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"CASANOVA LLC is an absolute winner. It is hilarious, charming, sexy, and sweet, with one of the best audio productions I've ever heard. I canceled plans so I could keep listening. Julia Whelan outdid herself with this one." - Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones & The Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

"CASANOVA LLC is destined to be an instant romance classic! I've never had my toes curl so hard while listening to an audiobook. CASANOVA LLC has a killer premise, unforgettable characters, and a Venetian setting so vivid you can taste the food and feel the sun-baked stones under your feet. Julia Whelan delivers exquisite prose and immaculate chemistry. She is spellbinding as an elegant and vulnerable Claire, and Sebastian York smolders as the filthily tender Alessandro — and the duet narration between the two of them is incandescent. The story shivers with sensuality from start to finish (...and I do mean finish). All of my spicy Julia Whelan dreams have come true! Five stars!” — Sierra Simone, USA Today bestselling author of Priest and A Merry Little Meet Cute

"CASANOVA LLC is Julia Whelan's sexiest, most dazzling book yet!" - Abby Jimenez, New York Times Bestselling author of Yours Truly


From fictional author June French (with some assistance from real author Julia Whelan) comes the sweeping, spicy Romance series narrated by characters Sewanee Chester and Nick "Brock McNight" Sullivan in Thank You For Listening:

"The descendent of Giacomo Casanova, Alessandro is a trained expert in the art of love and carrying on his family's 200 year-old name and tradition.

The one woman he's always wanted, Claire, is the one woman he could never have — until now.

For three days, he will give her everything she wants, everything she imagines, and everything she didn’t think was possible…

Everything, that is, except forever."

Audio series available exclusively through Audiobrary. Performed in duet-style by Sebastian York, Julia Whelan, Edoardo Ballerini, and Johnathan McClain.

Audiobook

First published February 1, 2024

77 people are currently reading
3536 people want to read

About the author

Julia Whelan

418 books7,034 followers
Dubbed "The Adele of Audiobooks" by The New Yorker, Julia Whelan is a writer, lifelong actor, and acclaimed audiobook narrator. Her performance of her own debut novel, the international bestseller My Oxford Year, garnered a Society of Voice Arts award. Her 2022 novel, Thank You For Listening, was a Best-of-the-Year pick at Amazon, Audible, and NPR as well as a Goodreads Choice Award nominee and winner of the CALIBA. She is the founder of Audiobrary, a new human-only audio publishing company and app, and her new book, the 8-part audio series Casanova LLC, debuted exclusively on Audiobrary Valentine's Day, 2024. She is also a Grammy-nominated audiobook director, a former writing tutor, a half-decent amateur baker, and a certified tea sommelier.

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5 stars
549 (45%)
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455 (37%)
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173 (14%)
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27 (2%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 255 reviews
Profile Image for Jen.
166 reviews8 followers
September 21, 2024
For the record: Julia will never write/record anything I won't like. It's impossible. Her talent is evident in her writing as well as her narration - both her own stories and when she narrates stories written by others.
I’m honored to have been asked by Julia to be a beta reader.

I was so excited to hear that Julia was working on a novel/audio that carried on the story read by the characters in her previous novel, Thank You For Listening. Casanova, LLC did not disappoint. It's a beautiful love story between two characters who are broken in their own ways and, in the end, how they mend each other. HEA at its best.

Julia is a phenomenal writer. She writes female and male dialogue with ease and impeccable flow. I loved the banter between Claire and Alessandro. And the inside voice/witty remarks were amazing! It helped make Claire and Alessandro's characters seem like real people, a real relationship.

What a sensational cast too! Julia, Sebastian, Johnathan and Edoardo's talent as narrators/actors shines in this audio-only book. The emotional scenes were palpable....the spicy ones too.

