Reviews

Gigi, Listening by Chantel Guertin

anpanmandy's review against another edition

1.0

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the ARC!

DNF 20%.... Overall, I went into this book thinking it would be super cute and heart warming and while some parts of the book were like the romance book store and travelling to England, it was just not for me. Don't get me wrong, I still think what I read was cute and heartfelt but I could not for the life of me shake the fact that the FMC was obsessed with a guy just for his voice. She had also convinced herself that he was her soulmate based on that fact alone! Honestly, it was just very creepy and cringe and I couldn't get over it. It's weird.

thebookishnarwhal's review against another edition

5.0

I’m a big fan of closed door romances and this one did not disappoint. Two for the Road by Chantel Guertin features LGBTQ+ representation, a single first person point-of-view, slow burn, and a bus tour with a broody bus driver.

Meet GiGi. She is a bookstore owner in Michigan whose friends gift a ten-day bus tour through England for her birthday. The scheduled tour is guided by the narrator to an audiobook that meant a lot to her parents. Meet Zane. He is an audiobook narrator about to host a ten-day bus tour through England. Then, a family emergency befalls him and delays his joining the small group tour. Will this be the perfect meet-cute GiGi’s read about in her romance novels for years? Will it even happen now?

I liked the road trip, as Guertin really illustrated the settings with her words. I also got really invested in the side characters. The eclectic group created by Guertin brings humour and tender moments integral to the story. I loved learning about them all!

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Random House Canada and Doubleday Canada for an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

country_roads_reader's review against another edition

lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

brokebookadict's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

💛💛💛 / 5

🌶️🌶️ / 5

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Review:

As we all know I am very very behind on my ARC reading, but I am starting to work my way though the never ending pile and I was so glad I finally read this one! I can’t believe it took me so long, the cover alone is such a Pip cover (I am a classic cover buying person, and it’s most likely the reason I requested this one in the first place!).

This was such a sweet romcom full of self discovery and the joy of living in the moment. 

Did I hate a particular character? Yes very much so. But I loved all the others and I enjoyed watching their relationships and friendships blossom and thrive as they spend more time living in the moment with each other. This is a fantastic example of a) never meet your hero’s and b) it’s always the people that add that person touch and put in the most effort that make the biggest change in your life.

I really enjoyed this romcom, it was full of love, and found family, forced proximity and change. It highlighted the growth and that all is not as it seems on the surface.

morethanmylupus's review

funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This was a cute read and I liked the premise. I liked Gigi's conviction in the value of romance novels. Grumpy/sunshine is my favorite trope so I enjoyed the dynamic here and who doesn't love a cute guy with a British accent? I liked Taj and Gigi but I struggled a lot with both of their backstories. I think the characters could have been fleshed out a lot more and that would have added a lot to the depth of the story. The rest of the cast of characters were quirky and fun though so that helped. Overall, I think better characterization and more growth in the love story would have helped. It dragged out a lot and then rushed at the end.

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

alannashelfhelp's review against another edition

lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

I cannot emphasize this enough: this is a closed door romance. Booooo. Also the whole premise is the MC’s friends feeding into her delusions. 

jennarbruno's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

chanellohwell's review against another edition

3.0

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

This was super cute! Middle was a bit slow but loved the ending!

angmander's review

3.0

Maybe a 2.75 star rating. I knew nothing about this book ahead of time and had a hard time feeling invested. The premise is the story is that a woman falls in love/becomes obsessed with an audiobook narrator and follows him on a European tour. That felt so… weird to me. Why were her friends encouraging her obsession?

Aside from that, it was a cute enough story. (Albeit somewhat predictable.) Clean romance (and language, I think).

Admittedly, I might have enjoyed this more if I hadn’t listened to the audiobook. Overall, the narrator did well, but the her take on men’s voices? Well, it was a bit distracting.

keelreads's review

4.0

Gigi is a romance buff, she loves all things love and owns a romance bookshop that she inherited from her parents. Growing up hearing her parents' love story, Gigi absolutely believes in "happy ever after" and soulmates. So when her friends book her a trip to England to meet the voice behind a sentimental book to her, the voice that she's fallen in love with, she knows this is her chance to find true love.

I really enjoyed this book, reading it in one day. As a sucker for 'found family' tropes, I gravitated toward the side characters' stories and formed an attachment to them. The romance was okay, I really enjoyed the cheesy-romance portions of the book, in typical fashion, it made me a little giddy and excited. Overall I think that the 'found family' aspect of the novel was much stronger than the romance,

Spoiler

though I loved watching her fall for Taj without knowing that was happening!

Spoiler

Loved it!


I received an ARC from Netgalley in return for an honest review. All opinions are my own.