Natural Beauty
A Novel
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Natural Beauty
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Narrated by:
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Carolyn Kang
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By:
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Ling Ling Huang
About this listen
Winner of the Lambda Literary Award in Bisexual Fiction
Longlisted for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel
Sly, surprising, and razor-sharp, Natural Beauty follows a young musician into an elite, beauty-obsessed world where perfection comes at a staggering cost.
Our narrator produces a sound from the piano no one else at the Conservatory can. She employs a technique she learned from her parents—also talented musicians—who fled China in the wake of the Cultural Revolution. But when an accident leaves her parents debilitated, she abandons her future for a job at a high-end beauty and wellness store in New York City.
Holistik is known for its remarkable products and procedures—from remoras that suck out cheap Botox to eyelash extensions made of spider silk—and her new job affords her entry into a world of privilege and gives her a long-awaited sense of belonging. She becomes transfixed by Helen, the niece of Holistik’s charismatic owner, and the two strike up a friendship that hazily veers into more. All the while, our narrator is plied with products that slim her thighs, smooth her skin, and lighten her hair. But beneath these creams and tinctures lies something sinister.
A piercing, darkly funny debut, Natural Beauty explores questions of consumerism, self-worth, race, and identity—and leaves readers with a shocking and unsettling truth.
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A Good Morning America Buzz Pick
A New York Times Editors’ Choice
One of WIRED's Best Books of 2023
A SELF Well-Read Book Club Pick
One of the New York Post's "best new books to read"
One of Bustle's “36 Best New Books Of Spring & Summer 2023”
One of the New York Public Library's "Engrossing Thrillers To Put Into Your Beach Bag This Summer"
Featured in Book Riot’s “25 Best Horror Books of 2023”
One of Powell’s Books “Hot Book Summer” recommendations
One of Katie Couric Media’s “13 Books by AAPI Authors To Read This May and Beyond”
An April LibraryReads Pick
“Her talents…harmonize most seamlessly when she writes about music, managing the near-impossible feat of crafting descriptions of the compositions that are as airy and adroit as the melodies themselves. And she is at her best when she skewers the narcissistic, corrosive version of self-care that can be mistaken for empowerment…The novel is a meditation on vanity, the ways in which the pursuit of physical beauty can betray the other sources of beauty in one’s life, and how horror can lurk beneath the surface of even the most poreless skin.”–Jazmine Hughes, The New York Times Book Review
“Absorbing . . . Natural Beauty starts out frothy, offering an enticing dip into how tech could beautify and perfect our bodies and faces in the near future . . . It quickly veers into subversive horror, turning into a cautionary tale on societal themes we’re currently seeing IRL.”–Vogue
“The promise of self-improvement is darkly seductive. In Ling Ling Huang’s Natural Beauty […] a former pianist working at a biotech-funded wellness store initially thrills at her regimen’s effects (defined eyelids, opalescent skin). By the end, her dismissal of rigid aesthetics is what lingers: ‘That fine line between beauty and ugliness, ripeness and rot, is what keeps an audience listening with held breath.’”—Vanity Fair, “The Pursuit of Beauty Fuels a Dark Streak in Fiction”
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- Essays
- By: Bassey Ikpi
- Narrated by: Bassey Ikpi
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 405
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 360
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 360
In I’m Telling the Truth, but I’m Lying, Bassey Ikpi explores her life - as a Nigerian-American immigrant, a black woman, a slam poet, a mother, a daughter, an artist - through the lens of her mental health and diagnosis of bipolar II and anxiety. Her remarkable memoir in essays implodes our preconceptions of the mind and normalcy as Bassey bares her own truths and lies for us all to behold with radical honesty and brutal intimacy.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Full, poignant, purposeful
- By Bree on 08-21-19
By: Bassey Ikpi
-
The Unit
- By: Ninni Holmqvist
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 134
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 99
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 100
When Dorrit Wegner turned fifty, the government transferred her to a state-of-the-art facility where she can live out her days in comfort. Her apartment is furnished to her tastes, her meals expertly served, and all at the very reasonable non-negotiable price of one cardiopulmonary system. Once an outsider without family, derided by a society bent on productivity, Dorrit finds within The Unit the company of kindred spirits and a dignity conferred by 'use' in medical tests.
