Romance Audiobooks discussion

Bio:
Xe Sands is a published audiobook narrator with more than a decade of experience bringing stories to life through narration and performance. From poignant young adult fiction to powerful first-person narrative, Sands's characterizations are rich and expressive and her narrations evocative and intimate.

Awards/Distinctions
2015 Audie Nominee: Literary Fiction (Euphoria by Lily King)
AudioFile Earphones

Voice Range:
Teen, 20s-30s, Middle Age, Senior

Accents:
American English, British English, American South, Irish, New York

Genres:
Drama, Mystery/Suspense, Romance

Audiography:
Acceptance, Jeff Vandermeer*
Adam, Jacquelyn Frank
Allies in Healing, Laura Davis
Almost Home, Mariah Stewart
American Ghost, Hannah Nordhaus
Angelina's Bachelors, Brian O'Reilly
Another Kind of Dead, Kelly Meding
Apolonia, Jamie McGuire
Arizona Embrace, L. Greenwood
The Art Forger, B.A. Shapiro
As Lie the Dead, Kelly Meding
The Bird Sisters, Rebecca Rasmussen
Black Bird House, Alice Hoffman*
Books of Blood, Vol. 3, by Clive Barker
The Bostonians, Henry James
Brooklyn Bones, Triss Stein
By Cecile, by Tereska Torres
A Cast-off Coven, Juliet Blackwell
Catch of the Day, Kristan Higgins
Coming Home, Mariah Stewart
Controlling People, Patricia Evans
A Crack in Everything, Angela Gerst
The Cursed, Alyssa Day
Cutting Teeth, Julia Fierro
The Daylight Marriage, Heidi Pitlor
Damien, Jacquelyn Frank
Dead Bolt, Juliet Blackwell
Deadly Defiance, William Manchee
Descent, Tim Johnston
The Digital Divide, Mark Bauerlein
The Diver's Clothes Lie Empty
Elijah, Jacquelyn Frank
Euphoria, by Lily King*
Evil Without a Face, Jordan Dane
Finding Mrs. Warnecke, Cindi Rigsbee
Fire and Ice, Anne Stuart
Flood Rising, Jeremy Robinson & Sean Ellis
Forbidden, Jacquelyn Frank
Forever, Jacquelyn Frank
Forged, Jacquelyn Frank
Forsaken, Jacquelyn Frank
Freeing You Child from Anxiety, Tamar Chansky
Gideon, Jacquelyn Frank
Heart of Atlantis, Alyssa Day
Hearts of Darkness, Kira Brady
Hearts of Fire, Kira Brady
Hearts of Shadow, Kira Brady
Hexes and Hemlines, Juliette Blackwell
Hijacking the Runway, Teri Agins
Home Again, Mariah Stewart
Home for the Haunting, Juliet Blackwell
Home for the Summer, Mariah Stewart
Hometown Girl, Mariah Stewart
Hunting Julian, Jacquelyn Frank
I Don't Have a Happy Place, Kim Korson
If Walls Could Talk, Juliet Blackwell*
If You Only Knew, Kristan Higgins
In a Witch's Wardrobe, Juliet Blackwell
Indestructible, by Angela Graham
Inevitable, by Angela Graham
Irreplaceable, by Angela Graham
Is This Tomorrow, Caroline Leavitt*
Jacob, Jacquelyn Frank
Keeper of the Castle, Juliet Blackwell
Keepsake, Kristina Riggle
Laurel Heights Series (10 bks), Kate Perry
Long Way Home, Mariah Stewart
Magnificence, Lydia Millet
Memories of the Afterlife, Michael Newton
Midwife's Confession, Diane Chamberlain
Motherless Child, Glen Hirschberg
Murder on the House, Juliet Blackwell
My Accidental Jihad, Krista Bremer
My Miserable Lonely Lesbian Pregnancy
Never Kiss a Rake, Anne Stuart
Never Trust a Pirate, Anne Stuart
Never Marry a Viscount, Anne Stuart
New Space Opera 2 (various authors)
Noah, Jacquelyn Frank
Not Lost Forever, Carmina Salcido
Objects of My Affection, Jill Smolinksi
On Sunset Beach, Mariah Stewart
On Thin Ice, Anne Stuart
Pain, Parties, Work, Elizabeth Winder
Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids, Dr. L. Markham
The Piper, Lynn Hightower
The Prayer Box, Lisa Wingate
The Recipe Box, Sandra Lee
River's Edge, Mariah Stewart
The Romanov Sisters, Helen Rappaport
Saving Angelfish, Michele Matheson
Secondhand Spirits, Juliet Blackwell
Self-Compassion, Kristin Neff, PhD
The Shape of Things to Come, Maud Casey
The Silence of Trees, Valay Dudycz Lupescu
Sisters of Shiloh, Kathy & Becky Hepinstall
Something Sweeter, Candis Terry
Stealing Kathryn, Jacquelyn Frank
Step on a Crack, Mary Anderson
Survival Lessons, Alice Hoffman
The Sweet Relief of Missing Children, Sarah Braunstein
The Sweetest Mistake, Candis Terry
Tarnished and Torn, Juliet Blackwell
Three Days to Dead, Kelly Meding
Thrill of the Chase, Christina Crooks
Ties That Bind, Marie Bostwick
Trauma, Michael & Brian Palmer
The Transcriptionist, Amy Rowland
Truth Be Told, Hank Phillippi Ryan
Unequal Childhoods, Annette Lareau
The Vanishers, Heidi Julavits
The Vanishing, Wendy Webb
A Vision in Velvet, Juliet Blackwell
Water Witch, Deborah LeBlanc
When Shadows Fall, Kate Fellowes
Wonderland, Stacey D'Erasmo


