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I am Lover of romance, who indulges in the romantic adventures of literature

My name is Renee, and I am the host of this site. I am a 34 year old woman, on the prowl for her mate, searching out the best of books, exploring the wilds of the imagination and delving into the heart of a beautiful love story.

 

Tea and Biscuits Book Discussion: Best Narrators to Listen To

by | Feb 6, 2017 | Tea and Biscuits Discussions | 12 comments

The one thing that can make you love or hate an audiobook would be the narrator. For me if I struggle with the narrator than I have a hard time with the book. But thankfully the majority of audiobooks that I have listened to I have been lucky to find really good narrators. Although with audiobooks I take some time with it before setting it aside. There have been times when I have listen for a few hours and then I start to really like it. So what makes a good narrator? We all have different needs when listening to a narrator but there are a few things that are necessary for me. Some elements I really need are

  1. Quality of Voice-I like to be able to enjoy the sound of my narrator, so if their voice is grating on my nerves than I can really struggle. So if their voice is really nice to listen to than that is a definite plus and can really win your vote on a audiobook
  2. Accents and Culture-When listening to an audiobook, I feel like its vital for a narrator to be able to adapt to the setting, time and culture of the circumstances that the book takes place in. I love a good accent, so if a narrator can do a accents that fit the story than that is an added bonus.
  3. Emotional Attention-What can really get to me, is when a narrator can reflect to the reader the emotion of the story…the ups and the downs, a narrator that can make you laugh and then cry is great talent in my book

Here are my top favorite narrators to listen to and I will grab up any audiobook that they narrate because they just pull me into the story so very well

Anne Flosnik-This author is one of my favorite when listening to historical romance. She just handles the accents so very well and she has such a pretty voice too. Especially when narrating medieval era’s. She is good with regency, but she really pulls me in so well with older era’s and culture. And every time I listen to her, its obvious she loves what she does. Some of my favorites of what she has done is Honor’s Splendor by Julie Garwood, Marriage Most Scandalous by Johanna Lindsey, The Prize by Julie Garwood, Her Secret Guardian by Linda Needham

Rebecca Cook-I fell in love with this author years ago, and I can’t get enough of her work. Her voice is simply wonderful but I love the way she talk and narrates a book. She does is with great inflections of emotion at just the right time to portray the right effect. She is fantastic and I wish she had more work done. My Favorite Books: Dark Fire by Christine Feehan, Her Secret Fantasy by Shana Galen and Dark Melody by Rebecca Cook.

Patrick Lawlor-
Now what do I NOT love about this narrator. First off there aren’t many male narrators out there, at least not when it comes to listening to romance. Which is so sad because I love listening to a male voice sometimes. But Patrick he is a bit different. He has such power to his voice and really puts the point across. He is great to listen to when listening to romantic suspense or strong personalities in characters because he delivers with such gusto. Some of my favorites: Gone Too Far by Suzanne Brockman, Dark Guardian by Christine Feehan, Dark of Night by Suzanne Brockmann

Xe Sands-her voice is a bit different. I love her inflections she uses and her voice is so delicate and soft at times but still has strength behind it. I haven’t listened to too much of her, but I just know I will love it if she is narrating it.  Favorite Books: Nightwalker by Jacquelyn Frank, Hearts of Chaos by Kira Brady

Renee Raudman

Now this fine lady has so much talent. I love love her voice so very much and the way she narrates, you can just tell how much she loves narrating. She gets into the story so well and then portrays that to the reader on such a deep level. I honestly can’t ever book a audiobook down if she is the narrator. Favorite Books: Burn For Me by Ilona Andrews, Into The Fire by Suzanne Brockmann, Blue Eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas

Elizabeth Wiley

Oh I wish this lady had narrated more than she has because she is fabulous. I have listened to whole series because of her. She has done some good variety to in romance both paranormal and historical. She can handle various settings and show them so well. I love the way she pulls you into the personality of her characters she narrates. Favorite Books: Temptation In A Kilt by Victoria Roberts, Marked by Elisabeth Naughton, A Sword For His Lady by Mary Wine, Pirate Prince by Gaelen Foley. A Highlander of Her Own by Melissa Mayhue

Juanita Parker

This was one of the first narrators I listened to and I adore her work so very much. Unfortunately she no longer narrates, but she narrated a majority of Christine Feehan’s Carpathian series. So I highly recommend you pick up those books because she is great and just pulls me in every time.