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3 out of 5 stars
-
Makes you think
- By Sylvia on 01-30-11
By: Ninni Holmqvist
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No One Knows Us Here
- A Novel
- By: Rebecca Kelley
- Narrated by: Merritt Hicks
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 137
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 124
-
Story3.5 out of 5 stars 122
Rosemary Rabourne is already struggling to pay the bills when her recently orphaned half sister, Wendy, shows up at her door. Rosemary will try anything to provide for the traumatized teenager—including offering her services as a high-end escort. Leo Glass is the billionaire CEO of a revolutionary social app. He wants the “girlfriend experience”—someone contractually obligated to love him—and he thinks he’s found the perfect match in Rosemary.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Good but not uplifting story
- By Kim on 08-02-23
By: Rebecca Kelley
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Woman, Eating
- A Literary Vampire Novel
- By: Claire Kohda
- Narrated by: Jane Lui
- Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 93
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 79
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 78
Lydia is hungry. She's always wanted to try Japanese food. Sashimi, ramen, onigiri with sour plum stuffed inside - the food her Japanese father liked to eat. And then there is bubble tea and iced-coffee, ice cream and cake, and foraged herbs and plants, and the vegetables grown by the other young artists at the London studio space she is secretly squatting in. But, Lydia can't eat any of these things. Her body doesn't work like those of other people.
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2 out of 5 stars
-
Really wanted to like it.
- By Emily Nigh on 07-21-22
By: Claire Kohda
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Black & White
- By: Dani Shapiro
- Narrated by: Marguerite Gavin
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 59
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 40
Clara Brodeur has spent her entire adult life pulling herself away from her famous mother, the renowned and controversial photographer Ruth Dunne, whose towering reputation rests on the unsettling nude portraits she took of her young daughter from the ages of three to 14. As Clara charts a path connecting her childhood with her adult life, Shapiro's novel weaves together past and present in images as stark and intense as the photographs that tore the Dunnes apart.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
It was okay
- By Lucy7 on 02-13-19
By: Dani Shapiro
-
The Time Traveler's Wife
- By: Audrey Niffenegger
- Narrated by: Fred Berman, Phoebe Strole
- Length: 17 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 13,752
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 10,215
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 10,234
Clare and Henry have known each other since Clare was six and Henry was 36. They were married when Clare was 23 and Henry was 31. Impossible but true, because Henry is one of the first people diagnosed with Chrono-Displacement Disorder: periodically his genetic clock resets and he finds himself misplaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity from his life, past and future. His disappearances are spontaneous, his experiences unpredictable, alternately harrowing and amusing.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
One of my favorite books
- By Joey on 01-13-08
-
The Red Address Book
- By: Sofia Lundberg, Alice Menzies - translator
- Narrated by: Xe Sands
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 590
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 533
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 532
The global fiction sensation - published in 32 countries around the world: Meet Doris, a 96-year-old woman living alone in her Stockholm apartment. She has few visitors, but her weekly Skype calls with Jenny - her American grandniece, and her only relative - give her great joy and remind her of her own youth. In writing down the stories of her colorful past - working as a maid in Sweden, modelling in Paris during the '30s, fleeing to Manhattan at the dawn of the Second World War - she may help Jenny, haunted by a difficult childhood, unlock the secrets of their family....
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
narrator was overwrought
- By Janet L. Hamilton on 02-22-19
By: Sofia Lundberg, and others
-
Private Relations
- By: Diane Chamberlain
- Narrated by: Karen White
- Length: 12 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 279
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 253
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 251
Welcome to the Chapel House, the old oceanfront mansion where a group of close friends share their hopes and dreams and where love is sometimes an unexpected guest. Heartfelt and deeply moving, Private Relations won the 1989 RITA Award for Best Single Title Contemporary Novel from the Romance Writers of America.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
What???
