After a tragic accident, an actress turned audiobook narrator struggles to find her place in world. Many aspects of her life are in turmoil including her family, work and romantic life. All of Whelan's characters, including the group of extended family and friends, are layered and complicated and so, so funny. It was great fun and oh so interesting to see the romance and audiobook industries behind the scenes.

I loved this book, the voice, the pace and how they don't give up on themselves or each other.

I enjoyed this book more than this author's debut and I absolutely loved the first 2/3 of the book. The last 1/3 was not as good for me but I still think the characters were interesting and the storyline was unique. It was also well written even if it got a bit too HEA at the end for me. Definitely would be a good summer read and I think a lot of people will love this book!

Thank You For Listening comes out next week on August 2, 2022 and you can purchase HERE. You can read my review of this author's debut HERE.

"You know who should read these books? Men. If they really wanted to understand what makes women tick."

Julia Whelan is an expert audiobook narrator, but she’s an expert storyteller as well.

Thank you Avon for the gifted copy via Netgalley.

This novel is HILARIOUS. The humor in this book stands out above it all because it made for a fun experience and wonderful characters. The story engages you from the get-go and doesn’t let up.

If you’re a fan of romance novels and audiobooks, then grab this one when it publishes on August 2.

A fun and steamy glimpse into the world of Audiobook narration! I'm a huge audiobook fan and so I was immediately intrigued when I read what 'Thank You for Listening' is all about. I'm a sucker for good banter, and this book DELIVERED. It’s sharp. It’s romantic. It’s funny. I loved this book from start to finish. Thank you NetGalley! :)

Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager Publishing for an ARC copy of Thank You for Listening!

3.5 stars rounded to 4. I will be the first to say that I absolutely ADORE Julia Whelan, but this story fell a little flat for me. Because there was not much "world building" in the beginning of the story, I had a hard time connecting to the characters throughout the book. The story felt a little slow until about 60% through, and then it really picked up and pulled me in. While the ending was sweet, it felt a little rushed, whereas some details throughout could have been skipped to allow more space to flesh out the ending. I will also add that the MC felt a little... whiney? Throughout the story she complained about circumstances of her own creation, and I didn't feel like there was much growth for the MC.

Overall, a cute story, but not Julia's best.

This is an outrageously delightful rom-com!

I have never laughed so hard at the opening chapter of a book before. This story focuses on some heavy topics: the main character lost an eye in an accident several years prior to the story starting and is still working through lasting trauma, and throughout the story her beloved grandmother's memory slowly declines. However, there is always humor running through the story, as well.

I loved the early banter and conversation between the two main characters. I did think the book was a bit too long, with too many side characters. I still adored the epilogue, though, and I'm sure true romance lovers will love the story! I'm more of a casual romance reader.

Thank You for Listening is a love letter to fans of romance, Julia Whalen, audiobooks, and Happily Ever Afters (HEAs). More than just a love story, it touches on feelings of self worth, disfigurement, and caring for a grandparent.

Julia Whalen knocked this one out of the park. I loved the characters, loved the witty banter, and loved her writing style. I read the ebook and while I don’t typically reread books, I think I will make an exception to listen to this one again as I have a feeling the audio version will be even better.

Thank you to Avon Books and Netgalley for providing me with an arc of Thank You for Listening in exchange for an honest review.

My review is an appreciation for Julia Whelan in many ways! I love her as an audiobook narrator, many of us do, and I am so glad I can support her creative voice here with her new book Thank You for Listening. Avon and Harper Voyage granted me a review copy via NetGalley, thank you.
1. I appreciated perhaps a more nuanced insight into the world of audiobook narration and the literary world; I love book sent in publishing and writing words and this expanded that to audiobook development and production in a fun and welcome way.
2. Ms. Whelan also has an astute understanding of chemistry, banter, and the value of knowing that readers like me are looking for a way to hear her wonderful voice acting come across in written form (in that I can feel her pacing, her use of tone, her ability to weave mood and emotion into phrasing in her written work just as I can hear it in books she narrates). I thought the mysterious male voice actor was funny and well developed and the chemistry between Sewanee and Brock was spot on, just what I want in a contemporary romance. The characters were interesting and engaging.
3. Finally, I liked the bookish dialogue, the examination of what we call different genres and the labelling of books as women's fiction, as I felt in ways Ms. Whelan was offering us a book that challenged those labels, one that was her desire to say can't a book just be a book without a writer feeling labeled and forced to write one kind of book or for a certain audience.

