Wow, what a pleasant surprise! This was my first book by Julia Whelan and boy, was I impressed! We follow Sewanee Chester on her journey through discovering what she wants out of her life; with love, with work, with her family, and so on. It was funny, heartfelt, & very engaging throughout every corner of the story. I appreciated how each character really felt lived in and fleshed out, even down to the secondary characters in the story. It just made the world of the book feel more real and personal. The characters were relatable, the banter was so funny, and even though we were met with familiar tropes, they were done in a new way. Plus, I'm a sucker for text/email banter, so all that really worked for me. I will definitely be picking up a physical copy once this is out in the world!

*Thank you Netgalley, Avon, and Harper Voyager for the eARC!

This book is a romance centered around audiobook narrators, which is perfectly bookish and clever. If you're an audiobook listener, you are certainly familiar with the author Julia Whelan's successful career as one of the best audiobook narrators in the game. So I loved the meta-ness of Thank You For Listening and the sneak peek into the world behind the microphone that we rarely get to hear about.

I also enjoyed the close female friendship at the heart of this book. I always feel so cozy and safe when I'm reading a book and there are two women loving and supporting each other through life's ups and downs.

I was definitely rooting for Sewanee and Nick to get their HEA, and I loved their chemistry and banter.

Ultimately, I found myself skimming through some of the storylines in this book, mainly the one with the grandmother. I didn't feel invested in it or feel that it added to the greater narrative.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this gifted eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Wow! Where to begin, lots to unpack with this awesome book.
After an accident cuts her acting career short, Sewannee is now an award winning audiobook narrator (who no longer reads for romance books!). Her best friend Adaku has become the famous actress they both hoped to be. They both head to Vegas for a weekend convention. When Adaku heads back to LA for a last minute meeting, Sewanee meets an Irish stranger and has a wild night…but they agree to not exchange numbers. Sewanee heads back to LA but immediately faces the problem of paying for her grandmothers expensive nursing home. Into her lap falls an offer to narrate the last book written by recently passed away ~romance~ author June French—with the one and only Brock McKnight…when Sewanee accepts, what I can only describe is hilarity ensuing.

I really enjoyed the twists and turns of the story and it kept me guessing. This is Julia Whelan’s second novel, but it sure won’t be her last! She’s a smart and talented writer, in addition to being an audiobook narrator herself!!

Thank You For Listening was a really enjoyable romance about an actress turned audiobook narrator, Sewanee Chester, from my absolute favorite audiobook narrator Julia Whelan.
I loved that Julia drew on her expertise and included an interesting peek behind the curtain of narrators and their process in the story. There was a lot going on in the book but I thought the inclusion of relationships with her father, grandmother (along with the others at the nursing home), and best friend helped to build out her world and better understand her point of view.
Overall, a great read and I look forward to listening on audio as well!

I wasn’t sure about this book at the start but man it took me by the heart and never let go. I absolutely adore Sewanee (pronounced SWA-nee even if I kept mispronouncing it in my head the whole book lol) and Nick.
Sewanee was an up and coming actress when a tragic accident leaves her with one eye, killing her acting ambitions. She moves into the audiobook narration world and quickly makes a name for herself, but avoids romances once she has any say. The accident has left her too cynical to even fake believe in HEAs.
The book opens with her having a magical night in Vegas with a stranger before returning home to return to her regular life. A part of that regular life is caring for her rapidly deteriorating grandmother BlahBlah (yes, I know, such a weird name but you eventually get used to it) To pay for BlahBlah’s care, Sewanee takes a job co-narrating with romances biggest leading man, Brock McNight.
Y’all can probably guess who Brock McNight really is. Ensue, romance book antics. I truly loved the email and then text exchanges between “Brock” and “Sarah”
Both of them in the job bc their first dreams failed and neither super content with their lives at the moment but unable to miss the bond forming between them.
When it was only halfwayish through the book that they discover who each truly is, I was like “wait! Isn’t that supposed to be the climax to this whole story?”But it’s not! It’s just the beginning of them working out their feelings not only for each other, but more importantly for themselves.
I really struggled at first with understanding Sewanee’s reaction to realizing that Brock and nick were the same person and into her. I’m a romantic but I’ve also never had a life changing event that changed how I viewed myself either. Upon further thought, I get it. And that’s one of the reasons I love this book. It makes you think outside of your experiences but doesn’t hit you over the head or shame you into thinking them. It just does it from her perspective.
The spontaneous Italy trip to see her mom led to a delightful and insightful last 3rd of this book. I loved her step dad Stu and all the wisdom he had for her and Nick. It was really Stu who helps bring our characters to a place of peace within themselves and with each other.
This book has so much heart. It made me laugh, it made me sad, it made me think, and it made me want to visit Italy again. Such a great read.
Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collin’s for the arc!

