Thank you for listening was a great read! The main character, Sewanne, survived a life threatening accident which set her life on a new track. This book is all about the unexpected turns in life and love.

I couldn’t put the book down and enjoyed reading it. I did find myself enjoying the first half much more than the second, but still would recommend!

WOW. Add to your TBR immediately! This book was everything I could have hoped for in a heartfelt rom-com.
The story follows former actress, Sewanee Chester, who has turned to narrating audiobooks after a tragic accident that still haunts her years later. Having given up on her dreams - and love - she hesitates when she hears that a very special novelist requested that Swan narrate her last book - a romance novel. Swan reluctantly accepts and finds herself on a surprising journey of love, healing, and self-discovery.
This book had me laughing out loud and then nearly weeping over an unexpected moment of introspection. So, so good and such a fun read!

This book was exactly what I needed this past week! A delightful storyline about Sewanne, an actress-turned-audiobook narrator who decides to co-narrate a romance series with another well-known narrator, Brock McNight, in order to pay for her grandmother's move to a memory care unit. What follows is a very tongue-in-cheek storyline that touches on several HEA tropes: getting snowed in, mistaken identity, love triangle.....It's a charming story with lovable characters and takes you into the audiobook world. @justjuliawhelan is a gifted writer and storyteller, of which I first learned in My Oxford Year, so I was very excited to get a chance to read an early copy of this one from @harpercollins and @avonbooks
via @netgalley.

Look for this book to hit bookshelves on August 2!

I am a vivacious reader but have never tried an audio book—though it certainly could give me something to do during my long commutes. But I was certainly intrigued about the premise for “Thank You For Listening,” which introduces us to Sewanne, a former actress turned audiobook narrator. Her star was just starting to rise when she suffered a disfiguring accident that required her to find an occupation where so much attention would not be paid to how she looked on camera. Audio narration turned out to be a good fit, but while she wet her feet in the genre of romance, she switched to more serious fiction. Yet, when her grandmother’s (named Blah!) health care becomes too expensive, Sewanne considers the possibility to co-narrate a series with another well-known narrator who is known as Brock McNight.

I can typically tell if I am going to enjoy a novel by its first chapter and Julia Whalen’s ability to put me right into Sewanne’s thoughts and feeling made me care about her instantly. Sewanne is a winsome character who has suffered a huge setback, but her voice never becomes too maudlin. Her best friend, Adaku, her boss, Marc, and her grandmother are all wonderful supporting characters, but what cements this novel as a standout is the correspondence (texts and emails) between Sewanne and her co-narrator as they become more than just colleagues because they share the common thread of heart break and starting over again.

I have not yet had the opportunity to read Julia Whalen’s debut novel, “The Oxford Year,” but I plan to now because of how much I enjoyed this novel.

My thanks to Julia Whalen, NetGalley and the publisher for granting my wish so that I could read this book.

Sweet love story. It did take me a bit to get into it but once I did, I tore through it. Would recommend.

Julia Whelan is one of the best audiobook narrators there are, and thankfully, she is prolific. After reading/listening to her narration of her first book, My Oxford Year, it became clear to me that she is also a gifted writer. Needless to say, when I was approved by her publisher via NetGalley to review an ARC of Thank You for Listening, I was delighted. With my initial notes, thanks, and praise for Ms. Whelan firmly established, what follows is an honest and I hope clear-headed review.

This book is deliberately meta--that's not supposed to be a secret--but it is also trying to accomplish too much and feels uneven in parts for that reason. The text comes alive when Ms. Whelan is allowing the reader to peek behind the veil of the audiobook narration process. Her writing feels certain, surefooted, and sparkling at those moments and it's such a delight to be able to breathe easy with her in those sections because it doesn't feel like she's trying to be clever or convince the reader or herself of anything.

The meta construct is the throughline, but it goes beyond audiobook narration. The goal is to hit every trope in the romance genre while simultaneously interrogating said trope. In some cases, the idea is to turn the trope on its head, sometimes to poke good-natured fun at it, but the book sometimes feels hyper self-conscious of this effort. I think it's supposed to be satirical and cheeky, but the execution was a little clumsy and a tad overburdened in parts because the book is crowded with too many errands. And I couldn't help but feel that maybe the author is a little disdainful of the genre while trying not to alienate its readers. That's fine. I'm more than okay with people having complex feelings, but it seems to all be being worked out here, and as a result feels half-baked.