A few of my favorite moments:
1. Alessandro’s description of what it felt like seeing Claire for the first time. In a small amount of narrative, she transported me through all of these forever lifetimes of Claire and Alessandro.
2. The details of Raines Law Room.
3. The touring scenes of Italy were so vivid and detailed.
4. And, of course, the details of Ca’ Casanova.
5. The Ball scene

It's also now official...I want a Blah Blah (from Thank You For Listening) AND a Jacopo in my life. The dinner scene between Jacopo, Claire, and Alessandro was amazing. The narrative and audio were wonderfully done and it felt like I was sitting at the table listening to their conversation. I loved their banter during this scene.

I love the concept and mission of Julia's Audiobrary and I can't wait to see what she does with it.
Profile Image for Georgia.
75 reviews987 followers
March 21, 2024
OH SHE ATE WITH THIS ONE, I FEAR😭😩🫠


I don’t even know how to describe the experience of reading this book. Simply put, this book was STUNNING!

I wasn’t sure what to expect out of Casanova LLC before starting. I just knew I loved Thank You For Listening—it was one of my favorite books I read in all of 2023, actually!—and I was so excited by the concept of Julia creating the book we got to see be such a big part of Sewanee and Nick’s story. I also love the idea behind Audiobrary, so I wasn’t not going to give this book a go!

No. Regrets.

The narration cast—including Julia herself—was phenomenal and brought the story to life in such a beautiful and rich way. I was so swept up in the story of Claire and Alessandro, and I found myself laughing out loud one moment, and clutching my chest out of pain (I’m being so serious) the next. I absolutely adored our leads and their romance had me hooked from the start, but, also… JACOPO! JACOPO!!! I loved him just as much as I loved Claire and Alessandro!

I’m so sad that Julia Whelan doesn’t have a huge backlog of her own stories that I can dive into (though I do still have My Oxford Year to read!), but I’m also glad she’s a writer who really takes time with her books in order to craft stories that make me feel all the things Thank You For Listening and Casanova LLC did because GOD, IS IT GOOD EVERY DAMN TIME!


Star Rating: 1000/5 ⭐️
Medium: Audiobook 🎧
Profile Image for Allison Larkin.
Author 7 books2,548 followers
February 11, 2024
Casanova LLC miraculously manages to be everything you could possibly want rom a book! Enthralling, escapist, wise, witty, feminist, romantic, lavishly erotic, and beautifully, beautifully written. And then performed at a level perfection that is truly mindblowing.
Profile Image for Jultri.
1,218 reviews5 followers
May 3, 2025
Far raunchier than her other two books which were relatively clean. I'm not too keen on the concept of the MMC being essentially a high class gigolo who offered his services to the recently widowed FMC in exchange for getting his paintings back. However, it is Julia Whelan and she writes exceedingly well with appealing leads and a sweet side character in Alessandro's uncle, father-figure and conscience.
Profile Image for Shelby (catching up on 2025 reviews).
1,002 reviews166 followers
June 30, 2024
SUNDAY SPOTLIGHT • REVIEW

I couldn't let Audiobook Appreciation Month pass us by without shining a giant spotlight on two projects from one of my favorites in the biz: Julia Whelan @justjuliawhelan

First, @myaudiobrary - Audiobrary is a new audiobook publisher + app devoted to human storytelling (no AI voices here, ever). And, in Julia's own words: "When you purchase through Audiobrary, you are supporting the people who make the art, not the corporations that merely distribute it." You can learn more on the website, audiobrary.com, or by checking out their IG page. 🎧

Second, this book within a book within a book: Casanova LLC. If you've read Whelan's sophomore novel, Thank You For Listening, you'll remember it's a story about two audiobook narrators who fall in love while recording a steamy romance novel. And what is that romance novel?? You guessed it! Casanova LLC!

The idea for this book started out as a joke. No really. It was supposed to be a cheesy mashup of tropes and ridiculousness. But along the way, it morphed into a beautiful love story with oodles of depth and charm. The writing is exquisite, the chemistry between Claire and Alessandro is palpable, and the humor will have listeners cackling. It's pure perfection and I can't recommend it enough. But be warned... It's SPICY! 🔥

About the narration: this is a multicast performance in duet-style, and friends, it's delectable!! What really stood out to me here as being different from most audiobooks, is the creative expression. The laughs, the sighs, the extra little touches that made it sound like *real* interactions between *real* people. Bravo, team! Well freaking done! 👏🏼

If you're in the mood (pun intended 😉) for a steamy, tender, romantic Venetian romp, look no further! You can purchase the book on the Audiobrary website and listen on the app.

