Thank You for Listening | Julia Whelan | Book Review

Thank You For Listening by Julia Whelan
PLOT: 4/5
CHARACTERS: 4.5/5
WRITING: 4.5/5
ROMANCE: 4/5
ENTERTAINMENT: 4.5/5

“Feelings are temporary. They stick around as long as you believe in them and then they’re gone, waiting to be believed in again. If they were permanent, then we’d only have to say I love you once and be done with it for the rest of our”

–        Julia Whelan, Thank You for Listening

I have been a fan of audiobooks for a long time, but I have never ever come across a book whose main characters are audiobook narrators. Given that this is such a niche and exciting field, who would want to stay away from such a book? And so there I was, listening my way to the audiobook of Thank You for Listening. A book that promised a lot and delivered it too. A story that I loved listening to and surely wouldn’t mind going back to.

Plot summary of Thank You for Listening (no spoilers here!)

Life once offered a lot to Sewanee Chester. Life also took all of it back too soon. Once a mega Hollywood star in the making, Sewanee’s life came crashing down when an unfortunate and ill-timed accident took away life’s biggest opportunity from her. And just like that in a matter of days, her dreams of making it big came crashing down like thunder.

Now years later, Sewanee has finally found her place in the audiobook industry and is a successful audiobook narrator. But she doesn’t do romance, because of the simple fact that she doesn’t believe any of it to be true. However, when it is revealed that a now-dead romance author, whom Sewanee dearly loved and admired, wants her to pair up with the hottest male voice in the world of romance – Brock McNight, Sewanee reluctantly agrees.

After all, it is not every day that opportunities like these come her way, and she desperately needs the money for the care of her ailing grandmother.

Very soon, the work on the audiobook commences, and Sewanee finds herself making a strange and emotional connection with Brock (not his real name of course), after all, it’s easier to open up, veiled as they are, behind the curtain of anonymity.

But when secrets are revealed and their identities are disclosed,

will they take off to a great start, or will their worlds come crashing down together?

Thank You For Listening by Julia Whelan Book

The writing 

The highlight of the book is its unique setting i.e., the industry of audiobooks. The book offers a real sneak peek into the profession and acquaints the readers with all the hard work that goes into the making of our favourite audiobooks. The struggles and challenges, the costs and benefits, and the uncertainties in the face of AI narrators – they make the book all the more realistic, not to forget knowledgeable.

The characters of both Sewanee and Brock have been written with careful thought and detail, making them both real and relatable. Much before the romance takes off, we are offered a view of what their real selves look like. Sewanee, with her past haunting her present, her issues with romance esp. HEA (Happily Ever After) endings, and her equations with her father, grandmother, and best friend are a treat to read about.

While Brock comes to life much later in the book, when he finally does, he doesn’t disappoint. Yes, there is passion and a lot of witty banter, humourous dialogues, and emotional exchanges, but there is also a romance that is much more mature and intense. A kind of romance that is given both time and space to evolve.

Their love is not just about acting cheesy or mushy, but it also revolves around their personal journey and their self-growth. It is interesting to notice their jeopardies while they both wish for anonymity but end up revealing their deepest darkest secrets to the other.

Thank You For Listening by Julia Whelan Book Review

Another interesting thing worth mentioning here is that the chapters are named quite amusingly, seeking inspiration from some of the most common romance tropes. There is a lot of discussion about romance books, romance writing, and such – which is again fun to read. Then there is also a fiery hot scene with a stranger (cannot tell you any more than this, but it does lead to the story moving forward) which is written exceptionally well.

And last but surely not least, there are these beautiful quotes that make you want to keep going back –

“Spoiler alert: life is regret, life is failure. But like that ghost, you learn to live with it. Because failure makes success matter.”

“We don’t feel real to me. It feels like we fell out of a romance tree and hit every trope on the way down.”

“You can’t just look at who someone is. You have to look at WHY someone is. Surface versus substance. That’s the difference between caricature and character.”

“She was drawn into the story as an aroma draws one to a meal.”

“His story had given her a peek into his personality; her story was a naked reveal of all her rawest parts. It was not an equal exchange of insight.”

In the end, Thank You for Listening is a fun, emotional, and delightful read that I would have surely regretted not reading. If you are a romance lover, you are sure in for a lovely treat. As I write this, I am sure that this is a book that I would certainly go back to.

Cannot wait to read it? Buy your copy of Thank You for Listening.

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