Thank you Avon and Harper Voyager, Libro.Fm for my copy! All thoughts are my own.

I have been loving books that feature characters in the entertainment industry and I had such a great time reading Thank You For Listening! I loved Julia Whelan’s debut, My Oxford Year. It was one of my first forays into the Romance genre and before I knew Whelan’s background as an actor and audiobook narrator career. Her latest is on the more humorous side, with lots of nods to the Romance genre, but still pulls at your heartstrings like we expect from her writing.

Synopsis:

“For Sewanee Chester, being an audiobook narrator is a long way from her old dreams, but the days of being a star on film sets are 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.On her return home, Sewanee discovers one of the world’s most beloved romance novelists wanted her to perform her last book—with Brock McNight, the industry’s hottest, most secretive voice. Sewanee doesn’t buy what romance novels are selling—not after her own dreams were tragically cut short—and she stopped narrating them years ago. But her admiration of the late author, and the opportunity to get her grandmother more help, makes her decision for her.As Sewanee begins work on the book, resurrecting her old romance pseudonym, she and Brock forge a real connection, hidden behind the comfort of anonymity. Soon, she is dreaming again, but secrets are revealed, and the realities of life come crashing down around her once more.If she can learn to risk everything for desires she has long buried, she will discover a world of intimacy and acceptance she never believed would be hers.”

What I Liked:

The Premise—I loved the premise of this book. It was so fun to follow an audiobook narrator and actor. It was a familiar enough world for me that it made me happy but also fun and exciting to explore a side of the industry I don’t know as much about.

The Humor—I laughed out loud at so many points. It was so funny! And still heartfelt and deeply emotional like My Oxford Year, but not as heartbreaking.

The Tongue-In-Cheek Romance References—I love “in the know” jokes about Romance. If you love the genre, you will find yourself snorting and giggling.

What Didn’t Work:

Contrast—I wasn’t quite expecting the deeply emotional moments because the tone was so funny at first. I think there could have been a little more built into the transitions, but I also suppose unexpected changes are part of life!

Character Authenticity: 4/5 Steam Rating: 1/5 Overall Rating: 4/5

Content Warnings:

Memory loss; Eye trauma & loss of vision; Death of a grandmother; suicide attempt

This is my first time reading anything of Julia Whelan's, though I'm familiar with her audiobook work. And I've got to say, I was pleasantly surprised by this! A solid, enjoyable romance, I found myself snickering along with all the audio romance references, and the proliferation of innuendos. The humor is very much present, and though the plot is understandably predictable, the main characters are relatable and easy to root for. I especially enjoyed the exchange of emails and texts-- it made this book easy to love!

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for the arc!

Thank You for Listening was a great story. Although it was predictable, I enjoyed the old Hollywood twist it had, and especially enjoyed learning more about the job of an audiobook narrator. The story of BlahBlah added some depth to the story, and the relationships throughout the novel were precious. Stu was my favorite! Julia Whelan has become one of my must read authors. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this sweet book!

I have been a fan of Julia Whelan's narration on many audiobooks and was so excited to step in to the world of narrators in this book. I loved everything about it -- I felt so connected to Sewanee, I was rooting for her from the start -- and I loved getting all the insider tidbits about audiobook narration. I loved not only all the characters, but also the sense of place that Julia Whelan established -- I could visualize the studio and Sewanee's home, as well as her wandering the streets of Venice.

I would recommend this to any fans of rom coms -- but it's also one I would recommend to anyone, because there is so much to the story besides romance. Easily one of my favorite books of the year!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

The chemistry between our two characters Sawanee and Nick was impeccable. This dive into the world of book narration was so fun and interesting! I definitely plan to check out the audiobook because I feel like the audiobook would add another dimension to this story.

Thank you Julia Whelan, NetGalley and Avon for the ARC.

After a tragic accident, Sewanee Chester has settled into a career of being an audiobook narrator and leaving behind her acting career. She started in the audiobook career reading romance, but since her success has left that genre behind. After one magical night with a stranger while at a conference, Sewanee returns home to find that she has an offer to record an audiobook with a world famous narrator, but it’s a romance and she is hesitant. This with lots of changes in her family and friends life leave Sewanee at a point of change in her life, she just has to pick which direction to go.