📌 Available now exclusively from Audiobrary

📌 Note: this can be listened to as a standalone, but for the full experience I'd recommend listening to Thank You For Listening first. 💕
Profile Image for James McRay.
426 reviews44 followers
August 22, 2025
This story is the fictious in-book audiobook the two leads were working on in Julia Whelan’s Thank You for Listening. It’s not required, but I would suggest reading that book first, as it will provide much needed context. Also given that context, I would recommend listening to the multi-cast audiobook version of Casanova LLC.


This book is a contrived convoluted story. That’s not specific criticism as the author explains in her Author’s Note that this was intended to be a contrived convoluted story. Or as Whelan explains it, the book started as a joke. Only bits and pieces of Casanova were revealed in Thank You for Listening, so the author challenged herself to write a complete story based on those bits and pieces. As a joke. Well, the final product mostly felt like a joke, and not a good joke.

I only gave this book a shot because I recently reread TYFL—which I enjoyed—however, I almost DNF’d this book, mostly because the plot is paper thin and felt, well, like a contrived story done on a whim. Shortly after the premise was established it felt like it was hurtling toward a Third Act Breakup trainwreck. Spoiler: the 3AB was brutal, due mostly to the always dreaded ‘I have a secret that I’m keeping to reveal at the right time’ which always turns out to be the wrong time.

The only saving grace I can recommend is the audiobook's multi-cast is delightful in its performance of this convoluted contrivance.
Profile Image for Em (semi-hiatus).
736 reviews273 followers
August 9, 2024
Clinically written romance, devoid of any real emotion, with MCs who have zero sparks and about as much warmth as a wet blanket.
Profile Image for Lauren.
153 reviews2 followers
February 17, 2024
"Thank You for Listening" was one of my favorite books that I read in 2023. I loved it so much after I read it that I ended up listening to the audiobook version. It was absolutely amazing...so I listened to it again, and again, and again throughout the year. (1 read through and 4 listens and counting).

So what a surprise it was that on Valentine's Day of this year, Julia Whelan released a full version of the audiobook "Casanova LLC" that Sarah and Brock narrated together. I couldn't believe it when I saw the news that this was being released. I was always hoping this would happen but it was such a pleasant surprise. The fact that that this was released on Valentine's Day when the fictitious story was released in the book was also amazing.

I loved how she included specific parts of the dialogue that they recorded in "Thank You for Listening" when they narrated certain scenes in this story...even down to the last cliffhanger lines into her 8 episodes story (episode 7 to be specific). It made my day to recognize those lines of dialogue. The fact that she was able to successfully take part of a book that was featured in "Thank You for Listening" and turn it Into this fantastic story is truly impressive.

I still love Julia's Brock McKnight voice when he reads Alessandro's parts in the original book but Sebastian York did a very nice job here and captured that voice and persona well. Julia was the standout though as usual.

Can't believe that this actually happened and I hope everyone supports this story and her new audiobook company Audiobrary.
Profile Image for Celeste Raine.
247 reviews204 followers
March 5, 2024
I dare anyone to find one thing wrong with this story!! You won’t. You will fail because with Julia Whelan and Sebastian York as the narrators, Julia as the author and the overall production of this, you can expect nothing less than BRILLIANT.

Now, this is ROMANCE. Not just a love story with spice. No no no. This is lavish, erotic, feminist, sensual, soulful ROMANCE 🤌🏼🤌🏼🤌🏼

The scenery and their love felt warm, like a spoonful of honey in hot tea, or a rich Spanish hot chocolate, or a delectable saucy pasta with a glass of red.

This is the romance you die on a hill for. This is a book I will die on a hill for. The sensuality of it all is what you die on a hill for.

