I loved this story. The Sewanee, Nick, Brock, Alice, Sarah, connection was such a good read. The vulnerability Alice showed to Nick the night they were together was amazing. The ending with June's original letter to Sarah was interesting. June said she wasn't playing matchmaker but yet she did arrange their meeting at a later time. Just so good! Now I want to go back and reread My Oxford Year!

I’m actually not an audiobook fan, but I was drawn to this novel by its concept alone. I enjoyed Whelan’s freshman. Over, and high hopes for this one. I was not disappointed. I loved the behind the scenes look at the audiobook industry and the nods to both the book industry and romance fans. Very early on, I guessed the “twist” of the character connections. I thought Whelan’s characters were both diverse and well-developed. It was refreshing to not read a romance with one dimensional characters. The banter between Sewanee and Brock McNight was my favorite part of the book—it drew me in and kept me reading well past my bedtime. I also enjoyed the friendship and family dynamics that were developed throughout the book. Enjoyable read that I highly recommend. Thank you for the Advanced Copy.

This is a hard book to review because I enjoy Julia Whelan's writing and thought she wrote these characters well, but my main critique that kept taking me out of the novel was that these characters hate romance novels and are judgey towards romance readers. These thoughts from the characters are 100% valid and make sense with their characterization, but in a romance novel? Who is reading this novel if not for romance readers and lovers of romance novels? I kept waiting for the characters to change their minds or at least show a bit more respect to the lovers of their work, but they never did. Which I would've been fine with. Except this is being marketed as a romance novel. As a romance reader, romance novels are a safe and happy place away from the judgment that is often shown towards us, I don't want to be reminded that people judge romance readers while reading about two people falling in love.

If the two characters had been slightly less judgey or if this had not been marketed as a romance novel I think I would've enjoyed it a lot more.

Thanks to @avonbooks for an advance copy of Thank You For Listening by Julia Whelan, out August 2nd!

Actress slash beloved audiobook narrator Julia Whelan has authored a novel about an actress slash beloved audiobook narrator because OF COURSE 🤣 but for a romance reader and audiobook listener, it was basically catnip. I had to read it.

There was a lot to love about this book. I love that it gives a glimpse into the book community (book events, Facebook groups, readers who have favorite narrators, what it’s like being an audiobook narrator). I loved its portrayal of family and friendship and grief. Some of the lines and descriptions laid me out flat. It was so funny and kept me up late turning the next page. I love love loved the epistolary element. I loved that there was a disabled female main character but that the story didn’t center on her disability.

I guessed what was going to happen very early on but still enjoyed watching it unfold! Suwannee and Nick are both in pretty terrible places — know going in that this book deals with grief and loss in a number of ways — and I appreciated that this wasn’t glossed over in the process of them finding each other.

My main frustration was that about 75% of the way in I was still feeling pretty defensive about the treatment of romance novels and reading in general (one popular audiobook narrator proclaims he doesn’t read, another that she never listens to audiobooks) but seeing as the book is itself a romance and the author narrates, among other genres, romance novels, I held out hope. And it sort of redeemed itself? But I was left with mixed feelings about that aspect.

Though I read a physical copy, I really would have enjoyed listening to Whelan voice all the characters — I’m sure the audiobook is fantastic. I was super excited by the buzz I was seeing from advance readers, and I too really enjoyed Thank You For Listening!

CW: plane accident, disability, suicide, Alzheimer’s, dementia, grief, loss of a loved one, sexual content

I DNF'd this authors first book so I was really nervous about reading this one. While I ultimately had some issues with the book, I was actually pleasantly surprised with the story and enjoyed reading it!

Sewanee is a former actress turned audiobook narrator due to an unfortunate accident that takes away a lot of her confidence. Though she got her start in narrating romance novels under a pseudonym, she now will narrate anything BUT romance as she doesn't believe HEAs really exist for normal people. Sewanee discovers that one of the most beloved romance authors wanted her to record her last ever book along with sensation Brock McNight, Sewanee decides to take one last dip into the romance world. As they begin to work together, she and Brock form a real connection, hidden behind the comfort of both of their pseudonyms.

My main overarching issue with this book is that there is a balance in writing dialogue that sounds like people would actually say it and writing in a way that readers will actually enjoy it and I don't think Julia Whelan has quite found that balance yet unfortunately. I also had some issues with grammar/sentence structure and found it a bit choppy in places.

After about 40%, I did find myself getting sucked in more and enjoying it a lot more - I think the banter in their emails and texts was really really good and is what eventually got me interested in the story.

Overall this gets a 3.5 stars from me! Thank you to Netgalley and Avon for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you love audiobooks and you love a love story, this is the book for you. Our audiobook queen Julia Whelan delivered on all counts with this one. We have a fun grandmother, great friends, a cool job, interesting backstory, and of course the love story we all want in a romance book. All of my boxes were checked!

