Welcome to this week’s edition of the LGBT Audiobooks newsletter!
Please note that Audible is having a sale in (at least) the US store, which means several of these books are available for 50% off for members. I’ve included these prices, but they’re only good through the end of Sunday. You may also want to check your “to be read” or “to buy” list to see if there are any sales for those! Remember that Whispersync’d books are usually available for $7.47-7.49/each if you already own them, and Audible will give you the lower price…
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Authors & narrators, submit entries here. If you would like to submit a giveaway, please indicate this on the comments page. We will set up a form at a later time for ease of use. For more information, please visit the LGBT Romance Deals Author Group page or contact R. Phoenix via Facebook PM or by email @ raissa@lgbt-romance.com.
This week, the lovely Kaje Harper is offering two giveaways!
The Rebuilding Year:
(US Codes Only) Enter here.
(UK Codes Only) Enter here.
Into Deep Waters:
(US Codes Only) Enter here.
(UK Codes Only) Enter here.
Please make sure to only enter the giveaway for the type of code (US or UK) you’re able to redeem. As always, the audiobook codes provided to the winner(s) must be used for the indicated book(s). Reviews are requested but not required. Giveaways close on 5/17/2019.
The Rebuilding Year by Kaje Harper. Narrated by Gomez Pugh. (9h45m)
It took losing nearly everything, to discover what they can’t live without.
A few excruciating minutes pinned under a burning beam cost Ryan Ward his job as a firefighter, the easy camaraderie of his coworkers, his current girlfriend, and damn near cost him his left leg. Giving up, though, wasn’t an option. He fought and won the battle back to health, over a painful year. Now, choosing a new profession, going back to school, and renting a room from the college groundskeeper should be simple.
Until he realizes he’s falling in love with his housemate, and things take a turn for the complicated.
John Barrett knows about loss. After moving twice to stay in touch with his kids, he could only watch as his ex-wife whisked them away to California. Offering Ryan a room seems better than rattling around his empty house alone. But as casual friendship moves to something more, and emotions heat up, the big old house feels like tight quarters.
It’s nothing they can’t learn to navigate, until life adds in unhappy teen kids, difficult family members, and mysterious deaths on campus. Rebuilding will be far from easy, even for two guys willing to open their minds, and hearts.
Whispersync for Voice-ready: Get the audiobook for a reduced price of $7.49 after purchasing the ebook.
Audible (Regular: $19.95; Members/SALE: $9.97 or 1 Credit) | Amazon [Ebook] ($2.99)
Into Deep Waters by Kaje Harper. Narrated by Kaleo Griffith. (7h29m)
For Jacob and Daniel, two young gay men aboard a US Navy ship in WWII, the risks are high. Not only the risks of injury and death from Japanese planes and submarines, but the risk of discovery. Only a special kind of love is worth taking that chance. But from the moment Daniel meets Jacob’s eyes across a battle-scarred deck, he knows he has to try. Being together requires figuring out what it means to be gay in an era when they could be discharged, imprisoned, or worse for admitting the desires of their hearts. Their relationship is measured in stolen moments and rare days of precious leave, with no guarantee there will be a tomorrow. And, if they survive the war, they will need even more luck to keep their love alive through the years to come.
This novel was written as part of the Goodreads M/M Romance Group’s 2012 Don’t Read in the Closet writing event: Love is Always Write.
Whispersync for Voice ready.
Audible (Regular: $19.95; Members/SALE: $9.97 or 1 Credit) | Amazon [Ebook] (FREE)
Whispersync for Voice-ready: Get the audiobook for a reduced price of $7.49 after purchasing the ebook.
The Fate of the Fallen Omnibus (Books 1-4) by R. Phoenix.
Narrated by Jack Noble. (15h11m)
Now that supernatural beings have seized control of the world, life has become a struggle for the humans who once held power. Witches, vampires, and werewolves determine the fate of humanity, but their moral compasses have long since been shattered. Rebels, free humans, and slaves all share dreams of hope, mercy, love, and more. But with their fate so uncertain, survival isn’t enough…and they may have to sacrifice what is nearest and dearest to them if they want to change their lives.
Bought: When he agreed to take the fall for his pack leader’s failed attempts to help the Rebellion, Jace knew he wouldn’t live long enough to regret it. However, instead of the noble end he envisioned for himself, the werewolf finds himself at the mercy of a witch and his depraved games. Though he clings to his conviction that he can withstand anything his new master can dish out, it isn’t long before he realizes pride has no place in his life as the pet of the controlling Elias Ivers.