We have a very put-upon heroine with a more than credible and intriguing backstory of disappointment who is at a moment of personal crisis/a fork in the road when we meet her. She also has a distinguished physical "mark" which adds some gravitas and complexity to her character devleopment. We have the requisite cheerleader best friend (who has her own life, her own goals, thankfully), and we have, of course, the hero. But we also have a beloved grandmother with rapidly-worsening dementia and the issue of the cost of her care, a problematic relationship with a father, and the heroine's mild disdain of narrating the romance genre. Add to these, the "b" plot of the house where the heroine does most of her audio recording being sold (to a well-meaning but not very self-aware actor acquaintance), and I found myself wishing at least one of these obstacles had been eliminated because the lynchpin--the romance itself--wasn't nearly as developed as it should be to make the pairing feel earned and the HEA the cause celebre it should be. Some of the page real estate needed to be ceded back to the couple.

The "Epistolary" chapter is really where the romance build-up shines and is the most convincingly conveyed. I struggled to feel that the in-person interactions matched the chemistry of the text and email exchanges which were smart, fun, flirty, and emotionally open.

With all this said, I will be delighted to read and listen to the book in its final form. I know that Ms. Whelan's narration will elevate the text because it always does.

A huge fan of Julia Whelan! Discovered her via her numerous narrated titles [especially Taylor Jenkins Reid], then seeking out her audio books because of her impact & talents. [as one reader reviewer put it "I'll listen to Julia Whelan read a physics textbook! yep!]
Discovered her first book by chance, was delighted to discover she had a new one coming soon.
I might argue her narration skills are stronger, but still a greatly talented storytelling--thanks for opening me up to the world of HEA! A charming, finely plotted tale with well-developed and complex characters.
With great thanks to NetGalley & Harper Collins for this ARC!

Thank You For Listening by Julia Whelan is an absolute joy to read! It has the feeling of a play within a play, but not so literal. The twists and turns are classic for a romance trope, but on the page, it is acknowledged how silly everything is and that it sounds like a movie or a book! I don't read audiobooks because I am a visual learner, but reading about the industry was fascinating!

I can't write a synopsis without giving it all away, so here is what you will get with Thank You For Listening: disability representation, former Hollywood Star loves her granddaughter, textual chemistry, page sex, spectacular quotes from a Cosmo interview with a fake romance author, the best dip recipe ever, Venice, and it's a Marriott!, love, and an HEA.

I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

As a lover of romance and someone who often enjoys Women's Fiction, I have to say that this book just didn't hit for me. From the start, the narrator insults both of those genres, and that approach doesn't really let up, I really liked the plot of the story -- the one night stand, reuniting, etc.--but I never felt a lot of chemistry between the characters. Overall, for a book labeled as both romance and WF, it relied too much on mocking both genres, almost like it was embarrassed to me among their ranks?

This is a full story of one woman's journey and I'm sure some readers will really enjoy it, it just wasn't for me.

4.5

super good. i flew through it! unique, with a lovable cast of characters. better than my oxford year!

#netgalley

What a clever book about an audiobook narrator. Julia Wheelan knows all the insights to being an audiobook narrator along with all the rom com tropes and uses them to craft a funny and interesting romance. And yes fellow romance readers - this DOES meet the definition of a romance! The main character connects with a handsome stranger in Las Vegas and soon after begins working with and texting the mysterious and famous romance book narrator Brock. The reader may think they have figured out where the author is going, but there are some twists and turns along the way. We also get some family drama; divorced parents, an aging grandmother and a meetup with mom/mom's boyfriend. The plot between romance, family and character growth flowed easily. This one is a unique and memorable read!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Julia Whelan’s uplifting novel “Thank You for Listening” tells the story of a former actress turned successful audiobook narrator—who has lost sight of her dreams after a tragic accident—and her journey of self-discovery, love, and acceptance when she agrees to narrate one last romance novel.

