Listen free for 30 days
-
Back to Reality: A Novel
- Narrated by: Kim Bretton
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Humor & Satire
People who bought this also bought...
-
When Life Gives You Lemons
- By: Fiona Gibson
- Narrated by: Cathleen McCarron
- Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Between tending to the whims of her seven-year-old and the demands of her boss, Viv barely gets a moment to herself. It’s not quite the life she wanted, but she hasn’t run screaming for the hills yet. But then Viv’s husband, Andy, makes his midlife crisis her problem. He’s having an affair with his (infuriatingly age-appropriate) colleague, a woman who - unlike Viv - doesn’t put on weight when she so much as glances at a cream cake. Viv suddenly finds herself single, with zero desire to mingle.
-
-
Chic lit for The over 40's!!
- By Catherine on 17-04-20
-
The Power of Ten
- A Laugh Out Loud Romantic Comedy Boxset
- By: Emily James
- Narrated by: Kim Bretton
- Length: 17 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Three hilarious romantic comedies by Emily James to make you swoon and giggle in equal measure....
-
-
A Vanilla Romance, good stories.
- By P.Wedz on 15-04-20
-
Dead on Doughnuts
- Coffee Shop Mysteries, Book 1
- By: Sarah Jane Weldon
- Narrated by: Kim Bretton
- Length: 4 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Maddy dreams of opening her own detective agency with her best friend. Fresh off her A-levels and looking to save up funds, she and her BFF take a gap-year job serving coffee to rich tourists at an Austrian ski resort. But when someone tampers with one of Maddy’s sweet creations to snuff out a snooty pastry chef, the offending doughnut becomes a recipe for disaster. With her dreams of becoming a PI in serious danger, Maddy has next to no time to preserve the cafe's reputation and clear her name.
-
-
Great
- By Angel on 09-09-19
-
The End of Everything Box Set
- Books 1 - 3
- By: Christopher Artinian
- Narrated by: Kim Bretton
- Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two sisters, one nightmare. The last thing they wanted to do was spend time with each other. Now, their very survival depends on it. Forced from their home and thrown into an apocalyptic horror neither could have imagined, they didn’t think things could get any worse. They were wrong. As they navigate the city to escape to safety, terror lurks for them on every corner. The reanimating virus has taken away everything they loved, but today, they’re going to start fighting back.
-
-
Watch out apocalypse here come Robyn & Wren!
- By Mia Harper on 10-10-20
-
A Town Called Discovery
- By: R. R. Haywood
- Narrated by: Carl Prekopp
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A man falls from the sky. He has no memory. He has no sense of self. What lies ahead are a series of tests, each more brutal than the last, and if he gets through them all, he might just reach a town called Discovery.
-
-
Absolutely brilliant as usual.
- By Darren on 04-09-20
-
Time and Again
- By: Jack Finney
- Narrated by: Jeff Harding
- Length: 17 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Si Morley is bored with his job as a commercial artist, and his social life doesn't seem to be going anywhere. So when he's approached by an affable ex-football star and told he's just what the government is looking for to be part of a top-secret project, he doesn't hesitate. One night he steps out of his twentieth-century New York apartment into the winter of 1882 and finds a kind of Eden.
-
-
A 'timeless' timetravel classic
- By Victoria Elizabeth on 12-03-17
-
When Life Gives You Lemons
- By: Fiona Gibson
- Narrated by: Cathleen McCarron
- Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Between tending to the whims of her seven-year-old and the demands of her boss, Viv barely gets a moment to herself. It’s not quite the life she wanted, but she hasn’t run screaming for the hills yet. But then Viv’s husband, Andy, makes his midlife crisis her problem. He’s having an affair with his (infuriatingly age-appropriate) colleague, a woman who - unlike Viv - doesn’t put on weight when she so much as glances at a cream cake. Viv suddenly finds herself single, with zero desire to mingle.
-
-
Chic lit for The over 40's!!
- By Catherine on 17-04-20
-
The Power of Ten
- A Laugh Out Loud Romantic Comedy Boxset
- By: Emily James
- Narrated by: Kim Bretton
- Length: 17 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Three hilarious romantic comedies by Emily James to make you swoon and giggle in equal measure....
