This book I had high hopes for as an audiobook lover, particularly with Julia Whalen as a narrator. I believe that some books are great audiobooks, but not as great to read in print. This is one of those books for me. The characters, without great actors to interpret them, really fell flat for me. I found myself not really caring about the ending either as the lovers were never really together, just shared a lot of emails and texts. I am bummed because I had thought I would love this one, alas it was not a HEA for me.

Thank you to Netgalley, Avon & Harper Voyage, and Julia Whelan for an advance copy of Thank You For Listening in exchange for an honest review. First off, Julia Whelan is one of my favorite audiobook narrators so I was thrilled to be approved for this one and it DIDNT disappoint. I loved following our two audiobook narrators as they fall in love while working together. I was pleased with how they ended up meeting and it all was so freaking cute. This one is a BIG YES from me and would recommend it to any rom com lover.

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Sewanee Chester’s life is complicated. When a freak accident dashed her dreams of being a famous actress, she turned to narrating audiobooks - and she’s really good at it.

One night, at an audiobook conference in Las Vegas, she meets a handsome stranger at the bar and they spend a whirlwind night together. Never exchanging names or numbers.

Upon returning home to LA, Sewanee is offered a project for a romance novel that monetarily is a game changer for her and will let her take care of her grandmother who needs more hands on care. Plus - her co-narrator will be the famous Brock McNight - a steamy romance narrator who’s taken the industry by storm.

As Sewanee and Brock begin to work together and forge a real friendship, her and Brock find themselves face to face for an introduction that has been long overdue.

There’s a lot going on in this book - and I think that’s where I struggled. The characters are incredible - but there’s too much happening at once. The original meet cute, Sewanee’s accident, BlahBlah’s illness, Nick’s character arc, Sewanee’s mother and father, Adaku - so many character stories crammed into a lot of pages. It’s also really hard to follow the evolution - Las Vegas, LA, Venice, back to LA and a time jump. The shell was there to frame the novel, but the execution made it tough to follow. I often want more from a novel, but in this case, I wanted less! I wanted Whelan to simplify so I could enjoy the story more and spend more time getting to know the characters instead of feeling rushed. This was good, but it had potential to be so much greater.

Thanks to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager and Julia Whelan for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

Perfection. That is the only word I need to describe Thank You for Listening.

So, I guess I can stop reading or listening to anymore books this year. Nothing can top this. Hands down, my favorite book of 2022.

( Disclaimer, I will absolutely not stop reading or listening to anymore books this year)

After a horrible accident leaves Sewanee Chester scared both physically and mentally she leaves behind acting and becomes an audiobook narrator.

While in Las Vegas for a book convention she meets Nick, a stranger at a bar with an amazingly hot Irish accent. They spend one night together.

After she returns home, Sewanee is asked to do a duet narration of a beloved authors last book. Her partner in this will be Brock McNight, the industry's hottest and most secretive voice.

Even though she doesn't do romance any longer she agrees to take the job to help pay for her grandmother's care.

The two form a friendship emailing and texting ,but eventually they want to meet face to face.

I loved this book so much! It was everything I could ever want in a book. Julie Whelan is a fantastic author and narrator. I can't wait for more!

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

Well written, great to listen to. I really enjoyed this book. The crux of the story is nothing outstanding, but it is so enjoyable to listen to and the characters are so likable! I recommend often and have purchased for my library!

Sewanee Chester is an audiobook narrator. A whirlwind weekend at a book convention in Las Vegas has her spending an impromptu evening with a stranger. Upon returning home, Sewanee is asked by a renowned romance author to resurrect her old romance pseudonym, Sarah Westholme, to narrate her series with Brock McNight, the industry's sexiest sounding male narrator. Sewanee stopped narrating romances long ago when her dreams were shattered after an accident took away her dreams. She only agrees to narrate the series because of her utmost respect for the author who has passed away and because it is a decent amount of money that she will be able to use for her grandmother's care at a skilled care facility for patients with dementia. As, Brock and Sewanee begin narrating together, they begin to form a connection. Soon, they agree to meet. But, will things be the same when they are face to face?

This book was an absolute delight! I loved the insider look at what goes on in the audiobook industry and the characters were believable and had a lot of depth. I highly recommend the audiobook version - Julia Whelan is amazing.

Thanks to Avon & Harper Voyager for the copy to review.

My thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books for an eARC of this book to read and review. My thanks to libro.fm and HarperAudio for an advanced Audio of this book to listen to and review.

DNF at 66% because to manufacture drama and the Big Problem that needed to be overcome in order for the MCs to have their HEA, MC h had to be stupid and a Drama Llama Queen and turn down the possibility of love because the plot required it.

Also, I HATE how when a group from a state in the US is needed to poke fun at and make the butt of a joke, it's ALWAYS New Jersey. SERIOUSLY?!? I think the world is jelly of us, but if you are going to go all stereotypical when mocking NJ and it's people, at least get the stereotypical names right. Those would be Goomba names, like TOny, VINny, JIMmy, NOT "Jimbo". That's the stereotypical South. If you are going to insult us, at least get it right. Sheesh!

