Speechless caught my attention from the very beginning. I am always a fan of an early meet cute and this book had exactly that!

Lucy and Henry are characters with many layers and it was enjoyable to see them unfold as the story went on. You could see how generous Henry was right from the start as they become roommates, then friends and then more. The supporting characters were great additions to the mix and each played their own unique roles(maybe a future spin off with one of them?!). Overall, the story was a great build up from the run in to the romance and their personality layers and backstories were revealed with the same pacing.

Told from the perspective of each lead character, I found their individual struggles to be interesting and realistic. Just when I thought I knew them, more pieces to their puzzle were shared. I liked that Henry's past wasn't fully explained by him, but a different character and a lot of the details were still surprising- even the ones detailed later in the story. I also found the portrayal of Lucy's chronic illness and how she viewed herself to be eye opening.

I found this book to be a different story than a lot of the romance books that I've previously read. It was creative, humorous, heartfelt and full of likable characters. I would definitely recommend this book and look forward to seeing what Lindsey writes next!

Lucy Gold writes romance for a living, but writing happy endings when you don't fully believe in happy endings anymore is the ultimate form of writer's block.

After getting divorced, Lucy is on her way to LA to move in with her best friend and get a fresh start. When's she at the airport waiting to board her flight, Lucy's best friend says that she can't stay with her anymore.

Moving to a new place is a big problem when you know no one there and have nowhere to go...that is, unless you run into a complete stranger that's willing to offer up his Malibu home for you to stay at with his amazing roommates. It's also convenient when that complete stranger happens to be your favorite composer, whose music has become the comfort in your everyday life.

THIS BOOK WAS ADORABLE. I loved the storyline of fan-meets-favorite-composer and I adored the way Lucy and Henry's relationship developed over the course of time. They had me CRYING by the end.

They both harbored deep-rooted secrets within themselves that manifested into their worst insecurities. Reading them break down those walls they each had built and finally trust each other with their baggage was so emotionally satisfying and I was rooting for their happy ending through the entire slow-burn.

The secondary characters were FANTASTICALLY WRITTEN. I was so invested in every bit of banter and the day-to-day roommate antics. Lucy finding that sense of family with the entire group was so comforting and sweet to read.

Special shout-out to the MOST SPECIAL little side character: Rowan, Lucy's service dog. I love books with dogs and I just wanted hang with sweet little Rowan the whole book. ♥️🥹

Thank you to NetGalley, Victory Editing, and Lindsey Lanza for the early copy in exchange for an honest review!

Rating: 4.25 out of 5 🐾🎵

This was such a sweet and wholesome read, I had a smile on my face the whole time. The perfect romance.

Lucy, a YA author of fairly tale inspired books, is just about to fly from Boston to LA to move in with her college roommate and start over after her divorce. Unfortunately her supposed-friend and Sarah calls to say she’s back with her ex and that Lucy can no longer live with her. This leaves Lucy stuck, with no one to turn to apart from her trust service dog, and all-round adorable pup, Rowan. But then a gorgeous man strikes up conversation and she discovers he’s an incredibly talented composer and songwriter, Henry Turner, the creator of all the music on her favourite playlists. He offers her the chance to stay with him in his house in Malibu along with HAAAM, the name for his group of musicians who work and live with him. Lucy finds herself saying yes and soon discovers it was the right decision, she loves all (well almost all) of his housemates and Rowan is delighted to be beside the sea. As her friendships with HAAAM develop, she finds herself becoming accustomed to life in LA. However, she still finds herself thinking about the mysterious Henry who works all hours of the day in his basement studio. When he does emerge they go out together on sort-of dates and she realises she has feelings for him. Feelings she doesn’t want to act on because of her fear that he’ll leave her when he discovers her endometriosis and infertility.

Speechless is told from both Lucy and Henry’s perspectives and I always love that in a book, especially as both of their voices are so clear in Lindsey Lanza’s writing. Henry is incredibly sweet and wonderful and from their first meeting, it’s clear that he cares for Lucy and that something special is going to blossom between them. When people describe this book as ‘swoony,’ they are not wrong!

I also loved the depictions of the other guys who live in the house, they are all unique and wonderful in their own ways and I would happily read a book about each one of them, especially Graham!

If you want a cosy, fluffy read with fairy tale themes, this is definitely the book for you!

Thank you NetGalley and Victory Editing for the eARC.

This review is so hard for me to write because I loved this book so much, how do you put into words what sings in your heart? Henry and Lucy will forever be written in my heart on a deep and personal level. I think I had butterflies in my stomach throughout the entire read, and tears in my eyes the last 10% of the book, and I could not put it down.