-
-
A Vanilla Romance, good stories.
- By P.Wedz on 15-04-20
-
Dead on Doughnuts
- Coffee Shop Mysteries, Book 1
- By: Sarah Jane Weldon
- Narrated by: Kim Bretton
- Length: 4 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Maddy dreams of opening her own detective agency with her best friend. Fresh off her A-levels and looking to save up funds, she and her BFF take a gap-year job serving coffee to rich tourists at an Austrian ski resort. But when someone tampers with one of Maddy’s sweet creations to snuff out a snooty pastry chef, the offending doughnut becomes a recipe for disaster. With her dreams of becoming a PI in serious danger, Maddy has next to no time to preserve the cafe's reputation and clear her name.
-
-
Great
- By Angel on 09-09-19
-
The End of Everything Box Set
- Books 1 - 3
- By: Christopher Artinian
- Narrated by: Kim Bretton
- Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two sisters, one nightmare. The last thing they wanted to do was spend time with each other. Now, their very survival depends on it. Forced from their home and thrown into an apocalyptic horror neither could have imagined, they didn’t think things could get any worse. They were wrong. As they navigate the city to escape to safety, terror lurks for them on every corner. The reanimating virus has taken away everything they loved, but today, they’re going to start fighting back.
-
-
Watch out apocalypse here come Robyn & Wren!
- By Mia Harper on 10-10-20
-
A Town Called Discovery
- By: R. R. Haywood
- Narrated by: Carl Prekopp
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A man falls from the sky. He has no memory. He has no sense of self. What lies ahead are a series of tests, each more brutal than the last, and if he gets through them all, he might just reach a town called Discovery.
-
-
Absolutely brilliant as usual.
- By Darren on 04-09-20
-
Time and Again
- By: Jack Finney
- Narrated by: Jeff Harding
- Length: 17 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Si Morley is bored with his job as a commercial artist, and his social life doesn't seem to be going anywhere. So when he's approached by an affable ex-football star and told he's just what the government is looking for to be part of a top-secret project, he doesn't hesitate. One night he steps out of his twentieth-century New York apartment into the winter of 1882 and finds a kind of Eden.
-
-
A 'timeless' timetravel classic
- By Victoria Elizabeth on 12-03-17
-
Seven Rules of Time Travel
- By: Roy Huff
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 7 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Quinn Black is having the worst day ever...over and over again. The same car blocking his driveway, the same horrific accident he witnesses, the same cop that keeps preventing him from saving his boss from dying in it, and the same memory of a girl from his past that gets sharper each time. Then he realizes he has the power to travel through time and change the future. Could he prevent terrorist attacks? Natural disasters? The deaths of friends? Before long, Quinn is thrust into the greatest race in human history.
-
-
interesting time travel theory, great narrator
- By Cliente de Amazon on 11-04-21
-
Time and Time Again
- By: Ben Elton
- Narrated by: Jot Davies
- Length: 13 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s the 1st of June 1914 and Hugh Stanton, ex-soldier and celebrated adventurer is quite literally the loneliest man on earth. No one he has ever known or loved has been born yet. Perhaps now they never will be.Stanton knows that a great and terrible war is coming. A collective suicidal madness that will destroy European civilization and bring misery to millions in the century to come. He knows this because, for him, that century is already history.Somehow he must change that history. He must prevent the war.
-
-
Best Time Travel Thriller I've Ever Read
- By Gabriel on 23-11-14
-
Never Die
- By: Rob J. Hayes
- Narrated by: Kim Bretton
- Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ein is on a mission from God. A God of Death. Time is up for the Emperor of Ten Kings and it falls to a murdered eight year old boy to render the judgement of a God. Ein knows he can't do it alone, but the empire is rife with heroes. The only problem; in order to serve, they must first die.
-
-
enjoyable
- By Amazon Customer on 08-01-21
-
The Outcast Child
- The Outcast Child Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Jacobo Priegue
- Narrated by: Kim Bretton
- Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Laura Costa, a charity worker settled in London, tries to escape from her dark past by travelling to Cusco, Peru, where she hopes to find the redemption she seeks. When she discovers Kevin, an abandoned two-year-old boy injured and on the verge of starvation, Laura thinks she has finally found a purpose and decides to devote herself to saving the child.