This was my first book of Whelan’s and won’t be my last. With her extensive background as an audiobook narrator herself, Whelan gives us a behind the scenes look into the world of putting real voices to our beloved characters. Our protagonist, Sewanee, is one you can instantly love. Her dry sense of humor, quick wit and loyalty to her family and friends make her someone you want to be friends with. She is so sure she’s fine, that’s she’s dealt with her accident that she doesn’t realize she’s lost sight of who she is or what she wants. Her journey through these pages was so real, add in a love story that felt more realistic than any trope that you can throw at it, made for an honest and wonderful book.

Major SLOW burn! Sometimes I felt just as frustrated as the characters during all the times that kept them apart. If you love the classic romance tropes, this book is full of clever twists on all of them.

This was an unedited version, so I can’t wait to reread the final cut to see if parts were slimmed down and also the emojis/images that were part of the text exchanges.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.
#netgalley
#thankyouforlistening
#juliawhelan

This book was a great read. It has the full range - from horrified laughing out loud at the start (honestly, anyone listening to steamy audiobooks in public? You are the bravest of the brave) to misty eyed from the sweet and the sad at the end.
My favorite thing though? I love a good trope. And with the characters being ‘in the industry (or whatever you want to call it) you get all this fun trope discussion between them, without having to break the fourth wall. And there were so many well done tropes, at one point they make a list. (No credit for reversal of the one bed trope though? …maybe because we never actually see that second bed…)
There are some serious themes, dementia, disability, substance abuse (that last is more discussion of a character’s past, not a current issue for them other than a mention they’re sober now), I feel like they are all well handled and an important part of the story. Which I loved. I feel like second (and third, and so on) chances were a *main* theme and it all comes together so well.
(Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC)

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the fact that the author is a well known audio book narrator. As someone who listens to audio books constantly I could not get enough that part. The only draw back for me was the ending. I didn't love the location change in the final chapters and I felt the epilogue was missing something.

Thank you HarperCollins for my complementary E Arc. All opinions are my own. Okay this review is hard to write this is a book where I have super mixed feelings with . I thought it was cute likeable characters , until part three someone in HarperCollins, please re read part 3 ... the cringe factor in that part . Why have the characters talk like that to each other for one whole part of the book. Why almost ruin the characters?. Other than that I would probably recommend this at least once . But please please do something and fix part 3 , before the final copy . I am giving it a three star, because it was a very likeable book except that part.

I loved My Oxford Year and worried that this wouldn’t measure up. And I thought Sewanee was an affected name for a main character and so I started this with a lot of trepidation. Oh my, I’m so so glad I was so wrong. Thank You for Listening is fanfuckingtastic, I laughed, I cried, I finished it and immediately wanted to start over and read it again.
Sewanee Chester narrates audiobooks. Never romances. She’s a trained actor and was on the verge until a Bad Thing happened, causing her to permanently wear an eyepatch after she lost an eye. So she narrates audiobooks and spends time with her beloved grandmother BlahBlah and she’s fine and she doesn’t see why people are worried about her.
Whelan, who’s one of the top audiobook narrators, writes what she knows and you benefit from all the Inside Baseball glimpses into the world of book narration. Whelan also knows and loves Romance as a genre and throws in tropes only to have characters point them out. There are huge swaths of texts that are just perfection. The love interest is great and even though there’s a reveal you can see coming from a mile away, Whelan knows that you will and so she sticks it at 71% of the way through the book and then the rest of the book seeks to answer the questions: Now what? Where do we go from here? But you get a trip to Venice amongst the angst (and Stu!) and it’s all worthwhile even though if you are anything like me you are openly weeping. Oh god, and then there’s another big fight that is shocking in how much it feels real—those fights you have that are about one thing but really several others and it’s so good. I wish I were more eloquent about my love for this book. The world-building is layered and multidimensional and professional competence kink abounds and it gets into big questions about death and loss and disappointment but is also so damn funny. I cannot wait until this comes out so I can bug everyone I can to read it. One of the best things I’ve read in a long time.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review but I’ll buy a copy as well to show my support: I love it so.

Honestly, I fell in love with author’s debut novel “My Oxford Year” and I was so excited to start this one. I saw some mixed reviews, rolling my eyes, maintaining my objectivity!