There are no perfects in this book, each decision our main characters made we're active choices to fight, to overcome, and to choose to be happy. "Don't choose to be unhappy. I want to choose happiness. I know that it's not that simple, I can't predict the future; but right now, I'm feeling hopeful."

Speechless dares to be different in a sea of romcom novels. The setting feels absolutely unrealistic, however, the setting also brings that spark of fantasy needed to truly appreciate the inner battles our MCs are facing. Lindsey wanted to accurately represent what suffering from a chronic illness and mental illness is like, and I feel that she succeeded. I don't want to give spoilers, but this was the first novel I have ever read that portrayed a taboo issue and gave it life and hope. I know it changed how I felt about my own struggle with this topic, giving me a hope I haven't felt in a long time.

I know I'm not explaining the synopsis, but I don't feel I need to, you can read that yourself, but I can tell you is that this book will pull at your heart strings and feel like one giant hug you didn't know you needed. Don't miss this one!

What this book has:
-Found Family
-Anxiety Rep
-Chronic Illness Rep
-Steam
-Sarah J Maas shout out!
-No "third act breakup" (woohoo!)

Thank you Lindsey and Net Galley for the ARC! This book had me hooked on the first page and it was hard to put down as the characters developed. Highly recommend and can’t wait to see more books from this author!

Dual perspective. Endometriosis & social anxiety rep. Found family. Strangers to friends to lovers. Songs about food. This debut book is chef’s kiss perfection!

Seeking a fresh start after a sudden divorce, Lucy decides to pack up her life & her service dog and make a new start in California. Her living arrangements fall through just before boarding the plane & a stranger offers his home as a place to stay.

The stranger? The award-winning composer, Henry, whose music has kept Lucy afloat while her life crumbles.

Henry is at the peak of his career. But his crippling social anxiety is ruining his personal life. The longer Lucy stays in the house & builds friendships with Henry & his roommates, the more Henry opens up.

Lucy can’t deny the attraction, but her past has left a mark on her. Will Lucy be able to hear Henry over her past?

Read if you love…
🎧author created playlist
✨endometriosis / chronic pain rep
🫶🏼dual perspective
✨strangers to friends to lovers
🐶lovable service dog
✨he falls first
✈️cutest meet-cute
✨mutual pining
🌈queer side characters
✨social anxiety rep
👨men’s mental health rep
✨found family
🔥slow burn

It’s been days since I finished this book and I cannot stop thinking about it & already want to re-read it!

I am a total freaking sucker for found family & dual perspective & mental health rep & he falls first & basically let’s be real: everything about this stunning debut novel by Lindsey.

I would like to submit my formal application to be Graham’s best friend because he is just genuinely a phenomenal & wonderful & hilarious human. He’s exactly who Lucy needed as she processed divorce & moving & all of the things.

Henry. Freaking Henry. I adore this man. I loved loved loved that Lindsey SHOWED how his social anxiety affects him and didn’t just tell the reader he has it. I loved watching Henry slowly open up and the way Lucy not only was a big part of that, but had so much empathy and understanding for him.

I loved how silly Henry could be once he opened up. The songs about food were hands down one of the best things I’ve ever read in a book!

Listen, this debut novel by an indie author is phenomenal & you need to pre-order it & put it at the top of your TBR!

Thank you to the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

‼️Trigger warnings: divorce; endometriosis

First off, thank you to Netgalley & Lindsey Lanza for the e-arc.

Speechless is about an author, Lucy, who wants a fresh start after her divorce. She decides to move to LA with her dog Rowan (helloooo ToG reference). When her living arrangements fall through, she gets an offer to stay with Henry, a composer whose music she’s been obsessed with.

I’m not going to lie, I did find myself struggling to get through this book… I did find myself skimming. I thought it was a little odd that Henry wasn’t really around for the first 30% of the book (after the initial meeting). And then all of a sudden I feel like their feelings for each other just escalate to love in a matter of moments. It was just a little too out of the blue, insta-love for me.

Some notable tropes in this book are:
slow burn
forced proximity
found family

Love a slow strangers to friends to lovers build! Speechless had a very sweet, musical meetcute.

Lucy is an urban fantasy novelist and a super-fan of composer Henry Turner. She religiously listens to his film scores. When she finds herself in a stressful situation, her earbuds go in and his music takes her away.