Whelan (My Oxford Year, 2018), draws on her experience narrating audiobooks in this poignant and charming novel about two famous audiobook performers who fall in love during their dual narration of a romance novel.

Starred Review: https://www.booklistonline.com/Thank-You-For-Listening/pid=9763276

3.5. Like most audiobook listeners, I'm a big fan of Julia Whelan as a narrator, but I wasn't a huge fan of her first novel (largely for the Me Before You-esque plot, which is really not my thing). This book has a great premise, especially paired with Julia being an audiobook narrator queen, and I loved everything about those elements in the book. I didn't get very invested in Sewanee and Nick's relationship -- I liked their banter over text, whereas the later section (once their identities have been revealed/figured out) didn't work well for me, and the Nick/Brock pieces didn't all fit together. I honestly would have liked more of Sewanee's personal struggles and background as that was more interesting to me and felt a bit unfulfilled, as well as unconnected to her romance plot and scenes. The sideplots vary, but I loved her relationship with her grandmother, who leapt off the page to me and was particularly affecting as someone whose grandmother is going through similar stages. Overall, the audiobook and romance humor worked best for me, but unfortunately Sewanee and Nick's central relationship was uneven.

***thank you netgalley and Avon publishers for the ARC***

I’m in the minority but this didn’t do it for me. I thought the characters acted like they were in a YA novel, they were very immature. As I was reading, I felt like I was getting whiplash. I think it went overboard with the quirkiness. I skimmed the last half.

Julia Whelan is one of my favorite audiobook narrators, so when I saw this book, I knew I had to read it. Thank You For Listening is a fun romance set in the world of audiobook narration and features a main character who is cynical about love and has to learn to accept herself before she can accept romance. One of my favorite things about Thank you for listening is that romance novels play a very important role in the plot, and Whelan includes several common tropes in a very tongue in cheek way that makes it clear that both the characters and the reader are in on the joke.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy for review.

Thank you for the e-arc @Avonbooks @netgalley, and the ALC @libro.fm!

This was perfect! Entertaining as always with Julia Whelan narrating! Loved the concept and thought it was so easy to fall in love with. This one will for sure pull on your heart strings with sweet and difficult family relationships and also make you laugh out loud with the wittiness. The relationship with her grandma with dementia was super sweet and felt so personal.

There are main characters that you want to root for, a strong bff relationship, great overall character arcs, themes that add depth, and amazing insight on Hollywood and the audiobook world.

I binged this in one day! Highly recommend the audio version for this one as well as listening to the Author’s Note at the end.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publishing team for sharing this ARC with me!

This story follows Sewanee Chester, an audiobook narrator who is a long way from her old dreams, leaving the days of being a star on film sets long behind her. She’s found success and satisfaction from the inside of a sound booth and it allows her to care for her beloved, ailing grandmother. When she arrives in Las Vegas last minute for a book convention, Sewanee unexpectedly spends a whirlwind night with a charming stranger and in the days that follow, this stranger becomes a little something more.

There were parts of this book I enjoyed and other parts that had me skim reading. I think Sewanee's character was an interesting one! You liked her and sympathized with her. Her journey as a character was a satisfying one, especially as you watch her overcome her demons. Nick was our other character and he was definitely charming and someone you also rooted her. When I first started reading, I honestly thought I would DNF the book but then we reached the banter and I loved their chemistry! Nick and Sewanee were hilarious and had such wit together and for me, their conversation and connection saved the book. While I appreciated the side plots/characters, I wasn't too attached to any of them.

I thought the book had nice lessons that I appreciated. The pacing of the story was a little off in some places making it feel a little confusing and I do think it felt too long, but overall, I thought this was a cute read! Romance readers can definitely enjoy it!

Julia Whelan is one of my favorite narrators and I’m so glad she wrote this glimpse into the life of an audiobook narrator. I adore books about books and this is the first I’ve ever read about audiobooks.

Audiobooks + all the romantic tropes (love that there’s humor mixed in) + wonderful & heartfelt supporting characters + personal growth makes this such a fantastic read.

4.5 stars

When I first saw that this book was written by everyone’s FAVORITE audiobook narrator, Julia Whelan- an actress who herself now uses her acting skills to bring to life the words of many of our favorite authors- I wondered if it was autobiographical. 🤔

Although that doesn’t seem to be the case, it does allow us have a glimpse, into BOTH worlds, which added an extra layer of intrigue to the story for me!

It definitely shows the side of audiobook narration which isn’t as glamorous as what one would imagine, and it was fun to learn that just like acting there is A LOT of PREP WORK that goes into it-you don’t just sit down and read a book aloud!!

Sewanee Chester, (Swan) named after her grandmother’s hometown, no longer believes in HEA (happily ever after).

An accident which resulted in the loss of one eye, took away her dreams of becoming a film actress, and while her best friend, and fellow Actress Adaku, soared to fame-she retreated to a sound booth, getting her start narrating novels for iconic romance author, June French, using the alias, Sarah Westholme.

