Thank you Netgalley for approving my request to read this book in change for an honest review.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I love how it ended unexpectedly because I know we would have thought that she’d pushed through with Zane. But Gigi ending up with Taj was amazing and her short journey to him was giving me all the feels. Plus I love that Gigi and Lars, finally decided to collaborate and make this parents’ bookshop something they can be proud of.

full review: https://wandersbetweenpagess.wordpress.com/?p=7646

DNF at 45%.
It seems like a clever concept, but I was bored to tears.
I was hoping for much more.

Gigi, Listening by Chantel Guertin is a book that I really wanted to like. It had everything in it that I like. A woman who runs a romance book store, a ten day tour through the English countryside, an eclectic group of travelers. But unfortunately it didn't work for me. It's the story of Gigi who runs a romance book store, is obsessed with Zane who is the audiobook narrator of her favorite audiobook and is in love with love. When she is gifted a bus tour through the English countryside led by Zane by her book club members, she embarks on an amazing trip but is disappointed when she realizes that Zane didn't show up.
The book started out really strong. I loved the bookstore, the book club, the other travelers and the brooding bus driver and it went downhill from there. I really liked the descriptions of towns, the architecture, nature etc. I loved Gigi's friendship with Charlotte and was very invested in Charlotte's relationship with Angus. Also, there is a biking tour along a Sycamore lined road, pizza making in the middle of a forest, description of great food, punting with a three time national champion and a lot more. But I didn't like the romantic aspect of the book and after a while the entire thing stopped being interesting for me. There was too much emphasis on her liking for Zane. Even in the midst of the most beautiful moments, the focus is on his absence and that was not fun to read. The book did pick up in the last twenty percent. But it wasn't enough to salvage the entire experience.
However if you simply want to read a nice book about traveling through the English countryside, then you can try this one.
✨
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-arc. All opinions expressed in the review are my own.

Ngl, this book didn’t exactly wow me from the start. It had to work to keep my attention, but by the 30% mark I was in.

Although I found the plot of this book a little bit cringy at first (I had a lot of secondhand embarrassment for Gigi), as it went on, I grew to really love the characters and Gigi’s development. The writing style resonated with me, and although the set up wasn’t my favourite, I still found myself engaged.

There are a couple of small twists I didn’t see coming, and was pleasantly surprised by their reveal. At one point, a side character had me sobbing. And the (actual) love interest was the perfect balance of grumpy, sweet and funny. In fact, the whole cast of characters were fun to read about and they all felt like a family by the end of their tour.

This is a closed door romance, but I didn’t feel like it was lacking in any way. I enjoyed watching Gigi fall for the main love interest and I found their story to be pretty authentic (compared to the “soulmate” storyline at least).

I recommend reading if you enjoy lighthearted, clean romances. But I do encourage you to stick with it if you aren’t loving it in the first third of the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

Ok, so we all have at least one book boyfriend ( or two or four) but, have you ever listened to an audiobook and become wholeheartedly attracted to the narrator's voice?

📖 Well, meet Gigi Rutherford. The quirky romance bookstore owner who loves love, and settling down for the night to the smooth sounds of Zane Wilkinson in her ear, narrating the very book that brought her late parents together. Swooooon.

When Gigi's friends surprise her for her birthday with a 10-day coach tour across the Engligh countryside, guided by none other than Zane Wilkinson, Gigi leaves her bookstore behind and flies across the world, ready for her very own meet-cute moment. Only when she arrives, Zane is nowhere to be found, called to a family emergency and Taj the bus driver has Gigi questioning everything.

💭 Thoughts:
Gigi Listening is a slow-burn romantic adventure with a very strong sense of place. Touring around the UK with Gigi and the group was such fun, with a balanced cast of side characters that kept things moving.

While the story was more about Gigi's journey of self-discovery than falling in love, I enjoyed the undertones of navigating grief and the evolution of Gigi's character throughout.

Thank you to @Netgalley & @KensingtonBooks for granting me an eArc of Gigi, Listening (Alt title: Two for the Road), publishing 28 March

I was not the reader for this book. I think many will enjoy but I just wasnt into it! Maybe at another time I would enjoy it more.