SLAY, KING JULIA 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Profile Image for Kayla Vaughn.
148 reviews1 follower
March 20, 2024
Julia Whelan 👑 👑 👑
The entire premise of Casanova LLC= chef’s kiss 💋
The only thing missing from this audio is the fact that I don’t have a physical copy I can put on my trophy shelf (yet!) but who am I kidding?..if Julian Whelan is narrating I’d never not listen.

Props to the entire Audiobrary team. May you get paid for your impeccable hard work 👏🏻 & wonderful customer service.
Profile Image for Becky.
1,371 reviews10 followers
March 27, 2024
My Background and Bias: I’m a Julia Whelan super fan, so I was very excited to hear about the creation of Audiobrary, the independent platform from which she launched this latest work. I like that purchased content directly benefits the content creators (writers and narrators alike). Candidly, I typically borrow an audiobook through Libby and binge it in a couple days, but I was happy to support this cause and pay for this audiobook which initially released in eight weekly episodes. I looked forward to each episode’s release and loved all of the narrators.

Book Genre: I think this book was just outside my preferred genre. I like romance but more of the flirty banter kind with a slow burn emotional buildup. I would likely categorize Casanova LLC as more erotica… so much discussion of sex, touching and intimacy. I went into this heeding the spicy content warnings, but certain moments felt a bit more cringe than swoon to me. I think there are a few reasons this didn’t quite work for me, which are expanded below.

Claire: First, newly widowed Claire seems so broken from the beginning. She’s a project that needs fixing as her dead husband’s revealed duplicity upends her world. I never quite get why she was so loyal to and yet naïvely blindsided by her husband. As a side note, I did not love Claire’s girly giggles.

Chemistry: Next, I’m not sure why Alessandro was and is so drawn to Claire… I want to root for a second chance romance, but it seems built on a pretty scant foundation to the point where I’m unfortunately labeling this connection as one of instalove. Their initial meeting is brief and lusty- not one that I would expect to be kindling for deep true love. Their reconnection is also seduction and physicality… sort of like tasty sauce but without the meat or potatoes.

Plot development: there’s a couple different timelines in the book, but the actual real-time narrative seems to take place over a handful of days separated by a few weeks. Maybe I wanted more side characters or changes in scenery or minor conflicts. Aside from Claire’s gutted house and the Casanova love shack compound, the random awkward orgy seemed to be the only other main setting, which I just couldn’t or perhaps didn’t want to relate to. I wonder if I’d be better able to pin this critique down if I read the book all in one fluid sitting rather than the eight parts. Still, I really did enjoy the rather refreshing character of the “other woman” whose appearance (while a bit out of place and a stretch to believe) was a true bright spot and livened things up.

Overall impression: I really, really wanted to love this book as there are so many individual elements that I liked- Julia Whelan, Sebastian York, sensual tension which definitely made me blush, feeling like I had privileged direct access to this artistic content, and even a trip to Italy! Yet, it just didn’t click together for me. Despite my criticisms, give this an Audie for original audio content and erotica. Also, FWIW I’ll still listen to whatever Julia Whelan wants to write for or read to me, and I look forward to whatever Audiobrary rolls out next.
Profile Image for Nima Morgan.
487 reviews95 followers
January 17, 2025
I don't ordinarily read romance novels, but when Julia Whelan is involved, you can count me in! And this was so good, perhaps because I could listen to her reading the phone book and I would love it.
Profile Image for Kathryn, the_naptime_reader.
1,278 reviews
April 3, 2024
Is this the best audiobook in existence? Julia Whelan give me more! Many, many more! Each narrator on this was perfection. I waited in eager anticipation each week for the next track to drop. The amount of tension that is built in each episode is palpable. I felt like I was drooling on myself as I listened to it. Literally if you tried to pitch any other novel with a modern day gigalo to me, it would probably be a no. But everything about this works. Why are more people not talking about this. RUN immediately to your computer to purchase this.
Profile Image for olivia.
66 reviews
November 2, 2025
Alright, it's official, Julia Whelan is one of my favourite authors of all time. I've read my fair share of romance books, and hers blow every single one out of the water easily. The fact that she began writing this one as a JOKE and it blossomed into what it is now??! This woman couldn't stop the talent from leaking out of her if she tried, apparently.