- By Kimberly K. Roberts on 06-12-18
-
Thin Girls
- A Novel
- By: Diana Clarke
- Narrated by: Jayme Mattler
- Length: 12 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 105
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 88
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 87
Rose and Lily Winters are twins, as close as the bond implies; they feel each other’s emotions, taste what the other is feeling. Like most young women, they’ve struggled with their bodies and food since childhood, and high school finds them turning to food - or not - to battle the waves of insecurity and the yearning for popularity. But their connection can be as destructive as it is supportive, a yin to yang. When Rose stops eating, Lily starts - consuming everything Rose won’t or can’t.
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3 out of 5 stars
-
nothing special
- By Drine on 10-11-20
By: Diana Clarke
-
In Session: Dr. Morgan Snow with Steve Berry's Cotton Malone, Lee Child's Jack Reacher & Barry Eisler's John Rain
- By: M. J. Rose
- Narrated by: Natalie Ross, Phil Gigante, Scott Brick, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 311
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 275
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 278
As a therapist specializing in sexual issues, psychiatrist Dr. Morgan Snow isn't easily shocked, or shaken, as readers of the popular "Butterfield Institute" novels know. There are times, however, when the need for her services leads her out of the office... and into unfamiliar worlds. In these stories, the therapist matches her wits -and her training - against three men of mystery: Jack Reacher, John Rain, and Cotton Malone.
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4 out of 5 stars
-
Labor of Love--
- By Kathryn on 11-05-11
By: M. J. Rose
-
Keeper of the Light
- Keeper Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Diane Chamberlain
- Narrated by: Arielle DeLisle
- Length: 14 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,864
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,697
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,692
Dr. Olivia Simon is on duty in the emergency room of North Carolina's Outer Banks Hospital when a gunshot victim is brought in. Midway through the desperate effort to save the young woman's life, Olivia realizes who she is - Annie O'Neill, the woman Olivia's husband, Paul, is in love with.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
I can't finish this...
- By Calmeridian Tink on 03-31-16
-
The Unbreakables
- A Novel
- By: Lisa Barr
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett
- Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 232
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 214
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 214
A delicious, sharp novel about a woman who jets off to France after her perfect marriage collapses, putting the broken pieces of herself back together while rediscovering her own joie de vivre - a lust for life, art, and steamy sex.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Could have been a good story
- By Leslie Francis on 12-24-20
By: Lisa Barr
-
Conversations with Friends
- A Novel
- By: Sally Rooney
- Narrated by: Aoife McMahon
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,836
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,422
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 2,422
Frances is a cool-headed and darkly observant young woman vaguely pursuing a career in writing while studying in Dublin. Her best friend and comrade-in-arms is the beautiful and endlessly self-possessed Bobbi. At a local poetry performance one night, Frances and Bobbi catch the eye of Melissa, a well-known photographer, and as the girls are then gradually drawn into Melissa's world, Frances is reluctantly impressed by the older woman's sophisticated home and tall, handsome husband, Nick.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting point of view; glad I listened!
- By Amazon Customer on 08-23-17
By: Sally Rooney
-
Love Walked In
- By: Marisa de los Santos
- Narrated by: Jennifer Ikeda
- Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 380
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 285
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 289
Award-winning poet Marisa de los Santos crafts an irresistibly touching debut novel. Love Walked In is a contemporary tale, steeped in nostalgic, cinematic charm, of love in all its forms. Unapologetically idealistic about love, Cornelia Brown appears to catch the break of a lifetime when the dashing Martin Grace, her own personal Cary Grant, comes strolling into her life. But it is Martin's connection to 11-year-old Clare Hobbes that touches Cornelia's heart in ways she never imagined.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Dreadful audio quality
- By Marenghi on 09-16-11
-
The Vine of Desire
- By: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 102
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 95
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 95
Anju and Sudha formed an astounding, almost psychic connection during their childhood in India. When Anju invites Sudha, a single mother in Calcutta, to come live with her and her husband, Sunil, in California, Sudha foolishly accepts, knowing full well that Sunil has long desired her. As Sunil's attraction rises to the surface, the trio must struggle to make sense of the freedoms of America - and of the ties that bind them to India and to one another.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Vine of desire
- By Mz Shantay on 03-27-21
-
Eat the Document
- By: Dana Spiotta
- Narrated by: Rachael Warren
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 64
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 53
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 54
In the heyday of the 1970s underground, Bobby DeSoto and Mary Whittaker - passionate, idealistic, and in love - design a series of radical protests against the Vietnam War. When one action goes wrong, the course of their lives is forever changed. The two must erase their past, forge new identities, and never see each other again. Now it is the 1990s. Mary lives in the suburbs with her 15-year-old son, who spends hours immersed in the music of his mother's generation.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great ensemble piece!
