Cool news alert!
Audible
You can sign up right here at Audible.com/romanceme.
Before we reveal some of the package’s features, let’s discuss the most important part: price.
Now let’s talk features:
- Authors already include Nora Roberts, Sylvia Day, Jennifer Crusie, Jayne Ann Krentz, & more!
- You can browse by subgenres (referred to as “micro-genres”) and popular character/plot tropes. As Audible puts it, “Audible Romance identifies 32 micro-genres and 122 story and character tropes that will allow listeners to explore deep into the catalog in fun ways and discover the romance titles that most appeal to their interests. Each micro-genre will have its own search page, and listeners can enjoy audio samples from each title included before diving into the full story.”
- That’s right – you can still listen to audio samples before taking the plunge! (Phew!)
- TAKE ME TO THE GOOD PART feature: “This is a feature often requested by romance readers and listeners since they often go back to or jump forward to their favorite moments in romance novels. Audible has identified 10 sections, or “good parts” of the book that are most common for Romance readers, such as “flirty banter,” “first meeting,” and of course the “hot, hot, hot” moments.” This feature will start out on 100 titles and will be expanding to more.
- THE STEAMINESS METER feature: Gauge the romance and content of the book by using Audible Romance’s five-level meter that ranges romances from Sweet, Simmering, Sizzling, Hot Damn, and O-O-OMG.
Amanda: I’m really excited about this. I’m slowly starting to get into audiobooks, but I could never justify paying $15 a month for one audiobook credit. But with the prospect of having unlimited access to a romance catalog is highly appealing.
I suppose my concerns rest with what books will be on offer. I’m unsure if the variety will skew more toward Audible Originals or bestselling romances.
That being said, the unlimited aspect is perfect for romance readers, who often read/listen to a metric butt-ton of books. For me, the cost of a subscription is an easier pill to swallow and I love the feature of being able to search by subgenre and trope.
Count me in!
Sarah: Ages ago, when we still lived in New Jersey, I went to a PTA event at our old school and ended up sitting next to a gentleman who worked at Audible (they are headquartered in Newark). I asked that poor dude a thousand and a half questions, like how the software could keep track of where I am in an audiobook and can keep my place in an ebook at the same time, and what the reaction to the syncing feature had been. I bet he wished he’d sat next to someone else. (Kidding – he had a bunch of questions for me, too, as to how I as a reader used ebooks and audiobooks. Best PTA evening ever.)
Now I want to sit down with the folks who came up with this program because oh, my stars, I think this is brilliant. It’s a digital fortress of romance audiobook catnip and I can think of at least five people I know who would adore a membership like this one. I hope the Audible Romance servers are ready.
And we have a three month membership to give away, thanks to Audible!
Standard disclaimers apply: we are not being compensated financially for this giveaway, though we are also receiving one membership for internal use. That noise you hear is Amanda’s excitement. Please don’t be alarmed. Open to US residents age 18 and over. Must be ready to listen to all the good parts, start to finish. Void where prohibited. We recommend earbuds and crafting for your audiobook listening. Comments will close Monday, 6 November, at 12pm ET and a winner will be announced shortly afterward.
To enter, just leave a comment below! What you think of this new Audible option? Are you curious, too?
Thanks again to Audible for the membership! Please give your servers some cookies and tea.
WINNER UPDATE: Congratulations to CK! Be sure to check your email shortly!
We hope you all enjoy checking out the new Audible romance program!
This is pretty exciting and I love the feature where the reader can skip to the “good parts”. I have a very long commute, so this could be great!
I LOVE audiobooks. I saw this offer but but was a little skeptical. Thank you for spelling out for me(I’m training for a new job and a little fried.) Thanks for the chance of winning a trial.
Signed up this afternoon as soon as I heard about it. Had some of the books I wanted but some authors are only including the 1st book of each series which would then force you to buy the rest.
Great for me since I became blind 2 years ago and many of my favorite authors are not in The Talking Book program. My library district does not participate in Hoopla so this will save me from buying audible versions of ebooks I already have to avoid listening to that horrible text-to-speech voice.
Can borrow up to 10 books at a time. And the R on the upper right corner of the cover makes it easy for you to tell which books are part of the program if you are searching for specific authors.
The $6.95 price is definitely a bargain. I am currently listening to a book that was $7.49 to buy (because I already had the kindle version) and have the next 4 books in the series waiting to be listened to. That’s $37.45 I didn’t have to spend (as the 1st month is free) and the ability to finally read Nalini Singh’s Rock Kiss series.
I love audiobooks and I love this idea and I will likely check out the intro offer but let me tell you what I’m not loving about this rollout. The emphasis on SEX. The sexy celebrity narrators, the search terms that will being you to the good parts (seriously, do people buy a book to read only 10 -20 % of it?!) and the fact that it has spawned some truly infuriating internet articles.