It's funny because while this book is fiction it really seemed to me almost autobiographical in nature (which luckily author addressed at the end of the book). A former actress turned audiobook narrator? That’s Julia Whelan. But the characters are very much their own and not rooted in real life, which considering they felt real I was very impressed.

My favorite parts of the book are the ones in which Sewanee spent time with her grandmother Blah, they felt the most real to me and hit me the hardest, even bringing tears into my eyes. There were complicated friend and family dynamics covered in this book that I enjoyed very much and hit home a lot. I will say, the plot of this book was fairly predictable which is why it’s a 4 and not 5 star read for me. I guessed every single plot point from the beginning of the book which did take away from my enjoyment a bit.

Whelan with her second novel, gives a heartfelt story about a woman accepting her circumstances and forgiving herself for the mistakes she made leading to this point. It’s also a love letter to audiobooks and the artists who make them.

Sewanee is an audiobook narrator who likes to forget. She liked to forget she started with romance audiobooks (she's now onto more prestigious literary fiction), she likes to forget about her dashed dreams of being a famous actress, and she likes to forget about the accident that left her with a disfigurement. However, one night in Vegas might turn that all around.

This is squarely a romance. It has some very spicy language. I enjoyed this and it was not exactly what I was expecting. I loved the main female friendship and many of the characters. I could have used less spice. Overall, this was a better than just fun book and as long as you like romance, you'll like this one. For fans of the movie The Lost City (with less action sequences).

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review.

Julia Whelan is my all-time favorite audiobook narrator, and having her give me a peek into the audiobook narration world was the cherry on this fabulous book sundae.

There's so much to like about this book. The characters are amazing, relatable, likable and quirky. Although there's quite a bit going on with the plot, it manages to move along fast and easily. The dialogue and banter are perfection. And everything put together just works. I loved it!

A big thank you to the author, NetGalley and Avon for an advanced e-copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was a little bit rough for me to get into at first. The main character is named Sewanee (nicknamed Swan), a former actress who got into reading books after an accident that took one of her eyes. The book begins with her on a plane listening to a romance audiobook on the way to a book convention, seated next to a child. After having a conversation with the girl and her mother, Sewanee goes back to her audiobook, which is of course playing an intimate scene, and of course is no longer properly plugged in, and of course it takes Sewanee a second to realize that. This scene is literally my worst audiobook nightmare, and while I was recently listening to a book podcast where someone said they like reading romance books on audio because of the way the banter comes to life, I never read them because the thought of having an intimate scene read to me makes me feel awkward. So yes, you have a main character with a quirky first name and some secondhand embarrassment.

Sewanee is an audiobook narrator who got her start reading romance books under a pseudonym but in general looks down on the romance genre and hasn’t touched it in years. Under her real name, she narrates literary fiction and science fiction and in general Thinky books. But after getting an offer to read the last book by this romance author she used to read for (and one of the few romance authors that she considers legitimately talented), an offer that will allow her to take care of her grandmother who is suffering from dementia, Sewanee agrees. What happens next is a text and email exchange between romance audiobook superstar, Brock McNight, who’s just in it to make a living and is equally as cynical about the genre. This actually leads into some interesting discussions about what exactly is the romance genre, what constitutes that, and what makes it different from women’s fiction? This book is technically considered a romance, but the romance actually doesn’t really come into play until much deeper into the book and it feels a bit heavier than that.

This book delves into some difficult topics. Sewanee taking care of her grandmother takes up a huge portion of the book and so talks about how difficult that can be to take care of an ailing family member. Sewanee is also traumatized by the loss of her eye and how much that has changed her life and how things are at a stand-still. This is partly what makes her so cynical that she looks down on romance.

What drew me to this book in the first place is really the most interesting part, the peak into the audiobook world and how it works and also some fears for the future, with computer generated audiobooks becoming a possibility that will threaten the future of narrators. I also enjoyed Sewanee’s friendship with her best friend, which is mostly positive but also feels realistic as of course people are complicated which makes friendships sometimes complicated.

I will definitely read more from Whelan in the future.

Thank you Avon for my NetGalley ARC and Libro.fm/Harper Audio for providing an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Pub date: 8/2/22
Genre: romance, books about books
In one sentence: After an accident ended Sewanee Chester's acting career, she's found success as an audiobook narrator, and sparks fly as she co-narrates a romance audiobook with industry heartthrob Brock McNight.

