Hi readers, Happy New Year! 🍾
This post is coming to you from tiny cabin somewhere in the state of NC! 🌲
I’m wrapping up the year with one more adventure and one more blog post! 🕛
Shall we look at what books were released recently? 😍
Here’s a list of Austenesque Novel Finds for December 2023 for your perusing pleasure! 📚
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Austenesque Novel Finds – December 2023
Austenesque Boxsets
Austenesque Audiobooks
An Angel in Her Pocket: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Brenda Webb
Hearts Entwined: A Pride and Prejudice Vagary by Melissa Anne
Mr Darcy’s Runaway: A Pride & Prejudice Variation by Martine Jane Roberts
The Accidental Letter: A Novella Based on Pride and Prejudice by Melissa Anne
The Adventures of Miss Anne de Bourgh of Rosings: A Pride and Prejudice Prequel to Mr. Darcy’s Bookshop: Pride & Prejudice Variations by Summer Hanfor
The Trouble with Friends: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Kelly Miller
Traces of Magic: Mr. Darcy’s Magic, Book 3 by Monica Fairview
Authors Releasing Audiobooks with Virtual Voice
This looks like something new that is available and it created an ENORMOUS amount of Audiobook releases, so much that this list would be 120+ books longer if I included them all.
I thought it would be a little overwhelming – and MASSIVELY time consuming if I included them all in this list. So for this month I thought I’d just list the authors who have released new Virtual Voice Audiobooks for most/all of their catalogue.
Bella Breen Carrie Mollenkopf Demi Monde Jenni James Melanie Schertz
* I’m not sure what I should do in the future. Would you weigh in please?
Do you want me to continue to share Audiobook releases?
Should I separate Audiobooks with a Narrator and those with Virtual Voice?
Would you mind if this list was super long with lots of Audiobooks?
Austenesque Works Under 100 Pages
Austenesque Works In Other Languages
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There are 5️⃣4️⃣ new Austenesque releases for the month of December!
So many lovely gifts this month!
🎄 It’s a Christmas Miracle – I’ve read 3️⃣ books from this list!
🎄 I am excited to have
🎄 And there are a few others that I am thinking to put on my wishlist.
Poor Mary Bennet, either married to a parson, a clerk, and now a lesbian
Happy New Year, Meredith!
I’d like to read MJ Stratton’s christmas novellas but I think I’ll leave them for next Christmas (there’s no time enough for all interesting JAFF!)
And, speaking of audiobooks with virtual voice…well, first thing, as you said, it’s an overwhelming task to compile such amount of new type of audiobooks, and besides, I think it’s a good thing to support professional narrators like Stevie Zimmerman and the other real people because they have the skills to performance the reading in a satisfying way while virtual voice…well, maybe it’s not worth taking such an effort, Meredith, so I don’t mind if you only put audiobooks with a narrator leaving the others or just naming some authors who use this new way as you have done in this post.
A big hug!
Enjoy your time at the cabin. I’ve read one of the books and have 2 on my TBR.
Happy New Year, Meredith!
I love your lists but I would find it difficult to be overwhelmed by long lists of VV/AI narrated audiobooks that I am never going to listen to. I also feel we should be supporting our amazing narrators with their contributions as well as the authors who invest so much to get their audiobooks made with human narration that these should be profiled separately still. I have my own very personal views against VV/AI but that’s another point and not what you asked for here.
I agree with Teresa and Tasha – only professional narrators are worth your effort. They deserve to be featured.
Hi Meredith and Happy New Year!! Thank you for your new release lists. I always enjoy seeing what new books are coming out. I do agree with Tasha Barefield on the AI narrated books. I’ve only listened to one (I had the ebook and thought I’d listen to the AI version). Needless to say, I did not enjoy the narration and I also want to support human narrated books which are so much better. Personally, I think the VV/AI list would be overwhelming for not only you but readers. My vote would be to only include the list of audiobooks with human narrators. Thanks so much for all you do to support the JAFF community. –Leslie
More Books! Yay! Oh, dear… I need more time!!Thanks for showing me at lease a dozen i had no idea about. Blessing in the new year, Meredith. Everyone who follows your blog loves you. Oh, and I love your Christmas decorations in the banner above your post. They are so pretty. Happy New Year!
Happy New Year! So many wonderful suggestions. I’m happy to say I’ve read and listened to a few this time around. Thanks for all of your hard work. ♫
Happy New Year, Meredith, and thank you so much for compiling these lists! I think the way you handled the AI-narrated audiobooks in this post is fine; this way the audiobooks brought to life by hard-working and talented human narrators are highlighted. 🙂
I vote to not list AI releases, whether novels or audiobooks (I think one of the novels listed is AI). They just aren’t the same. Essentially, the true work and creativity has been cut out of the process, and all the buyer is getting is a hollow shell compared to the real thing.
I too have read three of the books that came out this month, and all three were really good books! JAFF is, for the most part, high quality. We mustn’t let AI dissolve that.
I second this!
In a very busy month, got five reads from your list done in December, two of which were audiobooks. I’m with the no AI group, whether it be books or audiobooks. Human voices and are the only ones I will ever listen to. I am always disappointed when I see AI supported with respect to any form of the creative arts.
Happy New Year, Meredith. I have only read 4 of the books listed. Thanks for sharing the list.
I agree with everyone who has voted against AI – I only will read and listen to books by human authors and spoken by human narrators – as a mechanical engineer, I endorse robotics and AI in appropriate applications, but the sacred worlds of Jane Austen and classic films are NOT included (IMHO) – and thank you, JAFFers, for indulging my rant!
Happy New Year and thanks once again Meredith. I’m with others in not wishing to read AI books (I don’t have audiobooks) how can you tell which are AI?
So far I’ve read two of these and have a few others in my list. I will check out the rest.
Thank you for the lists! I frequently base my reading from them. I am with the no-AI books or audiobooks. While I appreciate that AI enables these authors to have their books in another format, I think we should support our very talented human narrators. Plus, humans are more pleasant to listen to.
Thank you once again, and always, for compiling these lists for us each month. We all benefit so much. As usual I see books I hadn’t caught wind of yet and may somehow have missed completely if they hadn’t shown up on your lists. That’s a service not just to we the readers, but the authors and booksellers too. In other words, you are a gem!
I’m reading Spellbound at Pemberley right now, and there’s about ten (10) from the list above I must read, about that many I’d like to read, and some I will maybe go back and read if I see their name mentioned on the blogs, etc., I go to. I really hate saying that last part but I cannot read enough in a month to get all the new ones.
I’m weighing in with the NO AI narration audiobooks listed, but I DO really appreciate the human narrated audiobooks being part of your monthly report. The fact that these audiobooks are flooding the offerings at Audible is disturbing. I feel for the authors making those decisions, but I can’t support that.
This past year has been an incredible one for excellent JAFF books being published. It’s sometimes overwhelming. I want to read all my favorite authors’ new books, and all the new authors that look so intriguing. Help!