Each month, AudioFile Magazine reviewers and editors handpick the best new audiobooks for BookTrib readers. Check out this month’s selection of perfect spring reads!
THE RIVER HAS ROOTS by Amal El-Mohtar
Read by Gem Carmella | AudioFile Earphones Award
[Macmillan Audio | 4 hrs.]
Gem Carmella narrates a magical novella inspired by traditional ballads. Sisters Esther and Ysabel use their musical talents to tend the enchanted willow their family has honored for generations. When an unwanted suitor appears, everything they love is suddenly at risk. Carmella’s narration perfectly blends the fantastical elements of fairy tales with the macabre elements of traditional murder ballads. A stunning performance.
THE LAMB by Lucy Rose
Read by Emma Rydal | AudioFile Earphones Award
[Harper Audio | 7.75 hrs.]
Emma Rydal’s intense performance as Margot, a child living with her cannibalistic mother (“Mama”), will remain with listeners long after the devastating climax of this audiobook. Throughout her childhood, lost and wayward travelers of all ages, people deemed “strays,” are lured inside their home, where they’re murdered and eaten. Rydal deepens the visceral experience of this must-listen production with her unsettling depiction of Mama’s mercurial temperament.
THE STORY SHE LEFT BEHIND by Patti Callahan Henry
Read by Julia Whelan, Theo Solomon | AudioFile Earphones Award
[Simon & Schuster Audio | 12.5 hrs.]
This mystery explores the emotions felt by the family of a young American novelist who vanished 25 years earlier. Daughter Clara, skillfully portrayed by Julia Whelan, receives a cryptic phone call informing her that she must personally claim her mother’s writing satchel. She travels to London and meets young executor Charlie, voiced with grace and charm by Theo Solomon, who whisks them to his family’s country home. There, Clara’s stunning discovery upends her world.
LES NORMAUX: Les Normaux, Book 1 by Janine Janssen, S. Al Sabado
Read 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 | AudioFile Earphones Award
[Harper Audio | 2 hrs.]
This audiobook adaptation of the graphic novel features a stellar cast and vibrant soundtrack. Sébastien, portrayed by Ramón de Ocampo with a French accent, is freshly moved into a new apartment and ready to finally learn magic. Elia, depicted suavely by Fajer Al-Kaisi in an Italian accent, is the hot supermodel vampire next door. Music and sound effects immerse listeners in the rich setting of a supernatural Paris.
TILDA IS VISIBLE by Jane Tara
Read by Caroline Lee | AudioFile Earphones Award
[Random House Audio | 11.5 hrs.]
Caroline Lee’s joyful and witty performance of this humorous and insightful audiobook is a dream listen. With a light, warm intonation, Lee brings to life Tilda, a 52-year-old divorced mother and photographer who wakes up one morning to find one of her fingers and one ear are no longer visible. After visiting her internist, she learns that she has invisibility disorder, a common occurrence for women in their fifties. Lee’s striking Australian accent settles listeners into Tilda’s landscape.
JUNIE by Erin Crosby Eckstine
Read by Angel Pean | AudioFile Earphones Award
[Random House Audio | 13.5 hrs.]
Narrator Angel Pean’s stand-out performance is essential here. Her storytelling skill is consistently riveting, fully embodying these characters and the detailed and occasionally magical world they inhabit. Junie, an enslaved girl in 1800s Alabama, lives with the loss of her sister, Minnie. An encounter with Minnie’s ghost changes Junie’s life, opening a new path that could include escaping her captors. The rich listening experience envelops listeners in the powerful story.
![THE CURIOUS KITTEN AT THE CHIBINEKO KITCHEN by Yuta Takahashi, Cat Anderson [Trans.]](https://booktrib.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/THE-CURIOUS-KITTEN-AT-THE-CHIBINEKO-KITCHEN-cover.webp "THE CURIOUS KITTEN AT THE CHIBINEKO KITCHEN by Yuta Takahashi, Cat Anderson [Trans.]")
THE CURIOUS KITTEN AT THE CHIBINEKO KITCHEN by Yuta Takahashi, Cat Anderson [Trans.]
Read by Hanako Footman | AudioFile Earphones Award
[Penguin Audio | 4.25 hrs.]
Hanako Footman’s narration is as warm and delicious as the meals at the Chibineko Kitchen. Four intertwined stories revolve around Kotoko, a young woman, and Kai, the thoughtful chef who works at the small restaurant located in a remote Japanese seaside village. Chibineko Kitchen serves remembrance meals rumored to have a mystical ability to summon departed loved ones. Kotoko has recently lost her brother and makes a trip to the restaurant. Footman’s soft, calm tone and precise pronunciation of Japanese words and places create the perfect ambiance for this translated work steeped in Japanese culture, locations, traditions and sensibilities.
THE FAVORITES by Layne Fargo
Read by Christine Lakin, Louisa Zhu, Amy Landon, Elena Rey, Valerie Rose Lohman, Suzanne Toren, Graham Halstead, Julia Emelin, Layne Fargo, Eric Yang, Johnny Weir | AudioFile Earphones Award
[Random House Audio | 13.5 hrs.]
Listeners don’t need to be superfans of ice skating to be drawn into this audiobook. The world of pairs skating competition provides the setting for a story of young, elite athletes who are fighting for Olympic gold. Structured as oral history, the narrations are uniformly exceptional. And Johnny Weir, a real-life Olympian, provides a fittingly energetic performance as a gossip blogger.
A HOUSE FOR MISS PAULINE by Diana McCaulay
Read by Sasha Frost | AudioFile Earphones Award
[Hachette Audio | 10.25 hrs.]
Narrator Sasha Frost delivers an outstanding performance as Miss Pauline, a lifelong resident of the village of Mason Hall, Jamaica, who is almost 100 years old. Miss Pauline knows that her time draws near. She hears voices at night, her house has begun making strange noises, and she knows she must right some wrongs. Frost’s delivery, especially her use of a Jamaican accent, proves impressive and moving.
DREAM STATE by Eric Puchner
Read by MacLeod Andrews | AudioFile Earphones Award
[Random House Audio | 13.75 hrs.]
This audiobook begins with plans for a wedding and goes on to include … nearly everything else. MacLeod Andrews is an excellent narrator: gentle, funny, sharp and intuitive. When Cece and Charlie’s special day — officiated by Charlie’s troubled friend, Garrett — moves in an unexpected direction, Andrews captures the characters’ interactions without dramatic excess. Andrews maintains a warm and reliable voice that rewards the listener who spends time with these three people and their choices.
