Narrator and actor Christine Lakin joins AudioFile’s Michele Cobb to discuss one of this year’s Best Romance Audiobooks, SAY YOU'LL REMEMBER ME by Abby Jimenez, read by Christine Lakin and Matt Lanter. Christine goes behind the scenes with Michele to reveal how she established the tone of certain characters and the unique challenges of being a romance narrator when they’re often recording alone in a booth. Together they dive into new trends in current romance audiobooks and discuss how natural it felt for Christine to perform Abby Jimenez’s words.

Read AudioFile’s review of the audiobook

Published by Hachette Audio.

AudioFile’s 2025 Best Romance Audiobooks are:

• GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL LIFE by Emily Henry, read by Julia Whelan

• MISDIRECTED by Lucy Parker, read by Nicola Coughlan, Gwilym Lee

• PIONEER SUMMER by  Elena Malisova and Kateryna Sylvanova, [Translated from Russian by Anne O. Fisher] Read by Edoardo Ballerini 

• PRIDE AND PREJUDICE by Jane Austen, [Adapt.] Lulu Raczka, read by Marisa Abela, Harris Dickinson, Glenn Close, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Bill Nighy, Sophie Wilde, Will Poulter, Jessie Buckley, Toheeb Jimoh, Patricia Allison, Bertie Carvel, Leah Harvey, David Gyasi, Rosalind Eleazar

• SAY YOU'LL REMEMBER ME by Abby Jimenez, read by Christine Lakin, Matt Lanter

• THE WOLF KING by Lauren Palphreyman, read by Zara Hampton-Brown and Shane East

Explore the full list of 2025 Best Audiobooks on our website

Support for our podcast comes from Dreamscape, an award-winning audiobook publisher with a catalog that includes authors L.J. Shen, Freida McFadden, and Katee Robert. Discover your next great listen at dreamscapepublishing.com. 

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Host Jo Reed is joined by narrator Maggi-Meg Reed to chat about her performance in one of AudioFile’s selections for Best Multi-Voice audiobooks of 2025: THE CORRESPONDENT by Virginia Evans, read by Maggi-Meg Reed with an ensemble. Maggi-Meg talks about how she narrated this nuanced story about a 73-year old woman who is slowly going blind, while also dealing with a surprising DNA test. Together they discuss how a performer rides the line between a written conversation and a spoken one and the unique challenges that come with multi-voice narrations.

Read AudioFile’s review of the audiobook

Published by Random House Audio. 

AudioFile’s 2025 Best Multi-Voice Audiobooks are:

• THE BIG FIX by John Mankiewicz, Jamie Napoli, Daniel Pyne, Katie Pyne, and Aaron Lipstadt, performed by Jon Hamm, Ana de la Reguera, Erin Moriarity, Omar Epps, Alia Shawkat, et al.

• THE CORRESPONDENT by Virginia Evans, read by Maggi-Meg Reed, Jane Oppenheimer, Carly Robins, David Pittu, Chris Andrew Ciulla, Mark Bramhall, Petrea Burchard, Robert Petkoff, Kimberly Farr, Peter Ganim, Jade Wheeler, Jim Seybert, Cerris Morgan-Moyer, et al.

• THE DEVIL REACHED TOWARD THE SKY by Garrett M. Graff, performed by Edoardo Ballerini, Adam Grupper, Brian Nishii, Kevin R. Free, Matthew Lloyd Davies, Mirai, Rob Shapiro, Saskia Maarleveld, Vikas Adam, et al.

• LES NORMAUX by Janine Janssen and S. Al Sabado, performed by Janine Janssen, S. Al Sabado, Fajer Al-Kaisi, Jean Brassard, Xavier Casals, Alexander Cendese, Kyla Garcia, Ramón de Ocampo, Abby Manning, Christopher Salazar, André Santana, Devon Sorvari, Jeanne Syquia

• OF MONSTERS AND MAINFRAMES by Barbara Truelove read by, Chris Devon, Emana Rachelle, Charlie Albers, Eve Passeltiner, Zura Johnson, Cary Hite, Gail Shalan

• SOUNDTRACK by Jason Reynolds, performed by Nile Bullock, Mekhi Hewling, Jade Williams, Brandon Miles, Ryan Vincent Anderson, Amir Royale, et al.

