12 of the Best Fantasy Books available on Audible

What's your favorite medium when it comes to consuming books? I prefer ebooks for three reasons:

1. I have a whole library with me at all times. So if the book I'm reading ends up being disappointing (as it happens from time to time), I DNF (or give it a break for now) and pick up a new title at the drop of a hat. Or, hear me out, if I just finished a good book and it's part of a series, I can pick the sequel immediately. It doesn't matter where I am when that happens. Whether I'm in the waiting room at my doctor's office, during the commute, in the passenger's seat while my husband is driving, on the beach, or cuddled on the couch with a cup of tea and my kindle, the next book is so easily accessible unless you run out of battery. Always keep your ereader charged.

2. I'm not a native English speaker, so occasionally, I come across a word I don't know. I love the search word function. Even though I can usually get the gist of it from the context, I love getting all the facts. It's a wonderful way to expand your vocabulary.

3. I have small hands. Don't laugh, but fantasy books tend to be larger and thus heavier than most other genres. Although I miss the feel and the smell of paper, I prefer reading ebooks. Not to mention they're also more cost-effective. The downside is that you can't adorn your shelves with all the fantastic ebooks you've read.

But then audiobooks are my second favorite medium to catch up with my reading list, especially since running errands and doing chores is infinitely more pleasant if I'm listening to a good story. At the end of this blog post, you'll find more interesting things about audiobooks, but now let's get straight into book recommendations.

Here's a list of great fantasy books that are also available on Audible, in no particular order.

1. The Final Empire: Mistborn Book One

A thousand years ago evil came to the land and has ruled with an iron hand ever since. The sun shines fitfully under clouds of ash that float down endlessly from the constant eruption of volcanoes. A dark lord rules through the aristocratic families and ordinary folk are condemned to lives in servitude, sold as goods, labouring in the ash fields.

2. Magic Triumphs

Kate has come a long way from her origins as a loner taking care of paranormal problems in post-Shift Atlanta. She’s made friends and enemies. She’s found love and started a family with Curran Lennart, the former Beast Lord. But her magic is too strong for the world's power players to let her be.

3. The Evil Queen

Far, far away, in the realm of Enchantia, creatures of legend still exist, magic is the norm and fairy tales are real. Except, fairy tales aren’t based on myths and legends of the past—they are prophecies of the future.

4. Name of The Wind

'I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep.

5. Outlander

The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is just back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach—an “outlander”—in a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of Our Lord...1743.

6. The Bear and The Nightingale

At the edge of the Russian wilderness, winter lasts most of the year and the snowdrifts grow taller than houses. But Vasilisa doesn't mind—she spends the winter nights huddled around the embers of a fire with her beloved siblings, listening to her nurse's fairy tales. 

7. Shatter Me

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days. The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl.

8. City of Bones

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder? much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. 

9. Red Queen

This is a world divided by blood—red or silver. The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change. That is until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace

10. The Cruel Prince

Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

11. From Blood and Ash

Chosen from birth to usher in a new era, Poppy’s life has never been her own. The life of the Maiden is solitary. Never to be touched. Never to be looked upon. Never to be spoken to. Never to experience pleasure. Waiting for the day of her Ascension, she would rather be with the guards, fighting back the evil that took her family, than preparing to be found worthy by the gods. But the choice has never been hers.

12. A Deal with the Elf King

Three-thousand years ago, humans were hunted by powerful races with wild magic until the treaty was formed. Now, for centuries, the elves have taken a young woman from Luella's village to be their Human Queen. The elves come for two things: war and wives. In both cases, they come for death.

Advantages of listening to audiobooks

1. Audiobooks improve time management.

My second favorite format is audiobooks, and Audible from Amazon is the most popular audiobook provider. I love reading. For me, it's more than entertainment. I think losing myself in magic worlds, going to battle against supernatural creatures, solving mysteries, and falling in love with fictional characters, does wonders for my mental well-being. But we live at such a high pace that finding time to sit down and read can be challenging. You want to have it all: have a social life, have a career, have a family, be organized, be active, do this, do that. We always want to do more, but the day still has only 24 hours. Audiobooks are great for multitasking. Some days I don't have time to read traditionally. But I do many tasks on autopilot and don't require my full attention, so I put my headphones on and catch up with my stories. My favorite times to listen to books on Audible are when I'm cooking, cleaning, folding laundry, or ironing, and sometimes even when I'm working out.

2. Do audiobooks count as reading?

Don't listen to the ney sayers who claim that audiobooks are not the same as reading. There was a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience where researchers from the Gallant Lab at UC Berkeley scanned the brains of nine participants while they read and listened. The study's conclusion stipulated that the stories stimulated the same cognitive and emotional areas, regardless of their medium. 

3. Audiobooks are good for your eyes.

No. They don't improve your vision. That's called hindsight. But we spend countless hours surrounded by screens at work and home: computer, television, tablet, and phone. That leads to eye strain and maybe long-term vision problems.

4. A boon for the visually impaired

Audiobooks can make life easier for people with disabilities. I believe utilizing this reading format is incredibly valuable to blind or visually impaired people. Everyone should be able to enjoy literature and today's technology makes it easier than ever.

If you haven't tried audiobooks before, check out Audible's current offer. They usually offer at least one month free.