This book was really enjoyable and hooked me from the beginning. I love when authors create realistic, witty banter. Swan and Nick's dialogue was spectacular (in all formats). I was rooting for them the entire book, which is important in a romance. However, I felt like the BlahBlah storyline took up too much space in the book. I found myself skimming through these parts and wanting to get to more of Swan and Nick. It also seemed like some of the characters were the tiniest bit more than real life, which is understandable because this book was definitely written to be narrated and has tons of characterization. I cannot wait to listen to the audiobook one day. I wish that there had been more of Nick and Swan settled in their relationship at the end, and felt that I didn't get as much resolution for them as I would have liked. Overall, this book would have been a three star book for me, but Swan and Nick's dialogue and relationship was stellar enough to bring it up to a four star book.

Sewanee is an audiobook narrator. She is, in fact, at the top of her profession, able to take on tomes with large casts of characters and give them all distinct voices. What she doesn't do any longer is narrate romances. She does not want to expend the energy on false hopes and forced HEAs.-until she finds she needs the money for her beloved grandmother's care at around the same time she gets the kind of offer that comes with dollar signs that are hard to refuse. With that offer comes the opportunity to work with Brock McKnight, the illusive male audiobook narrator known for his diehard romance loving fans. As the project progresses and their emails turn into texts, Brock becomes more to Sewanee than just a voice but how vulnerable is she prepared to be when opening up her life to someone else might mean having to face it all herself?

This book crept up on me. The beginning had me feeling unsure but suddenly I was so thoroughly ensnared I only put my ereader down when I literally could not keep my eyes open any longer. It was then the first thing I reached for in the morning, even before coffee. There is a lot of depth to this book but there were also so many times I could not stop grinning like an idiot while reading. I loved their text exchanges so much, even as every sign that Blahblah's condition was deteriorating broke my heart. I love Julia Whelan's work as a narrator, but this book makes me hope she spends more of her time writing.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Julia Whelan is my favorite audiobook narrator and I loved My Oxford Year, so a novel by Julia Whelan about audiobook narrators had high expectations from me. Thank You for Listening blew those expectations away. I could not have loved this book more. This book is a breath of fresh air with characters you love and a story that melts your heart. You will laugh out loud so many times that people around you will start to stare. Julia Whelan does it again. You will not regret reading this book.

Sewanee is an award-winning audiobook narrator who doesn't believe in happily ever after. She has narrated many romance books, but hates their premise. After an accident turned her life upside down, she is struggling to find a way to be happy with her current circumstances. She navigates the future of her career, a roller coaster romantic life, intergenerational family drama, and mixed feelings over her best friend's success. Will she find a way to make it through all of that to find her own happily ever after?

This book was super unique and that's always a refreshing thing. But I felt like it had too much going on and a lot of it seemed over-the-top to me. I liked the idea of the plot and what the book was trying to do, it just seemed like too much. For example, a lot of the things going on with her family just didn't seem necessary and I think the book would've been better without it. I hate giving negative reviews, but this just wasn't fun for me to read a lot of the time.

Julia Whelan, fantastic audiobook narrator and author of My Oxford Year, has written a fun and thoughtful romance set in the world of romance audiobooks! It is very meta and satisfying for students of the genre and those who enjoy books about books!

Thank You for Listening is about Sewanee, a former actor turned audiobook narrator who is kind of stuck in her ways. Her best friend's acting career is taking off, making her think about her former dreams and the accident that took her out of the game. She meets a handsome stranger in Vegas, and then she starts to question if she is ready to break out of the contained life she has made for herself.

