I love a good contemporary romance, and this a great one! I love learning about audio narrators for books. That was an interesting angle to this story.

Though, I could not WAIT for them to get finally together and it took awhile for it to happen.

I cannot wait to read more from this author!

Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan was the perfect book for book lovers! The play on different romance tropes felt like a nod to a knowing reader. The characters felt fleshed out and their intentions were obvious. I was a huge fan of the banter and chemistry between the leads Sewanee and Nick. I am already looking forward to a re-read via audio with fingers crossed that Julia Whelan narrates. This book was an absolute delight and Julia Whelan has gone from an auto-listen narrator to also an auto- buy author!

A fantastic story about the life of an audio book narrator. A former actress whose accidental injury has changed her life. It drew me in from the beginning and kept me hooked.
Family, friends and romance all feature prominently. Great story, wonderful characters.

This is a compulsive read for sure. No big surprises for me, but the storyline moved at a nice pace and kept my attention. I liked the mix of elements: sensitive topics (Alzheimer's, post-trauma emotional stress, childhood trauma), extended family caregivers, burnout, friendship, lots of romance tropes juxtaposed against the MC's recording a romance audiobook, humor, redemption, and tender moments. There are a couple of steamy scenes and some steamy conversations/banter in the context of recording the romance audiobook. Both of the MC's are written in a way that they are flawed, but easy to support and cheer on. Sewanee was remarkably both strong and vulnerable. Her arc was really well fleshed out. The characters were shaped by their past, but learn the power of choosing their future in spite of past trauma. While there were definitely messy, toxic conversations, there was also realistic redemption. The ending (which I loved) was a fun play off of the overall theme of the book.

Thank you Avon and Harper Voyager and #NetGalley for the ARC e-copy of #ThankYouforListening

Inside look at the creation of audio books like never before, this sassy tale takes you on a wild ride of romance and family dynamic too.

I enjoyed this book very much; it is an amazingly multi-faceted story. The focus throughout is on the main character, Sewanee “Swan” Chester. She is the child of a dysfunctional family: a second tier actor for a grandmother with Alzheimer’s, a globe-trotting mother, and an unhappy and lonely father. Swan works as a voice actor recording novels on tape under her pen name, Sarah Westholme. Though Swan tries to convince herself that she is basically happy, she is not.

Swan’s problem is that she has serious self-image issues that are the result of a tragic accident that left her face disfigured and ended her promising career as an actor. Her best friend, Adaku Obi continually tries to move Swan beyond the accident and accept herself as who she is now and can be in the future. Swan resists.

While at a conference in Las Vegas, Swan has an almost accidental encounter with an attractive and personable man who does accept her for who she is—despite the disfigurement. The night, however, seems doomed to be a one-night-stand. As a result of her trip to Las Vegas, Swan gets a great job reading the final work of one of the country’s best romance writers. Even through Swan has long since given up the romance genre, she is persuaded to take the job because she can work together with the top male reader, Brock McNight.

As Swan and Brock navigate the two-voice reading from across the continent, Swan, Adaku, her grandmother, and occasionally Brock engage in a philosophical debate about the issues Swan is dealing with. It becomes clear that self-image issues are not unique to Swan, but her grandmother and father as well. Happiness and resolution can only come for Swan when she makes the leap and accepts her post-accident self and move on into a hopeful future.

The only thing that bugged me about the book is that a large portion of the middle of the book took the form of text messages between Swan and Brock. Some of it seemed to slow the movement of the book and I found it tedious at times. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the read and loved the character of Swan.

I am grateful to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book with my promise of offering an hones review.

Two audiobook narrators find love in this meta take on contemporary publishing.
Romance enthusiasts always roll their eyes when critical readers mock the “predictability”
of the genre. In her long-anticipated sophomore novel, top-tier narrator Whelan (Educated,
The Great Alone, and 2022’s Book Lovers) has a ball skewering the tired objections
of romance skeptics as she takes us deep into the world of the field she knows so well.
Actress-turned-narrator Sewanee is still recovering from a terrible accident that scarred
her inside and out when she’s cast alongside the sexy and secretive Brock McKnight in a
coveted project. Whelan clearly enjoys playing with the genre’s familiar tropes—snowed
in, just one night, mistaken identity, and more. With wittily named chapter titles (don’t
miss them!) and great supporting characters, this sometimes steamy romance shows our
heroine forgiving herself and finding true love. Open door.

