Audiobook Review: Something to Talk About

Author: Meryl Wilsner

Narrators: Jorjeana Marie & Xe Sands

Audiobook Length: 9 hours 7 minutes

A showrunner and her assistant give the world something to talk about when they accidentally fuel a ridiculous rumor in this debut romance.

Hollywood powerhouse Jo is photographed making her assistant Emma laugh on the red carpet, and just like that, the tabloids declare them a couple. The so-called scandal couldn’t come at a worse time–threatening Emma’s promotion and Jo’s new movie.

As the gossip spreads, it starts to affect all areas of their lives. Paparazzi are following them outside the office, coworkers are treating them differently, and a “source” is feeding information to the media. But their only comment is “no comment”.

With the launch of Jo’s film project fast approaching, the two women begin to spend even more time together, getting along famously. Emma seems to have a sixth sense for knowing what Jo needs. And Jo, known for being aloof and outwardly cold, opens up to Emma in a way neither of them expects. They begin to realize the rumor might not be so off base after all…but is acting on the spark between them worth fanning the gossip flames?

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Something to Talk About follows Jo, a showrunner, and Emma, Jo’s assistant, in this dual-perspective very slow-burn romance in Los Angeles. There is a huge emphasis on the slow-burn aspect as it takes awhile for this romance to take shape, which may not be for every reader. Not only is there the professional relationship between the characters, but an age gap as well. There is also a nice difference in their stages of life as Emma is still figuring out her ultimate career wheras Jo is already established in hers. Their relationship takes an unexpected step forward when Jo and Emma are photographed together on the red carpet. This sets off a series of events where Emma and Jo try to navigate potential feelings for each other while dealing with multiple obstacles along the way. 

Emma is openly bisexual, and the phobia against it is explored along with a #MeToo moment between her a visiting director. This was done in a sensitive manner where it was written with care as Emma tries to navigate these situations. As for Jo, she is in the 30s (older than Emma) and is a lesbian who hasn’t been in a relationship in years. As an Asian woman, she experiences a lot of racist moments while trying to do her job. While a lot of these elements are set in a Hollywood setting, they are ones that can occur anywhere and this seems written in a relatable manner for readers. 

Overall, this story was very sweet while including many heartfelt moments. It was deeper than I initially expected as there were a lot of themes discussed. I loved that Jo was not an actress and instead was behind the scenes as it showed another side to the industry that is not always shown in novels.  While the story may have been a slow-burn, the romance was handled with care. There are many reasons standing in the way of Jo and Emma getting together and they are thought though rather than them just jumping into a relationship together. Even though the book includes some heavier themes, it still read easy, similar to a beach read. The writing style was enjoyable as Jo and Emma each had distinctive voices and their personalities/actitions seemed realistic. The author’s style was definitely enjoyable and I cannot wait to read more from the author in the future.