A delightful story of a 30-year-old American woman who enjoys a life-changing vacation in Britain. Romance, books, the British countryside, and a ragtag group of tourists all make for a lighthearted romp. But the book doesn't shy away from tough issues of identity or grief either.

A few tiny quibbles with phraseology when in England but that didn't detract from an enjoyable listen (even though the narrator's British accent made me cringe at times).

Oh my! I remember the days I would refuse to read a straight up romance novel, and now! I just can't get enough. This book left me feeling very warm and happy. Plenty of smiles and heart felt moments.

This one is a rom-com that is very aware of it status as a rom-com. The titular character is a bookstore owner that only carries romance books. Her parents have this perfect meet cute moment and she has built up her own meet cute in her head and is determined to make it happen. Of course nothing happens the way that Gigi wants it to, but still, DETERMINATION!

Along side the romantic aspects we have a lot of coming of age almost, learning who you are outside of the expectations that the world around you sets, or that you feel like is expected of you. Gigi is turning 30 and has really never had any time for her self, she's been an adult since her parents past, and she still hasn't learned to move past that traumatic time. Traveling with this group of very different people she gets to see varying types of relationships, love, self-acceptance and really figure out who she is and wants to be. I really liked the growth aspect of our MC.

Of course with any of these you see all the plot twists coming a mile away. Like miles....kilometers....but that's ok because the journey was fun and I really liked the way we got to know the love interest. I really liked the side stories/characters. How we get to see the relationships of an estranged husband/wife and mother and daughter. A man on the brink of loosing his reality as we know it. There are so many stories that help you fall in love with the whole world. It is such a fun story. I have not read anything by this author previously, I will have to pick some of her other work up.

As this is audio, the narrator did a fantastic job! She does a great job with the different voices, accents, and giving each character so much depth. I also haven't listened to any of her work before, but I imagine that I will be in the future.

This whole package was simply amazing!

In this no-too-spicy romcom, Gigi takes a dream vacation to England to meet a man whose voice she's fallen in love with in an audiobook. Not everything works out as expected, and through her cast of quirky vacation companions, Gigi finds friendship, love, and value in the imperfect.

A cute quick read, but not a lot of depth int he characters.

1.5 stars.

What I noticed right away was the terrible fake British accent that the narrator uses. I understand that this book involves both British and American accents, so they had to use a fake accent. But man, this is one of the worst ones I’ve ever heard in terms of narrators.

I found Gigi to be very unlikeable. She was very high-strung, and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how she has any friends - let alone friends who would spend money on a vacation for her.

If the author was trying portray her as damaged from the death of her parents’, then it should have been more explicitly said. And then, there should have been a mental health component to it. I just found it exhausting to read about Gigi and her controlling ways over and over again.

I understand that there can’t be a TON of character development when the main plot of the story takes place over 10 days, but the lack of likable characteristics makes it even more difficult to root for a character like Gigi.

Alas, I thought the premise was interesting and had a lot of potential, but I just really didn’t care about Gigi, which disengaged me from the book. Better luck next time.

What audiobook listener can't relate to Gigi? Certainly not me!

Gigi has found the love of her life and if she could just get to England to take a tour run by his family he will realize this too. How did she find him if they've never met? Well he narrates her favorite audiobook, of course. The book that brought her parents together. The book that started it all. In this story though things don't always play out the way we dream. Once we meet that person we have idealized in real life sometimes we find they aren't all we made them up to be. That's Gigi here but don't worry, it all works out.

Real talk though, I'm CERTAIN that if I was ever not married and met Shane East or Sebastian York things would absolutely work out better for me than for Gigi.

I really did enjoy this book and the main story and the side stories were all wonderful.

Gigi, Listening by Chantel Guertin. #GigiListening #NetGalley
Audiobook Review:
Finally an Audiobook about an Audiobook related story!

Gigi starts a journey with many adventures that spring from an audiobook and her life as a Bookstore owner. Gig's friends surprise her with a Guided Tour to London with the main attraction (no pun intended) is that it is lead by the Narrator (Zane) of her favorite Audiobook. Gigi has always felt that she has a connection with Zane and now is her chance to meet him and spend time with him to find out if her hunch is right. From getting there to getting to know the characters Gigi is in for quite an adventure; However, the Narrator is a no-show for the start of the trip! Uncertain what to do, Gigi continues onward, uncertain of what she is doing on this trip without the main reason she came! Follow this charming book through the sites of London along with a cast of interesting characters and twists and turns with romantic interludes both expected and not. I enjoyed the story and the narration both and loved learning about London, Bus Tours and of course, what can happen when a fan surprises someone across the pond based purely on his voice. This is a good light read with a few small mysteries that get unraveled during the read. I had some minor character confusion as the tour travelled and characters moved in and out of the narration. Otherwise a fun read!