Much loved audiobook narrator Julia Whelan has brought us a delectably adorable rom-com in which our two main characters are...audiobook narrators. Write what you know! From the opening chapter in which our protagonist Sewanee, on a flight to Las Vegas, is fumbling to shut off her explicit audiobook so the entirety of the plane isn't listening along, I was absolutely hooked, and laughed the whole way through. There are a handful of romance tropes strewn about in "Thank You for Listening", sometimes being made fun of, and yet, it was never ever cheesy.. Witty banter, believable chemistry, and loveable side characters abound, I was rooting for Sewanee the whole way through. She navigates her way back to herself after a tragic accident years ago, while a happily ever after that she never asked for is being thrust upon her. Five star romance, a perfect summer read. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first book written by Julia Whelan and she has a great writing style! This story focuses on Sewanee, an aspiring actress that had an accident resulting in her losing an eye. She changes gears and has a successful career narrating audiobooks but doesn’t like the unrealistic expectations set in romance books so tries to focus on serious novels. She then gets a great opportunity to narrate a book for a famous romance author. This book was a great romcom, good banter, and her grandma is a blast! I love audiobooks so it was fun to see behind the scenes of the process and how much goes into each project. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy.

[Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.]

📖 Q: who was the last new to you author you tried & was it love, dislike, or indifference? 😬

I can be pretty daring and/or reckless depending on how you look at it 😆 about requesting ARCs so I decided to take a chance with Julia Whelan’s Thank You for Listening without having read The Oxford Year.

Initially I was caught off-guard by the opening—which is the heroine listening to a passage from a badly written romance novel—& by her disdain for a genre that I love. But I figured better things were coming and they did, as said MC, Sewanee Chester, learns what romance novels have to offer readers & what romance IRL has to offer her.

Thank You for Listening features two audiobook narrators who meet & connect IRL under misleading or vaguely given identities & then reconnect via email & text for a big romance audiobook job without realizing they’ve previously hooked up before.

So feelings—& half truths & lies—get pretty messy in this one, although everything eventually works out for that Happy Ending I was hoping for.

Thank You For Listening deals with heavier topics like Sewanee’s eye loss from a plane propeller accident, her grandmother’s memory loss, her father’s past cheating etc. but there’s a great, supportive friendship & sweet moments between the leads—as well as a cute epistolary exchange—that balance those with lightness.

This book wasn’t love for me but I do think there’s a lot to appreciate!

4 ⭐️. Release date: 08/02.


CWs: Grandmother & memory loss. Father cheated in the past. Propeller accident leading to the loss of Sewanne’s eye. Sewanee is sometimes self-conscious about the scar & sometimes struggles with her feelings about how her life has changed since then. There’s a line about remembering thinking “why they had bothered saving her” after her accident.


[ID: a white woman wearing a green shirt & jean shorts stands in front of a wooden table where an ebook rests on an open book. Above is a bouquet of pink carnations & to the upper left is a set of black headphones.]

What a delight. After listening to Julia Whelan voice so many books, it was fun to read her work, about a voice over artist, no less. A romance that pokes a bit of fun at the HEA (happily ever after) tropes while still providing the meet cute, crossed wires and other fun. No silly misunderstandings for the sake of drama - just adults finding each other in a meaningful way.

A delightful story full of love, loss, resilience and heart from the queen of audiobooks. I loved My Oxford Year and Whelan's sophomore book does not disappoint. The world building is great and it was so much fun to hear the tricks & tips that are used to make sure each recording sounds its best.
This book has a lot of romantic tropes worked into the story but they all worked for me and they're all used pretty effortlessly and nothing feels forced or clunky. The chemistry sizzles on the page and you'll root for Sewanee to get her HEA. Ultimately this is a story about love: loving the ones who support you, loving the ones who accept you as you are and most importantly loving yourself.

Many thanks to Avon & Harper Voyage and Netgalley for the ARC.

I love Julia Whelan as a narrator. And after reading this book, I can now also say that I love Julia Whelan as an author. Excellent romance and some funny moments too. Read this book, You won't regret it.

Julia Whelan is one of my favorite narrators, and I thoroughly enjoyed her first novel, My Oxford Year, so I was excited to read this one as well. She hit it out of the park again. It was funny, and clever, with a lot of heart.

👍🏼 an ode to romance lovers that you NEED

1. I LOVED this book. So much.
2. Julia Whelan literally has a golden voice and I CANNOT wait to listen to this audiobook.
3. Love a trope? This book has them in spades. All of the best ones.

Have you been convinced yet? I hope so!

But if you need more, here’s what the story is about.

Sewanee was a promising young actress who now exclusively works as an audiobook narrator. She cut her teeth recording romance, but now prefers to read adventure and fantasy. (Un)lucky for her, her mentor has an accident and she has to go sit on a romance panel at a book convention in Las Vegas. While there, she has the most wonderful hookup with a total(ly hot, Irish) stranger.

Sewanee returns home with the memory of this stranger to face her beloved, ailing grandmother who is in need of more advanced care and the offer of a lifetime. One of the most prolific and celebrated romance novelists, June French, has left Sewanee a job in her will.

June will only allow the series that she wrote to be recorded by Sewanne and the mysterious and wildly successful Brock McNight.

In need of money for her grandmother’s care, Sewanee agrees to the job. What begins as a professional exchange of emails becomes a flirtatious texting relationship.

Sewanee began working in audiobooks after a bad accident that resulted in her having to wear an eyepatch. She was surprised by the Irish stranger’s easy acceptance of her appearance. And she has been embolden by the text-only relationship she has formed with Brock McNight.