Henry is in an airport, and notices a woman with a cute service dog and a set of noise-cancelling headphones humming one of his songs. He deals with selective mutism stemming from severe anxiety but manages to initiate a conversation with Lucy.

When Lucy’s plans fall through, he invites her to stay at his palatial beach house in Malibu (as one does.) While that premise is less than realistic, I’ll forgive it because the book is self-aware of this fact and it’s a deliberate echo to the fairy tales that Lucy reimagines. Plus, it kicks off a cute “forced” proximity for romance reasons.

Lucy deals with chronically illness in the form of endometriosis and has a lovable service dog. Her condition was rendered realistically and she’s an example of Jewish representation done right.

Feelings come organically after a slow build from strangers to friends to lovers, even with Henry’s anxiety creating a roadblock. Their dynamic was CUTE. Henry is the quintessential cinnamon roll hero, doing things like writing silly songs about their meals, including one about a love triangle between different pastas and learning to make Matzo ball soup when she’s unwell. What a sweetheart.

Lanza’s writing style was straightforward with plenty of charming banter. Found family is a theme here, and the room/band mates were fun side characters. Adoption is depicted in a positive light and endometriosis is shown with accuracy. Mild/medium heat with a couple steamy scenes that were satisfying without being very graphic. I really liked this one. 4.5 ⭐️

(The cover is okay and accurate to the story but I wish the characters had faces. Faceless illustrations always weird me out.)

I really enjoyed this one and I’m so impressed it’s a debut novel (love when I see bookstagrammer’s become authors!).

Lucy is flying to LA to move there to live with her best friend while she figures out her life post-divorce. At the boarding gate, she meets Henry, who she quickly realizes is her favorite music composer who she’s admired for years. Before take off, Lucy gets word her living arrangements have fallen through, and with nowhere to go, Henry offers her a guest room at his house in Malibu while she gets on her feet.

The story has good chronic illness and mental health representation, which I always appreciate. It also focuses a lot around the theme of friendship, which I love to see and think gets left out of romance novels a lot!

I loved the book bf and thought the connection between Lucy and Henry felt very authentic, although a tiny bit insta-lovey, but I didn’t mind it. My biggest gripe is there’s a good amount of miscommunication/lack of communication, which is not my favorite plot device. With that being said, I’m glad I picked up an ARC of this one and would definitely read more from Lindsey Lanza.

This one is out January 17, 2023 - Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I have mixed feelings while writing this review because a part of me liked this book and another part of me couldn't connect with the characters because of the way this book was written, I know, I know what I just said doesn't make sense but it's the best way I can explain it.

This book tells the story of an author who has been going through some very difficult situations and just when she thinks things can get better and is on her way to moving in with her best friend, all her plans collapse, and just at that moment by a crazy coincidence of fate she finds herself face to face with the creator of the music that has helped her get through her life the last few months and he makes her a proposal to which she says yes because she has no other options....

I think my main problem with this book is that I feel that the relationship of the main characters went from 0 to 100 in a matter of 20 pages, it felt very rushed and many times illogical if I'm honest.

On the bright side I must admit that I laughed out loud several times, so even though I may not have liked this book very much, maybe it's the perfect book for someone else.

This was so good. A sensitive romance with excellent characters. From Lucy and her amazing caring dog to Henry and his musical genius, and all the best friends this book is a gift. The chronic illness that Lucy has as well as the debilitating anxiety that Henry has doesn’t make their story an easy one but it is told so well, with humour as well as the sadness. I can’t wait to read another by Lindsey Lanza.

Thanks to NetGalley and Victoria editing for sending me a copy of this book. Sadly it wasn’t for me but if you are looking for a fun, fast-paced, lighthearted romcom it might be for you!

Before anything, have in mind that I don’t usually read romance (except if Emily Henry writes it) and I cringe easily when it comes to cheesy dialogues, with that in mind:

The chronic illness rep was so valuable. It was really eye opening for me to read about Lucy and how the pain affected her but also had become common in her life. I haven’t read many stories with characters suffering from invisible disabilities and Lucy’s story definitely called me out to diversify my reading with more characters and authors with disabilities.

The rest of the story I found it to read like young YA, at the same time it can’t be, it contains smut and talks about sexual acts, so it’s not. My main issue is how every situation was immature. There were so many times where the main character would behave like she was twelve. Everything was so unrealistic from the beginning to end. Nothing new was added and it was a quick, easy, read for me. It felt like a story where Barbara Palvin and Francisco Lachowski would be the leads if this was 2014.

All the characters were static, everyone loved Lucy with the whole heart right after they met her. The antagonists are painted as cold-hearted, self-absorbed, almost villainous people in such a childish way.