Is it strange that my biggest complaint about this book is the decision to have two very different titles for the same book for two different, yet similar, markets? I know this is not a rare occurrence, as there are often books with varying titles in North America and the rest of the English-speaking world. But this is the first time I have encountered this in North America. When I first came across the titles, there was no indication they were the same book until after I requested both from NetGalley. Goodreads only recently added a note about the different titles and for which country they were.

While I enjoyed the supporting cast of characters, I found Gigi to be a bit too much. I understand she's on a trip of a lifetime, and she's struggling to hold on to her parents, but she is extremely controlling and naive. Are we sure she's 30 years old?

The descriptions of the various places they visited in England were wonderful and made it easy to picture. However, the description of the bus itself felt clunky.

Overall, the first third of the book felt slow and sluggish. I was tempted to DNF it, but I pushed on. Ultimately, I would say this is a 3.5 out of 5.

A sweet ode to the romance genre and to audiobooks in particular. This really is a great book for book lovers- Gigi owns a bookstore and there are tons of references to other books, and readers who have ever found solace in the pages (or sound waves) of a book will relate.

This was a feel-good, beautiful story.

GiGi is a hopeless romantic who lives life by strict rules. She inherits a romance-only book store after her parents die in a car crash. When her friends' believe that she needs a break, they chip in to buy her a tour of England, hosted by her favorite audiobook narrator, Zane. During the tour, she meets eccentric background characters, and finds love in more ways than one.

I loved learning so much about England! I felt like I was on the tour with GiGi and could visualize each stop and each character as they were interacting. There were even little side mysteries that added fun elements to the story. The overall theme of the story became more heartwarming as it changed throughout the book.

My biggest reason for not giving this 5 stars was because it seemed like GiGi was OVERLY obsessed with meeting Zane and for seemingly only superficial reasons. Yes his audiobook had special meaning to her (I won't spoil what that is), but it became creepy with how she would describe him and her feelings towards a voice.

Overall, this is a cute book, suitable for any age, and anyone who likes books about self-discovery through tragedy.

The biggest thank you to #NetGalley and #KensingtonBooks for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really wanted to like this, but I just couldn't get into it. Thank you for the opportunity to read it early!

I received a complimentary copy from Kensington books and all opinions expressed are entirely my own..

Gigi Listening is the perfect read for romance readers and audiobook fanatics.. This is one spicy read that follows Gigi who gets a trip of a lifetime to meet her favorite audiobook narrator. She unfortunately fails to meet Zane initially so she is stuck with the widowed and chatty Charlotte; Francis who is obsessed with trivia; Jenny(who likes true crime and Ta the driver. Chantel introduced us to quirky characters that are lovable, relatable and quirky. Gigi was a romantic but I felt that the book needed more banter and a twinge more humor.

*I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I REALLY enjoyed this book! While somewhat predictable, the entire story felt like both an adventure and a warm hug. This book took me longer to read than most simply because I found myself looking up the various settings and getting myself really immersed in Gigi’s experience! I loved that with this book I got to go on a mini vacation (without the jet lag!)

I’ve been contemplating how to write this review, to show much I truly enjoyed it. I received this ARC and was intrigued by the story - Gigi, a bookstore owner, is in love with an audiobook’s voice. Obsessed even. So for her 30th birthday her friends surprise her with a trip to England to meet him. Yes an odd premise but it works. The story lured me in and kept my interest with each page which included the diverse people she meets on the bus tour, the audiobook stranger and the rude (but hot) bus driver. Not to mention the glorious landscape and landmarks she discovers on her trip through the English countryside. It made me feel like I was there, experiencing it with her. The emotions that ebb and flow throughout the book is just magic. I also enjoyed the various romance books and authors that she mentions throughout - she knows her stuff and has the same taste as me in that regard! It was definitely a 5 star book in my mind. A must read for any romance lover. It was a fabulous romcom that I fell in love with and I look forward to reading more from this author.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book starts out with MC Gigi on a set up date in a pub in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Gigi is a small bookstore owner, who is a hopeless, romantic and in love with the voice of an audiobook narrator. Not only is she in love with this narrator because of his voice, but also because he is reading the one book that brought her parents together in their love story.

