This was a decent read not something I was to crazy for to be honest I feel like it dragged a tad to much. I messed up from the beginning and I’m thinking perhaps that’s where I got thrown off I had thought it was a stand alone but it is a sequel so I was lost from page one. It was such a bold abrupt start I felt lost through it all. I truly felt no connection in this book, trigger warning it contains sexual abuse/assault. I enjoy and love a long book but this was a rough 343 pages. And just because ir wasn’t for me doesn’t mean it isn’t for you!

What We Never Say by Paulette Stout takes two personal sexual issues and puts them out in the open for discussion. Rebecca, aside for her NYC day job in marketing, writes an online sexual health column for women; her live-in boyfriend, Kyle, is a former model who was sexually abused by the older woman, Jane, who dominates the fashion industry with her MOD magazine.. Their is also a family wedding in the plans for Kyle's sister, Libby, who is a bridezilla with few friends to round out her big Texas wedding party. What We Never Say is a good discussion book that will have readers talking. One issue: The story line of Kyle moving to NYC to take care of his Aunt Bessie, who lives across the hall from Rebecca, gets lost in the bigger story of prosecuting Jane and getting Libby to her wedding night .

Title: What We Never Say
Author: Paulette Stout
Release Date: October 28th, 2022
Page Count: 343
Start Date: October 10th, 2022
Finish Date: November 2nd, 2022

Review:
Story: When I first started reading this book, I knew I would like it. I didn’t think I’d fall in love with the story. I will admit that I was convinced that I’d find parts really redundant and annoying. I am happy to announce that I was wrong on that. This book is so unique. It’s deep. I really loved a very important message that is highlighted in this story. I think it’s something that doesn’t get addressed enough. I get it though. Look at the struggles women face when they talk about it. I’m sure it’s worse for male victims.
Characters: Kyle and Rebecca are very happy together. Things couldn’t get any better. They are content with their lives. Then Kyle’s photo shows in a magazine Things completely change from there. They are still very much in love, but they find themselves with many obstacles in their way of peace. I really loved both of them. I loved Rebecca’s friends too. I didn’t really care for Kyle’s family. At least not in the beginning. My opinion changed towards the end.
Critiques: None.
Final Thoughts: My initial thoughts on this book weren’t at all a reality. I am so happy to say that I was completely wrong with my expectations. I loved this book. I loved the messages. I loved the hope that displays through the book. I really recommend this book. I will probably read it again at least once more in my life time.

I really enjoyed this book. It talked about really important issues in a way that was easy to read. I thought the characters were well written and easy to picture.

I throughly enjoyed this novel. In fact, it’s one of the few lately that has held my attention throughout the entire story. While I could see a few things coming, I never felt like rushing though it. I would definitely recommend it to friends.

Rebecca's blog is finally gaining traction, a big boost for her self-confidence, especially when she gets noticed by the world's top fashion magazine. Kyle has a big secret he won't share with anyone, especially not Rebecca, his girlfriend. But a powerful woman from his past is pushing her way back into his life.
This book touches a delicate social issue (SA) that needed to be addressed in the wake of #metoo, i.e. that women in a position of power can SA men too. The story is told in multiple POVs, Kyle, who was SA by his former boss, Jane, said former boss, and Rebecca, Kyle's girlfriend. Sadly, I couldn't relate to any of the characters, the were a bit unidimensional. However, this was a sweet (albeit dark) and very important story to tell.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Wow! I have to say that I was quite impressed by the way Stout took this topic and ran with it. The abuse of men is often overlooked when the reality is that it occurs and goes unreported all the time. I was glad to see someone give light to the subject matter in a way that felt sensitive and honest. Even though this book dealt with some tough topics, it still contained a beautiful romance, a crazy bridezilla, great friendships and more.

Rebecca is a character carried over from Stout's previous novel, Love Only Better. I was glad to see her in a loving and satisfying relationship in this book. I'll be honest that I struggled with Stout's first book and was apprehensive going into this one. However, I was pleasantly surprised and fell into this story much easier. The characters were easier for me to invest in and bond to. Rebecca and her boyfriend, Kyle are in an unusual situation when she finds out he was the victim or actually let me say...survivor of abuse by a sexual predator in the workplace when he was much younger. It was something he'd hidden away and never told anyone. When he shares it with Rebecca, she's surprised that he'd never told her before. They have some small moments where it does come between them in their private relationship. Yet, I almost would have expected for them to have struggled with it more than they did.

Let me just say that I think the author did a nice job of handling a serious topic while still giving the reader some lightheartedness in the storyline. It's a good balance that allows the reader to feel entertained while still being exposed to subject matter that is rarely discussed. Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

So before I get into my full review, let me just say that I am not a fan of Rebecca's actions in the beginning. She learns that Kyle was sexually assaulted by a woman who worked for MOD, and yet she moved forward writing an article for them, and even going so far as to say that Kyle needs to support her in this. I get that without these actions, there wouldn't be a book, but for the whole book I could not get past that Rebecca did not respect Kyle enough to 1) not move forward with the magazine or 2) at least ask if he would be willing to share some more details, like the abuser's name, so she would know if she would be interacting with her.

Ok, now that I've ranted a bit about that, there are a lot of things I liked about this book. I liked how it brings up a lot of topics that don't receive a lot of public attention. I also liked that it focused a lot on Rebecca's new found confidence. It also seemed very realistic to me that Rebecca would get sidetracked with her passion and lose focus on her day-to-day job. I also liked the friendship shared between Leslie, Barbara, and Rebecca, as well as between the men in their lives.

