If you’re an avid audiobook girly, you’re probably familiar with fan favorite narrators Neil Gaiman, Stephen Fry, Simon Vance, and Jim Dale. They’re popular voice actors whose most notable works are in the science fiction or fantasy genres, like the Harry Potter series, for example. Davina Porter, who narrated Diana Gabaldon’s “Outlander” series, and “Bridgerton” star Adjoa Andoh, who’s known for narrating “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen, are also super popular.
But we have an important question—who are the best audiobook narrators for the romance genre? And what is it about their voices that readers love?
We scoured the opinions of readers on BookTok, Bookstagram, and Reddit and found romance's best audiobook narrators. Here’s what to expect from their unique approaches to voice acting and the attributes that make them really, really good narrators.
1. January LaVoy
January LaVoy is an award-winning actor, director, and voice artist. In addition to her numerous Audie and Earphones awards, she was named the Publisher's Weekly Audiobook Narrator of the Year in 2013 and received the Audiofile Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019. She even has a Grammy nomination!
She’s narrated hundreds of audiobooks, but is beloved by romance fans for her work on novels by Denise Williams, Stacey Abrams, Andie J. Christopher, and Nora Roberts. She’s known for bringing a TV-like quality to her narrations, as well as her strong clarity and tone, and ability to voice multiple ages.
On her process, she’s said, “I defer to the book itself … I hear it out loud in my head … when I’m reading the book, and so that’s the sound that then I translate or sort of let flow through me and that becomes the voice of the book.”
Watch January LaVoy recording an audiobook and see why everyone’s obsessed!
2. Brittany Pressley
2022’s Booklist Voice of Choice Audie Award winner Brittany Pressley may have over a hundred titles under her belt, but she’s known among romance readers for her narration of popular TikTok books “The Fiancé Dilemma” by Elena Armas and “Reminders of Him” by Colleen Hoover. In addition to her youthful voice, fans note that her southern accent sounds a lot like Reese Witherspoon and that she’s able to narrate male voices eerily well.
In a podcast interview, Brittany shared, “I approach my narration like a cinematic experience. I’m trying to give the listener—short of Foley and sound effects—a full sonic, cinematic experience … hearing all those different voices, letting the full breadth of the story come alive. are a great way at expanding the world, highlighting, and bringing to life the words on the page.”
3. Sebastian York
If you read a lot of romance with the grumpy/sunshine trope or that have an ornery male lead, you’ll probably be a fan of Sebastian York. Sebastian is an audiobook narrator who narrates for popular TikTok books by authors Lucy Score and Mariana Zapata, as well as the “365 Days” series made famous by Netflix.
His deep voice and sexy drawl is known to make readers swoon—so much so that he even has a fan club called Sebastian’s Yorkies. Sebastian’s even been recognized once by a fan in public from his voice alone. Now, that’s talent!
4. Mary Jane Wells
Mary Jane Wells is an award-winning English audiobook narrator best known for her work voicing historical romances. She’s narrated books by Joanna Shupe, “Bridgerton” author Julia Quinn, Sarah MacLean, Lisa Kleypas, and more. Though her native accent is British, she’s a master at American and Irish accents as well. Listeners often remark how much they love her elevated sound, the incredible emotion that flows from her voice, and her ability to narrate distinct voices of all ages.
Plus, the way MJW is able to voice male personalities has been deemed the “gold standard” by fans on Reddit. Give her a listen!
5. Mela Lee
Mela Lee has amassed hundreds of thousands of fans for her work as a voice actor in popular anime and video games, such as “Mortal Kombat 11,” “Apex Legends,” “Fate/stay night,” and many others. She’s also lent her voice to the narration of novels such as “The Wish” by Nicholas Sparks, “For Butter or Worse” by Erin La Rosa, and New York Times Bestseller “Seven Days in June” by Tia Williams.
She’s known for her exceptional range and dramatic reading style that allow readers to feel an array of emotions from each book. Mela has also shared that she sometimes pulls inspiration for characters from people in her own life!
6. Freddie from Dipsea
Deep voice? Check. In charge? Check. A little rough with a steamy touch? Check.
Freddie, one of Dipsea’s most prolific characters, narrates a variety of stories that will have you feeling full-body chills. In the 13-chapter audiobook, “Secret Rooms,” his gravelly and breathy voice will have you crushing hard.