Ravel: For years, Reese has hidden away in his home, refusing to venture out where he might face what reminds him of all that he’s lost. When Ashton, a human thief, breaks into his home one night, he doesn’t have a choice but to face the harsh truths of the world he’s turned his back on. He knows he supports the society monsters of myth and lore built upon the backs of humans through his silence, but the new leaders don’t tolerate sympathizers.
If a werewolf can’t act against the status quo without facing severe consequences, a human with Ashton’s cunning and experience circumventing supernatural predators can’t risk drawing their attention. Their chance encounter leaves them shaken and questioning whether they are living life as they were intended or if surviving is really living at all.
Recoil: Over the past decade, Khaz has watched as supernatural creatures like himself have turned the world into their own personal playground. Unlike the others, he didn’t benefit from the Takeover. Every time he sells himself to keep a roof over his head, he’s keenly aware of that fact. His landlord, a renowned slaver, offers him the chance to catch up on his rent by breaking a human.
Groomed to fight, Noah has survived by giving in to his hatred of those who took everything away from humanity. When the werewolf can’t break him, he’s given to the vampire instead – and he’s sure this will be no different. The problem is that even the harsh lessons the Rebellion taught him couldn’t prepare him for someone like Khaz…who always has an ace up his sleeve.
Bought, Ravel, and Recoil feature different characters whose lives begin to come together in Owned and Temper.
This dystopian series explores different aspects of the world, from utter darkness to the shining lights waiting to emerge. The books range from dark erotica to romance to horror to action(ish) to bits of other things in between.
Whispersync for Voice-ready: Get the audiobook for a reduced price of $7.49 after purchasing the ebook.
BOUGHT: on sale for $3.47
RAVEL: on sale for $3.47
RECOIL: on sale for $7.47
OWNED: on sale for $7.49
Audible (Regular: $24.95; Members/SALE $12.47 or 1 Credit) | Amazon [Ebook] ($7.99/KU)
Temper (The Fate of the Fallen #5) by R. Phoenix. Narrated by Jack Noble. (5h10m)
Only one thing can keep Ashton safe from the supernatural predators who made the world into their depraved, twisted playground after the Takeover–but it’s the one thing that would steal the last remnants of his freedom. At every turn, society confronts Reese and Ashton with the way humans are treated as mere playthings to be used and discarded. When they realize their own desires and pride have no place in the status quo, Ashton and his werewolf lover understand they’ll have to engage in the deadly games played by those in charge if they want to make a difference.
But Reese isn’t a diplomat, and Ash is only human. Together, they must decide if they’re willing to work with the devil they know in what might change everything or rely on their consciences in a world that has no place for kindness or honor…
What are they willing to sacrifice along the way?
Audible (Regular: $19.95; Members: $9.97 or 1 Credit) | Amazon [Ebook] ($2.99/KU)
Sol’s Solstice: New Beginnings #1 by Leona Windwalker. Narrated by Matt Standley. (3h52m)
Due to home instability thanks to their mother’s mental illness, Sol and Ben are used to being shuttled between relatives. Sol is used to flying under his family’s radar, unless focusing unwanted attention away from his more outgoing, older twin. The day comes when he pays a steep price for attempting to shield his brother when an abusive relative decides to vent his rage and own self-loathing. It means losing Ben, but both boys gain a life without fear. That is, until the day Mama and Daddy manage to track their sons down, wanting to heal their broken family at the urging of their new pastor. Finding himself running for his life after their brand of spiritual counseling bears unwanted fruit, he is nearly run down by a car driven by Seth. Can Seth help Sol find his way back from the darkness? And will he gain Ben back, only to lose himself once more?
Whispersync for Voice-ready: Get the audiobook for a reduced price of $7.47 after purchasing the ebook.
Audible (Regular: $14.95; Members/SALE $7.47 or 1 Credit) | Amazon [Ebook] ($3.49/KU)
His Kind of Love (Lonely Hearts Book 1) by Kate Hawthorne. Narrated by Kenneth Obi. (7h)
Joel Reading was lonely.
Nineteen years old, estranged from his family and seemingly unable to ever get a second date, he’s surrounded himself with the things he loved most: old books and old music.
When one date got out of hand before it even began, Joel found himself displaced from a flooded apartment and on the doorstep of a handsome and older stranger, more than willing to take Joel in for the night.
Gabriel Hunter had waited years for the right man.
When a distressed Joel showed up at his door needing a place to stay, it was more perfect than Gabriel could ever have hoped for. He quickly found himself falling for the complex and beautiful boy he welcomed into his house, and started to believe in a future with the young man he adoringly called, Little Red.
Unfortunately, Gabriel was a man of many secrets, and they threatened to unravel the delicate relationship he was building with Joel.
Would Joel be able to see beyond Gabriel’s deliberate omissions and give their love a chance, or would Gabriel’s kind of love prove to be more than Joel could handle?