She is convinced that this is the love of her life and fantasizes about him and no other man measures up to Zane. For her 30th birthday GiGi‘s friends purchase a ticket for her to fly to England and take a guided tour by a company run by none other than Zane, as his family owns the company. It turns out that Zane has only ever narrated this one book and so it appears that it is fate.

This book grabbed my attention immediately, because it was quite different than other books I’ve read of a similar genre. The idea that the main character fell in love with a voice because he read a book that brought her parents together was a premise I’ve never encountered in all of my reading. I found the characters completely loveable and quickly devoured this adorable romcom.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC copy of GiGi, listening, in exchange, for my honest review and opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley for this title in exchange for my honest review!

I really wanted to like this book. I thought the premise was cute when I first saw the description, and I was excited to give it a try. Unfortunately, it just missed the mark for me.

There is such a thing as overly descriptive, and too much of this book was spent over describing things that truly didn't need it. I appreciate enough description to put me in the shoes of the character, but not every walk we take needs to be on a street bathed in moonlight. Eventually I just want to get to the story and I find myself just skipping over entire sentences once I get the gist of what's happening. However, the descriptions worked well for the travel sequences and making me feel like I was actually in London.

It's also a little weird to me that the main character was 30 and obsessed with someone's voice SO MUCH SO she plans an entire vacation around trying to find them. It borders on stalkerish, losing its romantic undertones.

I found myself skimming through this book to get to the main parts, which for me is never a good sign. The story itself just fell flat for me unfortunately.

This is a nice, middle-of-the-road romance for people who aren’t looking for twists. The premise is a little far-fetched; the characters are mostly either Characters (Gigi’s brother and fellow tourists) or don’t have much personality (Gigi’s friends, even somewhat Gigi herself); you can pretty much predict everything that will happen; and the romance wasn’t exactly the sort that had me truly believing they would be together forever, but it’s an enjoyable enough book. The tourists and their stories did grow on me, and I appreciated both the unabashed defense of romance as a genre and the examination of longterm grief. Might be a good companion for those embarking on similar trips, and those who aren’t able to take their own tour might enjoy the opportunity to read through Gigi’s English adventures.

This friends to lovers tale is not what you may expect at the beginning. I enjoyed that it involved a romance but also developing relationships between a lot of its characters. I also enjoyed that it was set in England (mostly) on a fun bus tour with plenty of bookshops mentioned.

Chantel's Guertin's GIGI, LISTENING is a perfect read when you're looking for predictable, reliable rom com sparkle, friendship, all the feels. Protagonist Gigi is mourning a lost love, strings of forgettable dates, and pining for the swoon-worthy Zane Wilkenson, a hunky British man who happens to be running a bus tour business, small, intimate, and high-end. Naturally, there are best friends sending Gigi off on her thirtieth birthday from the United States to return with sizzling stories of new found soulmates 0n a chartered bus tour focusing on churches and the countryside. Hijinks ensue. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

Gigi, Listening is a contemporary romance about a Gigi, a bookseller who’s in love with her favorite audiobook narrator, Zane. Her friends know about this, so they book her a tour of the English countryside where Zane is supposedly the tour guide. But when Zane doesn’t show up, Gigi is forced to deal with a colorful cast of characters on her 10-day tour.

What I loved most about this book is how each travel destination has a detailed description, making readers feel like they’re also part of the tour. I’m not familiar with most of these locations so I’m not sure if the historical backgrounds are accurate, but they make the story more interesting. I also loved the characters in the tour bus and how each of them was given enough time to shine and learn more about their own story.

Meanwhile, the main thing I found frustrating is Gigi’s attitude up until the last quarter of the novel. Her obsession with Zane leads her to make poor choices, and those parts made me cringe while reading.

Overall, I still enjoyed my reading experience with this novel and was satisfied by how it ended.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A fun read. Gigi is sent off on a holiday to England by her friends, to go on a tour led by the voice behind the audio book she is obsessed with. Will the trip lead to disappointment or a new man in her life. I loved the setting of the book and it makes me want to follow them too!