- By Buyer009 on 08-08-17
By: Dana Spiotta
-
Despite the Falling Snow
- By: Shamim Sarif
- Narrated by: Shamim Sarif
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 40
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 36
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 37
Now a major motion picture. After an early career amongst the political elite of Cold War Russia, Alexander Ivanov has lived in America for 40 years and has managed to bury the tragic memories surrounding his charismatic late wife, Katya - or so he believes. For into his life come two women - one who will start to open up the heart he has protected for so long; another who is determined to uncover the truth about what really happened to Katya all those years ago.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Beautiful snow fall
- By Mary findsplaces on 05-22-20
By: Shamim Sarif
-
Gone Again
- A Thriller
- By: Minka Kent
- Narrated by: Teri Schnaubelt, Gabra Zackman
- Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 261
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 238
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 237
On her fortieth birthday, Celia Guest has reason to celebrate. She has a loving marriage, a beautiful Connecticut home, and treasured friends. Celia has everything she’s ever wanted. But among the cards and well-wishes, she discovers a disturbing note: You don’t deserve any of this. Who could be so cruel, so resentful, so…knowing? Then, in the early morning hours, Celia vanishes without a trace.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Nothing really happens
- By A reader on 04-11-23
By: Minka Kent
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In the North of England, far from the intrusions of cities but not far from civilization, Silvie and her family are living as if they are ancient Britons, surviving by the tools and knowledge of the Iron Age. For two weeks, the length of her father’s vacation, they join an anthropology course set to reenact life in simpler times. The ancient Britons built ghost walls to ward off enemy invaders, rude barricades of stakes topped with ancestral skulls. When the group builds one of its own, they find a spiritual connection to the past. What comes next but human sacrifice?
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Remy and Alicia, a couple of insecure service workers, are not particularly happy together. But they are bound by a shared obsession with Jen, a beautiful former coworker of Remy’s who now seems to be following her bliss as a globe-trotting jewelry designer. In and outside the bedroom, Remy and Alicia's entire relationship revolves around fantasies of Jen, whose every Instagram caption, outfit, and new age mantra they know by heart. Imagine their confused excitement when they run into Jen, in the flesh, and she invites them on a surfing trip to the Hamptons.
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Jane Dorner has two modes: PR Jane, twenty-five, chummy, and eager to sell you a feminist vibrator or a self-care/bereavement subscription box; and Actual Jane, twenty-nine, drifting through mediocre workdays and lackluster dates while paralyzed by her crushing mountain of overdue medical bills. When her job performance is called into question, Jane’s last-ditch effort to preserve her livelihood and pay off her debt is to land a white whale of a client. Enter Cass and Tom—proprietors of a “wellness retreat” based out of a ramshackle country house that may or may not be giving off cult vibes.
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Such a great premise, but missed the mark.
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When Molly, home alone with her two young children, hears footsteps in the living room, she tries to convince herself it’s the sleep deprivation. She’s been hearing things these days. Startling at loud noises. Imagining the worst-case scenario. It’s what mothers do, she knows. But then the footsteps come again, and she catches a glimpse of movement. Suddenly Molly finds herself face-to-face with an intruder who knows far too much about her and her family. As she attempts to protect those she loves most, Molly must also acknowledge her own frailty.
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Horrible.
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Ren Yu is a swimmer. Her daily life starts and ends with the pool. Her teammates are her only friends. Her coach, her guiding light. If she swims well enough, she will be scouted, get a scholarship, go to a good school. Her parents will love her. Her coach will be kind to her. She will have a good life.
