Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan

Lynnie

Amy    

women's fiction, contemporary fiction

Lynnie’s Review

I find that in the last few weeks, I have just wanted to read or listen to light, comedic books to escape the world for a bit. Julia Whelan's Thank You For Listening was exactly the kind of brain candy I was looking for.

First piece of advice, listen to the audiobook. I had both the audiobook and Kindle version but over and over I turned to the audiobook because Whelan really brought these characters to life. While she openly states that this book is not autobiographical, there are plenty of themes that mirror her real life. Mostly, I love that this is an audiobook about audiobook narrators, written by an audiobook narrator and read by her! It's the very definition of "meta." Every time there was a new character or accent, I couldn't help but think of how much fun she had writing these characters, with an eye, no doubt, to using all her favorite accents and voices. It was a true delight! She gets an A+ for her narration.

As for the story, Sewanee is a former child actress and current audiobook narrator, who lost her career after a devastating accident. The details of her accident are parsed out periodically until the entire story is finally told. Meanwhile, her best friend, famous actress Adaku, is moving on in her career. While Sewanee is happy for Adaku, she is also feeling left behind. Enter Brock McKnight, an equally talented and beloved audiobook narrator. Sewanee and Brock are asked to record the final novel of a popular romance author for more money than they can imagine - in fact, if they say no, the book won't be recorded at all. Witty banter ensues as they discuss the details of the book over time without every meeting.

You know what's coming - none of this book is a surprise - but it is a joy to listen to it unfold. By Whelan's definition in the book, Thank You for Listening is women's fiction rather than romance (read: not a lot of sex on the page), but it was still great fun. The characters are charming and I wanted to see them get their happily ever after.

A great book for the days when you need some brain candy rather than anything that's going to make you think too hard.

Amy’s Review

Thank You For Listening is written by a very talented real-life audiobook narrator, Julia Whelan, about a very talented audiobook narrator. Sewanee had to change careers from acting to narrating when she suffered a disfiguring accident seven years earlier. She adores her grandmother who is suffering from some sort of memory loss condition and is still closest to her best friend from college—the one whose acting career took off just as Sewanee’s was ending. Sewanee’s life isn’t the easiest but she’s been getting through it the best she can. At an industry event, she meets a mystery man who doesn’t appear put off by her eye patch. Soon thereafter, she gets awarded a significant and high-paying audiobook job. Things are starting to look up when she realizes that her mystery man is not so mysterious after all.

I really enjoyed this novel. I’d categorize it as romance but it also covers deeper issues like disabilities, parent care, AI taking over the art industries, and casting limitations. It even had me in tears at one point. It’s about second chances and acceptance.

While Whelan swears that this novel is not autobiographical she does mention in the author’s note that most authors write about the things they know about. Thank You for Listening is, admittedly, a bit self-serving for Whelan because she included a large repertoire of voices in which she could show off her talents and wrote a storyline that explains all the work that goes on behind the scenes of audiobooks which, any listener of her audiobooks will know, she does very well. (As an audiobook connoisseur, I really liked learning that some narrators touch base on their own time to work towards making the whole audiobook production more cohesive. I have certainly heard plenty of examples where this should have happened but did not, which tarnished those audiobooks overall.) But I really enjoyed this one—the story kept me locked in—and I give her credit for writing a book that allowed her to display her skillz. As she, obviously, read her own audiobook (and I almost always enjoy an audiobook read by its author), she gets an A+.

The Other Side of the Sky Series by Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner

Lynnie

             (for the entire series)

young adult, fantasy

 

The Other Side of the Sky

I generally enjoy Amie Kaufman's YA space fantasies and this is the second series I've read in which she collaborated with Meagan Spooner. The Other Side of the Sky was exactly what I was expecting- star-crossed characters who build a relationship while facing a seemingly impossible, possibly world-shattering task.

Kaufman and Spooner build an interesting world in The Other Side of the Sky, a world in the clouds, floating above the planet below and the planet itself - both with very different beliefs and priorities - one ruled by a diety and the other by royalty (are gods and royalty really that different? A discussion for another day...).

Nimh and North are likable characters with wonderful chemistry, and I enjoyed the way Kaufman and Spooner were able to blend technology and magic, religion and the variety of beliefs that can spring from it, as well as fantasy and adventure. They paint a vivid picture of the story's world and it's easy to imagine the scenes as they play out.