Halfway through this book, I realized this was actually a sequel. I'd be interested in going back and reading the first one, because the topic of that book is the basis of a lot of the plot for book two. However, you get enough backstory in this one, that you can read this without reading the first one. I'm also interested in reading the next book, because I don't think everything was fleshed out by the end of this book.

Overall, I gave What We Never Say ⭐⭐⭐⭐. I read this in about two days and really wanted to know what was going to happen and if Rebecca and Kyle's plan would work out.

This book touches a sensitive topic, as is sexual assault but this is a male victim. I feel that the author touched it well, but it happens too late in the book, like if it's mentioned on the synopsis why would it take so much into the story to be mentioned if it wasn't going to be a plot twist. Other than that it could've been better.

I enjoyed the premise of the book and the tackling of the serious topic of male sexual assault. However I didn’t connect with the characters in the book, I didn’t find that I cared about them or the various outcomes and that unfortunately made the difficult topic a lot heavier to read.

I could not get into this one. It dragged a lot and the topic about sexual abuse of a male was very heavy. I like the writing style but the book as a whole was just not for me. I also did not know this was a series.

Rebecca has a blog that is quickly gaining popularity. Even the world’s top fashion magazine is taking notice. Rebecca’s boyfriend is the only one with concerns. Kyle has a haunted past that he refuses to share.

However, all of the skeletons come tumbling out of his closet when a woman from his past resurfaces. She is on a mission to get his attention and all Kyle wants to do is forget what happened years ago.

What We Never Say is available now.

Thank you to netgalley and mediagoddessinc for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

What We Never Say is a complicated tale of ambition and the challenges faced along the way. Rebecca is the author of an anonymous blog, until she gets noticed by a major fashion magazine that would like to feature her work. The only problem is that her boyfriend Kyle has a complicated history with the editor in chief. Now Kyle has to make a decision about his past, while trying to protect Rebecca from scrutiny as well.

For me, this book happened in phases. The first half of this book I was a little bored. The story didn’t seem to flow, and it just didn’t engage me. The second half is when it started to redeem itself for me. I felt happy about the way that Rebecca and Kyle were able to support each other through the challenges they faced. But there were some tough themes here, including sexual assault, seeking therapy and help to recover from trauma, and blackmail and manipulation. If you’re ok with reading those topics, I’d recommend checking this one out. Overall I’d give it 3.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Smith Publicity for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

The theme was good but I thought the book was just so so. I gave it a 3 out of 5 stars. It was just okay to me.

After approximately 20%, I made the choice to DNF this book. Several pieces of it weren’t working for me. Sometimes I appreciate a book that just jumps right into the plot and barely introduces the characters, but because this book is basically a sexual trauma dumping, I thought so more character intro was really necessary. I didn’t feel attached to the characters at all and I was already learning their darkest shames. That made the story lack depth that easily could’ve been there. With that, a trigger warning is most definitely necessary in this book: there’s talk of grooming, rape, and more just within the first few pages. Overall, I think I could’ve potentially enjoyed this book if a couple of components had been done differently.

First of all, the book was a sensitive topic about men facing sexual abuse. And I actually liked the plot. Unfortunately, the story as a whole wasn't great.

Kyle was facing abuse from his boss, Jane. Rebecca, who is his girlfriend is being confided about the sexual abuse that Kyle was facing from his boss. Rebecca then gets an opportunity to work with Jane to write a column and she finds that Kyle wasn't the only victim.

The first part of the story was literally bland and flat to me that I nearly DNF the book. However, it was towards the middle of the book that I actually started to focus more attention as it deals with the sensitive issue. The ending was good which actually spiked my rating to a three star. Also, I am wondering if this was a series as this was listed as Book 1. Is something going to happen next? I am not sure.

Overall this worth three stars for me.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

I really wanted to like this book. Some of the characters are likeable the writing is good but the story felt forced and not enjoyable.

Jane is a predator of the worst kind. The woman is relentless and will stop at nothing to get her way. Except this time she has gone too far.
What We Never Say is the flip side of what usually occurs: Kyle was abused and mistreated by Jane, along with several others.
Rebecca launches an endeavor that threatens to upend her life.
There’s much to unpack in the novel and the ending is satisfactory.

This book was one that covered a compelling but difficult subject. The characters were complex, almost too overbearing at times, but the emotions were real and very relatable. I applaud the author for tackling this complicated issue. Thanks #NetGalley

What We Never Say touches on a subject that is almost never discussed - Male victims of SA.

I felt this story had such potential and I did like it at times. Being written from the point of view of three main characters, I found the flow from character to the next, easy to keep up with. However, I was quite disappointed in how the main characters were portrayed. The personalities of all characters seemed quite flat, and essentially the same. For example, the I found the characters of Rebecca and Kyle very hard to connect with and at times Rebecca seemed almost manipulative in respect to Kyle, her boyfriend and the subject of our SA awareness. Which I really did not care for. The character of Jane, our antagonist, was actually well written, in my opinion. I very much wish there had been more depth to this story.

Good on the author for bringing awareness and voice to an otherwise taboo subject.

3/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, author Paulette Stout, and Smith Publicity for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

What We Never Say said about 100000 too many things, making this a hard read. Told from 3 different perspectives, it felt oftentimes like I was reading that many or more different books. I appreciated the story line regarding male sexual assault survivors, as that is not something that is talked about enough. However, the chemistry between the two main characters felt non-existent most of the time, and I didn't like having a perspective from the abuser, as it added nothing significant to the story. The weird side plot of a family wedding was distracting, as were so many other descriptions of events throughout. The writing was amateur, and the book felt way too long, making this ultimately a miss. Great concept but poor execution.