Never read this author before so this was new to me. A sweet and sometimes steamy romance; A fun read, but with some serious elements. Will check out other books by this author. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for a review.

"Thank You for Listening", by Julia Whelan, is based on two interesting characters: audiobook narrators. I have never read a book about this, and I was intrigued. In Whelan's book, Sewanee and Brock (a.k.a. Nick) are both tasked with the job of narrating a bestselling romance book. Having never met (or so they thought!), their relationship is primarily text and email based. The more they converse, the closer they get. Eventually, a sweet romance has developed and they decide to meet in person. Upon meeting, they're shocked to discover that they're not really strangers, but had a steamy one-night stand just months before starting their narrating job.

I really enjoyed their cute, flirtatious banter while texting and emailing, but something got lost in translation when they met (again) in real life. I also felt that too much time was spent on the grandmother plot rather than really fleshing out the two main characters. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

I'm not 100% sure why podcasting driven romances are a new niche, but this one is just another in the trend, not a first purchase.

Apparently this is the year for great witty romances. I’m very much enjoying all these books that openly play around with romance tropes and the audiobook aspect was a nice spin.

I’m not really sure if this counts as romance or women’s fiction but either way, it had a good fun love story and also a lot of depth to the characters who all had some deep rooted issues to work through. The banter was witty and the chemistry between the main characters was palpable.

Truly adored this and highly recommend it!

I am an absolute fangirl for anything Julia Whelan writes. My Oxford Year is one of my favorite books of all time, so I was stoked to get to read an early copy of this. The chemistry and banter between the two MC's had me grinning LIKE A FOOL while reading their email and text exchanges. It made me wish I had a crush to text. I could not put this book down, I just really loved the world and the characters and needed them to be together finally.

Thanks to NetGalley, Avon, and Harper Voyager for the opportunity to read and review this one before publication! Julia Whelan is one of my favorite audiobook narrators, and I hugged this by the end! The setup: Sewanee Chester is a former actress turned audiobook narrator who is wrestling with her own recent trauma. After a book conference, she meets a sweet-talking stranger over one evening, and when she gets home she gets the opportunity to do one last romance audiobook (duel recording) with the charming, illusive Brock McNight.

What I loved:
--busting out with loud laughter throughout
--deep dive into romance tropes and audiobook-making behind the scenes
--well-developed side characters with their own histories
--those chapter titles!
--smart, emotional writing

I can't wait to see the buzz when this comes out! Fans of Julia Whelan as well as Emily Henry's Book Lovers should not miss this one.

Love Julia Whalen and she is about to have anlther hit on her hands. Super fun reading about the life of an audio book reader since I never really think about them!!

This was a cute story about an industry I didn't know anything about. It's obvious Whalen knows and loves her work. It certainly made me appreciate and want to listen to more audio books. In terms of characters, I just never fully understood Sewanee and had a hard time routing for her. And while yes the coincidence was laughed at and explained as being out of a movie, it still was rather too much of a jump for me. But overall this story was a quick easy summer read.

I loved the idea of this book. I am always intrigued by books that are about books and this one was about audiobooks! Such a fun concept. This book was definitely deeper than I had expected. The cartoon-ish cover deceived me because it was a very deep book about concepts of following your dreams despite tradgedy. It was a great introduction into Julia Whelan for me and has me adding 'My Oxford Year' to the top of my TBR pile!

Thank You for Listening is my top recommendation for audiobook fans! This novel, from Avon Books, will hit store shelves on August 2nd so get those pre-orders in now.

If you aren’t familiar with Julia Whelan she is, in real life, an audiobook narrator that has narrated over 400 books. This is also Julia's second novel so you can read her backlist book, My Oxford Year (published in 2018) while you await this release.

Given the nature of her work, ideally, you will choose the audiobook format for this one. Unfortunately, I did not get to listen to this book on audiobook because I only had access to a digital copy, but Julia has done a phenomenal job promoting her narrating it so you can watch those clips on her Instagram account to get a taste for what's to come.
In Thank You For Listening, our main character, Sewanee had dreams of becoming the next big actress. When she is involved in a tragic accident though, she is forced to give up her on-camera roles and focus on acting of a different kind...working as an audiobook narrator.

The thing is that she is REALLY good at it and it has led to some really fun projects. This new career, in fact, leads her to a book convention where she has one hot steamy night with a charming stranger.
That isn't the only exciting development though because Sewanee's narration is requested by one of the most beloved romance novelists. It is this author's request that she narrates this along with one of the industry's most secretive voices- Brock McKnight.

The two must talk each other through the scenes and coach each other on narration. Whelan imagines their own steamy encounters when they have to narrate these scenes together that is just EVERYTHING you want this book to be.

Shenanigans ensue, a love triangle is made, and this character GROWS- all fun plot points for any romance lover. This book names the tropes and owns the tropes- it is perfection.

I will say, she also weaves in thoughtful side characters like her best friend who encourages her along the way, a well-developed story about Sewanee coming to terms with her disability, and financial motivations for Sewanee to take these jobs to care for her ailing grandmother.

This one left me with a BIG, GOOFY GRIN and I can't wait for you to read it.

In particular, I want to recommend this one to fans of The Ex Talk (another fun romp, but this time with an NPR setting). It has similar work chemistry and I loved the peek behind the Oz curtain at audiobook narration.