I knew I would love the main characters because I do in every Julia Whelan novel. Claire was relatable, funny, reserved, headstrong, introspective, all in the very best way. Alessandro was actually one of the best love interests I've ever read. I ADORED him. And Jacopo?! Hilarious addition to the cast. His relationship with Alessandro warmed my heart, made me laugh, even made me tear up.

I even have to give a special shoutout to Claire's late husband for being an amazing character - even though he was the villain. I mean I hate him, don't get me wrong, but I have to give huge credit to the narration that was done for his dialogue, because it was phenomenal. I usually prefer reading to listening when it comes to fiction, but I don't think this particular character could've been portrayed half as vividly without his voice in my ears.

All to say - if you're a romance reader (or even if you're not really, like me) LISTEN TO THIS!!! I'm begging you. I know it's only on Audiobrary. I don't care. Make it happen, you need Casanova LLC in your life.
Profile Image for Natalia.
216 reviews12 followers
August 16, 2024
Sped through this one so fast. I loved it! Julia Whelan is just an amazing writer, Ive loved all of her books, and this one was 🔥 🥵. Her other books are mostly closed door and tame, but this one was not. It was so good, she knows how to write intimacy both emotional AND physical. I was completely engaged in this story and could not put it down.

She released it initially as an 8 episode audiobook through her audiobook company “Audiobrary”, and decided to publish it as an ebook also. Thank goodness she did. I am not an audiobook reader, cannot get into it no matter how good the narrators are, so definitely would never have read this if it wasn’t in print.
Profile Image for Mary.
531 reviews
March 28, 2024
My lord I loved this. I'm joining Savannah's love of Julia Whelan. She is a master at her craft. The story itself is fun, and pretty deep for a romance novel. She loves to really dig into her characters, make them doubt everything they've ever known. I listened to this on audiobrary, so it was also released in a weekly format, and I LOVED it. It was like the TV shows that used to only be released once a week. Something about delayed gratification....
Profile Image for Celeste.
1,041 reviews10 followers
May 24, 2025
4.75 stars

Hell yes!!! "Thank You For Listening" by Julia Whelan is one of my all time favorite contemporary romance books. In that book two audiobook narrators are recording a book called "Casanova LLC" and Julia Whelan was kind enough to write the book they were narrating and then narrate it for us with Sebastian York and two others 🥹 It was everything I could have wanted and more. Sweet, spicy, salacious, funny, endearing, romantic, etc. This needs WAY more hype. I listened to it on Hoopla, it is also available for purchase on Audiobrary, Julia Whelan's audiobook company!
Profile Image for Savannah Yates.
172 reviews1 follower
March 27, 2024
I cried over the story…but also at just how good a job Julia did with this book. I have loved Julia since I first listened to a book read by her. I also loved her other books! My friends joke about how much of a fan girl I am for her (them not knowing how I am one of so many). She wrote the crap out of this book, and I loved every second! Casanova LLC for the win 🏆
Profile Image for Jules.
68 reviews6 followers
September 13, 2025
3.75 ⭐️

Loved that Julia Whelan created her book in a book.
Profile Image for andie.
312 reviews34 followers
September 3, 2024
Rant incoming lol

I originally put this at 2 stars and then realized I couldn't figure out what I liked about it. Why am I being generous? 1 star it is.

I love Julia Whelan as a narrator so I was very interested to hear that she had created essentially a full cast erotic, romantic audio experience™. Unfortunately, I wasn't willing to shell out $25 for it when I have never read her as an author and chose to eyeball read the eBook instead. I'm sure I would've enjoyed it more on audio as it was intended, but it wouldn't have changed that this story was just... blegh.