Video Games / Other Media:
Dying for Daylight, I-Play
The Great Gatsby, I-Play
Dream Day True Love, I-Play
Dream Day Wedding: Bella Italia, I-Play
Women's Murder Club #4, I-Play
ORCA Concussion Education Video

I don't know about any of you, but I think this list is pretty impressive. Makes it hard to pick out a book :)

I'm going with . I won this over on Dee's Blog some time ago and it came in handy!

Turns out I have one on my audio TBR -

I gotta say she's stellar on my stuff - On Thin Ice is particularly nice. I still have the hots for my hero because of that voice!

Krissie

I've wanted to start Mariah Stewart's Chesapeake Diaries series so I'm going to listen to Coming Home.

I have this one, which Xe recommended herself to me. :)


I've listened to many books by Xe which I've enjoyed, but I confess whenever I pick one of her books, it takes me a while to get used to her style.

Popping in to say that I'm totally floored to be featured...verklemot, really!

Also, trying not to cringe when I see older titles on your respective dockets because oh my lordy, but my delivery has changed over the years - eep!

Hey, if anyone has any questions for me, I'm totally game.

And, er, it hopefully goes without saying, but no censoring yourselves just because I'm here :) I appreciate questions and comments of all kinds - whatever y'all need/want to say. Bring it!

looks like this might be a wonky bug - i see your first post Xe ;)

Dee wrote: "looks like this might be a wonky bug - i see your first post Xe ;)"

I do too, now :) Deleted the duplicate, Dee.

FYI...There are a few Kristan Higgins books, narrated by Xe and recently released, not on the list above.

Fools Rush In
Too Good to Be True
Just One of the Guys

Catch of the Day is one of my all-time favorite audiobooks, so I'm excited that Xe is narrating more of Kristan's older titles.

I'm going to listen to Just One of the Guys this month.

Becky wrote: "FYI...There are a few Kristan Higgins books, narrated by Xe and recently released, not on the list above.

Fools Rush In
Too Good to Be True
Just One of the Guys

Catch of the Day is one of my all-..."


Yay! Oh so glad to see the Higgins backlist getting some love. Been having a blast narrating those, Becky!

In fact, hmmm...would y'all like a giveaway of the CDs of the four I've recently completed?

Lmao Xe...like any of us would turn down a giveaway. Omg! And I thought I had some kind of handle on your works. I am working on convincing myself not to just do a re-listen of the ones I own. So, I am going to ask for recommendations from everyone. I will state that I picked up The Vanishing as a daily deal last year. If you are looking for a great suspense book with obviously great narration you should try it. One of the very few where the ending surprised me.

I've got If You Only Knew on my TBL. I'll move it up to this month.

I was surprised when I looked at my audiobook database that I only had one book narrated by Xe Sands--If You Only Knew. I could've sworn I'd listened to something she'd done before. I obviously must correct this oversight immediately, so If You Only Knew just got bumped to the top of my list! :)

Dawn wrote: "Lmao Xe...like any of us would turn down a giveaway. Omg! And I thought I had some kind of handle on your works. I am working on convincing myself not to just do a re-listen of the ones I own. So, ..."

The Vanishing is good!

Samantha wrote: "Dawn wrote: "Lmao Xe...like any of us would turn down a giveaway. Omg! And I thought I had some kind of handle on your works. I am working on convincing myself not to just do a re-listen of the one..."

Well ok then!! I will contact Recorded Books and see when all four might be available (MY ONE AND ONLY should be releasing soon) and I'll post in this forum once I've got a date!

Ok, I've got two of Xe's narrated books in my audible pile already that I haven't read. So I'll go with either:

or

if I have time, I will get to both!

Ok guys and gals, I've got some news to share and wanted y'all to hear it first :) And when/where better than this forum?

Over the past year, I've started narrating romance under the name of Jo Raylan. I worked on an excellent erotica/romance series with author C.D. Reiss, starting with Sequence One, SONGS OF SUBMISSION. We're currently working on two stand alone projects as well.

Starting this year, I hope to broaden my work under Jo Raylan, so thought it was best to let y'all know. If you happen to listen to any of "Jo's" work, let me know what you think!

