KJ Charles is such a MASTER at the historical romance craft. The amount of intrigue, adventure, believability of concept and place AND love she can weave into a single book is just incredible.
Gareth and Joss will be tattooed on my heart. I loved seeing their love story develop from page 1. And their teamwork, struggles to be seen and valued… I just love them. PLUS the mystery of smugglers, missing guinneas, family members you don’t know who they’re aligned with… so so good.
Also, the spice was perfection. KJ Charles does on-page m/m love a true justice.

A cute romance with mature characters! I loved how the main character was aware of dating especially after your twenties. The book did feel slow and almost like a travel brochure at times, but I still think it’s a cute and fun read.

Gigi is surrounded by love stories everyday at the romance bookstore she owns. But she'd rather by home with her books rather than endure another bad date. Specifically, Gigi would rather be home listening to an audiobook narrated by Zane, her ideal man with voice that always soothes her. Zane only narrated one audiobook (which Gigi listens to on repeat) and through some internet sleuthing, Gigi discovers he is actually a tour guide in England. Gigi's friends surprise her with a trip to go on one of Zane's tours. Is this Gigi's chance to meet the man of her dreams?

This book was really fun. I thought the premise was unique and the cast of characters was fantastic. While there were some typical romance tropes (3rd act miscommunication, anyone?), the story had a lot of depth to it. Gigi is on the bus tour with an eclectic group of people, each with their own story and reason for being on the trip. Throughout the book, we learn more about each one as they form friendships with one another.

This book is full of wonderful book references (don't worry, there is a reading list at the end of all the books mentioned) and descriptions of the English countryside. This book is worth your time and may just leave you wanting to book a bus tour of England.

LOVED it!!! There are few things a romance reader loves more than a main character who's also a romance reader. And if she happens to own a bookshop in Ann Arbor that only sells romance novels? Well, Gigi's your girl! On her 30th birthday Gigi's friends gift her a bus tour in England (so generous) where she can meet the man of her dreams. That man of her dreams is the narrator of Gigi's favorite audiobook--the book that played a role in how her late parents met. But what actually happens when she shows up for the tour is nothing like she expects. Gigi and the entire cast of characters on the bus tour are so incredibly lovable. I found myself rooting for each and every one of them to discover exactly what they needed along the way. Reading this book was such a joy.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the ARC.

3.5 Stars

This book was a sweet novel about finding out that want you want may not necessarily be what you need.

Gigi falls in love with the narrator of a romance novel. I mean, head over heels, nearly stalkerish love! So her best friends save up and buy her a trip to where this man works for a touring company. They hope that he and Gigi will find themselves to be a match made of romance novels. Of course, this is not how it works out.

I found some of the interactions of the many people on this tour bus to be more interesting than anything that happens to our protagonists. I haven't found a book yet where the secondary characters interest me just a tiny bit more than the main characters...but there you have it.

This is a romance -so expect the necessary happily-ever-after, but in a bit of an unexpected way.

*AEC supplied by the publisher Kensington Books, the author, and NetGalley.

I thought this was so cute! I loved Gigi and wanting her own magical love story. Also seeing all the great sites of London also was a great back drop. It just had all the warm fuzzy feelings of a good romance story. Do I wish its had more spicy scenes yes but it was just so stinking cute! I would have loved to see more banter from Gigi and Taj but loved them all the same.

Probably a 3.5 star.
This was a cute little romcom.
It did activate my secondhand embarrassment quite a bit.

So the main character is in *love* with an audiobook narrator. (We are not the same. If there’s a narrator that has a really great voice I’ll look up more books by them but not a photo. Voices don’t always match the face) anyway she finds out he is also a tour guide in England so she goes over from Michigan to take his tour meet him, have him fall for her and live hea. A tad stalkerish…

I liked all of the people and relationships between all the guests taking the tour and I loved the bus driver Tahj.

I would really like to travel all over England now. The descriptions of places they went were lovely.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for an eARC.

I really, really enjoyed reading this book! I loved how it had humorous undertones and it was so easily relatable!

This was a short, sweet rom-com that I enjoyed reading. I'm not sure its one I'll think about forever, but it was a quick and cute read.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

She fell in love via audiobook, but will this auditory attraction translate to real-life?

A sweet and fun premise. Following her parents death, Gigi finds great comfort in the audiobook of the story that brought they together. She saw it as some sign from the universe that narrator could be her soulmate. Laugh if you will, but this was a woman who owned a romance bookshop. Love was her thing. Her wonderful friends surprised her with a trip on which she hoped to meet this narrator, but obviously, things don't go according to plan.

The strengths of this story were the fun travel descriptions and characters. Who wouldn't enjoy a church tour of England? Guertin did a great job with the descriptions and made me feel I was riding right along with Gigi. I felt, at times, that the supporting characters and their stories were even better than the main event. It was interesting getting to know them all, and there were quite a few surprises in there too.

