Ryan Gesell has narrated 21 audiobooks on Listento.it by 24 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.3★ across 1,676 ratings. The most-rated is Runaway.
Runaway
Summary
The stories in this collection are about women of all ages and circumstances. The runaway of the title story is a young woman who is incapable of leaving her husband. In another, a country girl emerging into the larger world via a job in a resort hotel discovers in a single moment of insight the limits and lies of passion. Three stories concern the same woman - in the first, she escapes from teaching at a girls' school into a wild love affair; in the second, she returns with her child to the home of her parents, whose marriage she finally begins to examine; and in the last, her vanished child turns up caught in the grip of a religious cult. In these and other stories, Alice Munro's understanding of the people about whom she writes makes their lives as real as our own.
©2004 Alice Munro (P)2008 BBC Audiobooks America
Illuminae
Summary
For fans of Marie Lu comes the first book in an epic series that bends the sci-fi genre into a new dimension. “A truly beautiful novel that redefines the form." (Victoria Aveyard, best-selling author of Red Queen) This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she'd have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded. The year is 2575, and two rival mega-corporations are at war over a planet that's little more than a speck at the edge of the universe. Now, with enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra - who are barely even talking to each other - are forced to evacuate with a hostile warship in hot pursuit. But their problems are just getting started. A plague has broken out and is mutating with terrifying results; the fleet's AI may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what's really going on. As Kady hacks into a web of data to find the truth, it's clear only person who can help her is the ex-boyfriend she swore she’d never speak to again. Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents - including emails, maps, files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more - Illuminae is the first audiobook in a heart-stopping trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes. “Prepare yourselves for Illuminae.” (EW.com) “[Y]ou’re not in for an ordinary novel experience....” (Bustle.com) “A truly interactive experience.... A fantastically fun ride.” (MTV.com) “...stylistically mesmerizing.” (Publishers Weekly) “[A]n arresting visual experience.” (Booklist) “[A] game-changer.” (Shelf Awareness) "Genre: Undefinable. Novel: Unforgettable." (Kami Garcia, best-selling coauthor of Beautiful Creatures and author of Unbreakable) “An exuberant mix of space opera, romance, zombies, hackers, and political thrills.” (Scott Westerfeld, best-selling author of Zeroes and Uglies) “Stunningly creative. Smart, funny, and romantic.” (Veronica Rossi, best-selling author of Under the Never Sky) “This is one of those rare books that will truly keep your heart pounding.” (Beth Revis, best-selling author of Across the Universe) “This book is xxxxing awesome.” (Laini Taylor, best-selling author of Daughter of Smoke and Bone)
©2015 Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (P)2015 Listening Libary
Keepers of the Garden
Summary
A young man wanting to explore past-life regression discovers this is his first lifetime on Earth. All his other existences were on alien worlds and in other dimensions. As this unique case is explored further, he finds out that his association with extraterrestrials did not cease with these other lives. The interaction with UFOs and aliens has continued during all his present life, although the information was protectively hidden by his subconscious. This strange case reveals the motives behind present-day involvement between UFOs and humans and the hopes and expectations of our creators for their garden. We are the garden - the gardeners are extraterrestrials from other worlds.