Julia Whelan is one of the top audiobook narrators working today - who better to write a book about audiobook narrators? I loved all the references to the narration process, book conventions, and romance tropes. The banter between Sewanee and Brock was spot on! I liked both the text and audio for this one, but I think the dialogue is better suited to audio, as Whelan just nails Brock's voice.

I enjoyed the layers of this book - in addition to the narration storyline, the reader also learns about Sewanee's past, and how the accident completely changed her life. Seeing her come to terms with what happened to her was very powerful, and I loved how she started to move forward. You can probably guess some of the romance plotline from the blurb - but there were a few pleasant surprises that made me smile.

This book reminded me a lot of Emily Henry's Book Lovers, and if you liked that one, I bet you'll like this one too!

I really enjoyed this book and read it in one sitting. I loved getting a glimpse of the process of creating audiobooks. There's a good balance of heavy of light-hearted in this book. The book tackles some pretty heavy subjects (fear of failure, aging grandparent, disability, etc.) which gave the book depth while also delivering on the cutesy romance HEA. There was also A+ level banter ala Emily Henry. It's definitely a book to read if you're a book lover or romance lover. Probably more of a 3.5 star read for me. I felt like the story dragged a bit in the middle and the timeline jumps sometimes took a bit to get into. I also felt like the main characters had a lot of chemistry in their first meeting and their text/email exchanges, but the chemistry didn't translate well when they really met each other until toward the end of the book.

An audiobook about audiobook narrators written by an audiobook narrator. So much fun! I began reading this but it is true, the audio is the true experience and Julia Whelan is a master. Sewanee is an actress turned audiobook narrator after a horrible accident. After a steamy Las Vegas evening with a mysterious stranger, she takes on a new project to help pay for her grandmother’s care. This new project happens to be a audio duet with a widely known and loved romance narrator, Brock McNight. Secrets emerge, connections form, and dreams are realized. And let’s not forget her best friend! This is such a fun read for audiobook listeners and book lovers alike. I loved the connections forged both IRL and through text/emails. The relationship between Sewanee and her best friend, father, and grandmother gave the story add depth and layers that everyone can relate to

If you’re a fan of contemporary romances in audio, chances are you’re already familiar with Julia Whelan’s work behind the microphone. After turning her hand to writing romance in 2019 with My Oxford Year, she’s back with Thank You For Listening, an emotionally gripping, touching and yet fun story about two audiobook narrators who unexpectedly fall in after a chance encounter.

The amazingly-named Sewanee – Swan - Chester is proud of her job as an audiobook narrator, especially as it allows her to stretch her acting muscles while looking after her dementia-stricken grandmother. She’s largely given up on acting in the physical realm after an on-set injury killed her rising acting career, but being a famous personality in the audiobook world means personal appearances, which also means going to conventions to promote her talent. When a handsome man sweeps her off of her feet for a one-night stand in Las Vegas, she thinks that that’s all there’ll be to it.

Sewanee is surprised to be offered the chance to narrate a romance novel by a recently-deceased bestselling author. She normally rejects romance novel jobs because her first love ended tragically, but then she learns the man who’ll be voicing her character’s love interest is none other than Brock McNight. Brock is a popular voice with a mysterious past and a face the public has never seen. Sewanee naturally wants to find out more about him, so she decides to join the project. But when she learns Brock’s real identity, she’s thrown for a loop.

If you know anything about romance novels, you already know how Sewanee’s one-night stand and Brock’s mysterious self come together, but Thank You For Listening builds up a steamy, banter-filled and spicy-fun romance between them so quickly that it doesn’t matter if you get there before the story does. At least for the first half of the book. I liked Sewanee, but it was hard for me to like ‘Brock’ after a while; I mean, the man’s a non-reader who narrates books for a living! When they stooped to jumping to the worst conclusions about one another because it’s romance and ‘tis the plot, I had to groan. I wanted more of everything I liked about their relationship to stretch deeper into the book.

Also problematic is the sheer amount of plot in the book. There’s a lot going on - Sewanee’s career, her grandmother’s illness, her unresolved trauma. Add on career issues, stuff going on with her parents and a whole lot of other baggage, and it’s really too much. It could have done with being around a hundred pages shorter, which would have prevented the odd end-of-book crash. But even with that factored in, Thank You For Listening is a pretty satisfying ride overall.

