I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Loved the characters and the story was so sweet! The writing was strong for this being a debute novel! Definitely recommend!

Love love loved this book!

The perfect book boyfriend (so thoughtful and cute) and a fast paced romance that I never wanted to end (I’ve basically highlighted the whole book). This was just such a cosy read, had me laughing out loud and then crying at the end. I’m going to try my best to articulate how much I loved this book but it’s one I’ll be buying for friends to read.

“Girl starting over after a devastating breakup suddenly winds up living in a mansion with five gorgeous men. One who happens to be the celebrity crush she never knew she’s had for years”.

Personally this book and Lucy’s story just resonated with me so much. There are a lot of things people go through quietly that are often difficult to talk about & often people will never know about. This story just hit very close to home.

Perfect meet cute and loved the bond that Lucy & Henry shared throughout the book. They just seemed to really compliment each other.

Sarah & Jack. Just horrible people all round. I think it is also a talent to write characters that readers can despise so much.

However, loved Graham, Jayce, Preston & Adama. Good when there are actually decent people in Lucy’s life and the dynamics between them all was spot on. Plus, there is a cute dog who gets up to lots of mischief.

“You’ve had an extra-thick, double-knotted, dipped-tar string of bad luck”

Themes:
• second chance romance
• finding your family

Spice 🌶️🌶️

Please check the TW before reading.

Thanks to the publisher, author & NetGalley for this arc in exchange for this honest review.

So, It took me AGES to read this one (because, you know... life) and I hate myself for this because IT'S SO GOOD? Like insanely good? Like a really perfect debut.

Lucy and her service dog Rowan head to L.A. to live with her college best friend after a tough divorce, but just before she gets on the plane her friend calls to tell her plans have changed and she can't stay with her anymore. So obviously she has a little meltdown on the phone which a random stranger overhears and offers to let Lucy stay with him and his friends while figuring things out. When he turns out to be her favorite composer, she definitely can’t say no. (who can blame her tho)

We have all the best tropes honestly, strangers to lovers, slow burn that actually is a slow burn, forced proximity and listen carefully... a birtish (BRITISH) gorgeous bookboyfriend with that cute awkward vibe that you will definitely fall in love with.

I can't get over this book. I don’t know what more to say other than I loved it so much and I can't wait to be able to buy the physical copy (OUT IN JUST TWO DAYS, TWO. RUN TO YOUR BOOKSTORE PEOPLE, RUNNNN)

Thank you SO MUCH to Victory Editing and NetGalley for this amazing ARC.

I loved this book. I loved this book as Lindsey’s debut. I think it was well put together, it was light and funny but it tackled chronic illness and mental illness. I love when books are tastefully done with heavy topics disguised in a light plot.

I’m convinced I need to live in a house with a bunch of musicians now. And someday hopefully I marry one. I mean Henry 🥵. There is no way you couldn’t love this cast of characters.

I pretty much devoured this book in a matter of hours. I thought it was paced well, there was enough going on to keep me engaged, but not so much sub plot that I felt it was running all over.

I think this is a book I’ll definitely be recommending for awhile

“𝙐𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙗𝙤𝙬, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙄 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄’𝙢 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪. 𝙇𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙢 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙣.”

ᗩᖇᑕ ᖇEᐯIEᗯ
📖Speechless
✍🏻 Lindsey Lanza
🗓️ January 17
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🎶 Chance encounter
🎶 forced proximity
🎶 Chronic pain/ mental health representation
🎶 Found family
🎶 slow burn 🔥

Lindsey is a bookstagramer turned author and we love to see it. You would never know this is her first book, it’s so incredibly well done.

Lucy is on her way to LA for a fresh start after her divorce when her plans fall through at the last minute

Enter Henry, who is a famous musician and easy on the eyes of course. He offers Lucy a place to stay and well, the rest is history.

Thank you @netgalley and Lindsey for the advanced copy. I loved this book! I stayed up way too late reading because I couldn’t stop. The characters (main and secondary) were all so well done and lovable. I laughed, I cried, I swooned. All the feels! Highly recommend picking this up when it comes out January 17!

"But under the rainbow, that's how I feel when I'm with you. Like the storm has just ended and I can finally see the sun. You're my fairy tale Luzu."

This debut novel was very sweet and quite an enjoyable read. The characters are unique, quirky and loveable… plus how can you not like an adorable service dog included in the story?

Lucy is a novelist; she's newly divorced and moving across country to live with her best friend and figure out her life. She has an adorable meet cute with Henry, a composer, while waiting to board a plane… and then they end up sitting together on the plan. Through a chain of events and wrong turns for Lucy, Henry ends up offering her a place to stay with him in LA while she gets her feet on the ground.

Henry has a huge home in LA on the beach, and he has several roommates (who also happen to work for him). While this is a love story, I really love the found family aspect of this book. Lucy instantly bonds with (most) of the guys living at Henry's house; they become instant friends and she fits right in. Each roommate is protective of Lucy in their own way, and I love all the little friendships and bonds she creates with each of them.