As she developed her own following as a narrator, she gave up the romance genre, and moved on to others, but when her ailing grandmother, Blah Blah, (she couldn’t pronounce Barbara as a toddler) needed to be moved to the very expensive “memory care” wing of her assisted living home, she decides to reconsider when offered the kind of money she would need to pay for this move.

June French had recently passed away, and her wish was that her LAST novel be read by “Sarah” and the hottest male narrator in the industry, Brock McNight.

I loved the relationship that Swan shared with Blah Blah, as I was extremely close with my late grandmother, so this dimension added a lot to the story for me. It was also refreshing to see a strong, female friendship portrayed as well!

But, it wouldn’t be a satisfying ROMANCE novel if there wasn’t chemistry between Sewanee (Sarah) and Brock.

Fortunately the book DOES have the playful banter which makes these stories fun, and the HEAT 🔥 to make you want to believe in HEA!

The first half was stronger for me, as the story got a little to preachy and cheesy around the 75% point-but the ending had me closing my Kindle wearing a satisfied smile.

This title will be released on. August 2, 2022 and you can read it or LISTEN 🎧 to it narrated by Julia herself!

Thank You to Avon Books for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. It was my pleasure to offer a candid review!

I am a fan of Julia Whelan-- both her first novel and her narration! I thought the characters here were vivdly drawn, empathetic, and real. I just had a hard time investing in the tropes as they played out. Not my favorite, but a compelling read. Thank you NetGalley and Avon for the ARC.

Thank You For Listening follows Sewanee, an actress, after an accident topples her career and leaves her with an eye patch. She has turned this set back into a successful career narrating audiobooks, but struggles to feel wholly herself in her scarred skin. After accepting a job to pay for her grandmother’s memory care, she falls for her mysterious co-narrator. They discover they have a bit more in common than previously thought, and Sewanee struggles with trusting their burgeoning relationship.

I had the pleasure of reading this while already having experience in audiobook narration. It was fun to engage with the little quirks that the author, a narrator herself, let the reader into (green apples! tsk-ing!). When this novel releases, I can confidently say that it will make a splash. I think readers will enjoy the wit of the first half, and recommend it to their friends. The strongest moments were between Sewanee and her grandmother, and Sewanee and her best friend Adaku.

Spoilers ahead!

Even with my enjoyment, I do think some things could have been improved. Adaku, despite my love for her sunny disposition, felt flat until the very end. We know nothing about her family, love life, friends outside of Sewanee, etc etc. I loved her enough that I would read a second novel all about her, but it wasn’t until the very end that I got to see her talk about herself in any real complexity. I know Blah’s friends, Nick’s friends, even Mark’s love life. I wish I had less Nick and more Adaku.

I think the chapter of Stu talking to Nick was pedantic. Nick repeated his life story so many times throughout the second half it was almost like- am I imagining this? Didn’t he just say this? I really struggled getting through it.

I loved how Sewanee reacted to the reveal of Nick & Brock. It felt like a grounded response in the outlandish scenario, and contrasted wonderfully against it.

The moment when Sewanee yells at her dad about her disability- wow. The strongest, most raw part in this novel. I just feel like the relationship with Nick was so lackluster in comparison to the strength in the other moments of the book. That’s not to say that the sex scene was rough- it was fine. Nick was fine. I just think it would be better with 10 percent of his scenes cut.

All in all, I’m choosing to give this four stars based on the sheer enjoyment I felt reading the first 65% percent of it. It was witty, fun, and a page turner. I think that on release this book will be well loved.

I tried to get into this book 3x and I just never got hooked. I have to DNF. I do think I would enjoy the book if it wasn’t so long and the beginning grabbed my attention better. I will give i my another try on audio once the book is released!

This is my first Julia Whelan novel and won't be my last. The characters jumped off the page and I truly enjoyed myself.

I am not an audio book person and this novel sparked my interest in the behind the scenes work of the voices on them. Sewanee is an audio book voice going through so many life altering experiences at once: grandmother with dementia, detached divorced father, wanting life to return to where it once was. The chance for a lucrative voice job is a saving grace. As life unfolds so do her insecurities, desires, and chances for love.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved this book! I am a big fan of Julia Whelan as a narrator and as an author so I was anxiously waiting to read/listen to this one. I loved all of the little tidbits about audiobook super fans, the behind the scenes look into the narrator life, and of course all of the scenes written about the Audies (a dream to see I am sure). I appreciate the way the tone can go from humor to being serious effortlessly. The banter between Sawanee and Nick was impeccable. I think Julia could rival writing banter at the same level as Emily Henry (and we love some EH banter). The character growth of Sawanee was so great. I love a woman MC who has believable growth and acceptance by the end of the book.

I will probably be adding to my review of this book a few times because there is just so much to love and gush about and I don't think all of my thoughts are totally together still.

Big thanks to Avon, Netgalley (and whoever added this as a read now so I could grab it) and Libro for the ALC of this great audiobook by Julia Whelan.