Honestly, the author narrated her own book, wonderfully might I add, but I think she just added those two goons in it to do the voices, like "Look at me! I can do stereotypical voices of stereotypical jerk men from Jersey!"

Very good. Now go home and get docked a star for playing to stereotypes AND getting it wrong.

Also, docking a star because the MC h BLATANTLY LIED to her Grandmom when she agreed to not see her anymore, because the Grandmom didn't want her granddaughter to see her mental decline with her dementia.

Also, her Grandmother seemed to want to go to a cheaper facility, but the granddaughter knew what was best!

Listen, I went through something similar with my grandmother, who I loved to distraction, but even when she made choices I didn't agree with, she was with it enough to make those decisions and I respected them and her autonomy. I had no right to make any decisions for her and while it hurt, I didn't try to take that away from her.

So for those reasons above I have no choice, despite the Cinnamon Roll of a MC H and the amazing narration (when it wasn't mocking my people), to DNF and give this 1 star.

I am one of the few who didn't like this book, so take what I say with a grain of salt and draw your own conclusions.

I loved this one so much. I read the e book but might check out the audiobook as well at some point. It was such a cute story and I loved all of the characters. It was just what I needed at the time that I read it.

I love everything Julia Whelan does--her audiobook narration is top notch and her debut novel, My Oxford Year, was great! So I was super pumped when I heard she had another book coming out and even more excited when I was approved to read it early on NetGalley! The book is fun and funny, with so much heart. And all of the meta audiobook and romance easter eggs make it such an enjoyable read! I can't wait to re-read when the audiobook (narrated by JW herself!!) comes out in August!

Enjoyable, charming, but weirdly paced. I loved the You've Got Mail of it all and the look into the audiobook industry, but the end dragged a little and I felt like there was a little bit too much going on with all the side plots.

I had seen My Oxford Year and it's on my TBR, but hadn't yet connected the name of the author with one of my favorite audiobook narrators until this book came out. I got an e-arc but got really behind on them by not taking into consideration a long anticipated vacation, then I had to move, then my son got married. I'm slowly making my way through them and so glad I finally got to this one.

Sewanee & Nick first meet in Las Vegas and things happen, as they do in Vegas. They go their separate ways and back to their lives but both of them can't stop thinking about the other. Meanwhile, Sewanee starts a job co-narrating with Brock McNight and they hit it off through a long text chain and plan to meet up after an audiobook award show. There's almost a love triangle and heart strings get pulled in her relationship with her grandmother and her best friend.

Even after to listening to the discussion of genre's (romance vs. women's fiction vs. happily ever after) that's in this book I'm not sure what to classify this book but either way I really enjoyed it. I'm not sure if I want her to stop narrating so she can write more because sometimes if I'm iffy about a book and she's the narrator, that's the deciding factor. But I definately want her to write more & I HAVE to go read My Oxford Year now & get it off the TBR.

This was great on audio. The characters were unique and likeable. It was a sweet and predictable romance. I really enjoyed this one.

Let me preface this by saying Julia Whelan is one of my favorite narrators. I went into this one with such high expectations but there were some minor things that just bothered me though out (like her Grandmother's nickname). I didn't feel as emotionally connected to the characters as I did in Julia's first novel. Loved the behind the scenes view of being a narrator though!

Definitely wish I had listened to this one.

Was there anything about this book that wasn't pure perfection? Was it predictable? Absolutely, but it still didn't stop me from smiling like an idiot, swooning like a lovesick puppy and giggling along with the main characters throughout the whole book.

“I don’t want to be in any book with you, I want to be real life. No matter how it ends.” Is there a more perfect line for a contemporary romance novel? The ending - talking about romance tropes and how they checked them all off - CHEFS KISS. This isn't a spoiler. It's a romance novel, you know there's going to be tropes and romances. Julia Whelan is a masterpiece. An absolute gem. There is no better audiobook narrator than her, and she writes just as beautifully. Go read this and get ready to have sore cheeks from smiling so much.

Julia Whelan is a prolific audiobook narrator but in her sophomore novel, she exemplifies her talent as a storyteller. As someone working in audiobook production, I found the references to be such a delight!

I adored Sewanee's quips and chemistry with Brock. Their flirty texts and emails were a hoot.

I commiserated with her grandmother's situation as many who've lost loved ones to dementia likely may. Always appreciate when side characters are not just props for the couple. Swan's strong best friend, her miserable father, her level headed mom and zany stepdad were all their own characters. Even the brief excerpts from fictional interviews with June French give us a glimpse of who she was.

It was almost perfect until a bit over halfway, there's a flashback that took me out of it for months. It halted the flow of the narrative in my opinion. Once I pushed through that chapter, it was amazing again I was reading and crying past my bedtime.

This book was so enjoyable. I loved this author's first book, and this book lived up to my expectations. I thoroughly enjoyed the relationship between the two main characters and was really rooting for the two of them.

This book elicited bunch of emotions on my face from smile, waggling and frowning of eyebrows, pouting to laughing and screaming.. I loved it so much.

Absolutely loved this one!

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 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. 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.

***Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
Julia Whelan is by far my favorite audiobook narrator. To have her narrate her own novel was a dream come true. She brought wit and realism to a HEA story that seemed believeable.