Who'd Have Thought

By: G. Benson

Narrated by: Tanya Eby

Length: 12 hrs

Publisher's summary

Top neurosurgeon Samantha Thomson needs to get married fast and is tightlipped as to why. And with over $200,000 on offer to tie the knot, no questions asked, cash-strapped ER nurse Hayden Perez isn't about to demand answers.

The deal is only for a year of marriage, but Hayden's going into it knowing it will be a nightmare. Sam is complicated, rude, kind of cold, and someone Hayden barely tolerates at work, let alone wants to marry. The hardest part is that Hayden has to convince everyone around them that they're madly in love and that racing down the aisle together is all they've ever wanted.

What could possibly go wrong?

Contains mature themes.

©2017 G Benson (P)2018 Tantor

Great book!!!

Wonderful presentation of current issues in so many families and personal relationships. Highly recommend this book. It is one person’s perspective told in third person. Narration was great too.

sweet!

I liked the storyline for this book and I know it's been done sort of in movies before but still I liked how the story unfolded and I was definitely happy with the ending. I was a little sad that it ended. Audible needs more books by this author.

Don’t judge a book by its cover

After completing this, I quickly realized The English idiom “don’t judge a book by its cover” would have been equally suitable. G. Benson brought her characters to life and familiarity. How often have you been treated in a hospital and the more personable people are not the doctors with alphabet soup after their names but the nurses? As I traveled through the journey of the characters I learned more about LGBT people, the differences, terminology, reference preferences, etc. After listening to a chapter or two I thought of situations I was in and how the author hit the nail on the head. It is truly a must read/listen for all romantics and others.

Great Listen!

The book was excellent, having a combination of pleasant angst and heat. I was surprised at some of the turning points but they made the book that much more enjoyable. The characters not only had chemistry but they were well developed and had back stories that were real and emotional. Overall excellent book!

Soooo good

When I reflect on this book I realize and truly appreciate all it has to offer. Multicultural, multiage, non-binary...the book has it all without feeling preachy or pretentious. These pieces are backdrop to the great story. Curmudgeonly surgeon Samantha Thomson needs a wife and needs one now. Fiery nurse Hayden Perez, stretched to her financial limit, needs a break. On a whim Hayden answers a Craig's List ad that brings the two acquaintances together and on an adventure that helps heal wounds both harbor. With a great supporting cast and a solid story line it's a fun, rewarding read/listen. Go for it. You'll love it.

Nice flow, interesting chars, solid ending!

I like the books of Robin Alexander a lot, and the characters of this novel had a similar depth and complexity, as well as not living in a familial vacuum like those of so many other novels in this category.

The story flow was interesting from the beginning, and kept me wanting to keep going...and going...and.. okay, it was a bit addictive. The author was able to pull off a sort of tease-and-yank atmosphere all through the novel, without it being so abrupt I felt robbed. The tension had a nice rise and settle flow to it that kept me fairly comfortable through the novel, despite the appearance of certain personality types that generally put me on edge in real life.

The concept was really nifty and portrayed in such a way that made complete sense, as ridiculous as it sounded at first blush. Every decision by the characters appeared to be based on real background and personal behavioral patterns.

The narrator was awesome! Every character sounded distinct. Accents were authentic sounding. Her reading was flawless. One or two words were emphasized differently than I'm used to, but that may just be some regional thing I'm not familiar with. I honestly can't imagine anyone else doing this novel this well...I'll be watching for her other projects. :)

Really, the only off-note, I suppose, was that it appeared that the only real couples, of any quality, in this entire world, were gay or lesbian. The one thing I've noticed about Robin Alexander's novels (sorry, I probably shouldn't be comparing this way but she provides so many awesome examples. :) ), is that the straight-to-gay ratio appears to be relatively similar to reality, and there are plenty of examples of different couples, straight or gay. I do recognize that people will tend to be more tightly associated to their particular communities, though, so it's possible the author was simply simulating an environment where, for instance, a gay individual tends to recognize and notice gay individuals more than other people. Of course, it may simply be that the author is assuming a particular audience, perhaps justifiably, who may only wish to read about people like them.

This novel exceeded my expectations in a lot of ways, which I'm grateful for, since I primarily started reading lesbian romance for the awesome character work and stories about deep personal connections that I've come to expect from the genre. Enjoy this one!