©1993 Dolores Cannon (P)2015 Dolores Cannon
Gemina
Summary
Brace yourself for Gemina — the highly anticipated sequel to the book critics called “out-of-this-world awesome,” — featuring journal illustrations by best-selling author Marie Lu! Moving to a space station at the edge of the galaxy was always going to be the death of Hanna's social life. Nobody said it might actually get her killed. The sci-fi saga that began with the breakout best seller Illuminae continues onboard the Jump Station Heimdall, where two new characters will confront the next wave of the BeiTech assault. Hanna is the station captain's pampered daughter, Nik the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. But while the pair are struggling with the realities of life aboard the galaxy's most boring space station, little do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion. When an elite BeiTech strike team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking off the station residents one by one, and a malfunction in the station's wormhole means the space-time continuum might be ripped in two before dinner. Soon Hanna and Nik aren't just fighting for their own survival; the fate of everyone on the Hypatia - and possibly the known universe - is in their hands. But relax. They've totally got this. They hope. Once again told through a compelling dossier of emails, IMs, classified files, transcripts, and schematics, Gemina raises the stakes of the Illuminae Files, hurling listeners into an enthralling new story that will leave them breathless. Narrated by Carla Corvo, MacLeod Andrews, Steve West, Erik Davies, Lisa Cordileone, and a full cast. Praise for Illuminae A New York Times Best seller A PW Best seller “Out-of-this-world awesome.” (Kirkus Reviews, Starred) “Stylistically mesmerizing.” (Publishers Weekly, Starred) “An arresting visual experience.” (Booklist, Starred) “A game-changer.” (Shelf Awareness, Starred)
©2016 Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (P)2016 Listening Library
The Kiss of Deception
Summary
In a society steeped in tradition, Princess Lia's life follows a preordained course. As First Daughter, she is expected to have the revered gift of sight - but she doesn't - and she knows her parents are perpetrating a sham when they arrange her marriage to secure an alliance with a neighboring kingdom - to a prince she has never met. On the morning of her wedding, Lia flees to a distant village. She settles into a new life, hopeful when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive - and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deception abounds, and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets - even as she finds herself falling in love. The Kiss of Deceptionis the first audiobook in Mary E. Pearson's Remnant Chronicles
©2014 Mary E. Pearson (P)2014 Listening Library
The Beauty of Darkness
Summary
Lia and Rafe have escaped Venda, and the path before them is winding and dangerous - what will happen now? This third and final book in The Remnant Chronicles is not to be missed. Best-selling author Mary E. Pearson's combination of intrigue, suspense, romance, and action makes this a riveting listen for teens. Cast of narrators: Emily Rankin (reading Lia) Ryan Gesell (reading Rafe) Kirby Heyborne (reading Kaden) Kim Mai Guest (reading Pauline) Ann Marie Lee (reading additional material)
©2016 Mary E. Pearson (P)2016 Listening Library
The Heart of Betrayal
Summary
Held captive in the barbarian kingdom of Venda, Lia and Rafe have little chance of escape...and even less of being together. Desperate to save her life, Lia's erstwhile assassin, Kaden, has told the Vendan Komisar that she has a magical gift, and the Komisar's interest in Lia is greater than either Kaden or Lia foresaw. Meanwhile the foundations of Lia's deeply held beliefs are crumbling beneath her. Nothing is straightforward: There's Rafe, who lied to her but has sacrificed his freedom to protect her; Kaden, who meant to assassinate her but has now saved her life; and the Vendans, whom she always believed to be barbarians but whom she now realizes are people who have been terribly brutalized by the kingdoms of Dalbreck and Morrighan. Wrestling with her upbringing, her gift, and her very sense of self, Lia will have to make powerful choices that affect her country, her people...and her own destiny. Read by Emily Rankin, with Ryan Gesell, Kirby Heyborne, Kim Mai Guest, and Ann Marie Lee.
©2015 Listening Library (P)2015 Mary E. Pearson
Memento
Summary
From New York Times best-selling authors Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff comes an Illuminae prequel novella that gives listeners a hair-raising glimpse into the calamity that befell the invincible AI system known as AIDAN - and the daring young programmer who would risk her life to keep it from crashing. AIDAN is the AI you'll love to hate. The advanced AI system was supposed to protect a fleet of survivors who'd escaped the deadly attack on Kerenza IV. AIDAN was supposed to be infallible. But in the chaotic weeks and months that followed, it became clear that something was terribly, terribly wrong with AIDAN.... Narrators: "Olivia Klein", read by India Dupré "Ethan Wolf", read by James Fouhey "AIDAN", read by Lincoln Hoppe "Stephanie LeFevre", read by Emma Bering "Ezra Mason", read by Johnathan McClain Narrator, read by Ryan Gesell Featuring additional performances by Danny Campbell, Frankie Corzo, Chris Cuilla, Deepti Gupta, John Lee, Sarah Mollo-Christensen, Donabella Mortel, Austin Rising, Erin Spencer, and Nancy Wu.