I recommend this for fans of Ms Whelan's, if you like her audiobook voice, try her written voice! Again thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager for the ebook copy on NetGalley.

I love Julia Whelan as an audiobook narrator and was intrigued when I saw she was writing a romance book about audiobook narrators! This was a fun and heartfelt read that I fully enjoyed!

💭Thoughts:
I loved the unique setting and getting an inside look at the world of audiobook narration and the process that goes along with making a book come to life.

The character development was great, including the supporting characters. I loved Sewanee’s grandma Blah Blah and the connection that they had. I also loved watching the relationship between Sewanee and Brock blossom. The text exchanges and witty banter was laugh-out-loud!

While this story is definitely a romance, it also deals with loss, second chances and believing in yourself - about moving forward and realizing that your life can still be beautiful even if it doesn’t turn out exactly how you envisioned it.

Julia Whelan is my favorite audiobook narrator. When i Dream, it’s in Julia Whelan's voice. When Thank You for Listening came up on Net Galley I had to try it. Thank you to HarperCollins publishing for allowing me to read an early copy. It was amazing. inject more of this into my veins. I didn't read My Oxford year, so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it completely captured the when you think your life is gonna go one way and it doesn't go that way and you have to decide something else and just hope that it's better or as comparable as what you originally wanted to do and how to deal with it. The best friend relationship was A+. The parental struggles were well thought out. It’s a great way to get inside of audiobook creation, the background and how strenuous it is. Julia is able to connect with us reading her book and also reading others works

Was this cheesy? Sure but I loved it. I was literally laughing out loud the entirety of this book. Everything about this was so funny and charming and I love how it revolves around audiobooks

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING is my first Julia Whelan read and unfortunately, missed the mark for me.

I had high hopes especially since the main characters job was as an audiobook narrator, but found there to be a disconnect with the characters and their interactions (some were even cringey, in my opinion.) I also felt like some scenes/chapter endings jumped around a bit leaving me with questions.

While this wasn’t for me, I think others may find it charming in areas I didn’t and should give it a try.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Avon for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

4.5, but rounding up to 5 stars because the banter between these two characters was amazing. Witty, acerbic, smart and self-aware. This story and the writing were simply special. I truly LOL'ed, and swooned, and cheered. What more can a girl expect?

I enjoyed this book, but the pacing was weird for me - it somehow felt rushed yet slow at the same time, not quite evening out. As in another book I recently read, I think I liked a side character better than the main - Adaku was great. There may have been a few too many characters, though - I definitely had no idea who some of them were even at the end of the book.

This book was okay. It was a little slow for me, and I wished for a little more excitement! I was more interested in the best friend and Sewanee's past than learning about the future. Thank you, NetGalley.

I'm a huge audiobook fan and Julia Whelan is one of my favorite narrators, so I was immediately intrigued when I read the synopsis of Thank You for Listening.

Things to look forward to:
- So many tropes! Snowed in, epistolary, one night stand, forced proximity, workplace romance, etc.
- I loved getting a behind the scenes look at audiobook production. I knew it was complex, but the level of detail and prep work between narrators was fascinating. The author does make clear in her author's note (don't skip it!) that Sewanee is not her and there weren't specific people/narrators that she based her characters off of and that this is just one perspective on this industry.
- The writing. Julia Whelan is not only a gifted narrator, but she's also an incredibly gifted writer. The book was witty and fun, but also so emotional and heartfelt. I loved the epistolary elements (though I did find those were a bit harder to enjoy via audio) and the banter between Brock and Sewanee was chef's kiss.
- The narration. It's Julia Whelan. Enough said.