I loved the pace and plot of this book. There are some great side characters, including Adaka, Sewanee's best friend, and a cast of characters at the nursing home where her grandmother lives. Our hero is swarthy with an Irish accent, and the way they find each other is (while predictable) unique and fun.

Fans of Julia Whelan will be happy with this fun and satisfying story! It is a lot more lighthearted than My Oxford Year, and it brings in her expertise in the world of audiobooks. Highly recommend!

I am a big Julie Whelan fan! She is one of my favorite audiobook narrators (I was actually hoping to listen to this book but I didn't see an audiobook option and I just couldn't wait to read it) and I absolutely loved My Oxford Year. Thank You For Listening felt like a really personal novel, drawing on Whelan's own experiences which gave a lot of depth to the plot. Sewanee might be one of my favorite characters ever. And Brock- yum! Such a fantastic book- highly recommend!!!

Im blown away that this is a debut novel for this author. I love her as a narrator but didn't know she could translate that and take what she's read and learned into a book. She did phenomenal. You got everything you look for in a romance with the emotions.

This was a fun read! It follows an audiobook narrator, which was fascinating to get a peek behind the curtain, so to speak! The romance was sweet and fun, I liked their banter and the meet cute(s).

Getting the elephant out of the room...I went in with very high expectations due to my love of My Oxford Year and literally anything Julia Whelan narrates. She is gifted, she is the best at what she does and I was so unbelievably honored to get an advanced copy of this book!

Unfortunately it didn't live up to my (maybe unrealistic) expectations. I loved how meta it all was. She poked fun at listeners who read at 3x speed, romance in general with its crazy tropes and loyal fans and even the unrealistic HEAs, but hey thats why we love romance. I loved this aspect of the book!

Where this felt a bit too much for me, was the large cast of characters and what felt like undeveloped story lines. We had daddy issues, a Mom who lived on a cruise ship and was always in a new city, a grandma with memory loss and a personal tragedy of her own that was built up very much in the beginning of the book. I wish there was one or maybe two elements rather than all of these. It just felt a bit *too* much and forced.

However, I think when this publishes and you can listen on audio, I really do think it would shine. I think this book was written for audio! I may even give it a listen when it comes out. While this wasn't my favorite, it was thoroughly enjoyable!

Thank You for Listening gives you romance, friendship, family and a glimpse into the life of an audiobook narrator.

Sewanee steps away from acting after an accident and finds herself a career as an audiobook narrator. At a book convention she meets someone and has a whirlwind no-strings attached night and then returns to real life. Then she starts a project with a popular male narrator and begins to think there might be something there. Swan learns a lot about love, family and her career throughout the course of the story.

This one started really slow for me. I'm not sure if it's because it was an advanced copy but I got confused about names, places and what was going on. Once I hit ~30% I started to enjoy it more. It was a romance but not with your typical tropes, instead poking fun at the genre in a kind way.

I did feel like there was a lot going on between daddy issues, career problems and boy drama so I can't say it was a complete knockout but I'm glad I read it. It's fun ride and unlike other books I've read which I appreciate.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

So first off; I’m a huge fan of Julia Whelan and her audiobook narrations. I’ve listen to dozens of her absolute masterpieces and every time I just want to tip my hat to a woman who knows her craft and exceeds my every expectation. That being said I was so ecstatic when I saw she had written her own book. I definitely went in with high assumptions that this would be a fun read, and I was absolutely right. I mean, this woman has read so many books for her career how could this possibly go wrong?

Sewanee (Swan) is the protagonist of this story. She is a former actress and current audiobook narrator. She detests reading romance novels (though that’s where she got her start), and doesn’t believe in Happily Ever After. She currently focuses more on large fantasies and bestselling novels and she uses a different name to separate herself from her past. She lost one of her eyes and because of that she wears an eyepatch to cover the scaring. This is part of the reason why she no longer acts and lives a more secluded life’s

While at a convention in Las Vegas she is interviewing a panel of romance narrators and meets a mysterious, Irish, stranger back at the hotel bar. They bond, they drink, they eat, they dance, and enjoy the experience of being in Vegas. Reality soon intercedes and they must go their separate ways; her to LA and him to Dublin.