Explore the full list of 2025 Best Audiobooks on our website

Support for our podcast comes from Dreamscape, an award-winning audiobook publisher with a catalog that includes authors L.J. Shen, Freida McFadden, and Katee Robert. Discover your next great listen at dreamscapepublishing.com.

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AudioFile’s Michele Cobb sits down with award-winning narrator Eunice Wong to discuss one of our picks for the Best Science Fiction & Fantasy audiobooks of 2025: DOWN IN THE SEA OF ANGELS by Khan Wong. This cinematic collision of past and future comes together in a dystopian fantasy which is also part historical fiction and sci-fi. We’ll hear about how Wong approached narrating three different timelines, and how a very special jade teacup connects them all.

Read AudioFile’s review of the audiobook

Published by Dreamscape. 

AudioFile’s 2025 Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Audiobooks are:

• DEATH OF THE AUTHOR by Nnedi Okorafor, read by Liz Femi, Anthony Oseyemi, Jason Culp, Chris Djuma

• DOWN IN THE SEA OF ANGELS by Khan Wong, read by Eunice Wong

• THE HYMN TO DIONYSUS by Natasha Pulley, read by Sid Sagar

• KATABASIS by R.F. Kuang, read by Morag Sims, Will Watt 

• THE RAVEN SCHOLAR by Antonia Hodgson, read by Daphne Kouma

• THE WINTER GODDESS by Megan Barnard, read by Aoife McMahon, Aidan Kelly

Explore the full list of 2025 Best Audiobooks on our website

Support for our podcast comes from Dreamscape, an award-winning audiobook publisher with a catalog that includes authors L.J. Shen, Freida McFadden, and Katee Robert. Discover your next great listen at dreamscapepublishing.com. 

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Narrator Mia Hutchinson-Shaw joins AudioFile’s Michele Cobb to discuss narrating Annie Mare and Ruthie Knox’s cozy mystery HOMEMAKER. We follow along with protagonist Prairie Hawk Nightingale, a homemaker extraordinaire, on her quest to solve the disappearance of her former friend. Hutchinson-Shaw shares what it’s like to narrate this delightful cast of characters, why she likes cozy mysteries, and how she got into acting and narration.

Read AudioFile’s review of the audiobook: Published by Brilliance Audio

AudioFile’s 2025 Best Mystery & Suspense Audiobooks are:

• THE BUSINESS TRIP by Jessie Garcia, read by Andrew Eiden, Dylan Reilly Fitzpatrick, Fred Berman, Gail Shalan, Hillary Huber, Jennifer Pickens, John Pirhalla, Kimberly M. Wetherell, Kirby Heyborne, Tim Campbell

• HOMEMAKER by Annie Mare, Ruthie Knox, read by Mia Hutchinson-Shaw

• NEVER FLINCH by Stephen King, read by Jessie Mueller, Stephen King 

• SOUTH OF NOWHERE by Jeffery Deaver, read by Kaleo Griffith

• THE SUMMER GUESTS by Tess Gerritsen, read by Hillary Huber

• A TRUE VERDICT by Robert Rotstein, read by Sean Pratt, Phil Thron, Kelli Tager, Sophie Amoss, Natalie Naudus, Fajer Al-Kaisi, Hillary Huber, Mark Bramhall, Robin Miles, Alex Boyles, Roxanne Hernandez, Eunice Wong, Deanna Anthony, Graham Halstead

Explore the full list of 2025 Best Audiobooks on our website.

Support for our podcast comes from Dreamscape, an award-winning audiobook publisher with a catalog that includes authors L.J. Shen, Freida McFadden, and Katee Robert. Discover your next great listen at dreamscapepublishing.com. 

