Sunday, November 11, 2018

Is It Worth It: The Audible Romance Package


As someone who lives in L.A. and commutes about 2 hours round trip every day, I love a good audiobook. Since I spend so much time at work/driving to work, sometimes reading an audiobook is the only way I can get my reading in. As an audiobook lover, I of course have an Audible subscription (plus: shoutout to Libby for free audiobooks from the library!!!) and have heard tales of the famed Romance Package that Audible recently introduced. At the basic level, an Audible subscription, which is like $14, includes one free book a month and a discount on the library of audiobooks. The advantage of this service is that, if a book is on audio, it is usually on Audible. Although I love Libby, it is limited to whatever titles a library owns, and some popular titles have enormous waitlists, so I usually read new releases and popular titles on Audible. There are also so Audible-exclusive podcasts that I haven't listened to much, but they seem to be good quality and address a range of interests.

So that's the basics of Audible-- now, you may ask, what is the Romance Package??? For an extra $6.95 a month, subscribers get access to a huge selection of romance titles that are categorized in really user friendly ways. You can browse by Romance Category (historical, urban fantasy, etc.), Character Types (viscounts, vampires, etc.), Story Themes (pick your trope catnip), and, ahem, Steaminess (self-explanatory, right?). Disclaimer: not every romance title available on Audible is part of the package. Nonetheless, there are a ton of options and, get this, you can listen to unlimited titles within the package. Say what??? Romance readers have put other subscription services out of business, so I have no idea how Audible is making this happen but I'm not one to question a good thing. Still, paying for an extra service can be annoying so I decided to do the one month free trial to see if it's worth it. Here's what I've found out.

Navigating the Romance Package
At first glance, it seems like there aren't that many books that are part of the package, especially through the Audible app. However, there are a ton of books available and you just have to dig a little to find them. I think browsing the website version is a little easier than the app version, or even just searching authors I like, sometimes I'm surprised to find that they have books that I can listen to as part of the subscription. Sometimes entire series are available, or almost every book except one or two is part of the package. So if at first it seems like there aren't a lot of choices, don't be discouraged. This isn't one of those situations where only the books that you wouldn't read anyway are available for free, there are actually solid titles to borrow. Admittedly, you do have to do some searching to find titles if you don't have a specific one in mind, as the curated lists aren't very long. This is kind of a draw-back, but there are literally thousands of choices so I can see why they can't all fit on a list.

Romance Nerd Features
I love that the website seems to have been put together with a true romance nerd in mind! You can search by trope, by steaminess, and more; I personally love a friends to lovers romance or (even better) a fake relationship, and I love that I can search for books this way. The designers who put together the content really did their research into what romance readers are looking for when it comes to browsing books.

Recommended Romance Package Titles

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang; narrated by Carly Robins

One of my favorite reads of 2018, The Kiss Quotient is a must-listen available through the Romance Package. Data-minded math whiz Stella Lane loves her work but is ready to take the next step in her personal life: practice romance until she's competent enough to ask out her co-worker, who seems like a logical choice. Stella's Asberger's has always gotten in the way of her past relationships, so she figures hiring a professional - a male escort - will help her sort out some of her hang-ups with making out and sex. Turns out, her male escort is super hot, super patient Michael Phan, and her carefully laid plans are turned upside down. I loved the relationship between Stella and Michael, but also Michael's big family and learning about his troubled past. This book was equal parts funny and romantic. The steaminess level is rated Hot Damn and I found the narration to be well-acted and engaging.

The Heiress Effect by Courtney Milan; narrated by Rosalyn Landor

To be honest, I recommend this entire series and lucky for you it's all available in the Romance Package, but this just happens to be my favorite in the series. Miss Jane Fairfield wears what society views to be unfortunate gowns (they sound kind of awesome) and always says embarrassing things, and hopes to avoid marriage at all costs to protect her sister. The hero, Mr. Oliver Marshall, is a bastard who must maintain a facade of perfect despite his inner disdain for the social injustices in English society. When they come together, they are both flawed but also they are the first people to really see each other in a long time. I love their story, and the narrator does an excellent job with the humor of Milan's writing. Rated as Sizzling.

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder; narrated by Gabra Zackman

If fantasy romance is more your thing and you're like me and are 10 years behind reading books on your TBR, I recommend the Study series starting with Poison Study. Most of the series is available through the Romance Package as well. In the first book of the series, Yelena, a prisoner, is offered an exchange of her death sentence for a new death sentence, that of a poison taster for the Commander of Ixia. Set in a land where everyone has a role, a uniform, and a part to play in society, and where magic is outlawed, Yelena learns the art of poison tasting from Valek, an infamous assassin, and becomes entangled in political plots, confronts an old enemy, and has a little time for romance in between. I liked Gabra Zackman's narration, especially how she differentiated each characters voices.

So . . . is it worth it?
If you're a hardcore romance reader, definitely, yes. For me, whenever a book I'm waiting on from the library isn't available or if I just want a quick read without spending hours agonizing over my TBR, having the option to just see what's new in the Romance Package and start a new book is really convenient. As far as the costs, I think if you are are a regular reader of audiobooks and you already subscribe to Audible, it's worth it. With the regular membership, you only get one free book a month and this package is half the price but you get way more free books so to me it's a win. I don't see myself canceling my subscription anytime soon. So if you're on the fence but you find yourself buying romance audiobooks beyond your free credits, I would recommend this add-on.

Happy reading (and listening)!

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