Thanks for sharing, Xe! I read a few books by C.D. Reiss and I enjoyed them.

Oooh, I just read that one, Xe. I'm definitely going to check it on audio!

Samantha wrote: "Thanks for sharing, Xe! I read a few books by C.D. Reiss and I enjoyed them."

Good to hear, Samantha!

Sassafrass wrote: "Oooh, I just read that one, Xe. I'm definitely going to check it on audio!"

I saw your review, Sassafrass :) If you do revisit on audio, let me know what you think!

Well I definitely want to listen to the Songs of Submission series. I left off around book 3. I need to go back to it.

Samantha wrote: "Well I definitely want to listen to the Songs of Submission series. I left off around book 3. I need to go back to it."

Starting with Sequence 2, Control/Burn/Resist, Christian Fox joins me to narrate the chapters in Jonathan's POV.

I should also probably let folks know that this series features BDSM.

Well of course I have to start with sequence 1 to refresh my memory *winks*

Samantha wrote: "Well of course I have to start with sequence 1 to refresh my memory *winks*"

*snort*

Ooh, sequence one has a whispersync deal so I got it for $1.99! Score.

Sassafrass wrote: "Ooh, sequence one has a whispersync deal so I got it for $1.99! Score."

Woohoo!

Sassafrass wrote: "Ooh, sequence one has a whispersync deal so I got it for $1.99! Score."

What? I'm on it!

Just finished Sequence One, and it was wonderful, especially the narration. Love how the male voices are performed.

Susan wrote: "Just finished Sequence One, and it was wonderful, especially the narration. Love how the male voices are performed."

So glad you enjoyed it, Susan! Thanks for your comments :)

...and XE (um I mean Jo) can sing! I am surprised that I am enjoying this series so much.

Dawn wrote: "...and XE (um I mean Jo) can sing! I am surprised that I am enjoying this series so much."

Aw thank you, Dawn. It doesn't work for everyone, so I'm thrilled to hear you enjoyed the singing. I got to do that in all three books, even using an original song in SING :)

I have really enjoyed these books, which really surprised me. Especially after Sequence one. I really like male/female narration when it is set up whenever there is male/female voicing...not POV driven. These were done done based on POV, which means I am hearing two different voicing for the two main characters. But I did like both narrations. As for the books, they were pretty hard core for me, but I was totally hooked on the the storyline and had to finish them. Makes 50 Shades seem mild in comparison though. Another great job XE...

I'm listening to . Enjoying the narration but not sure about the story.

I listened to Inevitable. The story was ok, but the narration was great.

What was so interesting was how different Xe Sands voice was. I had to look at the book to see if it was truly her because it seemed as though even the timbre seemed different. Which fit because Xe normally deep, husky voices (the ones that I'm used to hearing) wouldn't have worked at all for this very young and naive character.

Dawn wrote: " As for the books, they were pretty hard core for me, but I was totally hooked on the the storyline and had to finish them. Makes 50 Shades seem mild in comparison though. Another great job XE... "


I know exactly what you mean, Dawn. I felt the same way when reading the series - the story and writing made it impossiblenot to finish, even while I was blushing my face off and wondering if certain positions were even possible ;)

Sassafrass wrote: "What was so interesting was how different Xe Sands voice was. I had to look at the book to see if it was truly her because it seemed as though even the timbre seemed different. Which fit because Xe normally deep, husky voices (the ones that I'm used to hearing) wouldn't have worked at all for this very young and naive character..."

That's such a high compliment, Sassafrass - thank you!

Yea..,it is funny when you start trying to picture some things in your head lol

To those who might be thinking of listening to Anne Stuart's Scandal at the House of Randall trilogy, they are apparently on sale as a Whispersync deal. $1.99 for the ebook and $1.99 for the audible.

Finished The Cursed. Really enjoyed the narration but the book wasn't for me. Ahh well...I think I'll have to look for Xe's Song of Submissions series. :)

D.G. wrote: "Finished The Cursed. Really enjoyed the narration but the book wasn't for me. Ahh well...I think I'll have to look for Xe's Song of Submissions series. :)"

Looking forward to hearing what you think, D.G. :)

started listening to Never Kiss a Rake on the treadmonster today - audiobooks make that suffering so much more enjoyable (or rather tolerable)

I'm going to start Catch of the Day

I'm going to read http://www.amazon.com/Angelinas-Bache...

Maria wrote: "I'm going to read http://www.amazon.com/Angelinas-Bache..."

Wow, Maria. Don't you think $16 is a little expensive for an ebook for 2011? Gosh!!!

Maria wrote: "I'm going to read http://www.amazon.com/Angelinas-Bache..."

Oh there's a blast from the past...I hope that whatever version you get comes with the recipes because they are amazing...

Finished Catch of the Day I love the narration but the book was just meh!

I finished If You Only Knew. Loved Xe's narration!