Thank You For Listening

Bookseller recommendation

“Julia Whelan hooked me from page one with this rom-com filled with lovable characters. Sewanee Chester is a former actress who is now an award-winning audiobook narrator. She got her start in romance but hasn’t recorded the genre in years. An opportunity to record with romance audiobooks’ top male narrator pops-up and she initially declines until financial concerns appear. Then she returns to her roots and takes the world by storm alongside Brock McNight. Laugh-out-loud funny and deeply personal by turns Whelan penned a story that leaned into many a romance trope without getting too campy. Plus, the audiobook experience was so meta I had to pause on more than one occasion just to laugh at the sheer absurdity and hilarity of the events transpiring.”

— Hanna • Rediscovered Books

Bookseller recommendation

“I found myself laughing out loud so many times, this is a fun romance with the narrator writing about what she knows so well. Great listen if you want a fun story. ”

— Diane • Rediscovered Books

Bookseller recommendation

“Julia Whelan is the Meryl Streep of audio so it’s no surprise that her sophomore novel is feast for the ears. It’s meta. The characters are audiobook narrators finding themselves in trope after trope but fighting against it. It’ll make you swoon. It’ll make you cry. It will definitely make you laugh.”

— Lissa • Book Club Bar

Bookseller recommendation

“Oh this book. I laughed, I cried, I snorted, I told all my friends, I learned how to make A Last Word. What an absolute delight. Julia Whelan is truly incomparable. She takes romance novels, favorite tropes, and - dare I say it!? - HEA's and makes even the grumpiest cynic (me - I was dragged, kicking and screaming, into reading romances) swoon. This is one of my 2023 5 Star books; and the audiobook, naturally, is perfect. ”

— Ashleigh • Wellesley Books

Bookseller recommendation

“This book is like if Love is Blind was actually romantic and not a bizarre social experiment set up for Netflix by Nick and Vanessa Lachey. A one night stand, secret identities, self discovery, off-the-charts chemistry, crackling passion, this book is everything that I wanted and more. Written by audiobook narrator Julia Whelan, Thank You For Listening is a fun peek behind the curtain of audiobooks with all of the love and lust you crave in your romance novels. I couldn’t get enough. If you love audiobooks, have a favorite audiobook narrator, and love romance novels, this is the book for you.”

— Ryan • Gibson's Bookstore

Bookseller recommendation

“Sewanee used to be an actress until a terrible accident, but now she narrates audiobooks, and she's very good at it, as only an actress can be. While at Las Vegas for an audiobook convention, she meets Nick, who is very sexy and very interested in her, which hasn't happened in a while. They have fun then part ways, though Sewanee can't stop thinking about him. Then comes the bombshell that a mega romance author who recently passed away specifically wanted Sewanee to narrate her last project -- with romance audio superstar Brock McKnight... As Brock becomes more and more real to her despite having one of the most well-protected identities in the industry, and while Nick keeps popping up in her thoughts, Sewanee has to decide what she really wants from her life, and how she can go about getting it. An amazing audiobook narrator herself, Whelan gives us a glimpse inside the industry, as well as a fun, at times laugh-out-loud romance that's as much about personal growth as relationship growth. (And if you're a fan of audiobooks, you're in for a treat, as Whelan narrates this one herself!)”

— Melissa • Fiction Addiction

Bookseller recommendation

“As an avid listener of audiobooks, this was an amazing read. Sewanee, a well-known audiobook narrator is being pushed back into romance against her will. After her accident years before, she became a popular romance audiobook narrator under a pseudonym, a name she has since retired, and now narrates non-fiction under her real name. But the romance author she originally narrated for has one last project for her, and not just her - also for the most popular male romance narrator, Brock McNight. I love her journey of not only finding and accepting love for another person, but also learning to love this version of herself, the person she is right now. It also points out a lot of stigma in the romance genre that keeps people from reading what they love. There's nothing wrong with getting a Happily Ever After! Read romance! And read (or listen) to this book. ”

— Kalli • Rediscovered Books

Bookseller recommendation

“Not only is Thank You For Listening a love letter to the romance genre, it is a love letter specifically to romance audiobooks. Julia Whelan is a delight as both a writer and a narrator, bringing us a compelling story about love, loss, and self acceptance. ”

— Emma • Books Inc.

Bookseller recommendation

“Do yourself a favor and read this in its purest form - an audiobook narrator narrating her own audiobook about an audiobook narrator. It's sweet and funny and will hit you in all the feels!”

— Kimi • Buttonwood Books and Toys

Bookseller recommendation

“Funny, tropey, sexy, and oh so, so smart! The moment I closed the ARC I downloaded the audio so the story didn't have to end.”

— Summer • Books Inc.

Bookseller recommendation

“You've Got Mail meets the world of audiobook narration, well-suited for fans of Book Lovers by Emily Henry or Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes. Whelan's performance is a delight!”

— Marianne • East City Bookshop

Bookseller recommendation

“Oh how I loved the absolutely and perfectly smart meta experience of listening to Julia Whelan narrate her story about an audiobook narrator and the world of audiobook production. Who doesn’t love an insider’s peek into a completely different world? I also enjoyed Whelan’s loving and sassy pokes at the world of romance books. This book falls into that perfect overlap between 'women’s fiction' and rom-com that seems to work so well for me. The development of a friendship (and perhaps some sexual tension….) between Sewanee and Brock, through their texting and emails worked for me. I was practically crying over their playfulness with each other involving an exchange of sexual innunendos....Sewanee's heartbreaking interactions with her beloved grandmother show the challenges of navigating the realities with an aging grandparent. Her own struggles with disfigurement are handled with grace and humor while also realistically addressing the trauma and life changes it caused. And of course, nothing rounds out a story for me like a cast of supporting character friends, and again, this did not disappoint.”

— Cori • Bright Side Bookshop