An interesting spin or background on this book. It’s about an actress who now narrates audiobooks after a tragic event in her life that made her change career directions. While at a convention in Las Vegas, she meets Nick for a one night stand. After Vegas, Sewanee is contracted to narrate a steamy romance novel with Brock McNight. While vowing never to do another romance book, she does so to make money to pay for her grandma’s care. Now Sewanee and Brock begin a texting friendship or a sexting relationship. Little do they realize that they are really Alice and Nick from Las Vegas. While Nick thinks it’s a funny and typical romantic story plot, Sewanee is not laughing. Can they follow the script and find a HEA? This romance story is written by the well-known audiobook narrator Julia Whelan. I was so enamored with her narration of Four Winds by Kristen Hannah. I believe her experience gave her the best insight to tell this story, that being a narrator is so much more than just “reading” aloud the story, it involves becoming the characters and immersing yourself whole-heartedly. While the text banter back and forth between Sewanee and Nick was a bit long for me, I realize the importance of it as an element to move the story along. Sewanee’s plight with her grandmother was very moving and pulled you into the reality away from the Hollywood scene, I could relate to that. I love how the premise of Nick and Sewannee followed the blueprint of a typical romance novel and the irony of it. Well written, this story had me glued from the first page to the end. I give it a 4 out of 5 only for when the story would sometimes jump forward and back in plot. But this is surely worth reading.
Many thanks to #netgalley #juliawhelan #thanksforlistening for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Add THANK YOU FOR LISTENING by Julia Whelan to your summer TBR. This book pleasantly surprised me. It’s such an engaging, in-depth look at audiobook narration and all the hard work and talent that goes into it. It’s fun and engaging the entire book. You’ll be rooting for the characters along the way. I may need to re-read once it’s available as an audiobook to appreciate it even more. Julia Whelan has proven herself as bath a talented author and audiobook narrator.

This was such a fun read! I loved the characters, the pacing, the heart of this book! I couldn't put it down. I loved a fictional look at the world of audiobook narrating because it is so unique. I found myself laughing out loud at parts, which is a rarity for me and always a joy when it happens. So witty. Such a delight. I can't say enough positive things and can't wait to force all my friends to pick this one up!

I absolutely LOVED this book!!! The way Julia Whelan writes such important romance books with bigger themes and messages gets me EVERY time! I loved how this book pokes fun at the romance book genre, and still teaches such important messages about love and loss- mourning a life you thought you may have and learning to embrace the one you've got. It was so well written, funny and swoony. Could not recommend more!!!

Julia Whelan, Queen of Audiobook Narrators, wrote a romance about audiobook narrators?! Immediate yes. The banter (especially via text messages) was spot on in this ode to audiobook narrators and lovers. We also got family drama friendship, past trauma, and uncertainty about the future, all interacting well with the main romance storyline. Julia definitely knows her romance tropes and her use of them in Thank You for Listening was fantastic. Some of the chapter/part transitions were a little choppy (I didn’t realize we went back in time at the start of part 4), and I did think part 3 could’ve used some chapters since it was the longest one. But this was an enjoyable read regardless and as an audiobook lover, I really appreciated Julia’s POV on audiobook narration shining through in this story.

I enjoyed the unique premise of this book! The author clearly knows a lot about the audiobook industry as well as romance novels, and it results in a winning combination. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Julia Whelan is such a good writer! Loved this new book and these characters. She develops them so well and has great dimensional stories. It's funny and sweet and surprising. :) I love when authors write in different formats in the same book and she definitely does that! For sure recommend this one!

Thank you NetGalley and Julia Whelan!

I don’t read many romances anymore. I used to! When I was in my teens, 20s, and 30s, I couldn’t walk by a cover with a shirtless Highlander on it. But year by year, my love for them fell away. I had written them off 😉 until last year. SEVEN DAYS IN JUNE showed me that romance could have fully fleshed-out characters and feature more relationships than just the “romantic” one. So I started testing the waters again.

I’m looking for a story, not steam. I want characters, not cardboard cutouts. I submit for your consideration: THANK YOU FOR LISTENING by Julia Whelan. Whelan is the award-winning audiobook narrator of over 500 titles, and our main character is in the same profession.

This! This is the love letter to romance readers that BOOK LOVERS promised to be and didn’t deliver. (Sorry. I’m in the minority here.) Okay, maybe it’s a love letter to those who dabble in romance but still roll their eyes at obvious tropes and obnoxiously steamy scenes that don’t advance the plot. And if you are an audiobook fan? These are your people.

You don’t have to be an audiobook fan to love this book. You’ll gain insight into the business while enjoying the story. (e.g., No cream in your coffee when you’re recording. Who knew?)

Even though the standard tropes applied (repeatedly and varied), they were delivered tongue in cheek. At one point, the main character says, “It feels like we fell out of a Romance tree and hit every trope on the way down.”

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING is a fun and smart RomCom with bonus points for a bookish setting. Send more of these my way!

I was soooo excited to receive this ARC, seeing that Julia Whelan is my favorite audiobook narrator! To see that this book is inspired by her own journey from child star to audiobook narrator was so fun.

Sewanee, or Swan, was a child star that turned narrator after circumstances lead her to leave TV. While she finds contentment in her job, she has always refused to narrate romance books. When she is tempted with an offer that she can't refuse, to narrate with the mysterious but well-known Brock McNight, she decides this is the time she will break her rule.

This book was fine! The banter was cute, and the topic is any book lover's dream. I think where it fell short for me was the format/structure of the story. I had a hard time following trains of thought because the choppy paragraphs. Overall, if you think this sounds fun, definitely give it a go!!

The plot line sounded interesting. It just didn't work for me. DNF



**************************I received an ARC for my honest opinion from NetGalley.**********************************