©2020 Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (P)2020 Listening Library
My Absolute Darling
Summary
A brilliant and immersive, all-consuming audiobook about one 14-year-old girl's heart-stopping fight for her own soul. Turtle Alveston is a survivor. At 14, she roams the woods along the Northern California coast. The creeks, tide pools, and rocky islands are her haunts and her hiding grounds, and she is known to wander for miles. But while her physical world is expansive, her personal one is small and treacherous. Turtle has grown up isolated since the death of her mother, in the thrall of her tortured and charismatic father, Martin. Her social existence is confined to the middle school (where she fends off the interest of anyone, student or teacher, who might penetrate her shell) and to her life with her father. Then Turtle meets Jacob, a high-school boy who tells jokes, lives in a big clean house, and looks at Turtle as if she is the sunrise. And for the first time, the larger world begins to come into focus: Her life with Martin is neither safe nor sustainable. Motivated by her first experience with real friendship and a teenage crush, Turtle starts to imagine escape, using the very survival skills her father devoted himself to teaching her. The listener tracks Turtle's escalating acts of physical and emotional courage and watches, heart in throat, as she struggles to become her own hero - and, in the process, becomes ours as well. Shot through with striking language in a fierce natural setting, My Absolute Darling is an urgently told, profoundly moving book that marks the debut of an extraordinary new writer.
©2017 Gabriel Tallent (P)2017 Penguin Audio
Dash & Lily's Book of Dares (Netflix Series Tie-In Edition)
Summary
“I’ve left some clues for you.If you want them, turn the page.If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.” So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the New York Times best-selling authors of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions? Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have written a love story that will have listeners perusing bookstore shelves, looking and longing for a love (and a red notebook) of their own.
©2010 Rachel Cohn and David Levithan (P)2010 Listening Library
Flipped
Summary
This special audiobook of the classic he said/she said romantic comedy includes essays written and read by Wendelin Van Draanen. The first time she saw him, she flipped. The first time he saw her, he ran. That was the second grade, but not much has changed by the seventh. Juli says, "My Bryce. Still walking around with my first kiss." He says, "It's been six years of strategic avoidance and social discomfort." But in the eighth grade, everything gets turned upside down: Just as Bryce is thinking that there's maybe more to Juli than meets the eye, she's thinking that he's not quite all he seemed. Bonus content includes Wendelin Van Draanen on her sources of inspiration, the making of the movie of Flipped, and why she'll never write a sequel. Narrators Ryan Gesell and Tara Sands read a selection of the amazing fan mail Wendelin has received.
©2003 Wendelin Van Draanen (P)2017 Listening Library
The Good Father
Summary
From the award-winning creator of the TV show Fargo and author of the best seller Before the Fall, an intense, psychological novel about one doctor's suspense-filled quest to unlock the mind of a suspected political assassin: his 20-year-old son. As the Chief of Rheumatology at Columbia Presbyterian, Dr. Paul Allen's specialty is diagnosing patients with conflicting symptoms, patients other doctors have given up on. He lives a contented life in Westport with his second wife and their twin sons - hard won after a failed marriage earlier in his career that produced a son named Daniel. In the harrowing opening scene of this provocative and affecting novel, Dr. Allen is home with his family when a televised news report announces that the Democratic candidate for president has been shot at a rally, and Daniel is caught on video as the assassin. Daniel Allen has always been a good kid - a decent student, popular - but, as a child of divorce, used to shuttling back and forth between parents, he is also something of a drifter. Which may be why, at the age of 19, he quietly drops out of Vassar and begins an aimless journey across the United States, during which he sheds his former skin and eventually even changes his name to Carter Allen Cash. Told alternately from the point of view of the guilt-ridden, determined father and his meandering, ruminative son, The Good Father is a powerfully emotional pause register that keeps one guessing until the very end. This is an absorbing and honest novel about the responsibilities - and limitations - of being a parent and our capacity to provide our children with unconditional love in the face of an unthinkable situation.
