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.

This was a hilarious, emotional, tender and entertaining view of the rarely discussed world of audiobook narration rolled into a "just right" romance. The main characters, Sewanee/Sarah/Alice and Nick/Brock, were likable and relatable as they worked through their own insecurities and hesitations in life and love.

Julia Whelan did an amazing job of putting a humorous, almost sarcastic, spin on the usual romance tropes without continuing them on longer than was necessary. She has always been a favorite audiobook narrator of mine but after reading Thank You for Listening, I intend to read her first novel, My Oxford Year, and look forward to her future releases.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Avon for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for an honest review.

Right off the bat, I was sucked into this one. Completely engrossed in the story from the very beginning.

While this story is a love story, it’s also so much more than that. It’s a unique, layered story line told by Whelan in a way that only she could. As I was reading, a recurring thought I had was how there’s a difference between research and experience. So many authors do a spectacular job researching for their books, but because of Whelan’s *experience* as an audiobook narrator, she was able to give credence to this story line in a way no one else could have.

I loved how each chapter had a title (a trend I feel all authors should bring back). Each chapter title was either a trope or a common theme seen in love/romance stories, like “Snowed In.”

The banter between our two main characters in the middle of the book was so terrific. I sped through those pages because I craved more of their connection.

The subplots/side stories were also well done. I loved Sewanee’s family story line & how it beautifully wove into the rest of the story. Everything about this story line was well thought out and intentional.

It’s hard to say if I’d prefer this as an audiobook or a physical book. A good chunk of the book is the banter & correspondence between the main character (around 35-40% of the book). This correspondence is done via text & email, so I enjoyed being able to SEE that written out, but there were also parts of the book I would have loved to HEAR. I’ve concluded the best way to read this is to do both, ha! Listen and follow along in the book to get the best of both worlds!

Well, done! This is the first book I’ve read with Whelan as the author & I look forward to going back and reading her debut novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This book will be released in August 2022.

This is what romance is supposed to be like! Real, funny, sad, witty banter, intimacy, passion. I loved Sewanee and Nick. Must read!!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Utter perfection! Is Julia Whelan a triple threat: writer, narrator, and actress? Because Thank You for Listening is divine. Ms. Whelan gets US (her romance readers) and knows how to deliver a powerful punch of a story with all the little nods to the genre. Sewanee is the perfect romance heroine; likable, funny, witty, and of course flawed, who feels compelled to take on a romance audio project from the late June French in order to help pay for her grandmother’s care. Navigating her feelings towards a genre she has left behind, Sewanee can’t rationalize the HEAs of romance when she feels unworthy of one herself after a tragic accident leaves her scarred. But an encounter with a mysterious man in Vegas has her wondering if maybe she can be found attractive again. As Sewanee begins work on June’s romance novel, she is paired with the infamous Brock McNight, known for his undeniably sexy voice, and she begins to wonder just who is the man behind the voice.

This book had everything. Instant chemistry, unbelievably witty and funny texting banter and hilarious innuendo, hot hookup with a stranger, GROVELING, a romantic twist (and then another), a grand gesture, beautiful side characters and lovable family members, character growth…need I say more? Even when I thought I saw what was coming, I was still pleasantly surprised. This book had me reading into the wee hours because I could not put it down. And I just cannot say how funny this book is—and that is very difficult to achieve—where I found myself laughing page after page. The dialogue could not be better. And you know a book is thoughtful when every little part is imbued with meaning and care towards character development, no matter how small. Side note: How is it possible that Whelan made me fall in love with both Nick AND Brock? I mean, seriously, TWO desirable males? Whatever will a woman do? I know this is a book that will stay with me for a long time and it completely blew any expectations I had out of the park. I cannot WAIT to hear it on audio (Julia Whelan narrates it herself—I’m dying to hear Nick say “Jaysus”!). Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Harper Collins for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

I went into this expecting a light, fluffy romance, and while it was definitely some of that... it also got deeper!
Julia Whelan wrote beautiful, full characters who I fell in love with from the first page. The relationship between Sewanee and BlahBlah was particularly heartwarming.
Beyond that Nick was a wonderful, fun, witty character who was so easy to love and root for. I personally found Sewanee extremely relatable, even if there were things in her life I haven't personally experienced.
I recommend this book for all romance readers, especially if you love a romance audiobook!

This was a quick, but moving and emotional read. The scenes between Sewanee and BlahBlah in particular hit me hard since I dealt with something similar with my own grandmother. My favorite part was definitely the text and email conversations between Sewanee and Brock McNick. Their banter and innuendo, well, that's what every person hopes for in a partner. Overall, well done and I'd recommend.

Could I love this book any more than I did?! I think not!

I feel in love with Sewanee almost immediately (although I hated her name, haha). And while parts of the plot were predictable (all the tropes were so on the nose) it was done in the BEST way and I was flipping the pages to see how it'd play out and come together and all the things!

I also just appreciated the depth and the exploration of grief and loss and navigating relationships in the midst of all that. Done poignantly.

Swan (Sewanee) Chester is a former actress turned successful audiobook narrator. She gave up on her dreams of the spotlight after a tragic accident. Sewanee found satisfaction from the inside of a sound booth and it allows her to care for her beloved, ailing grandmother. Swan begrudgingly flies to Las Vegas for a convention and unexpectedly spends a whirlwind night with a charming stranger. Swan is then offered a large sum of money to narrate a romance book even though she left that genre a long time ago.

If you have listened to any audiobook ever then you probably had it narrated by Julia Whelan. She is queen in the audio world. She is also a talented author. I enjoyed learning about the ins and outs of audio and it gave me a different perspective that I hadn't had as a listener. I also enjoyed the banter between nick and swan. What I didnt enjoy was there was SO much going on. There were so many characters and side stories. Her grandmother seemed lovely but I wanted to get back to Swan & nick rather than read about her grandmothers friends.

All in all enjoyable 3/5

Julia Whelan wrote a delightful book! It was easy to get invested in the main character, Sewanee, and her quirky grandmother, Blah Blah. She hooks us right away with a funny opening scene and then once she introduces Nick to us, all we want is the HEA. But life is messy so we take some twists and turns along the way. Do yourself a favor and get this book.

In Loved this book! It started out great and just got better. I loved Sewanne and Nick. I loved their meet cute, their banter, all of it. I loved the backstory of Sewanne and her grandmother was a great character. I loved the world of audiobook narration that it was set in, and I wanted to slow down reading because I didn’t want to leave the character.

I love the premise of this story. It's cute, there are none of those drama-for-drama's-sake moments, and there are a number of fun side characters I liked getting a chance to meet.

It's also very self-aware, which I will always appreciate.

Thank you Netgalley and the Publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. This book was fantastic!!