I both read the print version and listened to the audio version and I must admit, I enjoyed the printed (Kindle) version better. It's not that the audiobook narrators were bad, I just didn't enjoy them. Caitlin Davies narrates Nimh's chapters and of the two, her voice seemed more appropriate to the story. She spoke with a stiffness that seemed true to Nimh's character. Johnathan McClain voiced North's chapters and while I liked his voice quite a lot, I could never believe he was a teenager. I've no idea how old he is in real life, but it sounded like a 40-year old man reading the chapters, so each time it took me out of the story completely. I would love to hear him narrate something in which he voiced a man, rather than a boy because, as I said, his voice is lovely if not appropriate here. I give Davies a B and McClain a B-.

If you've read other books by Kaufman and Spooner or you're a fan of YA space fantasies, you're likely to enjoy this series. I found it to be a great brain break during a stressful time. 

Beyond the End of the World

This was a fun and fast series to read. Picking up where The Other Side of the Sky leaves off, Kaufman and Spooner fill this book with action and a sweet romance. Also, the bindle cat is probably my favorite non-talking literary cat in quite some time - I found the cat to be entertaining in every single scene and a great device for moving things forward sometimes. It was a silly device, but an enjoyable one.

There's more action in this second book of the duology. You know Nihm and North have worlds to save and battles to fight before they can get to their happy ending. The storyline wasn't at all surprising, but was fun to watch unfold none-the-less and I liked the way Kaufman and Spooner wrapped things up.
 
If you enjoyed the first book, you'll likely enjoy the conclusion as well, particularly if you read them close enough together that you don't forget the plot or characters.

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

   

Amy  

historical fiction, mystery

Martha is a midwife in Maine in the late 18^th century when a man who has been accused of rape is murdered. She is called to inspect the body after it is pulled from The Frozen River and finds herself and her family associated with the related court matters.

The historical setting of the novel was very well drawn by Ariel Lawhon. I was able to clearly envision Martha’s life in the 1700s. Martha was an endearing protagonist—gutsy, intelligent, stubborn, determined, and caring. I couldn’t help but hope that things would work out for her, her family, and her friends. The bad guy is definitely hateful. Town gossip and limited levels of education played their parts in this historical drama based on the real Martha Ballard. The novel’s timeline covered the long winter season from the time the river froze until the time it thawed, as well as flashbacks to prior periods of Martha’s life.

The main mystery about who killed the rapist was central but the more appealing mysteries to me were the smaller questions raised early in the novel about Martha’s family. These curiosities made me want to keep reading to find out how some of her children died, how one of them ended up mute, and how someone who had once been a friend to her family became such a horrid person. And of course, I had to know whether any sort of justice was served on behalf of the women in this story.

While the novel was slow-paced, I enjoyed it. I believe this was largely thanks to the excellent audiobook narration by Jane Oppenheimer. Her voice acting was perfect for these characters. She had a repertoire of voices and accents that fit the characters. I’ll give her an A!

The Life Impossible by Matt Haig

 

Lynnie

magical realism, fiction

 

Retired maths teacher Grace inherits a home in Ibiza from a woman she taught with decades ago but never kept in touch with. As foreshadowed, Grace's Ibiza is filled with a cast of characters and a mystery to unravel. From the first cab driver to dive boat captain Alberto, his daughter Marta and all the locals, it's clear that Grace must embrace the mystery of Ibiza to determine the course of her future.

I enjoyed parts of The Life Impossible, but it was not my favorite Matt Haig book. I usually enjoy his whimsy but, for some reason, I just couldn't buy into this story.

Maybe it was because I thought the characters were often obnoxious. Maybe it was because it's so busy trying to teach lessons that the story suffers. There are definitely some turns of phrase that I adored and will write down to save for later. But if I had to distill my thoughts on this book it would simply be, "it was fine."

More than anything, what stands out to me is that, at the beginning of the book, the next night I would have to skim the pages of the chapters I had previously read to remind myself what was happening. It just didn't inspire me or stick in my mind. Once it finally picked up I was able to remember the previous night's reading, but the slow start nearly made this a DNF.

If you only found Haig through The Midnight Library, I don't know how you'll feel about this book. If you have read some of his other work though, you may be more forgiving of this story and its pacing.