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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
fast-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:
Yes
"What, you think you can get through life avoiding regret? Avoiding failure?" He laughed. "Spoiler alert" life is regret, life is failure. But like that ghost, you learn to live with it. Because failure makes success matter.”
“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.”
Sewanee Chester was once a rising star in the acting world, but a life-altering accident forced her to step away from the spotlight. Years later, she has built a solid if guarded life as a respected audiobook narrator. When she agrees to co-narrate a final romance novel by a beloved late author (under her old pseudonym) she finds herself reluctantly reentering the world she tried to leave behind. Her partner is Brock McNight, the biggest male name in romance narration, and their anonymous back-and-forth banter quickly grows personal. As their messages deepen and the layers of their personas begin to peel away, Sewanee must confront not only the mystery of Brock's identity but the tangled fears, regrets, and vulnerabilities that have shaped her since her accident. All the while, her personal life simmers in the background, particularly her love for her ailing grandmother and the complicated relationships she has with her best friend and father.
There is something inherently charming about a romance novel that knows what it is and decides to lean into the joke without entirely becoming one. Thank You for Listening walks this tightrope with mixed success. On one hand, the self-aware humor and behind-the-scenes peek into the world of audiobook narration feel fresh. The book truly shines in its epistolary sections, particularly the email and text exchanges between Sewanee and Brock. Whelan has a strong ear for voice, and it is no surprise that the audiobook format heightens the impact of her writing. Listening to one narrator bring multiple fictional voices to life adds an extra layer of immersion, and a few moments genuinely made me laugh out loud. Despite the camp, the novel is often funny, occasionally poignant, and always committed to its own theatrical flair.
That said, the characters themselves feel oddly thin for a novel so preoccupied with interior life. Sewanee is so entrenched in her trauma that she borders on static, obsessing over her accident to a degree that feels limiting rather than emotionally rich. The romantic lead, for all his flirtatious charm and shy-guy appeal, lacks believability. He is presented as a sensitive, magnetic, feminist dreamboat, which might have worked better if the novel acknowledged the fantasy more directly. Instead, he remains a little too perfect, a little too curated, and ultimately less compelling than the novel seems to think he is. Both protagonists feel like archetypes trying very hard to be subversive, while still hitting every expected beat.
The novel’s meta-commentary on the romance genre is both its strength and its weakness. There are clever moments that feel like inside jokes for seasoned readers and audiobook listeners. Yet at times, the book seems a little too eager to prove it is not like other romances. This distancing can come off as smug, especially when it critiques romance tropes while ultimately indulging in them. The result is a book that playfully acknowledges cliché while still falling prey to it. A scene in which the characters mock the conventions of romance novels is delightful, but it also calls attention to the formulaic elements that dominate the book’s final act. Ironically, for a story that teases the predictability of third-act conflict, the pacing stumbles precisely there, dragging through a cluster of revelations and emotional upheavals that feel more jumbled than cathartic.
Even so, the novel is rarely boring. The atmosphere is warm, the tone light without being shallow, and there is clear affection for the world it inhabits. The sections dealing with Sewanee’s grandmother are among the most grounded and affecting in the book, providing emotional ballast. The book’s central message, about learning to live with regret rather than trying to outrun it, is resonant.
In the end, Thank You for Listening is a novel that talks a lot about substance, but often sticks to the surface. And yet, there is charm in the delivery, in the bright spots of humor, and in the sincerity behind the artifice. I didn’t love the characters, but I enjoyed the time I spent with them. I’m not sure the story is as radical or clever as it wants to be, but I appreciated its effort to stretch the genre from within. Even with its flaws, it left me smiling.
“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.”
Sewanee Chester was once a rising star in the acting world, but a life-altering accident forced her to step away from the spotlight. Years later, she has built a solid if guarded life as a respected audiobook narrator. When she agrees to co-narrate a final romance novel by a beloved late author (under her old pseudonym) she finds herself reluctantly reentering the world she tried to leave behind. Her partner is Brock McNight, the biggest male name in romance narration, and their anonymous back-and-forth banter quickly grows personal. As their messages deepen and the layers of their personas begin to peel away, Sewanee must confront not only the mystery of Brock's identity but the tangled fears, regrets, and vulnerabilities that have shaped her since her accident. All the while, her personal life simmers in the background, particularly her love for her ailing grandmother and the complicated relationships she has with her best friend and father.
There is something inherently charming about a romance novel that knows what it is and decides to lean into the joke without entirely becoming one. Thank You for Listening walks this tightrope with mixed success. On one hand, the self-aware humor and behind-the-scenes peek into the world of audiobook narration feel fresh. The book truly shines in its epistolary sections, particularly the email and text exchanges between Sewanee and Brock. Whelan has a strong ear for voice, and it is no surprise that the audiobook format heightens the impact of her writing. Listening to one narrator bring multiple fictional voices to life adds an extra layer of immersion, and a few moments genuinely made me laugh out loud. Despite the camp, the novel is often funny, occasionally poignant, and always committed to its own theatrical flair.
That said, the characters themselves feel oddly thin for a novel so preoccupied with interior life. Sewanee is so entrenched in her trauma that she borders on static, obsessing over her accident to a degree that feels limiting rather than emotionally rich. The romantic lead, for all his flirtatious charm and shy-guy appeal, lacks believability. He is presented as a sensitive, magnetic, feminist dreamboat, which might have worked better if the novel acknowledged the fantasy more directly. Instead, he remains a little too perfect, a little too curated, and ultimately less compelling than the novel seems to think he is. Both protagonists feel like archetypes trying very hard to be subversive, while still hitting every expected beat.
The novel’s meta-commentary on the romance genre is both its strength and its weakness. There are clever moments that feel like inside jokes for seasoned readers and audiobook listeners. Yet at times, the book seems a little too eager to prove it is not like other romances. This distancing can come off as smug, especially when it critiques romance tropes while ultimately indulging in them. The result is a book that playfully acknowledges cliché while still falling prey to it. A scene in which the characters mock the conventions of romance novels is delightful, but it also calls attention to the formulaic elements that dominate the book’s final act. Ironically, for a story that teases the predictability of third-act conflict, the pacing stumbles precisely there, dragging through a cluster of revelations and emotional upheavals that feel more jumbled than cathartic.
Even so, the novel is rarely boring. The atmosphere is warm, the tone light without being shallow, and there is clear affection for the world it inhabits. The sections dealing with Sewanee’s grandmother are among the most grounded and affecting in the book, providing emotional ballast. The book’s central message, about learning to live with regret rather than trying to outrun it, is resonant.
In the end, Thank You for Listening is a novel that talks a lot about substance, but often sticks to the surface. And yet, there is charm in the delivery, in the bright spots of humor, and in the sincerity behind the artifice. I didn’t love the characters, but I enjoyed the time I spent with them. I’m not sure the story is as radical or clever as it wants to be, but I appreciated its effort to stretch the genre from within. Even with its flaws, it left me smiling.
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-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
Do yourself a favor and Read This Book!!
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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:
Yes
So well written! So witty and so fun and so emotional! I’m in love with this book
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Romance isn't really my jam, but Julia Whelan's narration is completely my jam, and this was a delightful change of pace.
this was cute and breezy but i couldn’t get past her grandma being called blah blah
3.5⭐️ because i wanted more of the MCs stories and there was too many side plots going on
3.5⭐️ because i wanted more of the MCs stories and there was too many side plots going on
funny
hopeful
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