*Received a copy for review*

There is something very romantic about a woman traveling to another country to take a bus tour being done by her favorite book narrator. The teenage me that was sure that if my favorite rockstar would immediately fall in love with me if we ever met understands completely. I mean, clearly all those songs were just for me and we were destined for one another. It was fun as a teenager but it was a little hard for me to swallow when thinking of a 30 year old woman. I understood her connection to the book and to the narrator but it was just slightly too much for me.
I really liked all the characters on the tour. IT was an easy read and the issue was fairly easy to sus out. I liked it.

This was such a fun read! The narration is so well done. I enjoyed Gigi's backstory -being a bookshop owner (with only romance books!), in Ann Arbor MI (right up the street from me) - and all the references to different romance authors. It kept me engaged and connected as the story progressed.

The obsession over the audiobook narrators voice being such a huge part of this storyline felt a little over the top/unhealthy to me at times. I understand it in the context of setting up the story and progressing the narrative, but that was one part of the FMC that I couldn't quite relate to.

This is the first book that I've read by this author, but I'll definitely be checking out some of her other work. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ALC to read and review.

Gigi is the biggest romance book lover and after her parents meet-cute back in the day, she really wants her own. She has had terrible luck with guys and when her friends gift her a trip with the tour guide being Zane Wilkenson who she has obsessed over for years. When she gets to the bus tour, Zane is not there. The other people on the tour are an interesting group and Gigi and the bus driver, Taj, get off on the wrong foot but then grow on each other.

I thought this was a cute story showing the main characters want for love and how what we plan in our head is not always what is best. I love Taj and thought they would make a great fit!

Gigi, Listening is a delightful & light-hearted story about a romance bookshop owner who is infatuated with the voice of her favorite audiobook narrator. I’ll admit that this premise is a little obsessive and odd, but go with it. Her friends buy her a trip to England to meet him while he is a also the narrator for a book tour where things don’t go as planned. Chantel takes us on a sweet little journey while Gigi learns about love and family.

The characters were likable & the narrator was great (Natalie Naudus, the actual book narrator, not book character). Being about a romance bookshop, I enjoyed mentions of Float Plan & The Unhoneymooners + many of my fave romance writers. Throw in a reference to being someone’s lobster & Sleepless in Seattle — I’m sold!

Thank you to Netgalley & RB Media for a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Gigi, Listening was such a cute book! Gigi’s character was a bit rocky for me especially in the beginning but she grew so much during this story and her character developed beautifully. I will say that while Gigi and Taj were the main characters in this book, our side characters (the other members of the tour) truly stole the show in my eyes. There were so many moments where the story could have lagged but the side characters kept it going without taking away from our main plot.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I know rom coms are supposed to have happily-ever-after endings, so I should never wonder how a text is going to end, but I do! A bookseller, England, and a cast of quirky characters? I’ll take it! This one kept me engaged and entertained. The narration was perfect, and I sincerely appreciated the shift between accents. I do wonder how it felt to have this meta experience of narrating about an audiobook narrator!

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the audio version. I was really excited to read this novel. I don't know it was kind of a bust for me. I think the story plot was a very unrealistic. The narrator did a good job.

DNF at 10%

I can't get past the obsessive nature of Gigi and her stalker behavior. I really tried to get into the other characters, like her brother, the background of the bookstore, her friends, the birthday party, etc. but I just can't believe the toxic behavior is encouraged to the extent it is. I was hoping for more of an organic story, the premise of meeting an audiobook narrator sounds promising but the execution is too farfetched and unhinged.

There were parts of this book that I really liked, and then there were aspects I found a little harder to believe. The best part of this book is the platonic relationships and friendships formed on Gigi’s trip. The dynamic of the group (mostly) was entertaining and charming as they toured through London. The romantic relationships left a lot to be desired… especially based on the fact that it was an idolization of her late parents’ relationship as the main basis. I think I would have enjoyed this plot point a little more if Gigi had reacted differently once faced with the reality, but instead this aspect drug out and I just wanted it to be over.