Things to note:
- Thank You for Listening fell between women's fiction (the author has a great discussion about this term in the book) and contemporary romance for me. There is an open door scene, but it's not overly detailed and most of the spice is implied.
- The book was heavier than I initially anticipated. Sewanee experiences a very traumatic event that changes the entire trajectory of her life and she struggles with this a great deal throughout the book. In addition to this, she is helping to care for her ailing grandmother (who lives in an assisted living facility) and has a strained relationship with her father. A few of the scenes with her grandmother were really difficult to listen to. Readers should definitely check CW's prior to starting.
- I wasn't totally sold on the romance. It's a slow burn between Brock and Sewanee and I wish there had been more scenes of them together (and not just interacting digitally). I know this build up was part of their characters arcs, but I wanted more connection over implied innuendo.

Audiobook Review
Overall 4.5 stars
Performance 5 stars
Story 4 stars

CW: parental infidelity (past), death of parent/loved one, grief, strained parental relationship, hospitalization due to exhaustion (secondary character), FMC's grandmother experiences memory loss/has dementia (multiple episodes on page), FMC has a near death experience/injury related to an airplane (past)

*I voluntarily read and listened to a review copy of this book*

Thanks to #partner @netgalley and @avonbooks for the digital ARC of Julia Whelan’s Thank You for Listening. The book is out today!

Julia Whelan is one of my all-time favorite audiobook narrators (I know I’m not alone!). Once I found out that she was a writer, too, I was eager to discover if her talents traveled. Oh, they do, my friends. They do.

Thank You for Listening immerses us in the world of audiobook recording and, specifically, romance audiobooks. After an accident ended Sewanee Chester’s career as an actress, she transferred her talents—her deep connection to characters’ motivations, her facility with languages and voices—to narration. While she started in romance, she long ago transferred her allegiance to literary fiction.

When her career takes her to an audiobook conference, Sewanee—who is definitely not looking for romance and, in fact, has rejected the idea of happily ever afters altogether—is nonetheless drawn into a one-night stand with a charming, clever stranger. She returns home knowing that the relationship won’t go anywhere but feeling more desired than she has in a while.

All at once, opportunities arise: Her best friend, now a successful actress, thinks that her new movie may offer Sewanee a chance to act again. Then, Sewanee has a chance to record with Brock McNight, the undisputed king of romance audio, for mind-boggling amounts of money, and they strike up a friendly relationship via text, one complete with flirting and humor and sooo much cleverness.

Suddenly, Sewanee’s life looks full of promise that she’s not sure she should trust.

I don’t want to share more of the plot, but it’s not what won me over anyway. This is a smart, beautifully written novel whose characters are unbelievably empathetic and compelling. Everyone from Sewanee’s grandma to the other audiobook narrators Sewanee works with is well drawn and quirky and real. The book is funny and offers the charm and banter of the best rom coms on the page and screen. I absolutely loved Thank You for Listening and will be looking for more work by Julia Whelan immediately.

This book was far too sweet and filled with romantic tropes for my liking but was well written-if you are looking for a romance novel this might be the book for you!

Thank You For Listening is a romance/women's fiction about two audiobook narrators who develop a relationship while working together on the last book of a beloved romance author. Sewanee Chaster hasn't narrated a romance in years because she no longer belies in a HEA. Brock McNight is the hottest male romance narrator with a legion of fans. They are brought together by June French, whose wish before she died was for Sewanee and Brock to narrate her last book together.

Thank You For Listening has a lot of elements that will appeal to romance readers. The whole premise is a romance reader's dream. It also addresses heavier topics, such as trauma/disability, grief, and loss. These are the tropes that the book has: secret identities, epistolary, one-night stand, snowed-in (barely), and, my favorite, supportive female friendships. Thank You For Listening is a clever nod to the romance genre and its readers, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I finished this book in one night - I stayed up until 2AM reading it! It’s been a while since I’ve done that and this morning I remember why. 😂 Worth it, though! Just like many others, I am a huge fan of Julia Whelan’s audiobook narration and I have previously selected books solely because she was the narrator and because they sounded good. She is equally as good as an author!

I did not read her previous book, but I plan to now! She had such a good balance of character and plot, with enough conflict and questions to keep me turning pages. The secondary characters were just as fun as the main characters and I loved the tongue-in-cheek references to romance tropes.

I read this since I got an eARC for it, but of course I would love to listen to it. I rarely reread books because there are just too many out there that I want to read, but I may pick this up again in a year or so to hear Julia herself narrate it! Highly recommended.