Thank you to Avon, the author, and NetGalley for the gifted ebook of THANK YOU FOR LISTENING! All opinions in this review are my own.

When her acting career is cut short, Sewanee begins to work as audiobook narrator. Starting off in romance under a pseudonym, she quickly builds a flourishing career. Now Sewanee is an award-winning narrator for other genres under her own name. Sewanee is asked to return to romance one more time and despite hating the genre, she knows she has to do it. Not only will the money help her grandmother, but she is paired with the mysterious Brock as the male narrator. No one knows who he is, but she knows that together, they will be successful!

What I liked about this book:
🎧 the juxtaposition between Sewanee hating the romance genre but also starring in her romance novel
🎧 the quotes from the fictional interview at the beginning of each chapter defending romance as a genre
🎧 how Brock's secret identity is eventually uncovered
🎧 the skillful blending of heavier topics mixed with humorous moments
🎧 the author is a highly successful audiobook narrator in her own right!!

Also, I have heard that the audiobook is fantastic for this book and I can't wait to listen to it as my reread!

Thank You For Listening is available now! I cannot recommend it enough! Go read it!

Such a fun (and funny!), hopeful book! I loved the inside peek into audiobook narration life, Sewanee’s relationship with her grandmother, and the explorations of grief, friendship, and love after loss. And, of course I couldn’t help but melt over the banter, tension, and fun surprises between the main characters. Thank you, NetGalley!

Sewanee Chester dreamed of being an actor, but a serious accident ended her dreams. Now, she works as a successful audiobook narrator. While helping her boss at a romance novel convention, she has a whirlwind romance with a handsome stranger. Upon returning home, she discovers that a beloved romance novelist wants her to perform her final novel with the hottest male romance narrator, Brock McNight. As Sewanee and Brock work together, they forge a real connection. But they both keep many secrets that cause trauma and may interfere with a chance for happiness.
I loved everything about this book. The story, the characters, the dialogue, and humor were all well executed and entertaining. As an audiobook narrator herself, Ms. Whelan added authentic and interesting details to Swan’s audio work that enhanced the story. My favorite romance of the year. I bought it and am recommending to all my library patrons. Highly recommended. 5 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of the novel in exchange for my honest review.

Emily Henry recommended this book and I trust her with my life, so of course I had to request it and put in a library request for it as well. I loved this book. Any story that has to do with books/writing/publishing I gravitate towards and when I saw this was two audio book narrators? I ran. This book did not disappoint.

Thank you #Netgalley for providing me an early read of #Thank YouForListening

I loved this book written and narrated by Julia Whelan! I loved that this book was written by an audiobook narrator about an audiobook narrator. I feel like that led to an accurate story. Sewanee and Brock have an amazing romance together. I can’t say anything bad about this book.

Up-and-coming actress Sewanee Chester life comes crashing down after an accident. She pivots and becomes an audiobook narrator who gets her start with romance novels. But she doesn't believe in love or happily ever afters and has left romance books behind. After an offer too good to ignore, she returns to the romance world with an episodic podcast by the author who gave her her first job. She's paired with the biggest male narrator in the romance audiobook world and creates not only a budding friendship but a hit in the romance world. Is it all too good to be true?

I love Julia Whelan as an audiobook narrator so when I found out she wrote a book about an audiobook narrator, I had to read it!

I was so impressed by her fascinating and real characters. Her language style was so pleasing to read and I devoured it in two days.

I have recommended it to all my book clubs!!!

Thank you so much to Netgalley for my ARC.

4.5 stars. Just an absolute delight. I was grinning reading this one, especially during the banter, and there were sections that legitimately made me emotional. What a gem. P.S. this was great on audio! (Shocker)

7 Sexy and Sweet "Bed First, Feelings Later" Romances

Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan

I don’t always go for the “we had a one-night stand, and then the koooookiest thing happened—we work together!” premise. (What can I say, I considered it one-and-done with Grey’s Anatomy.) But Julia Whelan carries off that twist beautifully by placing her love interests in an industry in which they can obscure their faces and thus their true identities: Sewanee Chester is an audiobook narrator (so good, in fact, that she keeps up a Texan accent the whole night!) who has a romance-novel-in-the-flesh perfect night in Las Vegas with charming stranger Nick.

But when incredible circumstances contrive to cross their paths again through Romancelandia, Sewanee is stunned to discover in how many different ways Nick is already part of her professional life. Whelan sells the idea that you can sleep with one man, swap emails and voice notes with another, and fall for another man entirely—and makes it all seem stranger than fiction.

This book has basically everything I could want from a book. A love/relationship that 💯 felt fated in its unfolding. A complicated layered back story for both our characters. Endless inside jokes for those of us in the *fandom* of audiobooks ( the scene about the ‘male narrator’ then…. There was the Lindsey Graham joke) Hilarious, dry, witty banter in text messages and emails (my all time favorite as you know). And of course Julia’s narration and all of her many character voices that are perfection. I also particularly enjoyed the distinction/explanation of romance vs fiction vs women's fiction as told in the story. I’m telling you, this in going to be in my list of top books for the year. If you like romance and audiobooks you 100% need to listen to this.

PS- The post script from Julia at the end, also perfection and made me love the book that much more.