Fabulous!!!

I ABSOLUTELY adored this listen. G. Benson wove an incredibly absorbing story that not only held my attention, but I found myself switching it on at 3am to get just a bit more. I loved G. Benson’s style of writing it from only one of the character’s perspective which left me (like Hayden), puzzled, inquisitive, and dying to understand Sam. Additionally, Tanya Eby’s reading enhanced my enjoyment even more. I highly recommend this audio book.

AMAZING

I loved this book from beginning to end. It had my laughing and giggling from chapter to chapter. The character development was amazing, especially with Sam’s. I recommend a read :) it had me satisfied and damm wishing a second book was made.

Top quality writing and narration

This book is exceptionally good! Great story and the inclusion is a bonus. Everyone deserves to see themselves in media. I am definitely going to be searching out more from this author.

Awesome book

This was a great story that hooks you right from the start, the characters are brilliantly written. The narrator was spot on with this one.

QUEER LITERATURE DONE WELL!

THANK YOUUUU! Finally some non-binary and Pansexual representation!! and a story where their being queer isn't some big internal struggle. it's just a part of who they are. I loved it! couldn't put it down! highly recommend!

Plan to listen because you’re not going to want to stop

I bought this because I’d read the review on ‘The Lesbian Review’ website and knew I wouldn’t have time to sit down and read it. Oh the irony.

I found myself riveted so much so that I actually found myself sitting down and listening. I spent an extra hour in bed just to finish the book. If that doesn’t tell you enough about the quality of writing and performance nothing I say will make you buy this slow burn, age gap, medical /family drama but you should anyway.

Brilliant

I have read all of G Benson's books but why is this the first available on audio,the storyline is good and Tanya Eby's narration is superb can we please have more,a perfect listen lounging in the garden on 3 day bank holiday weekend in the UK with 27°c
THANK YOU 😎

Wonderfully refreshing and modern day

I found it difficult to stop listening to this fascinating, modern-day romance that is a refreshing addition to the standard fare of American lesbian fiction. Including sympathetic key characters who are non binary, pan-sexual and multicultural we follow their story as they strive to be true to themselves in the this interesting tale that is by turns both preposterous and totally believable.

It is to the author's credit that this unlikely romance includes great characterisation written with gentle but often laugh-out-loud humour and both sadness and happiness are conveyef with conviction. While the author's portrayal of romantic longing and love are without the soppyness that can easily spoil a good love story. I will be looking out for more of G Benson's work in future.

Another pleasing quality of this audiobook is the refreshing production. It is a nice change that the narrator does not read the this book as if it were one long sex scene. It avoids the tiresomely over-sexualised style of narration adopted by far too many narrators of lesbian focused fiction; an over-sexualised narrative style, which unfortunately creates a sensory overload for the listener, that detracts from the actual romantic or sexy passages and makes them much less meaningful.

The only drawback that I found with this Audible production is the unfortunate lack of a list of chapters. This lack made it difficult to navigate around the audiobook and find my place again after falling asleep while listening and losing my place.

Very enjoyable!

Any additional comments?

I enjoy G Benson's books. "Who'd Have Thought" is a great example of the author's easy to dip into, yet well-structured lesbian fiction page turners with a medical backdrop. Her characters are real, have their own strengths, weaknesses and the storylines she writes are engaging. And who doesn't enjoy some old-fashioned happy soppiness? The audio version of this popular novel, successfully narrated by Tanya Eby, simply adds an extra dimension of enjoyment. I hope G Benson's "Flinging It" gets the audio treatment and soon!

love it

really enjoyed the banter and wit between the main characters and the story line.
Just shows love is where you least expect it

10/10 both book and performance riveting.

I've never read/listened to this author before and I was immediately engrossed. love the characters and the length and the story Annd the narrator. Will be listening to again 100%

wholesome romance

narrated well, it was really nice queer read / listen, I would recommend this book

Good spin on story line

I’ve read a number of books with the ‘pretend marriage/ engaged/dating thing but this was a great take on that theme. The characters were likeable and I do enjoy a hospital based romance.

Good narrator

I like the way was narrated.
The story itself is okay. Good enough when you don’t want to think and relax.
We enjoyed it while driving.