First of all, it's not particularly erotic, which is how it's marketed. Honestly, it doesn't even compare to many contemporary romances on the spicy scale. Sex scenes are short with flowery language and unrealistic. The final scene after the third act breakup is entirely closed door lol.

Which would be fine if the romance was good, but it really, really wasn't. It was a destitute widow who supposedly loved her husband and had only been single for 6 months falling in love with a sex worker in 3 days. The only way I could remotely suspend my disbelief to buy into a story like this is if the chemistry was off the charts, both in and out of the sack, AND their history was more than one flirty conversation 5 years ago. None of this criteria was met.

Second, the whole thing just really made me feel like Julia Whelan doesn't spend any significant time with men. And even more so, that she doesn't like them? I read a lot of romance written almost exclusively (ok, entirely exclusively, I cannot think of 1 male romance writer) by women. And occasionally, I feel mildly uncomfortable when a male character is written as such an unrealistic fantasy so heavily influenced by the female gaze that I can no longer believe him as a character. But never has it been this overt. There is literally a point in which the FMC asks the MMC if he thinks it's possible for a man to fall in love? And he considers this a genuine question and answers that he believes it's possible, but he's never really seen it and it is of course different from how a woman falls in love. Like... what? Tell me you don't have any positive relationships with men and you're bitter and alone without telling me. How can you write romance about men when you dislike them so much? And -improperly tagged spoiler ahead that you should read anyway because you shouldn't read this book so it doesn't matter- the solution the FMC comes up with so that her beloved can stop being a gigolo and be monogamous with her is to turn his business of giving women the fantasy of love into some sort of academy for training men how to love women and be in a relationship (read: give women orgasms and wait on them hand and foot). The change the world needs! Finally, relationships between men and women can exist! Nevermind that the fantasy of love they give women in this story is unbelievably diminutive and gross and one-sided, the trick to a healthy relationship is to train men to serve women.

This whole thing left such a gross taste in my mouth. On top of that, there was no depth to the characters and everything was told rather than showed. Claire is elegant and poised and special because Alessandro says she is, not because of anything I can pinpoint in her behavior or outlook on the world. They are drawn together because they're written that way, not because of anything intrinsic I can pick up on. These characters stay firmly on the page.
Profile Image for Courtney.
61 reviews3 followers
May 23, 2024
Thank You for Listening is one of my favorite listens/reads of 2024 so far, so I had to bring it full circle and listen to this spin off, the book the main characters were recording in TYFL. Everything Julia Whelan touches is gold. She can make sub par books sound like pure magic with her narration. She is not only an incredible narrator but as I’ve discovered this year, an incredible author. Her books are so wonderful and I LOVE her writing style. Coupled with her as the narrator it’s all I could ever want in an audiobook/romance. Casanova LLC might be the steamiest thing I’ve ever listened to (like for real… you’re gonna want some headphones🌶️) but it was soooo good. I loved the story line and am glad I got the rabbit hole edition to get more of that behind the scenes look I felt like I got in TYFL. Never envisioned being a “narrator fan” or having a favorite audiobook narrator but here we are. I’m a huge fan and will seek out her books and books she has narrated indefinitely.
Profile Image for Amy.
31 reviews10 followers
July 9, 2024
Julia Whelan built her own audiobook platform, Audiobrary, that pays narrators royalties for their work. I had no idea that audiobook narrators weren’t paid anything beyond their initial recording fee, despite whatever success the project eventually has. This audiobook is available exclusively on Audiobrary, so when you purchase it, you’re supporting Julia’s mission to fairly compensate narrators who (as we all know) can make or break an audiobook experience!

As for the actual story, this book is the book that Julia’s characters in Thank You for Listening are recording. Since those characters needed scripts to read, she’d fleshed out a few scenes, but then just went ahead and wrote the whole thing! So if you’re interested in Casanova LLC, I’d recommend reading Thank You for Listening first—it isn’t required, but it’ll be more fun. :)
Profile Image for Crystal.
528 reviews10 followers
February 21, 2024
Y’all. If you never listen to me, listen to me this time. Go to @myaudiobrary and get this book. You can do the serialized version, but I highly recommend fast tracking it because you will NOT want to wait.