Susan Duerden This is one of those narrators that is a must when listening to Historical romance. She is a rockstar and has done so much that its very obvious how much she loves what she does and is damn good!!! You can’t go wrong with her especially if you want it to sound so historically authentic Favorites: Ransom by Julie Garwood, His Mistress by Christmas by Victoria Alexander, When Beauty Tames The Beast by Eloisa James,

Honorable Mentions: Christa Lewis, Biana Amato, Alison Fraser, Kate Russell, Paul Woodson, Kirsten Potter

Questions For My Readers

What Are Some Of Your Favorite Narrators? What Do You Like About Them?

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12 Comments

  1. Quinn's Book Nook

    One of my favorite historical romance narrators is Susan Duerden. I love how she narrates. I struggle with hitsorical romance narrators that have older sounding voices. Rosalyn Landor is one. I don’t dislike her, but I like Susan Duerden so much more. I’m not actually familiar with the other narrators, although I know Anne Flosnik narrates some Julie Garwood books. I will have to give her a try.

    Reply
  2. Joyousreads

    Give me anyone with a British accent! Lol.

    Reply
  3. Blodeuedd

    I have no fav narrator 🙁 I need one

    Reply
  4. The Book Disciple

    Justine Eyre (she does the Guardians series by Nalini Singh) is amazing! Eric Michael Summerer is pretty good too. And Morena Baccarin did Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare and it was AMAZING!

    Reply
  5. Grace @ Rebel Mommy Book Blog

    Oh I am always looking for great narrators! They can totally make a book. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  6. Carole's Random Life

    Narrators can make a huge difference in the enjoyment of a book. I have only listened to Renee Raudman from your list. I also enjoy Sebastian York, Andy Arndt, Davina Porter, Gabra Zackman, and Joanna Parker. Love audiobooks!

    Reply
  7. Wickedly Delicious

    Can you believe I just listened not to long ago to a audio book. Only because I was sick and was not up to reading. Just wanted to listen to something besides mudic. Borrowed an reread from library and it was a guys voice. Very smoothing.

    Reply
  8. Sophia Rose

    Yep, I almost gave up trying audio books right when I got started because I got two in a row that set my teeth on edge and one was because she overdramatized an already drama filled story, but then I encountered the divine Ms. Davina Porter and her Outlander narrations. I do like Susan Dierden and Renee Raudman from your list.
    Others are:
    Nick J Russo, Tobias Silversmith, JF Harding, and Dorian Bane (mostly m/m stories)
    Lorelei King, Tillie Hooper, Sally Armstrong, Luke Daniels, Jeff Woodman, Pam Doughterty, Uille Birve’.

    There are several more that I’ve only listened to once, but really liked. I’ve only really not liked four.

    Reply
  9. Bookworm Brandee

    Absolutely! A narrator’s voice can’t grate or I’m not going to enjoy the story. No matter what. They also have to have the range required for the cast and the ability to keep the character voices straight. If accents are required, they better be good. And it’s all the better when they can convey the emotion of the scenes. I haven’t listened to a single narrator you listed here, Renee. Except for Kirsten Potter and she’s a favorite of mine. I *did* just listen to The Danger of Desire narrated by Beverley A Crick and she was fantastic!!! If you haven’t heard her, I recommend her. 🙂 She made the story more of a dramatization rather than a narration. *sigh*

    Reply
  10. LilyElement

    Can’t believe I’ve only listened to one of those, Renee Raudman! Gonna have to try some of the others 😀

    Reply
  11. Zeee @ I Heart Romance & YA

    Narrators make or break a book for me. There are just some narrators that are annoyingly irritating that no matter how good the plot is, I just can’t bear but to DNF. I look at pacing, when it comes to my enjoyment of audiobooks. I know you can speed up or slow down an audio but to me, it just doesn’t feel right. So, one of the most important things I look into is pacing.

    For some reason, I don’t LIKE male narrators read historical romance books. Maybe because it is in third person? It just feels odd to me.

    One of the best narrators I have listened to is Tavia Gilbert. She read The Night Huntress and The Night Prince series by Jeanine Frost AND SHE IS AMAZING! Another one is Kim Mai Guest. As for males, I only like a few but most of them read fantasy. Christian Fox who reads Sophie Jordan’s Devil’s Rock series is an amazing male narrator in romance.

    Reply
  12. Anna@herding cats&burning soup

    There are SO many narrators to try out. It’s crazy! I haven’t heard a single one of these *flails* I’ll have to get on that 🙂

    Reply

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