-
Knights of the Realm
- Digital Boxed Set
- By: Jennifer Anne Davis
- Narrated by: Kim Bretton
- Length: 25 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Reid has spent her whole life pretending to be a man so she can inherit her father’s estate, but when a chance encounter threatens to expose her lie, she is forced to risk everything. In the kingdom of Marsden, women are subservient to men and land can only pass from father to son. So when Reid Ellington is born, the fifth daughter to one of the wealthiest landholders in the kingdom, it’s announced that Reid is a boy.
-
Tuned Out
- By: Keith A. Pearson
- Narrated by: Mike Paul
- Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Toby Grant spends his days working for a digital marketing agency and his nights stressing about how unfair life is for his generation. With a 30th birthday only months away and his finances approaching meltdown, it’s fair to say Toby isn’t a happy millennial. His parents’ generation had it so much easier...or did they? After a series of rather unfortunate events, Toby is offered an opportunity to discover exactly what life was like for his parents’ generation - courtesy of a journey back in time to 1969.
-
-
Great story but :
- By dafman on 28-12-19
-
Meeting Mungo Thunk
- By: Keith A. Pearson
- Narrated by: Stewart Crank
- Length: 15 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It was Daisy's birthday, and Adam had the perfect gift for his fiancée. A dozen red roses? Jewellery? A weekend in Paris? Nope.... A set of bathroom scales. Sadly, Adam's poor judgement goes way beyond god-awful gifts. He's been cursed by a lack of common sense. Now, he's about to make the worst decision of his life and stands to lose the love of his life. Enter Mungo Thunk: an odd little man who claims he can fix Adam's thinking once and for all. Can Adam really trust the mysterious stranger's bizarre brand of therapy, or will he come to rue the day he met Mungo Thunk?
-
-
Not sure
- By Heather on 15-04-21
-
The Crow Folk
- The Witches of Woodville, Book 1
- By: Mark Stay
- Narrated by: Candida Gubbins
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Faye Bright always felt a little bit different. And today she’s found out why. She’s just stumbled across her late mother’s diary which includes not only a spiffing recipe for jam roly-poly, but spells, incantations, runes and recitations...a witch's notebook. And Faye has inherited her mother’s abilities. Just in time, too. The Crow Folk are coming. Led by the charismatic Pumpkinhead, their strange magic threatens Faye and the villagers.
-
-
Thoroughly enjoyable!
- By Richie Janukowicz on 14-04-21
-
The Safe Haven Box Set
- Books 1 to 3 in the Post-Apocalyptic Zombie Horror Series
- By: Christopher Artinian
- Narrated by: Kim Bretton
- Length: 24 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the multi-award-winning author Christopher Artinian come the first three books in the post-apocalyptic zombie series people are calling, "gripping", "fast-paced and full of action", "very realistic", "captivating", "inventive", and "emotional". Includes: Rise of the RAMs, Realm of the Raiders, and Reap of the Righteous.
-
-
Chilling and absorbing read.
- By Mia Harper on 01-12-20
-
Do You Realize?
- A Novel
- By: Kevin Kuhn
- Narrated by: Grant Pennington
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
George is a middle-management, middle-class, middle-aged guy who hates his job and struggles to stay connected to his wife and teenage children. Most guys might end up with a steamy affair and a flashy car for their midlife crises, but George gets dragged into awkward conversations about love, fear, music, and the meaning of life with a quirky philosophical physics professor, who also asks George to beta-test an app he wrote. When tragedy strikes, George learns that Shiloh’s app lets him journey through alternate versions of his past.
-
-
Wow what a beautiful and thought provoking book
- By Lindsay on 15-10-19
-
A Door into Time
- An Alex Hawk Time Travel Adventure, Book 1
- By: Shawn Inmon
- Narrated by: Johnathan McClain
- Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The wall just didn’t look right. Alex has been trying to cope. Life after his deployment had been rough. His ex-wife thought he needed to stop disappointing their daughter. She was right. He would try harder. With six hours before his little girl’s fourth birthday party, he saw the anomaly. One wall was too short. Plenty of time to tear out a panel and look behind it. He found a brick wall. His house wasn’t made of brick. Behind that was another just like the first. He still had time. When the second wall came down, Alex stood and stared at the shining doorway.
