balance to the worlds---whether we like it or not.
©2008 Yasmine Galenorn (P)2009 Tantor
A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True
Summary
The novel opens on the eve of World War II. In the mountain village of Half-Village, a young man nicknamed the Pigeon, under the approving eyes of the entire village, courts the beautiful Anielica Hetmanska. But the war's arrival wreaks havoc in all their lives and delays their marriage for six long years. Nearly 50 years later, their granddaughter, Beata, leaves Half-Village for Krakow, the place where her grandparents lived as newlyweds after the war and the setting of her grandmother's most magical stories. Beata yearns to find her own place in this new city, one that is very different from her imagination and the past. Her first person insight into a country on the cusp of change--and the human toll of Poland's rapid-fire embrace of capitalism--transports readers to another world. When two unexpected events occur, one undeniably tragic, and the other a kind of miracle, Beata is given a fresh glimpse at her family's and her country's, history and a vision of her own essential role in the New Poland. With the effortless, accomplished grace of a gifted storyteller, Pasulka weaves together the two strands of her story, re-imagining half a century of Polish history through the legacy of one profound love affair--that of the Pigeon and Anielica--which readers won't soon forget.
©2009 Brigid Pasulka (P)2009 Audible, Inc.
The Lost Art of Mixing
Summary
National best-selling author Erica Bauermeister returns to the enchanting world of The School of Essential Ingredients in this luminous sequel. Lillian and her restaurant have a way of drawing people together. There’s Al, the accountant who finds meaning in numbers and ritual; Chloe, a budding chef who hasn’t learned to trust after heartbreak; Finnegan, quiet and steady as a tree, who can disappear into the background despite his massive height; Louise, Al’s wife, whose anger simmers just below the boiling point; and Isabelle, whose memories are slowly slipping from her grasp. And there’s Lillian herself, whose life has taken a turn she didn’t expect.... Their lives collide and mix with those around them, sometimes joining in effortless connections, at other times sifting together and separating again, creating a family that is chosen, not given. A beautifully imagined novel about the ties that bind - and links that break - The Lost Art of Mixing is a captivating meditation on the power of love, food, and companionship.
©2013 Erica Bauermeister (P)2013 Random House Audio
Blackbird House
Summary
Hoffman follows her celebrated bestseller The Probable Future with an evocative work that traces the lives of the various occupants of an old Massachusetts house over a span of two hundred years. In a rare and gorgeous departure, beloved novelist Alice Hoffman weaves a web of tales, all set in Blackbird House. This small farm on the outer reaches of Cape Cod is a place that is as bewitching and alive as the characters we meet: Violet, a brilliant girl who is in love with books and with a man destined to betray her; Lysander Wynn, attacked by a halibut as big as a horse, certain that his life is ruined until a boarder wearing red boots arrives to change everything; Maya Cooper, who does not understand the true meaning of the love between her mother and father until it is nearly too late. From the time of the British occupation of Massachusetts to our own modern world, family after family's lives are inexorably changed, not only by the people they love but by the lives they lead inside Blackbird House. These interconnected narratives are as intelligent as they are haunting, as luminous as they are unusual. Inside Blackbird House more than a dozen men and women learn how love transforms us and how it is the one lasting element in our lives. The past both dissipates and remains contained inside the rooms of Blackbird House, where there are terrible secrets, inspired beauty, and, above all else, a spirit of coming home. Narrated by John Lee, Se Sands, Amy Rubinate, Paul Michael Garcia, Bernadette Dunne, Tavia Gilbert, Cassandra Campbell, Hillary Huber, Kirsten Potter, Carrington McDuffie, Kate Reading, and Laura Hicks.