But Freddie is multi-talented. While he can be in charge, he can also be shy and romantic, like in the 10-part series, “Five Years.”
Want to hear him be a little more flirty and authoritative? Listen to him play a teacher in “Knockout.” Each work is a little different...but they’ve all got Freddie’s magic sound.
7. Jennifer Ikeda
If you’re one of the millions of people who’ve read “A Court of Thorns and Roses” by Sarah J. Maas—one of the most popular books on TikTok and the bestselling book of 2024 so far—there’s a good chance you’re familiar with Jennifer Ikeda.
The veteran has applied her talents to books by Jodi Picoult, Sarah Dessen, and “A Discovery of Witches” author Deborah Harkness. Fantasy romances, of which she’s narrated many, typically include original languages, unique names and words, and several different characters. Jennifer brings these elements to life with distinct voices, clear enunciation, and years of passion, making her one of the best audiobook narrators.
One of her secrets to success? Apple juice!
Back in 2015, she revealed during a podcast episode, “It’s a trick that an opera singer told me about, which is that if you ever have that feeling of cotton mouth or your mouth is really dry, if you take a bite of an apple or a sip of apple juice, there’s something about it that stimulates your salivary gland so it’ll immediately help you out.”
8. Teddy Hamilton
While some of the other male voice actors on this list are known for their deep, bad boy intonations, Teddy is beloved by readers more so for his narration of cinnamon roll heroes, as they’re called in the romance community. His softer, funnier characters will have you swooning on your Hot Girl Walk.
He’s voiced characters from books by Meghan Quinn, Elle Kennedy, Ali Hazelwood, Lauren Blakely, and more. Of course, he can still voice the dark, morally gray hero. The most notable examples of this is his work narrating the BookTok-famous series “Fourth Wing” or dark romance “Haunting Adeline.” The point with Teddy is that you can get the best of both worlds. Listen for yourself here.
9. Julia Whelan
Julia Whelan is a Grammy-nominated audiobook director and award-winning voice actor who’s narrated over 600 audiobooks of various genres, including the thriller “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn and fantasy novel “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” by V.E. Schwab. But she has an affinity for romance. She’s lent her voice to books written by some of the most popular romance authors out there, including Emily Henry, Abby Jimenez, Jojo Moyes, Kristin Hannah, and more.
In fact, Julia has even written her own works, including “My Oxford Year” and “Thank You For Listening.” Partly autobiographical, the latter is a story about a former actress turned audiobook narrator who gets the opportunity to voice a book by one of the most beloved romance novelists—alongside one of the hottest and most elusive male voice actors in the industry.
Of course, Julia narrated her own books, bringing to them things her fans love most: her expert control and ability to convey emotions.
10. Ronan from Dipsea
I’ll take “Hot Irish Accent” for 500, Alex. Immerse yourself in the countryside with an Irish farmhand who’s a little gruff and a whole lot of tantalizing. You’ll find Ronan featured in Dipsea’s “Evergreen,” a flirty, enemies-to-lovers romance. There’s a bit of a cocky, know-it-all tilt to his voice that’s annoyingly irresistible. His voice is warm and brusque, like a spicy cup of tea. And like that tea, his narrations will certainly warm you up.
11. Kate Reading
Kate Reading has brought to life countless heroines from beloved romance novels by Loretta Chase, Lorraine Heath, and even Stephenie Meyer. She also voiced the female lead in “The Wheel of Time” series, which has since been adapted to an Amazon TV show. Kate is known for how well she conveys humor, as well as her ability to voice a spectrum of ages and accents. She’s married to fellow audiobook narrator Michael Kramer, making them a dynamic duo in the industry.
As for her process, she attributes a lot to the source material itself and the author’s writing.
In an interview, she noted, “If you get the character’s voice right, you don’t make mistakes. You don’t stumble. The words come, they flow, because you’re breathing the way the character breathes.”
We’re obsessed—she’s a true artist!
Listening to love
Just like a film or TV show brings your imagination to life visually, an audiobook does that auditorily. Whether it’s their ability to do an accent or the way they can make a spicy scene make you blush, these narrators bring to life some of the most popular characters in romance, making you feel like you’re the one falling in love.
But TBH, nobody does original steamy audio better than Dipsea. Sign up for a free 30-day trial to find your new favorite narrator.
Or download the Dipsea app for the best listening experience.