-
-
bailed after 5 chapters
- By ctm on 16-09-20
-
Who Sent Clement?
- Clement, Book 1
- By: Keith A. Pearson
- Narrated by: Cassie Layton
- Length: 13 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Beth Baxter, owner of a not-very-successful book shop, is planning her marriage to Karl - or at least she was. Without warning, Beth suddenly finds herself embroiled in a sinister series of events that threaten to destroy everything she holds dear. All seems lost for Beth until she receives an offer of help from an unlikely visitor - a former gangland fixer by the name of Clement. However, there’s one minor issue in that Clement claims he died in 1975 and has been sent to help Beth to atone for his actions in a previous life.
-
-
Good yarn
- By Andy T on 12-03-19
Summary
A story of second chances that's impossible to stop listening to.
Jo's world is about to change forever, and it’s about time. Her marriage is on auto-pilot, her daughter hates her, her job sucks, and it’s not even Tuesday.
As Jo's life implodes, a freak event hurls her back to ‘90s Los Angeles where, in a parallel universe, she’s about to hit big time as a rock star.
Jo has to choose between her dreams and her family in an adventure that propels her from London to Hollywood and then to Glastonbury, the world’s greatest music festival.
In her desperate quest, Jo encounters a disgraced guru, a movie star with a fetish for double-decker buses, and the biggest pop star in the world...who just happens to want to kill her.
Back to Reality is a funny, heartwarming story about last chances, perfect for fans of Rowan Coleman and Helen Fielding.
Praise for Back to Reality:
“Heartwarming, inventive, and funny. Like if Nick Hornby wrote a time travel, body swap adventure!”(The New York Times best-selling author Mimi Strong)
“Written with an authentic touch and plenty of good humour. A tough book to put down.” (Mark Dawson, USA Today best-selling author of the best-selling John Milton series)
“A compelling story where the comedy compliments the drama and keeps you turning the page... A delight.” (Caimh McDonnell, best-selling author of The Dublin Trilogy)
“I love it! It's Back to the Future meets Freaky Friday.” (Number one Kindle best-selling author of Hot Mess, Lucy Vine)
“Everything the world loves about British comedy. For those who wished Simon Pegg wrote novels, you now have the Two Marks.” (USA Today best-selling author Shannon Mayer)
“Crackles with all the addictive energy of a pop hit, and the heart of a soul classic.” (Samantha King, bestselling author of The Choice)
“Like a book version of Hot Tub Time Machine with fabulous female characters and great music.” (Kate Harrison, author of the bestselling 5:2 series)
“If you love time travel and rock and roll, you'll love this book!” (Julie Cohen, author of Together)
“Sliding Doors meets Back to the Future in a story to make you sing with joy.” (Karen Ball, Speckled Pen)
“A magnificent book! Loved every page. Beautifully written.” (Callan McAuliffe, actor in The Walking Dead)
More from the same
What listeners say about Back to Reality: A Novel
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 04-07-20
Funny, well composed and well told
This is not a supernatural story with elements of humour. It's a very funny story with elements of the supernatural. The two Marks serves intelligent humour with fine universal references to culture and society.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- ALYSON R
- 22-03-20
A lot of fun!!
Joanna has a pretty normal uninspiring life. She's not overly fond of her job and her teenage daughter is going through that rebellious stage where she hates her mother. Jo did have a life once, but all her hopes and dreams of being a star were swept away from her years ago. The something magical happens. She goes to a birthday celebration and after a few drinks starts to recreate her youth singing at a karaoke. It sets off a trigger that spookily transports her back to swapping places with her younger self in Los Angeles where she is set to take the music world by storm. The book is the story of her hilarious adventures as she relives part of her youth, ending up at Glastonbury music festival with a rival who hates her and some rather unhelpful cows. It's funny, laugh out loud at times, but there are also very poignant and heart-warming moments. I was fondly reminded of the film Freaky Friday. I listened to the audio book version of this, and it works incredibly well. The narrator was wonderful in the role and brought Jo to life perfectly. A very enjoyable listen and a lot of fun! 5*
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kate
- 07-03-20
Review
Back To Reality is different to the books I would normally read or listen to, but I am really glad that I chose to listen to it. I was very interested by the concept of an alternate reality, and overall, I feel that Stay and Oliver executed it really well and gave me a lot to think about as I was listening.