©2004 Alice Hoffman (P)2014 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Killer Edition
Summary
Murder's in the mix for mystery bookstore owner and amateur sleuth Tricia Miles, in the latest entry of Lorna Barrett's New York Times best-selling Booktown series. With her assistant, Pixie, picking up more responsibility around the shop, Tricia Miles suddenly has a lot more time on her hands. Tricia decides to join the local animal-rescue board and enter the Great Stoneham Bake-Off, but neither pans out as smoothly as she'd hoped. Balancing a bake-off that's heating up with a frosty reception from the board, Tricia stops by Joyce Whitman's romance bookstore looking for a book to get her fired up. She stumbles on something hot, but it's an argument between Joyce and her neighbor Vera Olson instead of a steamy read. When Vera turns up dead in Joyce's garden hours later, Tricia has to wonder - could Joyce be the killer? Or is the culprit still lurking in town? One thing is for sure, someone in Stoneham is stirring up something more sinister than sweet. Tricia is determined to win the cutthroat cooking contest, but first she will have to make sure no one else is in danger of getting burned....
©2019 Penguin Random House LLC (P)2019 Tantor
Who Is Jane Goodall?
Summary
A life in the wild! Jane Goodall, born in London, England, always loved animals and wanted to study them in their natural habitats. So at age 26, off she went to Africa! Goodall's up-close observations of chimpanzees changed what we know about them and paved the way for many female scientists who came after her. Now her story comes to life in this biography.
©2012 Roberta Edwards (P)2016 Listening Library
Demon Mistress
Summary
We're the D'Artigo sisters: Half-human, half-Faerie, we're savvy---and sexy---operatives for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency. But our mixed-blood heritage short-circuits our talents at all the wrong times. My sister Camille is a wicked-good witch whose magic is as unpredictable as the weather. My sister Delilah transforms into a tabby cat at the worst possible times. And me? I'm Menolly, acrobat-extraordinaire-turned-vampire. And if the nerds from hell don't get their act together, I'm going to turn their toga party into a bloodbath. Life's getting stranger by the minute. First, Iris and I unearth a diary from one of the bartenders at the Wayfarer who disappeared under mysterious circumstances. And when I discover a ghoul in the woods near our home, we know there has to be a necromancer nearby---another sign that something's wrong. But the blood really hits the fang when we discover a secret society bent on winning Shadow Wing's favor. Now it's up to us to stop the chaos they've unleashed on the city and to prevent the demon they summoned from devouring Delilah's soul.
©2010 Yasmine Galenorn (P)2010 Tantor
Bone Magic
Summary
"We're the D'Artigo sisters: sexy, savvy operatives for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency. But being half-human, half-Fae short-circuits our talents at all the wrong times. My sister Delilah is a Were who turns into a golden tabby when she's stressed. And Menolly's a vampire who's still trying to get the hang of being undead. As for me, I'm Camille D'Artigo, a wicked-good witch who's learning death magic with my youkai-kitsune husband. Until now, the Moon Mother has pretty much ignored me, but she's about to take me on the Hunt of my life. "Another equinox is here, and life is getting more dangerous for all of us. The past is catching up to our friends Iris and Chase. Smoky - the dragon of my dreams - is forced to choose between his family and me. To top it off, there's a new demon general in town, and we can't locate her. And when the Moon Mother and the Black Beast summon me to Otherworld, I think I'm just going to reunite with my long-lost soul mate, Trillian. But once there, I'm forced to undergo a drastic ritual that will forever change my life and the lives of those around me."
