Audiobooks 10/15

In a magical world reminiscent of Regency England, Beatrice Claybourn wants nothing more than to be practice magic as a profession. But in this society, women are fitted with a collar that will cut off their powers as soon as they’re wed—and wed thus must. When Beatrice locates a rare grimoire that will help grant her wish to do magic, another sorceress swoops in and take the book right out from under her. Beatrice strikes a bargain with a spirit to get the grimoire back, one that ends with her kissing the stealing sorceress’ very attractive brother. Beatrice is faced with an impossible choice: does she give into love, wed this lovely man, and in doing so safe her family from penury at the cost of her hopes and dreams? Or does she follow her heart and turn her back on everyone she loves?

Read by Moira Quirk (The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley, Gideon the Ninth and Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir)

I had to sneak in at least *once* witchy read, and this one comes to us from the author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January (go read that one too!). It’s 1893 in New Salem and witchcraft is a thing of the past. But when the Eastwood sisters join a group of local suffragists, they find themselves tapping into the old ways to change the course of history.

Read by Gabra Zackman (I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara, Sadie by Courtney Summers, Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage)

This dark fantasy historical novella puts a supernatural twist on the Ku Klux Klan, as if it weren’t already scary enough! The regular ol’ awful human racists are known as “Klans,” and hiding among them are literal, actual demons known as “Ku Kluxes” who ride across the nation spewing fear and violence. Maryse Boudreaux and her fellow resistance fighters are on a mission to hunt those that hunt them armed with blade, bullet, and bomb. Then Maryse senses something awful brewing in Macon, and the war on Hell is about to reach a whole new level of terror.

Read by Channie Waites (The Black God’s Drums by P. Djeli Clark, I’m Not Dying with You Tonight by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal, Dactyl Hill Squad by Daniel Jose Older)

Some know Kwame Onwuachi as a contestant on Top Chef, but there is so much more to his fascinating story. By age 27, he’d both opened and closed Shaw Bijou, one of the buzziest fine-dining establishments in America. This restaurant was the embodiment of his culinary vision. From the flavors on his menu to the lighting fixtures and the diversity of his kitchen staff, Onwuachi poured his very soul into executing every element of that vision to perfection. And just like that, it was gone.

To get to that moment in Onwuachi’s journey, he takes us back to his childhood in the Bronx where he learned to cook in his mother’s kitchen. We follow him when he’s sent to Nigeria to “earn respect,” and when he returns to the US and succumbs to the allure of the streets. Even in his lowest moments—blaming himself for his parents’ separation, enduring his father’s violent temper, dealing and spiraling in his drug use—food remains a constant. It is eventually the thing that pulls him out of his haze and redirects the course of his life as a truly talented and intuitive chef.

His food is a mouth-watering mix of familiar and inventive (do not read this while hungry), from his mother’s étouffée to his gourmet riff on steak and eggs (several recipes are included much to my delight). But it’s Onwuachi’s resilience in the face of so much adversity, some of his own creation and a lot of it systemic, that leaps off the page. He is honest with himself and us as readers about his mistakes and shortcomings while also confronting the racism pervasive in the restaurant space. You might go into the book expecting to grieve the loss of his restaurant, and you will for a moment. But you’ll also recognize that Onwuachi is the definition of hustle, that the closing of one door was indeed the opening of another.

This very candid memoir wasn’t just a breath of fresh air and an explosion of flavor, it was a state of the union of sorts regarding the culinary world’s treatment of people of color and a call for the industry to change. It’s read by Onwuachi, which you already know I’m here for; his narration was so natural, and filled with the care you just know he puts into his food.

TW: child abuse