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Lydia is hungry. She's always wanted to try Japanese food. Sashimi, ramen, onigiri with sour plum stuffed inside - the food her Japanese father liked to eat. And then there is bubble tea and iced-coffee, ice cream and cake, and foraged herbs and plants, and the vegetables grown by the other young artists at the London studio space she is secretly squatting in. But, Lydia can't eat any of these things. Her body doesn't work like those of other people.
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Story3.5 out of 5 stars 33
A year into her dream job at a cutthroat Silicon Valley start-up, Cassie finds herself trapped in a corporate nightmare. Between the long hours, toxic bosses, and unethical projects, she also struggles to reconcile the glittering promise of a city where obscene wealth lives alongside abject poverty and suffering. Ivy League grads complain about the snack selection from a conference room with a view of unhoused people bathing in the bay. Start-up burnouts leap into the paths of commuter trains, and men literally set themselves on fire in the streets.
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2 out of 5 stars
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EG, Sorry to say it doesn't get any better
- By Alexis_Vandew on 08-18-23
By: Sarah Rose Etter
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I'm a Fan
- By: Sheena Patel
- Narrated by: Sheena Patel
- Length: 4 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 30
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 28
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Story3 out of 5 stars 28
Sheena Patel’s incandescent first novel begins with the unnamed narrator describing her involvement in a seemingly unequal romantic relationship. With a clear and unforgiving eye, she dissects the behavior of all involved, herself included, and makes startling connections between the power struggles at the heart of human relationships and those of the wider world. I’m a Fan offers a devastating critique of class, social media, patriarchy’s hold on us, and our cultural obsession with status and how that status is conveyed.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Razor sharp cultural commentary
- By E. Espinoza on 05-14-24
By: Sheena Patel
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Motherthing
- By: Ainslie Hogarth
- Narrated by: Adina Verson
- Length: 7 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 168
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 142
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Story4 out of 5 stars 142
When Ralph and Abby Lamb move in with Ralph’s mother, Laura, Abby hopes it’s just what she and her mother-in-law need to finally connect. After a traumatic childhood, Abby is desperate for a mother figure, especially now that she and Ralph are trying to become parents themselves. Abby just has so much love to give—to Ralph, to Laura, and to Mrs. Bondy, her favorite resident at the long-term care home where she works. But Laura isn’t interested in bonding with her daughter-in-law. She’s venomous and cruel, especially to Abby, and life with her is hellish.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Mixed feelings on this book.
- By April Ames-Harrison on 01-01-23
By: Ainslie Hogarth
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This Thing Between Us
- A Novel
- By: Gus Moreno
- Narrated by: Robb Moreira
- Length: 5 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 412
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 360
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Story4 out of 5 stars 360
It was Vera’s idea to buy the Itza. The “world’s most advanced smart speaker!” didn’t interest Thiago, but Vera thought it would be a bit of fun for them amidst all the strange occurrences happening in the condo. It made things worse. The cold spots and scratching in the walls were weird enough, but peculiar packages started showing up at the house - who ordered industrial lye? Then, there was the eerie music at odd hours, Thiago waking up to Itza projecting light shows in an empty room.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Unsure what I feel but it’s a lot
- By Liv Templeton on 12-01-21
By: Gus Moreno
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A Good Happy Girl
- By: Marissa Higgins
- Narrated by: Ellie Gossage
- Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3 out of 5 stars 5
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 5
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Story3 out of 5 stars 5
Helen, a jittery attorney with a self-destructive streak, is secretly reeling from a disturbing crime of neglect that her parents recently committed. Historically happy to compartmentalize—distracting herself by hooking up with lesbian couples, doting on her grandmother, and flirting with a young administrative assistant—Helen finally meets her match with Catherine and Katrina, a married couple who startle and intrigue her with their ever-increasing sexual and emotional intensity.