The amount of pop culture references wasn’t exuberating but every time it managed to make me cringe (specially the Taylor one, coming from a huge swiftie).
This book would have been fine if they were teenagers but not grown up adults.

Again, thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity, I’m sorry this wasn’t for me but I hope it finds its audience.

This was so cute! I loved the grumpy sunshine element. a very cute happy read that I needed with the weather changing and becoming dark and dreary. I highly reccomend!

I loved these characters!! Sweet Henry..how can you not love him and hope the best for him!! Finding out his story made me tear up. Lucy has had a difficult life and never knew what true friendship should look like and has a hard time trusting her feelings. All of the supporting characters were awesome, each in their own way. This book left me with a total book hangover. I'm having a hard time letting these characters go and moving on to another book.

This book is SO SWEET! I love how Lucy and Henry met, and the growth of their relationship.

Graham, Dami, Preston, and Jaycee were the best! They loved Lucy for who she was, and not what they THOUGHT she should be. It’s hard to find real life friends like that in the society we live in.

Oh Rowan! Where do I begin? What a sweet puppy dog!

I will be recommending this book in Book Club. Thanks Netgalley for the read and review!

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, all my opinions are my own

TW/CW: severe social anxiety, endometriosis, chronic pain

About the book:
- chronic illness + anxiety rep
- HUGE new girl vibes
- found family
- he falls first

I absolutely LOVED this book! I am in awe that this was a debut novel. Several times throughout the book I went back and made sure I read that correctly in the author's profile. Lucy and Henry both have their own struggles and hardships, but it is impossible not to fall in love with them.
I am attached to Henry and Lucy; I miss them. This book will remain a favorite of mine!

This was a super cute debut book from Lindsey Lanza! Basic premise: A 30-year old, newly divorced author is starting over in a new city, when she meets a classical musician who just so happens to be her favorite. Due to a series of events, she ends up moving into his home, which he also shares with his friends and band mates.

Things I loved:
- Both main characters are flawed and imperfect, yet very likeable. . They both suffer from disabilities/chronic health issues, and I liked the inclusivity.
- Wally! Who doesn’t love a sheepdog service animal who is learning to give kisses on demand?
- I loved the band mates. They are all unique, but compassionate in their own ways.

Things that I think could have been improved:
- Some of the dialogue felt strange/unrealistic. There is a specific exchange with Lucy’s former best friend near the end of the book that was so weird that I had to read it several times, and it still didn’t seem like anything that anyone would possibly say..
- Sometimes the book didn’t flow as well as I would have liked. It kind of just went from scene to scene without transitions, and I think it could have been a little smoother.

Overall though, a great debut and I would definitely be excited to read another book by this author!

This story follows an author named Lucy who decides to move herself and her service dog to Los Angeles for a fresh start. On the brink of potential homelessness, a kind stranger she meets at the airport offers her a place to stay. Who’s the stranger you ask? None other than her favourite composer.

I wasn’t expecting to like this story as much as I truly did. It was the classic romantic comedy that I was looking for when I first began reading this story.

Henry and his friends (HAAAM) were so fun to read about. This book had such a strong found family vibe and I found myself smiling at the silly moments between the characters. I loved all their dynamics and the individuality that they all brought to the story.

Graham and Henry really stood out to me. Graham was such a good friend to not only Henry but to Lucy throughout the entire book, forever being someone that they could rely on. He’s also a fellow Australian so that definitely puts him high on my list. I related to Henry a lot with his social anxiety and awkwardness. The need to rehearse what he needs to say before he says it is something that I do and I felt like it was really special to see it portrayed in a book.

<b>“But you are special, Luce. You are my anomaly.”</b>

This quote actually made me <i>swoon</i>. If anybody said this to me I would get down on one knee and ask for their hand in marriage.

I loved that this book covered real issues such as chronic illnesses and severe anxiety. It covered the guilt and the shame that come along with those real issues too which is why the only criticism would be that the dialogue sometimes felt unrealistic.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I would revisit it again in the future.

<i>Thank you to NetGallery and Victory Editing for providing me this arc!</i>
<i>I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.</i>

Speechless is a great romance book surrounding two strangers who meet on a flight, but Henry is Lucy’s favorite composer. And when he offers her a place to stay after she’s lost her housing, she can’t say no. The book involves some really good tropes, like found family and forced proximity. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants more than just romance in their romance book. It deals with mental health, self worth, and chronic illness. A really cute read, with some deep moments too.