This is such a beautiful story!! I loved the growth with both main characters and I absolutely loved the friends/roommates! Lucy and Henry have both been through a lot and I enjoyed how they came together in an unexpected way. Henry's roommates, who also work with him, added a lot to this story. I loved how there was that "found family" aspect.
There were so many little instances throughout this book that made it feel so special to me- cute nicknames, some pop culture and book loving references, Jewish rep (and a yummy matzo ball soup scene). The chronic illness rep was done so well and I had all the feels while reading this one! I definitely recommend picking this one up when you're in the mood for a good romance!

I absolutely loved everything about this book. I loved Henry and Lucy as individuals and as a couple. Their relationship development was done so well and I loved how they communicated their issues when they were ready. And the side characters, especially Graham and Adamma, were amazing! I need more books based on all of these characters!

What a lovely debut! We get to follow Lucy, and her sweet service dog, as she deals with her recent divorce and moves to LA for a fresh start. After her living situation falls through she chances living with Henry giving us the good ol' forced proximity trope! Lucy and Henry were the sweetest things and perfect for each other. They accepted each other for who they were and their story was so unique. I admire both of their strength and evolution of their characters.

I appreciated the mental and physical health representation and addressing the stigma around both in this book. Looking forward to reading more from this author in the future!

Excellent debut!! I don’t know why it took me so long to read this book! I loved the found family Lucy unexpectedly finds when her life is in ruin and she agrees to stay at the home of her favorite composer. I just want to reach into the pages of this book and hug them both especially Henry. The representation in this book is done so beautifully and meaningfully giving authentic perspective to each incident. This story is so much more than a love story where the story ends at the happily ever after. This is the story of what happens when it doesn’t go as planned and how the heroine picks herself up, with the help of her friends, and rewrites her own story and chooses happiness.


Thank you publishers and @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Gosh, what a debut! I absolutely adored this. I went into it thinking, it would be a casual, cute rom com and then it turned out to be so much more than that. Absolutely gorgeously written and beautifully told.

Happy #FunFriday!
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To me romcoms are just fun! Occasionally they have some depth that touches my heart and I laugh and feel all the fuzzy feelings. That is what Speechless by Lindsey Lanza was for me.
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On the surface, think “New Girl” set in Malibu, where Lucy has moved with her adorable service pup, Rowan, after her divorce. She is ready to start a fresh new life, but nothing is easy. After all her plans fall through, she ends up as the guest of her music idol and his band of merry music makers.
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I want to meet these guys, they are the best group she could have fallen in with and I was so happy they were there for her, and she was there for them. Pick any one of the four for a romance, I really hope we get to see them again, hint hint…
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Alongside the romance, we see the good and the bad in friendships, insecurities, acceptance, self image and hope. It was refreshing to see characters with real life, major issues live their lives and have them portrayed pretty realistically. Back to the romance, there are some definite swoon worthy lines and a little taste of spice.
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Bookstagrammer, @readwithli, turned author and did a great job with this debut novel. Her book came out this week, be sure to grab a copy, support one of our own, and enjoy!
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Speechless was a delightful debut novel that was unique and full of heart. While it took me longer than I would have liked to finish it, I still enjoyed it very much!

What I loved:
💚 there were lots of different tropes we don’t see as often: insta love, pseudo-celebrity romance, strangers to lovers.
💚 the representation in this novel was everything! The MMC suffered with anxiety and the FMC had severe endometriosis. Infertility and adoption were other heavy topics that were handled with care. As someone struggling with infertility, seeing these struggles be discussed meant a ton to me.
💚 I loved Henry’s band mates and how they included Lucy and her dog Rowan as one of their own. Found family is one of my favorite elements in books, and this was no exception.

The reason I didn’t give this one 5 stars though was because the writing was a bit clunky for me. This could have used more editing, but for being this author’s debut novel, it is something that can definitely be improved in future books. I’m hoping that Lindsey Lanza decides to write more books about this crew!

Looking for a sweet beachside romance with a whole bunch of big hearted hunky men? Look no further. Thank you so much to @netgalley and @readwithli for the digital ARC of Speechless! It was my privilege to get to read your debut romance novel!