©2002 Yasmine Galenorn (P)2010 Tantor
The Light in the Ruins
Summary
From the New York Times best-selling author of Midwives and The Sandcastle Girls comes a spellbinding novel of love, despair, and revenge - set in war-ravaged Tuscany. It is 1943: Tucked away in the idyllic hills south of Florence, the Rosatis, an Italian family of noble lineage, believe that the walls of their ancient villa will keep them safe from the war raging across Europe. Eighteen-year-old Cristina spends her days swimming in the pool, playing with her young niece and nephew, and wandering aimlessly amid the estate's gardens and olive groves. But when two soldiers, a German and an Italian, arrive at the villa asking to see an ancient Etruscan burial site, the Rosatis' bucolic tranquility is shattered. A young German lieutenant begins to court Cristina, the Nazis descend upon the estate demanding hospitality, and what was once their sanctuary becomes their prison. In 1955 Serafina Bettini, an investigator with the Florence police department, has her own demons. A beautiful woman, Serafina carefully hides her scars along with her haunting memories of the war. But when she is assigned to a gruesome new case - a serial killer targeting the Rosatis, murdering the remnants of the family one-by-one in cold blood - Serafina finds herself digging into a past that involves both the victims and her own tragic history. Set against an exquisitely rendered Italian countryside, The Light in the Ruins unveils a breathtaking story of moral paradox, human frailty, and the mysterious ways of the heart.
©2013 Chris Bohjalian (P)2013 Random House Audio
In the Land of Men
Summary
One of Vogue’s Most Anticipated Books of 2020 One of Parade’s Most Anticipated Books of 2020 One of Esquire’s 15 Best Books of the Winter One of Bitch Magazine’s 17 Memoirs Feminists Should Read in 2020 One of Maclean’s 10 Books to Watch in 2020 “The memoir I’ve been waiting for: a bold, incisive, and illuminating story of a woman whose devotion to language and literature comes at a hideous cost. It’s Joanna Rakoff’s My Salinger Year updated for the age of She Said: a literary New York now long past; an intimate, fiercely realist portrait of a mythic literary figure; and now, a tender reckoning with possession, power, and what Jia Tolentino called the ‘Important, Inappropriate Literary Man.’ A poised and superbly perceptive narration of the problems of working with men, and of loving them.” (Eleanor Henderson, author of 10,000 Saints) A fiercely personal memoir about coming of age in the male-dominated literary world of the 90s, becoming the first female literary editor of Esquire, and Miller's personal and working relationship with David Foster Wallace A naive and idealistic 22-year-old from the Midwest, Adrienne Miller got her lucky break when she was hired as an editorial assistant at GQ magazine in the mid-90s. Even if its sensibilities were manifestly mid-century - the martinis, powerful male egos, and unquestioned authority of kings - GQ still seemed the red-hot center of the literary world. It was there that Miller began learning how to survive in a man’s world. Three years later, she forged her own path, becoming the first woman to take on the role of literary editor of Esquire, home to the male writers who had defined manhood itself - Hemingway, Mailer, and Carver. Up against this old world, she would soon discover that it wanted nothing to do with a "mere girl". But this was also a unique moment in history that saw the rise of a new literary movement, as exemplified by McSweeney's and the work of David Foster Wallace. A decade older than Miller, the mercurial Wallace would become the defining voice of a generation and the fiction writer she would work with most. He was her closest friend, confidant - and antagonist. Their intellectual and artistic exchange grew into a highly charged professional and personal relationship between the most prominent male writer of the era and a young woman still finding her voice. This memoir - a rich, dazzling story of power, ambition, and identity - ultimately asks the question, “How does a young woman fit into this male culture and at what cost?” With great wit and deep intelligence, Miller presents an inspiring and moving portrayal of a young woman’s education in a land of men.
©2020 Adrienne Miller (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers
Not My Daughter
Summary
When Susan Tate's 17-year-old daughter, Lily, announces she is pregnant, Susan is stunned. A single mother, she has struggled to do everything right. She sees the pregnancy as an unimaginable tragedy for both Lily and herself. Then comes word of two more pregnancies among high-school juniors who happen to be Lily's best friends - and the town turns to talk of a pact. As fingers start pointing, the most ardent criticism is directed at Susan. As principal of the high school, she has always been held up as a role model of hard work and core values. Now her detractors accuse her of being a lax mother, perhaps not worthy of the job of shepherding impressionable students. As Susan struggles with the implications of her daughter's pregnancy, her job, financial independence, and long-fought-for dreams are all at risk. The emotional ties between mothers and daughters are stretched to breaking in this emotionally wrenching story of love and forgiveness. Once again, Barbara Delinsky has given us a powerful novel, one that asks a central question: What does it take to be a good mother?
