Audiobooks Like Hands Down

Read more

Callie Dalton's voice is central to the Mariana Zapata audiobook experience — unhurried, warm, and tuned to the long silences that slow-burn romance depends on — and paired with Chris Brinkley, *Hands Down* unfolds across sixteen hours in a way that feels less like a story being told and more like a memory being revisited. The dual narration keeps the tension alive not through drama but through restraint, the kind of listen where you feel the pull between two people long before either of them admits it. Most of the recommendations here are built for that same patience — the majority are Zapata titles narrated by Dalton, and nearly all run close to sixteen hours, designed for the same kind of slow emotional accumulation that makes the payoff feel genuinely earned.

10 audiobooks for fans of Hands Down

  1. 1
    Wait for It cover

    Wait for It

    by Mariana Zapata

    Narrated by Callie Dalton

    ★ 4.49 ABR Score (119.5K ratings)
    ★ 4.28 Goodreads (115.9K) ★ 4.67 Audible (3.6K)
    Start Listening → Get the Book →
  2. 2
    From Lukov with Love cover

    From Lukov with Love

    by Mariana Zapata

    Narrated by Callie Dalton, Teddy Hamilton

    ★ 4.46 ABR Score (294.2K ratings)
    ★ 4.18 Goodreads (289.3K) ★ 4.64 Audible (5.0K)
    More about this pick

    Callie Dalton and Teddy Hamilton make this figure skating enemies-to-lovers crackle. The dual narration transforms contempt into chemistry.

    Start Listening → Get the Book →
  3. 3
    Dear Aaron cover

    Dear Aaron

    by Mariana Zapata

    Narrated by Callie Dalton, Teddy Hamilton

    ★ 4.14 ABR Score (60.0K ratings)
    ★ 3.9 Goodreads (57.3K) ★ 4.51 Audible (2.7K)
    More about this pick

    Dual narration transforms each letter into intimate conversation; Zapata's precision makes this epistolary romance feel like falling in love in real time.

    Start Listening → Get the Book →
  4. 4
    Luna and the Lie cover

    Luna and the Lie

    by Mariana Zapata

    Narrated by Callie Dalton, Gomez Pugh

    ★ 4.26 ABR Score (72.8K ratings)
    ★ 4.06 Goodreads (70.6K) ★ 4.57 Audible (2.2K)
    More about this pick

    Zapata writes secrets that people would actually keep, and Dalton and Pugh's narration captures all the emotional weight of that impossible choice.

    Start Listening → Get the Book →
  5. 5
    Kulti cover

    Kulti

    by Mariana Zapata

    Narrated by Kyla Garcia, PJ Ochlan

    ★ 4.44 ABR Score (159.1K ratings)
    ★ 4.23 Goodreads (158.6K) ★ 4.79 Audible (483)
    More about this pick

    Kyla Garcia nails Sal's stubborn pride, and the 17-hour slow burn pays off with one of the most earned romances in the genre.

    Start Listening → Get the Book →
  6. 6
    The Wall of Winnipeg and Me cover

    The Wall of Winnipeg and Me

    by Mariana Zapata

    Narrated by Stephen Dexter, Emma Wilder

    ★ 4.34 ABR Score (309.3K ratings)
    ★ 4.15 Goodreads (308.3K) ★ 4.62 Audible (1.0K)
    More about this pick

    Zapata's signature slow burn at its best, and the dual narration makes 18 hours feel like a guilty-pleasure binge you won't want to end.

    Start Listening → Get the Book →
  7. 7
    Under Locke cover

    Under Locke

    by Mariana Zapata

    Narrated by Ava Erickson, Bradley Ford, Sebastian York

    ★ 4.03 ABR Score (103.8K ratings)
    ★ 3.88 Goodreads (103.4K) ★ 4.47 Audible (406)
    Start Listening → Get the Book →
  8. 8
    Grin and Beard It cover

    Grin and Beard It

    Winston Brothers • Book 2

    by Penny Reid

    Narrated by Chris Brinkley, Cielo Camargo

    ★ 4.37 ABR Score (38.0K ratings)
    ★ 4.1 Goodreads (33.8K) ★ 4.65 Audible (4.2K)
    More about this pick

    The dual narration brings out the wit and chemistry so perfectly you'll want to binge this in days.

    Start Listening → Get the Book →
  9. 9
    Truth or Beard cover

    Truth or Beard

    Winston Brothers • Book 1

    by Penny Reid

    Narrated by Joy Nash, Chris Brinkley

    ★ 4.19 ABR Score (63.2K ratings)
    ★ 3.86 Goodreads (58.7K) ★ 4.56 Audible (4.5K)
    Start Listening → Get the Book →
  10. 10
    In Her Own League cover

    In Her Own League

    Windy City Series

    by Liz Tomforde

    Narrated by Samantha Brentmoor, Jason Clarke

    ★ 4.70 ABR Score (46.1K ratings)
    ★ 4.51 Goodreads (45.0K) ★ 4.89 Audible (1.2K)
    More about this pick

    Baseball's first female team owner faces constant scrutiny while fighting her attraction to the star pitcher who could derail her carefully planned career.

    Start Listening → Get the Book →

Browse Related Lists

Hands Down Best Romance Audiobooks Most Popular Romance

How We Rank Audiobooks

Rankings are driven by listener ratings and review counts from Audible and Goodreads. Books with high ratings across a large number of listeners rank higher — a 4.5 with 50,000 ratings says more than a 4.8 with 200.

Unlike most book lists, we weight audiobook-specific factors: narrator performance, production quality, and how well a story translates to audio. A great book with a poor narration isn't a great audiobook.

We don't accept paid placements or prioritize new releases. These rankings reflect what listeners actually enjoy, not what's being promoted.

Rankings update periodically as new ratings come in and new titles are added to the collection.

Read our full ranking methodology →