Definitely a must-listen if you do choose to read this one.

I've been sitting on my thoughts for THANK YOU FOR LISTENING for two months; it was a captivating and utterly fabulous narrated experience. Was it a fabulous romance? I don't know. There's an overarching theme of loss, of many varieties, and Sewanee Chester's love interest is not on page enough for my personal liking, especially in a single POV story. I don't want to say much about who the love interest is, as Sewanee herself is figuring it out on her own throughout the story, and that sort of convoluted mystery/secret identity thing didn't always work for me.

the love interest too was both too charming and smarmy almost, but then sometimes I would be utterly taken away by some of the banter and romance. A mixed bag, for sure!

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING is definitely Sewanee's story, and if you enjoy women's fic leaning romances with lots of twists and turns, give this one a go.

I'd be absolutely remiss though not to mention the vast range of narrator Julia Whelan's talents, which she puts fully on display here; multiple characters, so many accents, she does them all! I couldn't stop listening because of her talent, which she did deftly put on display here.

Also, I wasn't certain about the disability rep for Sewanee's accident that left her with one eye. There's a lot of ennui about how that accident changed Sewanee's acting career, and her lingering grief/anxiety/jealousy about her future.

ALSO: personally i do not like being teased with a sexy night that fades to black but then gets recounted in flashback lmao, and really side-eyed some of the insider wink wink-ness of the narrators' thoughts and feelings about the romance genre.

Content notes: Sewanee is a white woman who lives in LA; her grandmother is a white 80 something woman who lives in an assisted living apartment. grandma attempts suicide (not successful) and dies at the end of the book (off-page, last chapter is at the memorial).

Sewanee is an award winning audiobook narrator. Her dreams of acting were crushed at the beginning of her career when she was involved in a horrific accident. After recuperating she found recording audiobooks kept her creativity flowing while remaining behind the scenes. One night at a Las Vegas book convention Sewanee has a completely unexpected one night stand with a very handsome stranger. After returning home she is offered an opportunity of a lifetime to dual narrate a romance by her favorite author for an ungodly amount of money. This windfall will help her care for her beloved grandmother who is losing her memory at an alarming speed. Her fellow narrator is Brock McNight, a well known, although never seen in public persona, with an Irish lilt that women swoon over. They begin a friendship/workship leads to a closeness she hasn’t experienced since her self imposed isolation. As her movie star friend Adaku encourages her to reach for more and her grandmother Blah Blah barely recognizes her, Sewanee senses this is a challenge she must face on her own. With multiple names I could not pronounce (and I am usually ok with that?) and an ending that was just within reach but dragged on and on, I cannot recommend this read. I loved her first novel and adored this premise (especially knowing Julia Whelan is an actress and admired audiobook narrator) but it just did not work for me.

I loved the premise for this book and that it felt like a love letter to romance readers and audiobook listeners everywhere! However, there was a lot happening in the side plots and it felt like too much. Had a few things been cut out this would have been a much more concise book. Also, I could not take anything involving the grandma serious with her being called BlahBlah. I know that's just a personal issue and it doesn't impact my rating, but it did take away from some of the reading experience.

This was a sweet romance book. It starts with an insecure Sewanee trying to not stand out while fitting in as an audiobook narrator.

This story was a little predictable although there were still some surprises. I was thoroughly entertained throughout this book and finished it in no time at all!

Thank you for the advanced copy!

I really enjoyed this charming and fun story. The characters were witty and well written. I look forward to reading more by this author in the future.

This book was sooooo good! Julia Whelan has always been the most captivating audiobook narrator for me, so I thoroughly enjoyed this. I loved all the tid bits of life as an audiobook narrator and learning about all that is involved. I really loved the story of Bla Bla and how much Sewanee cared for her. Just a really good book and even better on audio!

Sewanee Chester voices audiobooks. After years of voicing steamy romance novels, she's set her sights on sharing her talents with different genres. When the offer of a lifetime comes in, Sewanee takes a leap of faith, hoping for one final big payout and the end of her romance narration career.

Arriving in Las Vegas. for a book convention, she also gets to spend time with her BFF, whose acting career is also taking off. When her bestie flies off last minute for the film opportunity of a lifetime, Sewanee ends up spending a night she'll never forget when a man she wishes not to remember.

As Sewanee begins to work on this final, blockbuster project, she and the male narrator being to click, in more ways than one. Opening up herself to fulfilling her dreams could take her farther than she's ever imagined, or it could cause all her walls to come crumbling down. Will she take the risk or live in the shadows forever?

Thank You for Listening is one you don't want to miss!

This was such a fun rom-com. I know the author is an audiobook narrator so I’m sure the audio version is fantastic, but I also really enjoyed the e-book version and the text/email exchanges between the main characters. I would recommend this to many friends and readers.

Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan is a romance about Sewanee Chester, an audiobook narrator. When she is asked to narrate a romance book with Brock McKnight, she begrudgingly agrees. This story had some twists and turns, but by the end, I found it to be very charming. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for the e-copy.
I devoured this book. Its a RomCom yes but has more substance than most. I loved the relationships in this novel. Not only the steamy one between lovers but the ones between Sewanee and her Grandmother, her best friend, her mom , and her dad. They were all believable .