When she gets home she is given a huge money making offer to record the last audiobook of a recently deceased romance author. She has to team up with Brock McNight to do the dual narrations for the story. Brock is a big time romance book narrator and it’s a huge opportunity for them both to branch out into other interests. It’s a romance novel so I don’t have to tell you that sparks fly.

Let me just say I enjoyed my reading experience so much with this book. It was fun, it was heartbreaking, and it was sweet. This is a book I will easily recommend to people looking for something that will make them laugh out loud and giggle with absolute delight. This was everything I could have hoped for and it just reaffirms my opinion: Julia Whelan is supreme.

A perfect romance for audiobook lovers who get to see behind the curtain into how audiobooks are recorded. Immediately fall in love with Sewanee Chester as she navigates the impact of a tragic accident, the possibility of new love, the challenges of aging family members, and more. The secondary characters are winsome and hilarious!

Thank You for Listening is a lot of things: a peek behind the curtain of show business, particularly audiobook narration and a glimpse into the film industry, a love letter to romance books, a touching exploration of healthy female friendships, realistic romances, family drama, learning how to move forward. Above all, it's an absolute gem of a story and is now in my top 5 favorite romances.

It's another well-executed romance/women's fiction hybrid about a lot of things, but it's primarily about coveted audiobook narrator Sewanee Chester honoring a beloved, late romance novelist's last request to perform her final book with a fellow popular narrator, the enigmatic Brock McKnight. Despite both narrators working and communicating under pseudonyms, they share a genuine connection and the line between anonymity and reality become frighteningly blurred.

All the while, Sewanee balances her struggle to overcome a mental roadblock that accompanied a traumatic deformity, her best friend's push to resurrect her promising acting career, her lively grandmother's losing battle with dementia, and the lingering memory of a handsome stranger she spent one unforgettable night with in Las Vegas that kicked off this rollercoaster.

I loved every moment. I'm a sucker for meta fiction, an even bigger sucker for character driven romances, and just an absolute fool for smooth, hilarious writing that makes me genuinely cackle. Steam takes a backseat in this romance, but the rich character development and palpable chemistry between the MCs makes up for it. This leans more towards women's fiction than romance, but rest assured there's still an HEA.

Can we talk about a rarity that normally flounders in romances but is so well done here? It's the best friend, who is usually a cardboard cut out, a negative or positive plot device for the MCs, meant to be seen and not heard. Not Adaku. Adaku is not restricted to just a hype woman for Sewanee, but actually pulls her weight whenever she's on the page and is her own separate force. There's no jealousy, backstabbing, purpose limited to nudging the FMC in the right direction. It's a healthy female friendship wherein both women respect, uplift each other and overcome obstacles together, and other romance authors need to take note.

Do I recommend this? Absolutely. But despite my glowing review, this book won't be for everyone. However, it's worth a shot. And! If you're an audiobook aficionado, Julia Whelan is an acclaimed audiobook narrator who is the voice of a few Taylor Jenkins Reid novels (ever heard of her?), Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (or her?) and Emily Henry's highly anticipated 2022 release, Book Lovers, and, obviously, will narrate this book. Have I piqued your interest yet?

Thank you SO much to Avon Books and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank You For Listening is a delightful gem of a novel!

We follow successful audiobook narrator and former actress Sewanee as she navigates life after a tragic accident, supporting her ailing beloved grandmother, Barbara (aka BlahBlah), professional opportunities, and an unexpected encounter with a charming venture capitalist (or is he?!). I fell in love with the characters and appreciated the insights some shared on romance novels and women’s fiction.

This was moving and funny, with dashes of hope and heartbreak throughout. A wonderful premise that is well executed and well-written, featuring different styles including an epistolary chapter (a modern version aka emails and texts). The romance between Sewanee and her love interest is palpable and cheekily touches on several tropes.

If you loved My Oxford Year (I did!), this is a must-read. I can’t wait to see (and read!) what Julia does next. I recommend this to fans of great banter and smart and sweet romance.

I read over 150 books a year and already know this will be one of my top/favorite reads of the year. I am still thinking about it weeks later and smiling when I recall how much I enjoyed the story and my reading experience.

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I loved My Oxford year so I expected to love this book more than I did. It was just a miss with me. I just didn’t connect with the characters as much as I like but for sure give it a try!! You never know! The story line is great! Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the ARC!!