Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens.
Natalie Naudus’s skilled narration adds to the luminous and otherworldly qualities of Nghi Vo’s historical fantasy Siren Queen. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss this absorbing story of ambition, glamor, and power in old Hollywood—except here, it’s full of magic. To succeed, actors must make dangerous pacts, trade away years of their lives for insider secrets, and fend off terrifying monsters. Naudus enlivens the ambitious and bold Luli Wei, the captivating women she falls for, and the roaring executives looking to own her, and her soul. There is so much magic woven into the story, but it’s not just an otherworldly threat that Luli faces—she also faces racism, sexism, and homophobia as she fights for stardom. It’s a surreal and spellbinding story of the Golden Age of Hollywood, one that’s steeped in ancient magic.
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