Francis is fantastic and I wanted more of him.

As an audiobook lover, I liked the audiobook storyline in the book, but there are romances that handle it better than what I wanted this story to achieve. That being said, the platonic relationships were the star of the book and I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more if it had been the main focus of the novel rather than romance.

I was able to get ARCs of both the written book and the audiobook, switching between the two as I “read”. This is very sweet romance with a quirky premise. Gigi owns a romance book shop in Ann Arbor, MI. She has put her life on hold focusing on work since her parents deaths in an accident eight years ago. She is absolutely obsessed with the voice of Zane, the narrator of a book that was instrumental in her parents love story. As a gift for her 30th birthday her friends give her a ten day trip to England on a tour where the guide is the narrator of her dreams.

Once in England as she joins her tour she learns that Zane is unavailable and may catch up at some point. In the interim Gigi meets her charming tour mates, guide Angus and hottie coach driver Taj. The story follows the daily activities of the tour visiting sites and cities. I was excited for this part because I’ve been to many of the locations mentioned. But was disappointed because Gigi often skipps out on the local tours to visit book shops. (She intentionally avoids cathedrals as she hasn’t been in a church since her parents funeral.)

Of course along the way Taj and she become closer until guide Zane makes an appearance. I love so many books are referenced in the story and in fact a master list is included at the end. The book is told entirely from Gigi’s POV and it goes on a bit long before she stops obsessing about getting her special love story. I love the interaction with the tour mates and they add to my caring about the book. In fact I was emotionally more moved by a couple of the mates stories than Gigi getting her HEA.

I thought Natalie Naudus did a wonderful job with the voices and accents. I recognize her voice (even if I couldn’t have named her) as I own other audio books she narrates. The heat level is low. There is longing, and kissing only, with one morning after scene that fades to black. I did like that she owns a romance book shop. I didn’t know they are a thing until my daughter took me to one in Culver City, CA several months ago. It was charming (I purchased many, many books) and it let me easily envision Gigi’s shop.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kensington Books, and RB Media for the ARCs in exchange for an honest review. (3.5 Stars)

This was such a sweet and sun read! A friend recommended it and compared it to Just Haven’t Met You Yet by Sophie Cousens and I have to agree.

I am a big Natalie Naudus fan and was thrilled to see she was the narrator. Gigi’s friends send her to the UK to go on a tour with her favorite book narrator. Unfortunately he’s not there for a good part of the trip. I liked the camaraderie with the fellow passengers and especially with Taj, the bus driver. It was so charming to see how the passengers developed relationships and were there for each other in such a short amount of time. I wasn’t a fan of Zane, but I think that was the point.

I highly recommend picking this one up when it’s released on March 28th!

Gigi, a sweet thirty-year-old romance bookstore owner, embarks on a journey to meet the voice of her dreams. This charming novel will take you to the rolling hills and picturesque towns of England. I’ve been on these European tours before and Guertin’s descriptions were so on point it made me LOL (as an American). So relatable!

Gigi’s character undergoes a meaningful change throughout the book as she gives in to everything in-between. This book is filled with moments of humor and tenderness, and the supporting characters were so fun! Overall, a feel-good read that can be predictable, but in all the best ways.

This was a really cute book. There were times when I got really annoyed with Gigi for trying to make everything play out the way she THOUGHT it should, rather than just letting things happen as they may. But that was kind of the point of the book.

I absolutely loved that Gigi owns a book store. And I enjoyed the way little pieces of her life unfolded throughout the story.

But what I enjoyed most were the interactions among the characters taking the tour with her. I can absolutely see how a group like that could become really close with each other the way these characters do.

I also really love this audiobook narrator, but unfortunately she's not great at British accents.

This book was just as cute as I hoped it would be!

There is something about a book written about book lovers and book romance that gets me in my romantic feels.

Gigi runs a romance book store, and is convinced her soulmate is audiobook narrator across the pond. For her 30th she goes to London for her real life meet cute romance. Zane, the narrator is not present, and a lot of wacky things happen to keep getting in the way of their special moment.

I thought it was a lovely rom-com and I would definitely recommend!

Thanks Net Galley for the audiobook ARC for my honest opinion ☺️