Normally at first chapter I decide my semi verdict about a book. As usual I started to read this one, and I was literally guffawing. It was hilarious opening! Then a few chapters later: I was hooked and as soon as Sewanee meets Nick, I was game! I literally started drooling over! The book glued to my hands! I couldn’t stop reading it! It was smart, seductive, heartfelt, entertaining!!!

Here’s the quick recap of the plot:

I easily connected with Sewanee Chester: once upon a time an aspiring actress who had a terrible accident resulting with losing her one eye, wearing permanent eye patch to cover it and damaging her shoulder.

She decides using her acting skills with more proficient way by narrating audibooks: and guess what? She literally kills it! She manages talking in different accents, imitating perfect male voices! Only thing she doesn’t do is romance novels!

But after attending to Vegas Book Convention for replacing her boss/ her landlord/ her mentor Mark, sharing a room with her bestie Adaku who is riding movie star, living her dreams by heading to a blockbuster as leading actress, her life changes in one magical night!

When Adaku leaves her alone at the bar for catching an audition which takes place in LAX, Sewanee decides to call the night but then something magical happens which can only happen in romance novels: A perfect stranger with Irish accent and heavy charm sits on her table and begins to talk…they have only one night till the stranger called Nick leaves the town. They share a memorable night! Sewanee acts like a stranger, talking in Texan accent, giving her name as Alice the book editor! And they parted their ways!

Then she does something unacceptable. For paying the expanses of nursing house of grandmother Blah ( short for Barbara :that woman stole the chapters each time she appeared on the page) , she needs extra cash, so she takes the offer she cannot refuse: she’s gonna be co-narrator of a romance novel with freaking BrockMc Night: the industries hottest, most secretive and sexiest male voice.

She still tries forgetting her magical snowy one night stand in Vegas but now her sweet, steamy banters, long text messages with Brock make her hyperventilate!

Should she meet the guy face to face? Absolutely! But that blind date meeting can be more earth shattering, mind blowing, jaw dropping that can ever imagine!

Can you imagine a romcom meets women’s fiction is approaching all those classic cliches with sarcastic and incredibly entertaining tone with getting full of cliches! That’s the definition of the book!

It is a sweet combination of romance playbook including just one night stand, epistolary, mistaken identity,love triangle ( sweet Mitzi was tough competitor) and interestingly you truly enjoy each of them!

I cannot give less than five stars! Actually if I had a chance I would give ten stars! That’s how I had a dreamy experience! Dear Julia Whelan: I became a true fan girl of your writing! I’m looking forward to read your future works as well!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

Sewanne is an actress turned audiobook narrator after a life-changing accident. She openly expresses her distaste for the romance genre and believes that “happily ever after is bullshit”. She unexpectedly finds herself narrating a romance novel and working alongside the king of romance audiobooks, and starts to question everything she thought she knew.

There was A LOT happening in this book, but overall I enjoyed it. Sewanne and Nick are PERFECT together and the banter is amazing! I appreciated that they both had things in their lives they needed to work on, and that they were able to support each other through it. I FELT every single emotion Sewanne encountered in this book. The poor thing went through so much and it all felt so incredibly real to me. There were a lot of supporting characters in this story, and while some where great (Cosmo, Mark, Adaku) I feel like some didn’t add anything to the story and we could’ve done without (Doug, Mitzi, Birdie). I felt like the storylines with Sewanne’s dad and grandma were a bit unnecessary as they didn’t really add much to the story. The romance element of this story was super cute but it felt rushed. I would’ve like to see it play a more prominent part.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank You for Listening is an irresistible and delightful to read. From the moment I read the first chapter, I knew that I would enjoy this book, and I was right.
Our characters are wonderful and I loved how our MC is an audiobook narrator.
Sewanee Chester, is a former actress turned successful audiobook narrator. I believe this is my first book ever where I've seen this, pretty cool!
The side characters were wonderful as well.
The writing was also done very well. The dialog seemed real, how people really talk. The writing just flowed well 
I enjoyed this book way too much.
Everything here just clicked and I couldn't stop reading it.

Avon,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review closer to pub date.

A fun title that gives us a little glimpse into the fascinating world of audiobook narration and the lucky people who get to do it for a living. I look forward to recommending this book.