©2012 Noah Hawley (P)2012 Random House
The Twelve Days of Dash & Lily
Summary
New York Times best-selling authors Rachel Cohn and David Levithan are back with a life-affirming Christmas romance starring Dash and Lily. Dash and Lily have had a tough year since fans watched the couple fall in love in Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares. Lily’s beloved grandfather suffered a heart attack, and his difficult road to recovery has taken a major toll on her typically sunny disposition. Lily’s spark has dimmed so much that Langston, her brother, has put aside his grudge against Dash to team up and remind Lily what there is to love about life. With only twelve days left until Christmas - Lily’s favorite time of the year - Dash, Langston, and their friends take Manhattan by storm to help Lily recapture the holiday spirit of New York City in December, a time and place unlike anywhere else in the world. Told in alternating chapters, The Twelve Days of Dash & Lily is bound to be a Christmas favorite for seasons to come. “Cohn and Levithan write with verve and plenty of wry comedy.... Intriguing characters and splendid writing.” (Kirkus Reviews) “Peppered with sharp banter and up-to-the-minute New York City references.... A full-fledged rom-com.” (Publishers Weekly) “Hilarious and heartfelt...[captures] the emotions of teen love, along with the hilarity of young adult life.” (School Library Journal) A Zoella Book Club Pick!
©2016 Rachel Cohn and David Levithan (P)2016 Listening Library
Time After Time
Summary
Calling Anna and Bennett's romance long distance is an understatement: She's from 1995 Chicago and he's a time traveler from 2012 San Francisco. The two of them never should have met, but they did. They fell in love, even though they knew they shouldn't. And they found a way to stay together, against all odds. It's not a perfect arrangement, though, with Bennett unable to stay in the past for more than brief visits, skipping out on big chunks of his present in order to be with Anna in hers. They each are confident that they'll find a way to make things work...until Bennett witnesses a single event he never should have seen (and certainly never expected to). Will the decisions he makes from that point on cement a future he doesn't want? Told from Bennett's point of view, Time After Time will satisfy listeners looking for a fresh, exciting, and beautifully-written love story, both those who are eager to find out what's next for Time Between Us's Anna and Bennett and those discovering their story for the first time.
©2013 Tamara Ireland Stone (P)2013 Listening Library
The Givers
Summary
An inside look at the secretive world of elite philanthropists - and how they're quietly wielding ever more power to shape American life in ways both good and bad. While media attention focuses on famous philanthropists such as Bill Gates and Charles Koch, thousands of donors are at work below the radar promoting a wide range of causes. David Callahan charts the rise of these new power players and the ways they are converting the fortunes of a second Gilded Age into influence. He shows how this elite works behind the scenes on education, the environment, science, LGBT rights, and many other issues - with deep impact on government policy. Above all, he shows that the influence of the Givers is only beginning, as new waves of billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg turn to philanthropy. Based on extensive research and interviews with countless donors and policy experts, this is not a brief for or against the Givers but a fascinating investigation of a power shift in American society that has implications for us all.
©2017 David Callahan (P)2017 Random House Audio
Mind the Gap, Dash & Lily
Summary
For Dash and Lily, it's beginning to look a lot like...distance! Just in time for the series release of Dash & Lily on Netflix comes a new helping of love - this time across the pond as best-selling authors Rachel Cohn and David Levithan send Dash and Lily to England. Dash and Lily were feeling closer than ever.... It's just too bad they're now an ocean apart. After Dash gets accepted to Oxford University and Lily stays in New York to take care of her dog-walking business, the devoted couple are struggling to make a long distance relationship work. And when Dash breaks the news that he won't be coming home for Christmas, Lily makes a decision: If Dash can't come to her, she'll join him in London. It's a perfect romantic gesture...that spins out of Lily's control. Soon Dash and Lily are feeling more of a gap between them, even though they're in the same city. Will London bring them together again - or will it be their undoing?
