The Book:
Gigi, Listening by Chantel Guertin
Published March 28, 2023 by Kensington
Date read: March 5, 2023
The Characters:
Gigi
Buy it on Bookshop.org | Amazon
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The Plot (from Goodreads):
Gigi Rutherford loves love stories. She reads them, she sells them at her romance bookstore, and she could spend hours imagining the meet-cutes of every couple she encounters. But when it comes to her own love interests, Gigi is out of stock. Instead of enduring bad date after bad date, these days she’d rather curl up with her favorite audiobook and the only man who makes her heart skip a beat: Zane Wilkenson, the smooth-voiced narrator Gigi is convinced is her soulmate.
Then, she’s presented with the chance of a lifetime: a ten-day bus tour through the English countryside, an ocean away from her bookstore—all in the presence of Zane, in person, as he leads the tour.
But when Gigi arrives at the bus terminal in London, Zane is nowhere to be found. Until he shows up, she’s stuck with an eclectic group of fellow travelers: recently widowed and chatty Charlotte; trivia-obsessed Francis; Jenny, a true-crime-makeup YouTuber documenting every detail for her subscribers; and Sindhi and Roshi, a long-married couple who can’t stop bickering. Then there’s the brooding bus driver, Taj, who Gigi finds infuriating yet also incredibly alluring . . .
With heart and charm, warmth and humor, Chantel Guertin explores the meaning of love and family—and how, sometimes, the journey to yourself is where you’ll find everything you’ve been searching for.
The Review:
How could I resist an audiobook about an owner of a romance bookstore who falls in love with an audiobook narrator?
Gigi, Listening was entirely different from Instamom, Guertin’s previous book, but even more loveable. Gigi was such a fun protagonist. She’s a bit of a homebody, a bit scattered, and a bit stuck, but when her friends gift her a trip to England for her 30th birthday, she steps out of her comfort zone and takes it. (Can I just take a moment to say, where do I find friends like this?? I’ve never been gifted an international vacation!) Gigi grows significantly as a person throughout the course of the trip.
The romance completely charming, and the references to other beloved romance books made it even more fun. I’ve read almost all of the romances that Guertin references in the book, which made it a blast to read.
The side characters were also lovely. The backstories of all the different tourists made for fun detours throughout the story, and there was definitely one little twist I didn’t see coming.
Make sure to add this fun, lighthearted travel romance to your TBR this spring.
Audiobook Review: Given how important audiobooks are to Gigi, it’s only fitting to listen to the audio copy of this book. Natalie Naudus does the story the justice it deserves, although she’s no Zane Wilkerson (or, well, she sort of is?). I really enjoyed the listen.
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