Things I loved:
🐶 Once he comes out of the basement, Henry is the dream book boyfriend. Kind, handsome, smart, talented, and just happens to be incredibly successful? Yes please. I love a man that wears his heart on his sleeve.
🐶 Lucy is an incredible woman who has been dealt such a terrible hand. I was so glad to see all of her genuine moments of joy, from writing silly songs, to baking, to trying and failing to surf, to binging tv shows with some real friends.
🐶 A romance centering the most adorable service puppy. I could not stop giggling over every single male character's desperate need to pamper Rowan. I think Rowan and my Noé would get along quote nicely.
🐶 Excellent anxiety and chronic illness representation in both Henry and Lucy. Their care for one another felt very genuine and supportive throughout, especially in the moments out to eat and in the hospital.
🐶 I'm obsessed with the side characters, especially Graham and Adamma. I am begging you for a sequel with him or Jayce.
🐶 Lindsey, you are the first to write a romance where all of the musical references are precious, romantic, and silly, instead of throwing cringey music puns everywhere. From the bottom of my heart, this choir director thanks you.
🐶 I really appreciated and loved the twist at the end that took place where you would normally have the miscommunication trope. I think it spoke a lot to why both Henry and Lucy behave the way they do when they're scared. I'm so glad they got their happily ever after.

Amazing debut novel from Lindsey Lanza. Lucy is a bestselling author who writes fairy tales with happy endings for a living, but her own happy ending has yet to happen. She is just out of a divorce and on her was to LA for a fresh start when her plans fall through. Henry, a very successful and accomplished composer comes in to rescue her and offers her a room in his home to stay. Their love story is just too cute.

HAAM made this book! I loved the relationships she built with each roommate. She did a wonderful job addressing mental health and chronic illness. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

What a cute book! I loved this. I loved the characters, I loved their journey together. It was heartfelt, sweet and so well written. 5 easy stars!

Though a slow burn, I found myself smiling so many times during this cute love story. I appreciate that this story touched on deeper topics such as severe anxiety, divorce, endometriosis, trauma, and service animals. Henry is such a sweet man, and I adore him. The writing style is clear and well paced. Slow burn, definitely but with some good steamy bits!

Speechless is a story about Lucy, a romance author going through a divorce, and Henry, a famous composer that Lucy is a huge fan of. Fate brings her to him at the perfect timing and she ends up with an offer to live with him, as well as his musicians, until she can figure out more permanent arrangements.

For a debut novel, I thought the writing was great and I loved the unique details of this story. The chronic illness and mental health representation was portrayed so well. I love when authors can bring in those elements into romance to bring awareness, but not make it the whole plot.

I loved Lucy’s personality and how she continued to see the good even if she was dealing with some bad. Henry was very sweet and the perfect person for Lucy to meet at this time in her life. The growth of these two and the development of their relationship was exciting to see. I loved the strangers to friends to lovers plot. The elements of music throughout the story was also so interesting and I really like all the details.

First of all, Rowan is a sweet baby and is utterly adorable. Lucy was such a fun character to unpack and read about and she explored her own feelings about everything in her life. She was funny and sweet, you could also tells she cares about everyone in her life. Henry being so shy and awkward around people made their interactions that much more interesting to watch. Neither of them let their struggles dictate their lives, they just learned how to adjust to make room for their struggles. Finding out each of their past played a big role in their relationship but once they finally had that hard conversation you could see how that didn’t change any of their feelings. I loved all the little book and bookstore nods.

A surprising debut with mental health and chronic illness representation! I requested this simply because of the cute cover, I mean just look at it! But was I taken for such a heartwarming ride.

Lucy Gold was on her way to moving to Los Angeles from Boston, when suddenly her plans fell through. On the brink of being homeless and with no one to go to, she was offered a place to stay by none other than Henry Turner, a composer whose music and scores have been her anchor during the most difficult stages of her life. What follows is a story of love, acceptance, friendship and found family with an adorable pup named Rowan.

I love how the characters, not just the two main leads, in this book have come together. From the moment Lucy was introduced to Henry’s housemates, I knew I was in for a treat. Also, it's not often that I come across romance stories that feature a female lead with a chronic reproductive health problem such as endometriosis and this is what I identified most in this book. How it affects her way of life and even her way of thinking kind of hit me on a personal level. I don’t usually like ‘noble idiocy’ as a plot element, but I can get behind Lucy’s reasons in this one.

A sweet and satisfying read overall that I look forward to Lindsey Lanza’s future works.

Thankful to Victory Editing, NetGalley, and the author for my early copy of this book. All opinions are honest and my own.

What a great debut novel! I enjoyed the characters and disability and mental health rep. Such a fun meet cute and absolutely loved all the roommates in the house! Definitely recommend!

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 5⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: Contemporary Romance📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
Such a sweet forced proximity, strangers to lovers romance with the most adorable characters. I loved everything about this book from the chronic illness and mental health rep to the cutest service dog to the best found family/ side characters! If you’re a fan of romance, you have to read this one!