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If you want a book to give you some insight to being an audiobook narrator, this was a fun fiction that gave a glimpse. Julia Whalen is one of my favorite narrators and I enjoyed her romance book about an audiobook narrator.

I enjoyed the backstory of Sawanee and her journey to finding a new life after her accident. I really enjoyed hearing about her working with Brock to create an audiobook with dual POV and the process of recoding it.

Julia Whelan is the best audiobook narrator ever. So I was absolutely thrilled to learn she also writes. Even better, this book features main characters who narrate audiobooks and describes the fandom community around narrating. And if that weren't enough, Julia Whelan narrated the audiobook edition!

The tone is a mix between rom-com and more serious aspects. There are some quite amusing parts dissecting what makes a romance novel. It felt very meta and fun to read and consider what I consider the essential elements of the genre and how realistic they are. There's great banter between the protagonists with lots of amusing innuendo. And there are also tougher, more emotional parts about family, loss, and caring for an aging relative.

I wish the chapters were shorter. I especially loved Chapter 9 titled Epistolary, as I always enjoy texts and emails included in books. But it was really long and made it tough to find my place when switching back and forth between formats.

I loved getting to know Sewanee. And I would love to read a sequel with her best friend starring.

Thank you to Avon Books and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy and to LibroFM for the advanced listener copy of this book. These opinions are my own.

Thank You For Listening is a love letter to romance readers - and more specifically to audiobook romance readers. Julia Whelan is one of my favorite audiobook narrators and I loved her other book My Oxford Year as well so I was super excited for this and it did not disappoint!

I don’t want to say anything about the plot. I didn’t k or anything when I started and loved just seeing what would happen. Our main character - like our author - is an audiobook narrator but beyond that the author’s note assures us it isn’t autobiographical. I highly recommend downloading this audiobook and popping it in your ears as soon as possible!

Thank you to the publisher, Netgalley and Libro.fm for the advance reading and listening copies.

Thank you Netgalley & Avon & Harper Voyager for This advanced copy of this book. Here are my thoughts on this book.
I loved the romance between both Sewanee & Nick . Their banter with each other but also their growth in regards to letting their walls down. Swan had a lot of relationships within this story line and each one helped make her who she is. Nick was honestly my favorite character and felt like I could relate to him the most.
Although the romance was beautiful, I believe it did not get as much time to shine as everything else. This book felt a tad too chaotic for me , but it’s understandable given what Swan was going through. I just could not get behind her character though and found myself really becoming annoyed with her behaviors and always projecting her own issues onto others.
I did appreciate how the author portrayed dementia/Alzheimer’s in the story and I could truly feel my heart break for Sewanee because she already lost so much due to her own accident, but losing her grandmother to the disease was gut wrenching . I did not mind this story at all , it was a tad too slow for my liking and the romance was very short lived I feel. I did like the surprise twist about Nick and his alter ego. I rated this 3 stars .

If you like fun banter, quirky characters, healing & colleagues/ one night stand to lovers then this story is for you. Watch for it when it comes out on August 6th,2022.

Thank you to the author, Netgalley and Avon for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is the first book I’ve read by Julia Whelan and I can say I love her as much as an author as I do a narrator.

The story was heartwarming. I loved all of the characters. I appreciated greatly that they were diverse. The love story was captivating (in all of it’s different iterations). I am not sure I have wished or rooted for a couple to get their HEA as much as I did in ‘Thank You for Listening”.

I thought the behind the scenes glimpse into the world of audiobooks (which I LOVE) was incredibly fascinating! I can relate to the emotion of strongly connecting to the person voicing the characters and I can’t wait to enjoy this story again when it is available in audio format!

The only small critique for me was during the final pursuit, the will they/won’t they end up together, I wished would’ve resulted in one final love scene of sorts. The build up was there and the characters intense pull to one another was so strong that I think it would’ve felt complete.

I cannot wait to circle back to Whelan’s first novel and anticipate future releases!

RATING: 3/5 STARS

This was a unique book and I thoroughly enjoyed the romance! I did find myself skimming some parts but I overall enjoyed this glimpse into the world of audiobook narration.

Fun romance novel perfect for summer reading by the pool. I enjoyed reading this and appreciate the opportunity.