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In this bonus edition of Behind the Mic, host Jo Reed speaks with Sara DiVello, true crime writer, founder and host of interview series Mystery and Thriller Mavens, and co-chair of the Nantucket Book Festival. DiVello’s latest book, narrated by Jordan Cobb, is BROADWAY BUTTERFLY, which is based on one of the most notorious unsolved murders of the roaring twenties. Together they talk about growing up on Nancy Drew, coming from a family of passionate readers, and the captivating pull of reading and writing true crime.

Photo by Lisa Schaffer Photography

Discover thousands of audiobook reviews and more at AudioFile’s website

Support for our podcast comes from Dreamscape, an award-winning audiobook publisher with a catalog that includes authors L.J. Shen, Freida McFadden, and Katee Robert. Discover your next great listen at dreamscapepublishing.com. 

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Award-winning narrator Grover Gardner joins AudioFile’s Michele Cobb to tell listeners about narrating one of our picks for Best Nonfiction & Culture audiobooks of 2025: Rick Atkinson’s Revolutionary War epic, THE FATE OF THE DAY: The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777-1780.

Gardner shares how he kept the energy up in this sprawling account of the second installment of Atkinson’s Revolutionary War trilogy, which takes place just after the Battle of Trenton. Together they discuss various challenges, especially when narrating Atkinson's unique use of lists, and how impressive it was to understand the enormous, and still timely task, of winning our independence.

Read AudioFile’s review of the audiobook: Published by Random House Audio

AudioFile’s 2025 Best Nonfiction & Culture Audiobooks are:

• DARK RENAISSANCE by Stephen Greenblatt, read by Edoardo Ballerini

• THE FATE OF THE DAY by Rick Atkinson, read by Grover Gardner and the author 

• FOOD FOR THOUGHT written and read by Alton Brown

• MOTHER EMANUEL by Kevin Sack, read by William DeMeritt

• ORIGINAL SINS by Eve L. Ewing, read by Robin Miles, Eve L. Ewing

• WE THE PEOPLE written and read by Jill Lepore

Explore the full list of 2025 Best Audiobooks on our website.  

Support for our podcast comes from Dreamscape, an award-winning audiobook publisher with a catalog that includes authors L.J. Shen, Freida McFadden, and Katee Robert. Discover your next great listen at dreamscapepublishing.com. 

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Award-winning narrator Ron Butler joins AudioFile’s Michele Cobb to tell listeners about narrating Nicholas Boggs’ stunning audiobook, BALDWIN, one of our picks for Best Biography & Memoir audiobooks of 2025. This comprehensive biography of James Baldwin—the first in over 30 years—is told through the lens of the great loves of his life, something that has never been explored before. Butler dives into what kind of research went into preparing for the narration, and what kind of tone and “music” he invited into performing the text. 

Read AudioFile’s review of the audiobook: Published by Macmillan Audio

AudioFile’s 2025 Best Biography & Memoir Audiobooks are:

• AWAKE written and read by Jen Hatmaker

• BALDWIN by Nicholas Boggs, read by Ron Butler

• BOAT BABY written and read by Vicky Nguyen

• MARK TWAIN by Ron Chernow, read by Jason Culp

• MEMORIAL DAYS written and read by Geraldine Brooks

• THE SPINACH KING by John Seabrook, read by Dion Graham

Explore the full list of 2025 Best Audiobooks on our website .

Support for our podcast comes from Dreamscape, an award-winning audiobook publisher with a catalog that includes authors L.J. Shen, Freida McFadden, and Katee Robert. Discover your next great listen at dreamscapepublishing.com. 

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Award-winning narrator Shaun Taylor-Corbett joins host Jo Reed to tell listeners about narrating Jon Hickey’s debut audiobook, BIG CHIEF, one of our picks for Best Fiction of 2025. It’s a story about a political fixer, Mitch Caddo, who must navigate both political and personal dramas, while confronting his identity as a mixed-race Anishinaabe man. Taylor-Corbett shares how he found Caddo’s voice in this audiobook, which is a unique look into tribal politics, identity, and how power is both given and taken.