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Strangers to friends to lovers
Dual POV
Found family
Musician MMC & writer FMC
Heartwarming rom-coms
Great side characters
Airport meet cutes
New Girl vibes
Malibu settings
Lots of drama
Slow burn romance

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
Rowan the service dog!
Chronic illness rep
Pop culture references
Mental health rep
The food songs
Tough topics were discussed but the book was still lighthearted
The cover

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
There were a few times when the miscommunication between them annoyed me- I wanted them to just talk to each other but that’s literally the only con I can think of!

𝙵𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚀𝚞𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚜:
★ “But you are special, Luce. You are my anomaly.”
★ “You do. You look vibrant. Like the sun. Like everyone else is just orbiting around you.”

"𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴, 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘴𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘺-𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘴. 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥."

This book left me pretty speechless!

I've had a couple underwhelming reads lately (NOT bad, just slightly underwhelmed)... so when I didn't have any negatives for this one, it was a nice breath of fresh air.

Let's talk run down my favorites:

• New Girl vibes, which is one of my favorite shows

• Strangers to Friends to Lovers

• Lucy's dynamics with the other guys in the house (except Craig, he was terrible)

• That moment you realize the difference between true friends/love versus the shittiness you've had in the past

• Tiramisu - enough said

• Honest talk about mental health/illness and handling very difficult topics with a lot of grace

All of that being said... Sarah and Jack are the ABSOLUTE worst. Like I was physically fuming during that particular portion (you'll know when you read it).

Also... go read it!

Thank you Lindsey, @victoryeditingngc, and @netgalley for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review! ❤
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#bookstagram #booksta #books #booksbooksbooks #avidreader #ilovereading #thetwistedlibrarian #professionalbookworm #book6of2023 #whatsnikkireading #speechless #lindseylanza #arc #advancedreadercopy #ebook #kindleebook #romance #friendstolovers #fivestarreads

This book was such a pleasant surprise. I had no expectations going into it. If you love New Girl, you’ll love this book.

My absolute favorite part of this book was the friend group and how we watched them become their own little family. That is one of my favorite tropes and this one was so well done. As previously mentioned, if you like the show New Girl, you’ll absolutely love this friend group too. The boys are hilarious and sweet and immediately take Lucy and her pup Rowan under their wings and make them feel at home.

Henry is such a sweet love interest and boy does that man have some LINES. “But you are special, Luce. You’re my anomaly.” SWOOOOOON. Learning about him and how is anxiety has effected his life was really interesting. I loved watching him come out of his shell.

Not only does this book have great representation for anxiety, but it also does for chronic illness, specifically endometriosis. Lanza goes really in depth with Lucy as she navigates life with her diagnosis and her treatment plans.

I lied. My absolute favorite part of this book was Rowan, Lucy’s service dog. He is the absolute freaking cutest.

One thing I wasn’t expecting from this was all of the drama. There was so much packed in for it being such a short book. There is a lot of miscommunication in this and “will they/won’t they” “shouldn’t do this but imma do it anyway” type of storylines. I was on the edge of my seat tho, just needing the popcorn!

Overall, I read this fairly quickly and enjoyed my time! If there ends up being companions following the boys, I’d be interested in reading those! I’d definitely recommend this. Plus it’s written by a fellow Bookstagrammer AND it’s on Kindle Unlimited!

TROPES:
- forced proximity
- slow burn romance
- miscommunication
- found family
- dual POV


READ IF YOU LIKE:
- pop culture references, mostly Taylor Swift and Throne of Glass
- New Girl
- writer mc and musician mc
- lil bit of spice
- amazinggg side characters ( hi, Graham and Adamma )

I wanted to like this one significantly more than what the writing and execution allowed me too. Most likely passable in a crowded market.

The prologue absolutely hyped me up and I had really high expectations of the book but sadly it’s all quickly went downhill.

But let me say that the story had a great chronic illness and mental health rep. And this was the only reason I drag myself through the book.

The storyline felt like a fanfiction I’ve read before on Wattpad. Lucy wanted to start a new life and her best i ditched her in the last minute and there he comes that guy on a white horse who helps her and etc happily ever after.

The romance is totally dried out and cringe which I couldn’t handle. Lucy’s character too immature and made me mad and Henry was the same with his boring personality. I didn’t feel the love between them. And the story was really flat and had problems with the writing style as well. It took me weeks to read this short book which shows it didn’t catch my attention.

But I’m glad it’s many people’s fav. I’m sad it’s not mine.

Thank you for the arc.