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.

Not for me, this one felt too much like women’s fiction for my taste. I think it will work for others who are looking for a woman’s fiction novel. I just did not connect and wanted more romance.

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me.... it just wasn't my style. The writing was a little too choppy and "stream of consciousness" for me. I couldn't connect and stopped reading after a few chapters.
I'm sure it will be a hit for some - but it was a miss for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Harper Voyager for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.