I struggled a bit with what I thought I would enjoy - the romance. Maybe it went down the one path for too long? Or perhaps, I wanted it to take a turn sooner? Whatever the reason, I cannot pinpoint it, but I can assure you that I was thrilled with how all played out.

A great ending which concluded with lots of love, healing, and joy left me with happy and smiling.

<i>*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review *</i>

Gigi, Listening was overall a cute , non-spicy romance, but somehow the characters didn't draw me in quite as much as I would have loved.

The parts about England confused me, as some were spot on like related to some of the locations but some felt off - like there's no way would a Brit question someone for being on holiday for 10 days, insinuating that this was a luxury, as most British people do regularly take vacations, and also no way someone in Taj's kind of work could afford a two bedroom flat in Chelsea?

Gigi has won my heart! She owns a bookshop, is grieving the loss of her parents, and travels to England to meet the man she's fallen in love with for his voice (on her fave audiobook). What a great set up! Of course, things don't go exactly to plan and that works out just fine. Loved the love story, loved the side characters (Francis especially). I'll be rereading this for sure.

Super charming. A bookstore owner travels to meet the so-called man of her dreams. This was so much more than a romance, but a journey of self discovery after a heartbreaking loss.

Bookstore owner travels to England to meet the man of her dreams or so she thinks. Fun, witty and full of romance. This journey through England was so fun to read. Started off rocky for me due to the main characters whining but things progressed well and I got really hooked.

I admit that I initially was a little put off by the premise of "Gigi, Listening," as it felt awfully silly. However, this novel was absolutely charming. I quickly fell for Gigi, Taj, and the wide-ranging cast of characters of this story. Chantel Guertin did a fantastic job of crafting well-rounded, dynamic and engaging characters who drove a completely adorable romance.

Escape is a big reason I came. Escaping the sadness of my story - of never again having my mom and dad in my life. Of knowing that anything that happened in the future would never be something I'd get to share with them."

This story was more than just a romance (no spice), it was a journey to self discovery after a unspeakable loss.

We follow Gigi the expert on all things love. She reads them, sells them in her romance bookshop, and she spends hours dreaming up her own meet cute with her favorite audiobook narrator - Zane. She's convinced Zane is her soul-mate. For her 30th birthday, her friends gift her a trip to Europe. What do you know, Zane is the tour guide!

Maybe I can just shut everyone out for the next ten days and pretend it's just the two of us after all. Just him and me, together.

I mean she is obsessed! She mentions her love for Zane in almost every paragraph :/

So Gigi's misguided quest for love takes her on an adventure through the English countryside on a 10-day bus tour. But as Charlotte says "mishaps makes memories" and that's exactly what happens! Aboard the bus we meet a cast of characters. We get an in-depth description of these characters and I honestly really enjoyed it.

The bus tour takes Gigi all over England and I really enjoyed the picturesque landscape. Gigi was adorably sweet and I loved journey to growth throughout the book, however, it took her a while to reach that point. At times she was so busy pining over Zane that she wouldn't let herself enjoy the moment - aggh it was so frustrating.

It wasn't a perfect romance, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. It's a perfect vacation book!

CW: alcohol, dementia, death of a parent, grief, injury/injury detail

This book was so fun! As a rom-com lover and Anglophile, this was a delight to read. Lots of heart is infused into the plot. I grew to love each and every one of the tour group members and felt invested in all of them finding their own happy endings, whatever that looked like. If you're in need of a mental vacation to England, this is a perfect read. Equal parts breeziness and emotion/tension, both internally within each character and externally within the various group dynamics. I would recommend this to any of my friends, and look forward to reading more by this author in the future!

Loved it! - pack your comfy clothes and shoes and embark on a 10 day English countryside bus tour with a bunch of unique characters. It starts a little slow but once Gigi’s on the plane, across to London, it’s full steam ahead. I loved all the literary references and the travel info related to the itinerary destinations of the Spires, Shires and Shores tour. This was a one day, didn’t want to put it down, read for me.
Thank You to NetGalley, Kensington Books and Chantel Guertin for the opportunity to read this ARC and escape across the pond.

Cute (and slightly unhinged) romcom. The story follows our main character who has fallen in love with a audiobook actor’s voice and decided he is the blueprint. The only issue? He has no idea she even exists. The solution? She takes a trip of a lifetime across the world to try and find him.
Quirky, fun & quick read full of a great cast of supporting characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

an expert in the romance genre, but a fool in love, is our titular character gigi rutherford: book store owner, and our next relatable fictional woman. harbouring a crush on an audiobook narrator allows her friends to surprise her with a ten-day tour through england's picturesque cities and counties for her thirtieth birthday, led by the said crush. when late for this tour, she has no choice but to join another before they intercept, where she meets three other tourists that soon become friends, and a disgruntled bus driver, taj, with whom sparks fly with.

with developing chemistry with taj, and the eventual meeting with her crush leading to all she thought she ever wanted, what ever will she do?

gigi, listening is where character development shines. each character is fascinating to some degree, and their shared journeys mean that they are easy to love, and root for, making for a very enjoyable story.

- 3.5 stars!