Alessandro and Claire are the BEST. And voiced by Julia Whelan and Sebastian York? I almost died from the sheer bliss of listening to them.

Honestly, the beauty of Julia’s writing is mesmerizing. I actually wish I had a physical copy of it, so I can annotate the eff out of it.

Jacopo (am I spelling that correctly?) is hilarious, but I also kinda wanted to smack him a few times. What? Some days I wake up and choose violence.

Go listen to this one. Just trust me.

Oh, fair warning: this is much spicier than her previous books. 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Profile Image for Jenny Vee.
392 reviews14 followers
August 26, 2024
Great audio, which is no surprise, although I will say I don't always enjoy Sebastian York (he sounds bored too often for my taste) but I did here. Julia is great as a narrator, as always, and I really liked the other two guys, as well. They added so much life to the side characters. This was a fun story with a unique start. The forward for this story is definitely with reading/listening to and will explain everything if you're confused or new to Julia Whelan's work.
Profile Image for Hannah.
274 reviews2 followers
February 29, 2024
Incredible performances all around...that penultimate episode was SO GOOD.
Profile Image for Sara.
17 reviews
March 30, 2024
Chef’s kiss. Perfect. No notes.
Profile Image for Laura.
217 reviews15 followers
October 12, 2024
This isn't an audiobook. It's a transcendent experience.
Profile Image for Mezzzmerizerrr.
48 reviews
August 27, 2024
This author / voice actor is outstanding, and I’m so glad this “joke” transformed into an actual book/audiobook (iykyk, and if you don’t: this was the story mentioned/featured as part of the plot for her previous novel “thank you for listening”, but listen to this novel* after * you listen to that own). Her two novels are not related, so you don’t neeeeed to listen to that one at all, but tbh I think I liked that one more. That will be personal preference for everyone. This is a “second chance Italian summer romance/rediscovery” (with baggage) kind of story. I could end it there if you didn’t want spoilers —-

So now, spoilers: I know that these characters live in a mono-het-cis-white privilege world but that scene in ch 8 re: sex worker shaming got me livid.

First, thank you for the nod to “I’m sure sex workers can get married”- that is the extent of what we got and it wasn’t given much credence other that Claire biting it out. No follow up with “but I personally can’t do it” in a tragic “I’m too mono and unaccommodating and a little prejudiced for that” just the vibe of entitled “that sounds ridiculous, I made it up as an absurd world I am not part of even though I FELL IN LOVE WITH A SEX WORKER and now are clearly IN THIS WORLD”. Maybe the most unrealistic: does Sandro not know any other sex workers/escorts? Stories of their lives and them living domestically with other people? Having legitimately loving and real relationships?

Second (and yes this is different): The Lack of awareness of anything polyamorous, even a nod to the possibility that there are people on this green earth that can and do live ethically non-monogamous lives, that truly can feel a depth of *love* and romance (not just sex) with multiple people, was uninspiring. Now, I almost didn’t write this because I want to see this author/voice actor succeed, but at the end of the day, I thought *maybe, just maybe, this author or another aspiring author will read this review and realize that this kind of shirt is seriously offensive to two legitimate communities of people, both of whom would like to see themselves represented, or at least not villianized, on-page.* It is, after all, a story about a sex worker. Of course they can create whatever relationship they want and they should absolutely not continue their work if they don’t want to, and yea that presentation of options for Claire was shitty and I don’t blame her for making that call. It was in line with her sheltered white cis het mono self … but dang! In the convo/scenes that followed we got massive virtue signaling for Claire and sex worker shaming for Sandro — really made it seem to the readers like Claire was in the right to say all those things, that that is the acceptable and normal reaction, and she gets no educated push back. Also, you’re telling me not one Casanova figured out genuine love with more than one person, nothing like polyamory? Really? Someone he can point to and say “maybe I can be like this one?” Or that the uncle couldn’t have told him “it is possible, but not for Claire (she’s as monogamous as they come, idiota), and maybe not even for you Alessandro, considering you’ve never been in love? (So you really have been serving surface level service top for seven years?) - and then go into “do you not know women?” shpeal… anyway, I’m writing this review 24 hours after finishing and I’m still fuming about this… it’ll subside eventually, like Alessandro’s erection in the last 12 hour sex scene… which we only heard about after the fact. Anyway! Giving 5 stars and recommendation bc tbh still worth reading and I see the work the author put in to make it a reality.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Melanie (lemonyreads).
457 reviews200 followers
December 18, 2025
I lost all polite words while listening to this book. My vocal reactions were a mixture of "Daaaaammmnnn" and "Holy shit!"

