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Hot Summer Series

May 26, 2022

It took me a while to warm up to audiobooks, but now that I have, I am a full convert. I listen to audiobooks while I drive to work, while I cook in the kitchen, and while I work in my office. I also enjoy listening to audiobooks – especially series – while taking a road trip. And what’s the best time of the year for road trips? Yep you guessed it: summer! 

The Brown Sisters

Take a Hint, Dani Brown (#2)
Act Your Age, Eve Brown (#3)

The Brown sisters are trouble. Chloe is a computer geek with a list of tasks to complete despite her chronic pain. Dani is a driven college professor who knows what she wants in life, and woe to anyone who stands in her way. Eve is the youngest, and she’s still trying to find herself, but she never met a job she wouldn’t try at least once. I think the third one was my favorite (even though Zafir from #2 was my favorite fella), but I enjoyed all of these. Each one took a minute to get into, but once I did, I didn’t want to stop listening. Do read in order, otherwise you’ll miss stuff. NPL also has these in print if audio is not your jam.

A League of Extraordinary Women

A Rogue of One’s Own (#2)
Portrait of a Scotsman (#3)

I was a little unsure about these when I started. This series was a leftover from my Bridgerton phase, and while these are Regency era rom-coms, they are not just about the HEAs. There is a lot of history here dealing with women’s rights and the suffragette movement in England. (Think “Votes for Women!” from Mary Poppins, but on a bigger scale.) It helps that I am highly enamored with each couple. So far, the third one in the series, Portrait of a Scotsman, is my favorite. Mr. Blackstone is highly crushable and highly recommended. (Reader hint: I ran the audio at 1.5x regular because the normal speed was too slow for me. NPL also has print if you are so inclined.)

Well Met

Well Played (#2)
Well Matched (#3)
Well Traveled (#4) pub in 2022

“You don’t choose the wench life. The wench life chooses you.” So begins this delightful trilogy (so far) of books set at a Renaissance fair. I enjoyed the first book with Simon and Emily, but I think the second one with Stacy is my favorite. The third installation took me a minute to buy into, but in the end, I liked it as well. These would make excellent road trip books to listen to back to back. Plus, the fourth book is scheduled to come out around Labor Day, so dig into these now and get caught up.

The Friend Zone

The Happily Ever After Playlist (#2)
Life’s Too Short (#3)

I liked the beginning of the first book: Kristen is helping her friend Sloan get ready for her wedding to Brandon. His best friend Josh is in town for the festivities as well. So far so good, right? Then a lot of drama happens, and I was less than satisfied with the ending. Leery, I still went ahead and checked out the second book and found what I was looking for. Without going into too much detail – because it will spoil the first book – just know that this book was highly enjoyable. We get to go on tour with a rock band, which is fun for everyone. The first one isn’t bad, but the second one is ever so much better. The third one starts out good with great characters in YouTube star Vanessa and hot lawyer Adrian, but then it gets a little bumpy in the middle. Not bad, but you might need a Kleenex (sigh). Thankfully the HEA arrives right on track. If this series continues, I’m on board for it.

So if you’ve got a big road trip planned for this summer, don’t forget to check out some great books to take with you. Also, don’t forget: audiobooks count towards your Summer Reading minutes, so feel free to download more than one and get those minutes recorded.

Happy summer series-ing…
:) Amanda 

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Amanda

Amanda is a classically-trained pianist who loves to read. Like any good librarian, she also has two cats named after Italian cities. Amanda spends her free time sitting in Nashville traffic, baking, and running the Interlibrary Loan office at the Nashville Public Library.

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