3 Ways to Get Free Lesbian Audiobooks (or Cheaply)
Table of Contents
Introduction
If you are like us and got hooked on audiobooks but aren’t such a fan of their cost, this is the article to read. Audiobooks are increasingly more popular because there are a few advantages about them. To start, you can still enjoy books when you cannot read them, for example, while driving, cleaning your house, exercising, commuting, etc. It’s also a great way to block outside noise and ignore people around you if you need to!
One of the most interesting attributes to audiobooks is that they add a new layer of storytelling to the written text, they provide books with a new lease of life, they liberate the 2D constrains of a paper novel and provide a new multi-sensory existence that stimulates the listener’s imagination.
I cannot state this more emphatically: an audiobook can make or break a book. It can make an excellent audio out of an already very good book or it can potentially reduce an amazing novel to a terrible auditory existence. Luckily for us, most of audiobooks belong to the former not the latter category. With so many lesbian audiobooks to choose from, you might feel overwhelmed if you are new to this soundscape, but you can always check some of our choices here.
So you’ve decided that audiobooks are your next favourite thing. You are under the audio’s spell. Now you suddenly realise that it could be an expensive hobby, even more expensive than reading. Don’t despair! Here are some tips on how to get free lesbian audiobooks (or cheaply).
Audiobook Subscription Services
A good way to get multiple audiobooks in a cost effective way is by getting an audiobook subscription service. There are a few options available at different monthly fees.
Audible
Audible is an Amazon company, producer of spoken audio entertainment which has the world’s largest audiobook collection. It works as a monthly subscription of $14.95 (£7.99 in the UK) which entitles you to 1 free credit (Gold Membership) or $22.95 (£14.99 in the UK) with 2 monthly credits (Platinum). With each credit you can buy any audiobook regardless of its price or length. There are also annual Gold and Platinum Memberships available.
Any Audible subscription also entitles you to 2 free Audible Originals (a rotating monthly selection of mainstream audiobooks), 30% off any audiobooks you purchase on Amazon and ‘Easy exchanges’ in which you can swap an audiobook immediately, no questions asked. You can buy extra credits and periodically, Amazon offers a credit bundle at a discounted price. Credits expire after one year and if you cancel your subscription, you get to keep the audiobooks you purchased for life but not the unspent credits, so make sure you use them before cancelling. Audible comes with an application to reproduce your audiobooks in different electronic devices.
Audible Escape
Previously known as the Audible Romance Package, the Audible Escape subscription allows you to binge listen thousands of romance audiobooks. There are a good amount of lesbian audiobooks in this selection which is only available with a US Audible account. You can borrow 10 audiobooks at a time and return them at any moment to borrow more. The cost of this subscription is $12.95/month for standalone customers $6.95/month for Audible Members or Kindle Unlimited Members.
Audible Escape includes some interesting features such as “Take Me To the Good Part” available on certain titles which allows you to sample the more important parts of a romance book like the first kiss or marriage proposal. The “Romantic Mood meter” tells you how steamy each book is on a scale from Sweet to Red Hot. In order to choose your next audioboook, Escape has classified them under different categories, including LGBTQIA+.
Kindle Unlimited & Amazon Prime
With Kindle Unlimited any book you choose that is “Whispersync for Voice-ready” is automatically added to your Audible library. With Prime Reading there are around a thousand books available to Prime members to listen to for free. You can borrow up to 10 titles at a time with audio versions included whenever they are available.
Scribd
Scribd is an American e-book and audiobook subscription service that gives you access to thousands of audiobooks, many of them in the LGBT category. The monthly subscription is $8.99 (+ tax where applicable). Even though in theory you can borrow as many titles as you want, there are some quantity restrictions that might apply if you download too many audiobooks at a time. Allegedly, these restrictions don’t apply if you listen while streaming (without downloading) though the audio playback might randomly pause to load. The playback application is not as good as Audible but if you listen to a lot of audiobooks, it’s good value for money.
Libro.fm
When you buy audiobooks through Libro.fm, they split the profits with the independent bookstore of your choice. Their monthly membership is $14.99 which includes 1 audiobook, 30% off other audiobooks and easy returns. There are more than a thousand audiobooks in the LGBT category.
Kobo
The name Kobo is an anagram of book, Rakuten Kobo Inc. is a Canadian company subsidiary of the Japanese e-commerce conglomerate Rakuten which sells e-books and audiobooks. For a monthly fee of $9.99 you get a credit to get an audiobook regardless of its price. There are around a thousand audiobooks in the LGBT category.
Downpour
The monthly membership of $12.99 entitles you to 1 credit and you can save up to 70% off some audiobooks retail price. These platform allows you to rent titles for 30 days with an option of purchasing an extension. There are a good range of lesbian audiobooks.
Library Services
If you already have a library card, you can borrow audiobooks via a streaming platform such as Hoopla, Media Overdrive / Libby and Axis 360.
Hoopla
Hoopla is a free service to library patrons, provided by your own local library in the US and Canada. With Hoopla and a valid library card, patrons can borrow, instantly stream, and download audiobooks via the mobile app or its website. Most audiobooks are available for 21 days from the time you borrow the title. The limit of items you can borrow is set by your local library. Returning a title early does not give users additional borrows for that month. Renewing a title allows the user to extend their current borrow, but this will use one of your remaining borrows for the month.
Rakuten Overdrive / Libby
Axis 360
Axis 360 is an electronic book service provided by your library that gives you access to popular audiobooks. As with the other library services, you can borrow, renew and place holds (reserve) audiobooks.
Free audiobook codes
This is a great way to get hold of new audiobook releases for free. Reviews are gold dust for the success of audiobooks and some authors and narrators are willing to provide an audiobook for free in exchange for an honest review. You normally need an Audible account to claim the audiobooks through a free code. You can open an Audible account for free, there is no need to subscribe to their paid services.
Some authors provide audiobooks via giveaways so make sure you are subscribed to your favorite authors’ newsletters and check their social media channels for updates. Additionally, here are some websites where you can periodically check for free audiobooks.
Freeaudiobookcodes / Audiobook Boom
These are two sister websites, the difference is that in Audiobook Boom the users have to register first, the reviews are strongly encouraged and non-reviewers are added to an embargo list. Once a code is requested, the authors choose whom to send the codes to individually depending on their reviewing history.
Freeaudiobookcodes is a completely automated system in which reviews are not required (though encouraged), the user is anonymous and don’t ever get banned even if they don’t leave reviews.
Audiobooks Unleashed
The user picks a book and request a free code which is sent via email immediately. Audiobooks Unleashed allows two types of reviewers, verified or not, though I recommend to apply to become a Verified Reviewer who are vetted by their team as listeners who write quality reviews on the audiobooks they listen to. As a Verified Reviewer, you get access to audiobooks not available to the public from authors and narrators who want to choose who they give their codes to.
Lesbian Audiobooks Facebook Group
This is a private Facebook group that posts news about lesbian audiobooks. Many authors and narrators offer here free codes in exchange for an honest review.
Conclusion
If you are hooked on audiobooks, it doesn’t need to be a costly hobby as long as you do some research on which are your best options and be ready to leave an honest review.
This information was gathered in May 2020. If you find any errors or if you can contribute with further information, please use the contact us form below.
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. If you subscribe to Scribd via this page links, you get two months for free and I get one.
About the Author
Gaby Maurino is a blogger, lesfic book reviewer, and founder and Content Editor of LezReviewBooks.
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