©2010 Barbara Delinsky (P)2010 Random House
Tricks
Summary
When all choice is taken from you, life becomes a game of survival. Five teenagers from different parts of the country. Three girls. Two guys. Four straight. One gay. Some rich. Some poor. Some from great families. Some with no one at all. All living their lives as best they can, but all searching . . . for freedom, safety, community, family, love. What they don't expect, though, is all that can happen when those powerful little words "I love you" are said for all the wrong reasons. Five moving stories remain separate at first, then interweave to tell a larger, powerful story, a story about making choices, taking leaps of faith, falling down, and growing up. A story about kids figuring out what sex and love are all about, at all costs, while asking themselves, "Can I ever feel okay about myself?" A brilliant achievement from New York Times best-selling author Ellen Hopkins, who has been called "the best-selling living poet in the country" by mediabistro.com,Tricks is a book that turns you on and repels you at the same time. Just like so much of life.
©2009 Ellen Hopkins (P)2009 HighBridge Company
Dreams of Falling
Summary
One of PureWow's "Best Beach Reads of Summer 2018" New York Times best-selling author Karen White crafts evocative relationships in this contemporary women's fiction novel, set in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, about lifelong friends who share a devastating secret. On the banks of the North Santee River stands a moss-draped oak that was once entrusted with the dreams of three young girls. Into the tree's trunk they placed their greatest hopes, written on ribbons, for safekeeping - including the most important one: friends forever, come what may. But life can waylay the best of intentions.... Nine years ago, a humiliated Larkin Lanier fled Georgetown, South Carolina, knowing she could never go back. But when she finds out that her mother has disappeared, she realizes she has no choice but to return to the place she both loves and dreads - and to the family and friends who never stopped wishing for her to come home. Ivy, Larkin's mother, is discovered badly injured and unconscious in the burned-out wreckage of her ancestral plantation home. No one knows why Ivy was there, but as Larkin digs for answers, she uncovers secrets kept for nearly 50 years - whispers of love, sacrifice, and betrayal - that lead back to three girls on the brink of womanhood who found their friendship tested in the most heartbreaking ways.
©2018 Karen White (P)2018 Penguin Audio
Local Hero
Summary
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts comes a classic tale about finding the man of your dreams right under your nose. Hester Wallace is proud of her independence. She needs only one man in her life - her nine-year-old son, Radley. But when Rad starts idolizing their neighbor Mitch Dempsey, Hester wonders if her son needs a male role model. Hester would do anything for her boy, but inviting Mitch into their lives is dangerous. She might start to rely on Mitch…or worse, fall in love with him.
©1988 Nora Roberts (P)2014 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.
The Gift
Summary
What’s a desperate mother to do when her child suddenly disappears? Anything it takes to keep the family together in USA Today bestselling author Alison Gaylin’s short story with a sting. It’s dreaded news for actress Lyla McCord and her husband, Nolan. Their eight-year-old daughter has vanished. To find her, Nolan reaches out to a psychic gifted with uncanny visions about the lost girl. But Lyla thinks she sees right through him. Is he a con artist or the real thing? Either way, he might be telling the truth. And that’s too frightening for Lyla to bear. Alison Gaylin’s The Gift is part of Hush, a collection of six stories, ranging from political mysteries to psychological thrillers, in which deception can be a matter of life and death. Each piece can be read or listened to in one truly chilling sitting.
©2020 Alison Gaylin. (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
Blood Wyne
Summary
"We're the D'Artigo sisters: half-human, half-Fae. We're sexy, we're savvy, and we just turned in our badges to the Otherworld Intelligence Agency. My sister Camille is a wicked-good witch. Delilah's a werecat and blossoming Death Maiden. And as for me? I'm Menolly, acrobat-extraordinaire-turned-vampire. But being a vamp isn't all it's cracked up to be, especially when the Godfather of all vampires decides to play Prince Charming.... It's the holiday season, and a vampire serial killer is on the loose. Hungry ghosts are tearing up the town, and people are running scared. I strike a deal with Ivana Krask - one of the Elder Fae - and, too late, discover strings are attached. But when I turn to Roman, one of the oldest, most powerful vampires around, for help, he offers me more than I ever bargained for."