Sewanee will be forced to reckon with these two men if she will ever be able to find her happily ever after.

I Loved this romance written by my favorite audio book narrator Julia Whelan. The story centers around 2 audiobook narrators and gives us some interesting back stage insights into that world, but the heart of the story is the delightful relationship between our two protagonists. There are also alot of tongue in cheek references to all the well known romance tropes that all romance lovers will recognize and enjoy. There are also great side characters, interesting family dynamics, and an insightful story line regarding finding your way after a significant trauma changes your live and body image. I would highly recommend this for anyone who loves romances, and I am guessing this is going to be wonderful on audio when it comes out!

Thank you to Net galley for this E galley for review.

This one was a slow start for me. Romance is not my favorite genre, but it is something that I dip my feet into occasionally. I think what drew me most to this book was the main character being an audiobook narrator. I found that whole aspect of the book to be fascinating, it was great to get more insight into that world. However, I think this book would be best read as an audiobook. Something was just kind of lost in the ebook version when it came to the banter, text messages, emails, etc. that was throughout the book. Overall, I enjoyed this one.

A beautiful, funny, and engrossing ode to romance novels and audiobooks! Reading about a character who narrates audiobooks written by the queen of audio narration was such a delight, and the treatment of romance novels really resonated with me, and the way the standard romance plotting and tropes were handled in such a mature, realistic way will have me recommending this book to everyone I know!

This book was such a fun read and incredibly unique. I had not heard of it before finding it on NetGalley, but I was familiar with Julia Whelan thanks to her audiobook work. My initial curiosity was due to her name, but when I read the synopsis I knew I had to read the book.

Thank You for Listening is about a former actress who after an unfortunate accident becomes a successful audiobook narrator. Sewanee Chester has lost sight of her dreams and begins a journey of self-discovery, love, and acceptance when she agrees to narrate one final romance novel after calling the genre a load of BS. The novel is for an author who Sewanee has worked with before and who has recently passed away. The book deal is an opportunity that will change Sewanee's life. The only stipulation is that Sewanee must narrate it with one of the most prolific male narrators in the romance genre, Brock McKnight.

The chemistry between the two romantic leads is insane and what is even more insane is that you can sense the chemistry even though they are only communicating through emails. Brock and Sewanee are both narrating under pseudonyms and aren't sure who the other is. It shouldn't be able to work as a romance novel, but it does. I can't say much more about the romance without seriously spoiling it, but I loved it. The romance is so sweet and real and honest. It is a romance book, but it almost felt more like women's fiction because Julia Whelan made it a real relationship and made the characters go through real hardships.

The format of this book was so unique. As I mentioned, the main characters communicating through emails and voice memos was incredibly interesting to me. I do not doubt that the reading experience would have been even better in audio. This book felt like it was meant to be listened to. I might have to give the audiobook a listen once it is published. I also loved that the book was broken into sections and each section was named for a popular romance trope and within that section, the trope would happen to our main characters.

There is so much I loved and I am having a lot of trouble properly gushing about it. It was such a fun reading experience, unlike anything else I have experienced. I loved Adaku and her friendship with Sewanee. I loved the characterization of Blahblah and as someone who has a grandparent with Alzheimer's, it was even more heartbreaking. Sewanee's relationships with her parents were uber-realistic and added another layer to the story. And without giving too much away, this book had two of the best proposal scenes I have ever read. I also just loved the descriptions of the process of narrating audiobooks. It was incredibly fascinating.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for my honest review.

This book was so good I never wanted it to end! I couldn’t get enough of the endearing characters and their swoon-worthy storyline. Ms. Whelan’s beautiful narrative swept me away to magical Hollywood where I met Sewanee as she was beginning her new job of narrating a very special book alongside the extremely popular, Brock McNight. Their get- to-know each other emails quickly became a flurry of texts as they shared their thoughts on how to properly give justice to such a special endeavor. They became fast friends with no pretense, personal information or face to face meeting. Even though they were only virtual friends, it felt as if they had known each other forever.

Sewanee had a different life before becoming a sought-after narrator. It wasn’t her choice to change careers, but she had to make do with the hand she was dealt. Brock had his own regrets with how his life turned out, and he never dreamed he would be this popular and was tired of always being someone else. Having the opportunity to work with Sewanee was serendipitous and she brought joy to his life with her quick wit, positivity and vivacious personality. Little by little, Sewanee found herself yearning for Brock’s texts because he was like a lifeline, bringing her back into the life she had left behind.

It was hard not to fall in love with everything about “Thank You for Listening.” Sewanee and Brock's intimate, albeit virtual relationship, her view of the Hollywood sign from her guest cottage, Brock’s sexy, hypnotizing voice and the love Sewanee had for her grandmother. As soon as I finished reading, I turned back to the beginning to start the story over so I could immerse myself in the lives of characters that I absolutely adore. Thank you, Ms. Whelan, for giving us such a wonderful story.