As a central character, I related really well to Jo. She is very down to earth and although she makes mistakes, she is just trying to live a normal life with her husband and daughter. The authors also introduce a colourful supporting cast, and between them, they provide several moments of humour.
The plot of Back To Reality is highly engaging and I was drawn into the story really easily. There are some elements of the story that felt a little implausible, but the humour means it's very easy to forgive!
As the novel reaches its ending, there are some poignant moments which made me think more carefully about some of the messages in the book and added an emotional layer to it.
I loved Kim Bretton's narration, as her bubbly voice conveyed the lighthearted nature of the majority of the book really well. She kept me engaged from beginning to end.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Richard Bat Brewster
- 06-03-20
Excellent Performance of a Fun story
Fantastic audio performance by Kim Bretton.
This feel good story initially starts out following the unhappy life of Jo, her dull life degenerates further, but then Yohanna turns up and things get weird! It’s certainly a page turner, as Jo deals with a comedic level of problems. Despite the scale of the protagonist’s problems, somehow the two Marks manage to maintain a light tone and some great humour.
Be warned this funny story also has character depth, interesting scenes all wrapped up with some heartfelt profundity. This good mix of fun and seriousness helped with the books pacing, I was intrigued to know what would happen next. In the spirit of this books good use of nostalgia, the story has a Play Your Cards Right feel: “Is the next scene’s emotion higher or lower than a 7?”
I recommend this fun read, particularly to anyone wanting a good balance of joy, sadness with a good sprinkling of gravitas about life choices. I rate this book a caterpillar cake, definitely worth consumption.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sharon Logan
- 18-12-19
A modern twist on Freaky Friday!
Really enjoyed the book, some laugh out loud and lovely moments as a 40+ Mumma! Enjoyed the Glastonbury parts and a nice story overall. Kim Bretton does a fabulous job bringing all the characters to life with her different accents and helps the story flow well with her audible version.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 26-11-19
not my kind of book
the only reason it got finished was as it was a book club book 😬
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- vybit
- 31-10-19
fab story
I enjoyed the story and not really any moments where I thought to myself "where the hell is this going?" and I didn't get lost in any of the characters, which is part of the criteria of a great audible book. I would be interested in more from these authors.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Lunatikchik
- 22-06-20
hilarious & edge of seat
this was a great book! It has got to be the most humorous one i've ever listened to. Throughly enjoyed it!
and as always great narrationg by Kim Bretton!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Anonymous User
- 22-04-20
An Interesting Concept
The book was light hearted and a but funny from time to time. it did turn a little dark towards the end which came out of left field for how light hearted the entire book had been. there was also once scene towards the end that seemed to drag on for a bit too long with the main character trying to get back into the festival. Other then that you want something to listen to that's pure entertainment this is the book for you. The narrator did give more of a Mississippi southern drawn for the super star from Miami, which sounds nothing like a miami accent. I live there. I would know. The rest of the barrorating was very easy to listen to.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Js
- 01-04-20
Fun Story- Loser Protagonist
I had no problem with the fantastical Freaky-Friday, alternate universe, time travel story. The narrator was fun. All of that was good.
What constantly brought me down and made me switch off for hours was our heroine Jo.
Jo was:
cowardly
a whiner
an hysteric
a let-down to the people she needed and needed her
slow on the uptake
Incompetent
Unempathetic and selfish
a tin-plated loser.
Each new episode gave her a chance to disappoint herself and others, zone out, flake off, have a fit, make a bed decision. She hardly seemed like a grown woman, even in her older “adult” version.
If that does not bug you, I recommend the story, because everything else is great. It is a jet fighter piloted by Mr. MacGoo.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- M
- 15-10-19
Absolutely delightful
Bought this on a wim. So happy I did. Laughed out a few times even. Would love to see more from this duo.
Narrator - superb. Instantly put two of her narrated books in my wish list