The Lonely Hearts Stories are interconnected stories that weave characters together across the releases. While you would appreciate the characters and their journey by starting from the beginning these can be read standalone.
Whispersync for Voice-ready: Get the audiobook for a reduced price of $7.49 after purchasing the ebook.
Audible (Regular: $19.95; Members/SALE: $9.97 or 1 Credit) | Amazon [Ebook] ($3.99/KU)
Survivor by TM Smith. Narrated by Nick J Russo. (6h40m)
Taylor Langford’s world is torn apart when he is only 13 years old – his parents killed, leaving him alone and orphaned. With no living relatives, he’d certainly be another statistic if not for the intervention of the policeman who found Taylor in the crawl space where his mother hid him that fateful night. Despite the tragedy and resulting anguish in his life, Taylor knows how lucky he is.
Frank Moore is a rookie with the Dallas Police Department when he and his partner answer a call in Devonshire, one of the city’s more affluent neighborhoods. They think the young boy in various pictures throughout the home has been kidnapped until they find him, shaken but alive. Officer Moore recognizes the pain in the kid’s eyes, having lost his own mother to cancer when he was just a boy. He steps in, making sure Taylor is placed with a loving foster family. Over the years, Frank becomes a permanent fixture in Taylor’s life.
A decade later, the case remains unsolved and the once gangly, uncertain teenager is now a college graduate who knows exactly what he wants. He’s coming home to the man that helped mold and shape his life, the man he’s loved for as long as he can remember, Frank Moore. But Taylor isn’t the only person returning to Dallas, and while Frank is distracted by his own conflicting feelings and the new bond growing between the two, the past creeps up on them, determined to finish what was started 10 years earlier.
Audible (Regular: $19.95; Members/SALE: $9.97 or 1 Credit) | Amazon [Ebook] ($3.99)
Lover (Survivor Book 2) by TM Smith. Narrated by Nick J. Russo (6h40m)
Life has not always been kind to Shannon Dupree. On the outside, he’s carefree and fun loving, but when it comes to his past, he’s evasive and secretive. Running away from emotionally bereft parents at just 15, Shannon escapes life with them but steps into the waiting arms of the devil.
Rory Landers is a rising star at the Bureau. His personal life, however, is nothing to write home about. He hopes to take his limited relationship with Frank Moore to the next level when they finally solve the Langford murder case, but that doesn’t turn out as planned. On the plus side, he meets free-spirited college senior Shannon Dupree.
Rand Davis finds himself 40-something and single when his partner of more than a decade is unfaithful. Taking over the Cold Case Squad frees up some of his time, and Rand welcomes newfound friendships within the Langford-Moore family circle. He thinks relationships are not in the cards for him until he meets an agent with an attitude and a vivacious blond that make him want so much more.
Past, present, pain, and suffering collide, ushering in the possibility of a life and love worth fighting for. Although their personalities couldn’t be more different, their three hearts beat the same. Shannon, Rory, and Rand learn the definition of love, commitment, and strength, and if they allow themselves, the trio will find all that and more – in each other.
NOTE: This is the sequel to Survivor. The stories should be heard in order.
Whispersync for Voice-ready: Get the audiobook for a reduced price of $7.49 after purchasing the ebook.
Audible (Regular: $19.95; Members/SALE: $9.97 or 1 Credit) | Amazon [Ebook] ($3.99)
In the Shadows (Metahuman Files Book 3) by Hailey Turner. Narrated by Greg Boudreaux. (9h52m)
Take a chance.
Staff Sergeant Alexei Dvorkin doesn’t trust easily, and he most certainly doesn’t trust spies. He’ll work with them if ordered to, but that doesn’t mean he has to like it. Except Agent Sean Delaney is proving to be the exception to the rule. There’s something about Sean that gets under Alexei’s skin and won’t let go. Alexei would be lying if he said he wasn’t interested in what lay beneath the agent’s mask. When they’re assigned together for a mission, Alexei vows to keep Sean safe all while trying to coax the hot agent into his bed.
Hold onto hope.
Agent Sean Delaney has spent his entire adult life living a lie for his country. When the MDF tasks him with finding evidence of criminal wrong-doing against the owner of a private military company, Sean knows exactly how to play the game to get what he wants. He just doesn’t know how to handle Alexei’s advances, nor his own attraction to the younger soldier. Being a spy is lonely work, and Sean knows he should keep his distance, but saying no to Alexei is impossible from the moment they first kiss.
In a world of lies, the truth can be deadly.
When the mission takes a turn for the worse, the only thing left to do is run. In the wake of betrayal, and in the path of danger, can their fragile trust survive the battle?