On paper, this book wasn’t for me, but once I started listening, I couldn't stop. The writing is wonderful, engaging, clever and the dialogue!!! Bury me in the ground now because that man was sexy as hell.

"Your body is my personal version of paradise."

"For the next minute, my tongue and her body danced."

This book is more than just sex. It’s about a woman who is trying to find herself again and specifically, her sexual self. Our MC has a beautiful balance of restraint, tenderness, chemistry and passion.

I have never blushed more while reading/listening to a book and I’m not mad at it. The intimacy itself was not crude or disgusting. It never felt cheap. There was true, raw emotion behind each intimate moment and that made it more attractive.
Was it heavily explicit? Yes.
Did I take mental notes? Yes.

I think many women and men could learn a few things from this book. The plot itself was very on par with romance novels and it fit perfectly into the narrative of Thank You for Listening. I thought the characters had good depth to them. I also appreciated how the men felt like real males and not men written by a woman.

THOUGHTS:
The conflict near the end felt far-fetched. He should know that no woman would want.... that.

Taking out the fantastically delicious sex, I have to say, the relationship has a thin foundation. I can't tell you why he loves her other than she's beautiful, classy and is great in the bedroom. She only seems to love him because he is a sexy painter and knows how to help her orgasm.

The singing scene was awkward and killed the vibe for me.

OVERALL: This is THE most explicit and descriptive book I’ve ever read, and somehow it worked. I would recommend this to married and soon to be married women who may want some intimacy ideas but are afraid to ask chat GBT and anyone who loves open-door romance.

FOMAT: The audiobook was fantastic and must be experienced this way. It's on Hoopla.
CONTENT: Extremely descriptive sex scenes and some strong language.
Profile Image for Pat | _chaoticbooknook.
388 reviews11 followers
April 20, 2024
my friends, i come to you today IMPLORING you to listen to this paragon of a romance audioboook. it is spicy, it is feminist, it has a cogent plot, it is mature, it has an incredible cast of characters (protect Giacomo at all costs!!), it is nuanced and layered… just chef’s kisses all around. Julia Whelan came to eat and left nigh zero crumbs.

i laughed out loud multiple times. i went on long walks just to listen to this book. and then regretted going on said long walks because i would start blushing while listening to some scenes that probably shouldn’t be listened to in the light of day! the voice acting in this is truly exceptional - how could it not be with the Adele of audiobooks herself and Sebastian York, a man who i am in love with now based off his voice alone?

i think what i loved most was just how refreshingly mature the situations were handled, including the ending! i am a harsh critic when it comes to romance endings, and i feel like this was one of the better ones. it made sense while still being a little cheesy and neat.

the only annoying thing about this is that 1) it is ONLY on audiobook; and 2) it is only available through Julia’s platform, Audiobrary. it is a sign of my devotion that i paid for this AND downloaded a separate app just to get my hands on this before knowing much else about. but i have zero regrets - it is worth every single minute and penny.

i *DO* think you should listen/read Thank You For Listening before listening to this one. not necessary, but i think understanding the story there will make this one a bit more impactful

if you want a great, toe-curling spice that you should NOT be listening to in the presence of children (or in the light of day), laugh out loud dialogue, mature romance that is still plot-forward with well-rounded characters, you will find no better one than this one.
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