I wrote a blogpost earlier today after I clicked a link and made myself crazy mad.
It’s here if anyone is interested. http://barklesswagmore.booklikes.com/post/1613249/audible-has-introduced-an-all-you-can-eat-romance-streaming-service
This sounds interesting but definitely need to dig a little deeper to see what qualifies as a romance. I already own a ton of audio books and would need to know there would be enough there to keep me coming back. Thanks for the information!
I’m excited to try this program! Browsing through the books offered, I saw many authors I’ve been wanting to sample.
I’ve been listening to my audio books while grocery shopping for ages but have also started listening on my commute in the morning/afternoon. This would totally get me through!
Eep! I just saw this news and was thrilled! I listen to audiobooks as close to 24/7 as humanly possible, and I re-listen to the same ones, too (because, money). I find it so calming to fall asleep to romance, and I listen on my hour-plus commute, and I listen on my daily walk, and at the gym, and while running errands, etc. Dying to try this because I’m definitely curious as to the selection. It could be hit or miss, but I think the way I use audiobooks (where it doesn’t have to be the newest or most exciting book) could mesh well with this option. In all of my waxing poetic about audiobooks I’ve forgotten what I was supposed to comment here, but I am excited to try it!
This arms pretty interesting but I do agree it really depends on what’s offered in the catalog. I guess time will tell!
This sounds fantastic! I find that with my new, shorter commute I can’t read as many books as I used to – but I glom up those audiobooks. This would be a great addition to my day!
I just tried out an Audible membership for a couple of months. I like being able to pick a book and start listening but just couldn’t justify $15 for one book when so many audiobooks are available through my local libraries.
I’m interested in the library they’ll have available with this new program.
I’ve long been Audible-curious but I’m a complete cheapskate and the price for individual titles seemed so high. Unlimited for a flat fee is exactly what I’ve been hoping for from them.
I haven’t been able to justify the $15 per month as I devour aydiobooks like crazy…I’d love to try this. Hoping it turns out better than the kindle unlimited “deals” that proved useless to me.
Sounds great.
Oh. This could be delightful if they have the good stuff.
It all depends on the catalog, I want to know were they draw the line with what is a romance, i wonder if nora Roberts includes Anything published under jd robb.
Love audible, V excited about this!
This is intriguing to me. I’ve just started listening to audiobooks, so this might work.
Thanks!
I am SUPER curious about this because I’m late to the audible party.I “listened” to my first audio book about two years ago and then had about a year gap to the next. Now I really like to listen to books whenever I get the chance.
I’m intrigued? I love audiobooks.
I’m a dedicated Audible member–love my audiobooks. I am really intrigued by this option and would love to try it out!
Perfect
Hmmm. I definitely have to look into this. I listen a lot more than I read, since I spend so much time stuck in traffic. Audible is pricey and I really don’t want to add a second subscription because I mostly listen to romance. OTOH, my new vehicle doesn’t have a CD player because the assumption seems to be everyone streams everything these days, which means it’s pretty much Audible or nothing for me. Hmmmm.
I listen to audiobooks all the time. I am intrigued what the selection of audiobooks will be.
Yup.. just put my Audible on hold, now I’m going for this option with my KU!!
Awesome giveaway!!
I’m really not sure if this is an awesome idea or a wast of money. On the fence!
This is a great idea. Of course, it all depends on the titles included. I listen to audio books every day, but have stopped being able to purchase them since Amazon jacked up the prices. This might just do the trick. Thanks for the chance to try it out!
I am excited to see the selection!
Would love it! I enjoy very specific genre and find myself searching for said books for days until I find the right ones.
I’ve been am Audible subscriber for years so of course i am going to give this a try.When I first heard it I thought that it sounded amazing. I consume most books in audio these days.
I’m a kindle unlimited subscriber so this works for me. I want some listening material while going thru chemo.
This is crazy! I think it has the potential to be great, but I’m also skeptical of the quality of books that will be available. Worth checking out either way!
I’m really curious about it. Audiobooks are everything
I’m really curious about it. Audiobooks are everything ❤️
I’m really curious about it. Audiobooks are everything ❤️
I’m really curious about that. Audiobooks are everything ❤️
I’m intrigued, but wonder how such a thing would cut into my podcast listening.
I used my Audible subscription a lot when I commuted. So nice to spend your time listening to a book rather than talk radio! Now I don’t use it as much as I once did.
One concern is the choices available for books. Will there be enough top authors. Will I actually want to rent a book for $7 a month in addition to the book I already “buy” each month with my credit and the audiobooks I can get from my library?
I’d love to win this trial subscription so I could really test it out.
I love Audible and have hundreds of audio books on my ipod. Most are romances,so this sounds amazing.