Listen Up: 3 Amazing February Fantasy Audiobooks for Your TBR!

Narrator: Antonia Salib

Leena Al-Sayer has a terrible secret: she can see the dead. This is not something she shares with those around her, afraid she will be locked up if she mentions this to anyone. But when Leena needs money to buy the very expensive medication required to save her dying brother’s life, she realizes her unwelcome gift can serve one purpose. The Saint of Shadows, a dark merchant feared by all, trades in secrets. Unwilling to let the rumors about the Saint frighten her, Leena finds him, and they come to an arrangement: he asks her to find the ghost of the last lord of Weavingshaw in exchange for the money to buy the medication. If Leena fails, her brother will die, and she will be bound to the Saint forever. So, no pressure. As Leena and the Saint search for the ghost, the dark things that surround Weavingshaw try to keep her for their own, and she must fight not only the supernatural forces around her but her growing attraction to the Saint of Shadows.

Narrator: Genevieve Cocke

What’s better than a book that features cats? A book that features cats and magic! This delightful feline-filled fantasy is set in Montréal in the 1920s, in an alternate world where magic exists. Agnes Aubert runs a shelter where she finds homes for street cats, which is neither a lucrative nor an often-frequented establishment. And when a magician battle in the street damages the shelter, she is forced to find a new rental for the fifty cats that await adoption.

Unsurprisingly, landlords don’t want to rent out a space to be filled with so many cats—until Agnes stumbles upon a suitable space with a friendly gentleman who is more than happy to give her and the cats a home. She knows that it must come with a catch, but she’s desperate. It’s not until the shelter is attacked by a magician that Agnes discovers the friendly man who rented her the place is actually the apprentice to Havelock, the most feared magician in all the world, and that he hides himself away downstairs, where he sells illegal magical items.

Not wanting to have to move again, Agnes makes a deal with Havelock: she will pretend she doesn’t know what is going on downstairs so she doesn’t have to relocate, and he will keep her and the cats safe from any more attacks. But the intruder magician is not to be deterred, and they will have to work together to find a solution that permanently solves both their problems. Cue the forced proximity music!

Narrators: Rory Barnett and Imogen Church

This might be my favorite audiobook of February! It’s like an unhinged buddy comedy, but the buddies both reside in the same body. Professor Sebastian Grave is a monster hunter who hides a secret: he has a monster of his own. Sarmodel is a demon who has been residing inside him for a very long time, helping Sebastian with his arcane works, and snacking on human essence and the occasional heart. Two decades ago, the duo attempted to kill the Beast of Gévaudan in France…and failed. Now, the Beast is back, and Sebastian is obligated to fulfill his contract, so he (and Sarmodel) must travel back to France to finish the job. That’s no fun, because Sebastian nearly died the first time, and the new trip will reopen old wounds and put him directly into danger once again. Not to mention, he has to leave the succubus in his employ alone in his estate to possibly cause all kinds of trouble while he’s gone. (The succubus also narrates some of the book, and she is an absolute scream.) As a HUGE fan of Gideon the Ninth, this novel is finally the kind of unhinged, dark adventure I have been craving while we wait for more Muir. Also, narrator Rory Bennet voices Sarmodel like a French Peter Lorre, and it’s *chef’s kiss*.

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