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2 out of 5 stars
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A good happy girl
- By Elizabeth Hall on 06-07-24
By: Marissa Higgins
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Death Valley
- A Novel
- By: Melissa Broder
- Narrated by: Melissa Broder
- Length: 5 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 62
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 54
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Story3.5 out of 5 stars 54
A woman arrives alone at a Best Western seeking respite from an emptiness that plagues her. She has fled to the California high desert to escape a cloud of sorrow—for both her father in the ICU and a husband whose illness is worsening. What the motel provides, however, is not peace but a path discovered on a nearby hike. Out along the sun-scorched trail, the narrator encounters a towering cactus whose size and shape mean it should not exist in California. Yet the cactus is there, with a gash through its side that beckons like a familiar door.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Broder is the perfect narrator!
- By Barbara S on 10-22-23
By: Melissa Broder
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All-Night Pharmacy
- A Novel
- By: Ruth Madievsky
- Narrated by: Moniqua Plante
- Length: 8 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 89
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 76
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Story3.5 out of 5 stars 76
On the night of her high school graduation, a young woman follows her older sister Debbie to Salvation, a Los Angeles bar patronized by energy healers, aspiring actors, and all-around misfits. After the two share a bag of unidentified pills, the evening turns into a haze of sensual and risky interactions—nothing unusual for two sisters bound in an incredibly toxic relationship. Our unnamed narrator has always been under the spell of the alluring and rebellious Debbie and, despite her own hesitations, she has always said yes to nights like these. That is, until Debbie disappears.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Good enough listen but not quite there
- By Caroline on 09-02-23
By: Ruth Madievsky
What listeners say about Natural Beauty
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- ferretk4
- 12-07-23
Moving, gruesome, beautiful
I just listened to the other “Beauty industry as horror” 2023 book, Rouge, and was worried that this would be very similar, but oh boy I should not have worried - this is an astoundingly unique book, and (at least for me) much deeper and more moving. It’s about beauty, yes, but also music and illness and ambition and parents and race and culture… all presented with suspense and gore and compelling writing, and with a great narrator.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 04-15-23
An excellent horror novel
I wasn't expecting a scathing critique of the beauty and wellness industry in a horror novel, but it was a pleasant surprise. This book took some absolutely wild turns; I can honestly say I had no idea where it was going next. The only reader I would not recommend it to are those who dislike body horror. I thought it was great, but if you're not into that you're going to have a bad time.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Kellie Ashbrook
- 01-23-24
Loved the creepy/sci fi aspects!
There are parts that I had to push through (chapter 11), but I think the slow burn is intentional and Id say its worth it. The writing is really beautiful and imaginative at times and I loved all the creepy/horror/sci-fi esque twists and turns.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Metta Nikki Weburg
- 05-27-24
Pleasantly surprised!
Bought this cause it said it was a Beauty horror and sounded interesting. The story was amazing! Body horror but not too disgusting. Definitely recommend!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Naomi
- 05-12-24
Bittersweet
Soft sci-fi horror that makes you think, remember, and consider what you value most in yourself and others. Deeply relatable and emotional, but also really disgusting and weird—in a good way.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Laura
- 10-31-24
Absolutely wild
This story starts out as a well-meaning adventure of a super talented pianist who studies at a conservatory and then has to take care of her immigrant parents so she gets a job at a fancy wellness company that gets SUPER WEIRD. And the weird parts are CRAZY. I don’t know how to say anything else about it without spoiling it. The writing was tight, and the imagery was impeccable and vivid. I gobbled it up in one sitting. Great narration. Great story!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amanda Stowers
- 05-31-23
Beautiful and Horrible
Exquisite juxtaposition of beauty and horror. A new Frankenstein for the near future. Very moving.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 01-15-24
The juxtaposition of beauty and and beauty
While, thought provoking and a mirrored image of our current beauty’s standards, the climax of the book fails to enthrall me. Relatable and a reminder of nurturing one’s own health, not for the standards of others but for the love of yourself and God.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Dawn
- 01-22-24
Beautiful, cultural and so weird, just loved it
Highly recommend! Such a thoughtful, interesting and beautifully sad listen. The narrator was perfect. I felt taken away to another place but yet the future portrayed is so familiar it makes this novel even even more devastating.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- QueeneB21
- 05-31-23
Science Fiction vs Concert Pianist
Weird well told story of the quest for beauty and immortality. I enjoyed and recommend.
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