In the Shadows is a steamy gay sci-fi military romance with a HFN ending that skirts HEA. There is military violence within the story that may not be suitable for everyone, as well as explicit intimate scenes not suitable for listeners under the age of 18. This is a direct sequel to In the Ruins and listening to the previous audiobooks in the series would be helpful in enjoying this one.
Whispersync for Voice-ready: Get the audiobook for a reduced price of $7.47 after purchasing the ebook.
Audible (Regular: $19.95; Members/SALE: $9.97 or 1 Credit) | Amazon [Ebook] ($3.99/KU)
Sweet Thing (Pretty Boy) by Isobel Starling.
Narrated by Gary Furlong. (8h31m)
A heart-breaking, life-affirming M/M Romance from Award-Winning author Isobel Starling.
French male model Simeon Duchamp has a lot of explaining to do.
Two years after a breakdown Simeon is off drugs and booze and wants to stay that way. On his road to reclaiming his life and modeling career, Sim first needs to apologize to the man he hurt the most -his ex-best friend and object of his unrequited affection Pieter Bayer. Pieter now has a long-term partner, artist Emily Raven, with whom he shares a baby son. Sim is amazed when Pieter accepts his apology, and invites him into his family.
Closeness to Pieter sees Simeon’s longing for his friend is rekindled. But then, when Simeon meets an attractive older man, Bastian Roth at an Art Exhibition, he realizes that there is a soul more broken than his, and Simeon feels compelled to help. Simeon’s connection with the troubled Bastian Roth turns his world upside down. He has to decide whether to allow himself to fall for the man who wants him or pine for the man he can never have.
Please note: This story contains graphic descriptions of gay sex. (Yay!)
THIS BOOK CAN BE READ AS A STANDALONE
Whispersync for Voice-ready: Get the audiobook for a reduced price of $7.49 after purchasing the ebook.
Audible (Regular: $19.95; Members/SALE: $9.97 or 1 Credit) | Amazon [Ebook] ($4.99/KU)
Puppy (Tamed & Trained #1) by R. Phoenix. Narrated by JJ Jenness. (1h41m)
In a dark world where humans are little more than fodder for vampires, Caleb is looking for a break… even if that break means he has to become Liam’s plaything. As soon as he gives up his freedom, his training begins, and he soon learns that obedience and pleasure go hand in hand in his new life as Liam’s puppy.
*Please note that this world has little place for humanity, and as a result, content in these works may contain graphic scenes of depravity, cruelty, and violence — sexual or otherwise — that could be offensive and potentially triggering to some readers.*
Asymmetry, Spoiled* & Anticipation*, the Need Trilogy, the Tamed & Trained Trilogy**, the Fate of the Fallen series, and Gifts can all be read separately from each other. Though they are all set in the same universe and there is occasional crossover, the timeline is ambiguous and there are minimal spoilers across the books.
Audible (Regular: $9.95; Members/SALE: $3.47 or 1 Credit) | Amazon [Ebook] ($0.99/KU)
Want: A Dark Taboo Tale: The Need Trilogy #1 by R. Phoenix. Narrated by Kenneth Obi. (4h1m)
For years, Rex Mirza has been controlling every aspect of his twin brother’s life. Using the fact that Tavi is a magicless witch – a mere human – in a family of powerful witches, he has justified every harsh treatment. All of it is only for Tavi’s own good, of course. How could a human possibly know what was best for him?
When Tavi gets the chance to turn the tables on his brother, will he take it? Or will he take the punishment Rex says is due for trying to run away?
This is a dark taboo tale that contains several kinks that may offend or trigger some listeners, including (but not limited to) age play, ABDL, and humiliation. Not every dynamic or element is 100 percent consensual.
Whispersync for Voice-ready: Get the audiobook for a reduced price of $7.47-$7.49 after purchasing the ebook.
Audible (Regular: $14.95; Members/SALE: $7.47 or 1 Credit) | Amazon [Ebook] ($2.99/KU)
Not So Vanilla by Morgan Noel.
Narrated by Piers Ryman. (4h3m)
Bartholomew’s life is perfect. He’s got a job he loves, he’s in a committed relationship with his loving boyfriend who appreciates his neurotic tendencies, social anxiety, and general awkwardness. It’s not ‘white-picket-fence-and-Golden-Retriever’-perfect, but their nice little apartment in the city and the cat they rescued from the shelter come pretty close.
The domestic bliss gets disturbed when his boyfriend Kyle brings a very hot friend from high school into their sanctuary, making both of them wonder if perhaps ‘perfect’ is as relative as good sex.
Audible (Regular: $14.95; Members/SALE: $7.47 or 1 Credit) | Amazon [Ebook] ($2.99/KU)