Read AudioFile’s review of the audiobook: Published by Simon & Schuster Audio

AudioFile’s 2025 Best Fiction Audiobooks are:

• AMITY by Nathan Harris, read by André Santana, Angel Pean

• THE ANTIDOTE by Karen Russell, read by Elena Rey, Sophie Amoss, Mark Bramhall, Shayna Small, Jon Orsini, Natasha Soudek, Karen Russell, James Riding

• BIG CHIEF by Jon Hickey, Shaun Taylor-Corbett

• BUCKEYE by Patrick Ryan, read by Michael Crouch

• JUNIE by Erin Crosby Eckstine, read by Angel Pean

• WHAT WE CAN KNOW by Ian McEwan, read by David Rintoul, Rachel Bavidge

Explore the full list of 2025 Best Audiobooks on our website:  

Support for our podcast comes from Dreamscape, an award-winning audiobook publisher with a catalog that includes authors L.J. Shen, Freida McFadden, and Katee Robert. Discover your next great listen at dreamscapepublishing.com.

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AudioFile’s Robin Whitten joins host Jo Reed to discuss AudioFile’s 2025 Best Audiobooks. Listen to their conversation to discover how AudioFile’s editors choose the year’s best audiobooks, which titles Robin is particularly excited about, and to hear all the details on our upcoming interviews with narrators of some of this year’s honored titles. 

Explore the full list of 2025 Best Audiobooks on our website.

Support for our podcast comes from Dreamscape, an award-winning audiobook publisher with a catalog that includes authors L.J. Shen, Freida McFadden, and Katee Robert. Discover your next great listen at dreamscapepublishing.com.

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Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Laura Rossi highlight three recent Earphones Award-winning audiobooks. AudioFile awards Earphones to exceptional audio experiences—it’s our version of a starred review, specifically for the audiobook. Laura and Jo discuss: THE SLIP a story about a missing teenage boy, by Lucas Schaefer, read by Shaun Taylor-Corbett and Renata Friedman; WE THE PEOPLE: A History of the U.S. Constitution by Jill Lepore, read by the author; and LIVING IS DYING: How to Prepare for Death, Dying, and Beyond, by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse, read by Michael Imperioli. They share why these audiobooks won Earphones, and why they are well worth your listening time. 

Read our reviews of the audiobooks at our website: 

THE SLIP: Published by Simon & Schuster Audio

WE THE PEOPLE: Published by Recorded Books

LIVING IS DYING: Published by Shambhala Publications

Discover thousands of audiobook reviews and more at AudioFile’s website   

Support for AudioFile’s Behind the Mic comes from HarperCollins Focus,, and HarperCollins Christian Publishing, publishers of some of your favorite audiobooks and authors, including Reba McEntire, Bob Goff, Kathie Lee Gifford, Max Lucado, Lysa TerKeurst, and so many more!

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Host Jo Reed welcomes AudioFile publisher Michele Cobb to discuss three powerful memoirs, narrated by their authors. Booker Prize–winning writer Arundhati Roy returns with a complex look at her relationship with her challenging and ‘visionary,’ mother in MOTHER MARY COMES TO ME; an unflinching, polarizing memoir about Elizabeth Gilbert’s sex and love addiction in ALL THE WAY TO THE RIVER; and VAGABOND, a restrained dive into the long, varied career of inimitable actor Tim Curry.

Read our reviews of the audiobooks at our website: 

MOTHER MARY COMES TO ME: Published by Simon & Schuster Audio

ALL THE WAY TO THE RIVER: Published by Penguin Audio

VAGABOND: Published by Hachette Audio

Discover thousands of audiobook reviews and more at AudioFile’s website

Support for AudioFile’s Behind the Mic comes from HarperCollins Focus and HarperCollins Christian Publishing, publishers of some of your favorite audiobooks and authors, including Reba McEntire, Bob Goff, Kathie Lee Gifford, Max Lucado, Lysa TerKeurst, and so many more!

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