©2011 Yasmine Galenorn (P)2011 Tantor
Shakespeare Saved My Life
Summary
Shakespeare professor and prison volunteer Laura Bates thought she had seen it all. That is until she decided to teach Shakespeare in a place the bard had never been before - supermax solitary confinement. In this unwelcoming place, surrounded by inmates known as the worst of the worst, is Larry Newton. A convicted murderer with several escape attempts under his belt and a brilliantly agile mind on his shoulders, Larry was trying to break out of prison at the same time Laura was fighting to get her program started behind bars. Thus begins the most unlikely of friendships, one bonded by Shakespeare and lasting years - a friendship that, in the end, would save more than one life.
©2013 Laura Bates (P)2015 Tantor
The Saturday Evening Girls Club
Summary
In Boston’s North End, four immigrant women leave childhood behind - but never one another. For four young immigrant women living in Boston’s North End in the early 1900s, escaping tradition doesn’t come easy. But at least they have one another and the Saturday Evening Girls Club, a social pottery-making group offering respite from their hectic home lives - and hope for a better future. Ambitious Caprice dreams of opening her own hat shop, which clashes with the expectations of her Sicilian-born parents. Brilliant Ada secretly takes college classes despite the disapproval of her Russian Jewish father. Stunning Maria could marry anyone yet guards her heart to avoid the fate of her Italian Catholic mother, broken down by an alcoholic husband. And shy Thea is torn between asserting herself and embracing an antiquated Jewish tradition. The friends face family clashes and romantic entanglements, career struggles and cultural prejudice. But through their unfailing bond, forged through their weekly gathering, they’ll draw strength - and the courage to transform their immigrant stories into the American lives of their dreams.
©2017 Jane Healey (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.
Improvement
Summary
One of our most gifted writers of fiction returns with a bold and piercing novel about a young single mother living in New York, her eccentric aunt, and the decisions they make that have unexpected implications for the world around them. Reyna knows her relationship with Boyd isn't perfect; yet she sees him through a three-month stint at Riker's Island, their bond growing tighter. Kiki, now settled in the East Village after a youth that took her to Turkey and other far-off places - and loves - around the world, admires her niece's spirit but worries that motherhood to four-year-old Oliver might complicate a difficult situation. Little does she know that Boyd is pulling Reyna into a smuggling scheme across state lines, violating his probation. When Reyna takes a step back, her small act of resistance sets into motion a tapestry of events that affect the lives of loved ones and strangers around them. A novel that examines conviction, connection, repayment, and the possibility of generosity in the face of loss, Improvement is as intricately woven together as Kiki's beloved Turkish rugs, as colorful as the tattoos decorating Reyna's body, with narrative twists and turns as surprising and unexpected as the lives all around us.
©2017 Joan Silber (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
The Weight of a Piano
Summary
USA Today best seller In 1962, in the Soviet Union, eight-year-old Katya is bequeathed what will become the love of her life: a Blüthner piano, on which she discovers an enriching passion for music. Yet after she marries, her husband insists the family emigrate to America - and loses her piano in the process. In 2012, in Bakersfield, California, 26-year-old Clara Lundy is burdened by the last gift her father gave her before he and her mother died in a terrible house fire: a Blüthner upright she has never learned to play. Now a talented and independent auto mechanic, Clara’s career is put on hold when she breaks her hand trying to move the piano, and in sudden frustration she decides to sell it. Only in discovering the identity of the buyer - and the secret history of her piano - will Clara be set free to live the life of her choosing.
©2019 Chris Cander (P)2019 Random House Audio