©2020 Rachel Cohn and David Levithan (P)2020 Listening Library
Songs of Willow Frost
Summary
From Jamie Ford, the New York Times best-selling author of the beloved Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, comes a much-anticipated second novel. Set against the backdrop of Depression-era Seattle, Songs of Willow Frost is a powerful tale of two souls - a boy with dreams for his future and a woman escaping her haunted past - both seeking love, hope, and forgiveness. Twelve-year-old William Eng, a Chinese American boy, has lived at Seattle’s Sacred Heart Orphanage ever since his mother’s listless body was carried away from their small apartment five years ago. On his birthday - or rather, the day the nuns designate as his birthday - William and the other orphans are taken to the historical Moore Theatre, where William glimpses an actress on the silver screen who goes by the name of Willow Frost. Struck by her features, William is convinced that the movie star is his mother, Liu Song. Determined to find Willow and prove that his mother is still alive, William escapes from Sacred Heart with his friend Charlotte. The pair navigate the streets of Seattle, where they must not only survive but confront the mysteries of William’s past and his connection to the exotic film star. The story of Willow Frost, however, is far more complicated than the Hollywood fantasy William sees onscreen. Shifting between the Great Depression and the 1920s, Songs of Willow Frost takes listeners on an emotional journey of discovery. Jamie Ford’s sweeping novel will resonate with anyone who has ever longed for the comforts of family and a place to call home.
©2013 Jamie Ford (P)2013 Random House Audio
Coffins
Summary
A chill inducing and masterful collection of vampire tales, culled from the dark recesses of the nefarious and world renowned Vampires Archives. Coffins, the third volume in the mass market series, contains some of the best of the best of vampire fiction. Including Harlan Ellison, Robert Bloch, Edgar Allan Poe, and F. Paul Wilson, it takes its listeners deep inside the crypts of the living dead, in all their supernatural splendor. Featuring: "Heart Pounding Shrieks" "Blood Soaked Moonlit Hunts" "High Stakes Adventure" "Evil Assignations"
©2010 Otto Penzler (P)2010 Random House
Last Man Out
Summary
From the number one best-selling author of Heat, Travel Team, and Fantasy League comes a story of heroes, family, the thrills of skateboarding, and football. When the Brighton Bears suit up on game day, 12-year-old Tommy Gallagher is the toughest kid on the football field. And the bravest. After all, his father Patrick is a Boston firefighter - one of Boston's bravest. Tommy's dad taught him everything he knows about football - and life. Yet even Tommy isn't strong enough for what happens when the sirens ring and, for the first time, they're racing away from the fire. "First man in; last man out" had always been his dad's motto...yet he never said anything about leaving in an ambulance. What kind of risk had his dad taken? Now Tommy's biggest battle has nothing to do with football. And the kid who always had such respect for risk on the gridiron finds himself drawn to it off the field. Set in New England, home of the Patriots' football dynasty, Mike Lupica shows off his trademark knack for spinning a tale that's equal parts sports action and heart. Last Man Out is a thoughtful tribute to the bravery of firefighters and the need we all have to live up to the level of our heroes. Praise for Last Man Out: "[S]hort, action-packed chapters...will keep even the most reluctant readers motivated to keep reading. As is characteristic of Lupica’s books, the sports segments, most particularly the football portions, are exceptionally well written." (VOYA) "Lupica stirs equal quantities of grief and gridiron action into his latest outing. Lupica effectively puts readers into the center of the action.... [I]n the best traditions of sports writing, this will leave readers both breathless and thoughtful." (Booklist)
©2016 Mike Lupica (P)2016 Listening Library
Lily and Dunkin
Summary
Award-winning author Donna Gephart crafts a compelling dual narrative about two remarkable young people: Lily, a transgender girl, and Dunkin, a boy dealing with bipolar disorder. Their powerful story will shred your heart then stitch it back together with kindness, humor, bravery, and love. Lily Jo McGrother, born Timothy McGrother, is a girl. But being a girl is not so easy when you look like a boy. Especially when you're in the eighth grade. Dunkin Dorfman, birth name Norbert Dorfman, is dealing with bipolar disorder and has just moved from the New Jersey town he's called home for the past 13 years. This would be hard enough, but the fact that he is also hiding from a painful secret makes it even worse. One summer morning, Lily Jo McGrother meets Dunkin Dorfman, and their lives forever change.
©2016 Donna Gephart (P)2016 Listening Library