I also really enjoy the incorporation of physical and mental health issues into the story. Lucy suffers from endometriosis, and it's an integral part of her character and storyline. Along with that, Henry lives with selective mutism. When you find this out, it helps you understand why he's so quiet and closed off much of the time. But I really love that they are written in to the story in a way that doesn’t necessarily hold the characters back, or are just mentioned in a fleeting way. They help to shape the characters to who they are at their core, and how they've learned to live and overcome their struggles to build the life they want.

The slow burn between Henry and Lucy was a bit of a struggle for me. They have amazing chemistry and the tension sizzles, but it just was a bit frustrating every time Lucy pushed Henry away because of her fears. I love a slow burn, but this one just grated on me a bit. The payoff by the time they do finally get together is great, but I felt it took just a bit too long to get there.

Overall I enjoyed this novel very much. Many thanks to NetGalley for sharing an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Tags: found family, strangers to friends to lovers, mental/physical health
Spice: 2 peppers
First person/Dual POV

Speechless is about Lucy, a divorced writer who starts over. I love the starting over trope and feel like it brings us so much hope. This book was the perfect combination of love story, with also deeper issues woven into the story. Fun fact- after reading, I discovered that the author is also a bookstagrammer and this is her debut novel!!

Read this if you love forced proximity, adorable doggies, rom-coms, representation for mental health and invisible illnesses and found families.

A sincere thank you to netgalley and Victory Editing for providing me with an electronic arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book took me on a roller coaster of thoughts and emotions! I was very excited to have the opportunity to read this debut book by an amazing bookstagrammer! The cover is stunning and I really think it captures the story beautifully!

When I first started reading this story, I was hooked instantly! The way that Lucy and Henry met was so fun. I especially enjoy when books take place on airplanes. We love a meet cute.

I did find some of this story to be a little unrealistic with, among other things, the way that she moved into his mansion. By the middle of the story, I was questioning some plot points and details. However, by the end of the book, I was so in love with Lucy and Henry's story! I didn't want the story to end.

I absolutely loved how music played a big role in this book, and how the book was organized. So unique! And Lucy's illness getting the representation it deserves is incredible!

I can absolutely see this being an amazing movie + I hope it becomes one! I can just imagine the brilliant musical score that the movie would have!

Lucy Gold is trying to figure out life after her divorce. So she decides to move to LA...only things don't turn out as planned.

In steps her hero, Henry Turner. Henry offers Lucy a place to live until she can get things sorted out. Soon Lucy finds out her living accomodation is a Malibu beach house with a group of musicians and Henry is her favorite music composer.

As they each struggle with their own issues, they find life is a little easier with each other in it. Can the two get pass their own issues to truly find happiness?

This was a quick, easy read. There was good representation for a variety of things such as chronic illness and mental health. This is a romance but it also has a found family element.

There was lack of communication and at times it was just like talk already!

However, it was a cute story and I would recommend for all romance readers. I also love the nod to the OSU marching band! (TBDBITL !)

Thank you to Lindsey and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Talk about a slow burn that knows how to build anticipation!

I went into this book blind. I saw the cover on NetGalley and thought it was so cute that I didn’t even read the description. I am SO GLAD I was able to read this one.

Speechless is Lindsey’s debut novel. A Bookstagram girl turned author who knows what the people want. Her representation of mental health issues and chronic pain are done so tastefully. This had me laughing, feeling an emotional attachment to the characters (main and secondary), and is written so well I never would have guessed this is just the beginning of Lindsey’s writing career.

Lucy is about to turn 30 and her life gets flipped upside down. Her husband decided to divorce her suddenly and she needs to get away from him and her “friends” in Boston. She picks up and moves to LA but her living arrangement falls through as she’s boarding her flight. Some random stranger overhears her conversation and offers her a place to stay with her service dog Rowan for a bit while figuring things out. When the stranger the s out to be Lucy’s musical hero, she can’t refuse.

Henry is a successful composer who can write music like no one’s business. But he suffers from the worst anxiety. He thinks he’s destined to live single without anyone understanding him until Lucy comes along and opens his eyes to a world of possibilities and happiness. He begins to fall for Lucy as their friendship strengthens, but Lucy swore off love. She’s suffered too much abandonment and heartbreak. Of course she’s attracted to Henry, but it doesn’t matter. Can Henry change her tune?

I highly recommend grabbing this one. Available as an eBook, paperback, or on Kindle Unlimited when it debuts 1/17/2023.

Overall I really enjoyed. I absolutely loved the writing. It was such a fun and easy read. I loved getting to know Lucy and the other characters. I really appreciated the representation on mental illness and chronic illness. I felt as if I could relate in some ways as I know many other readers could.

Unfortunately, where things fell flat for me was the romance. Which I was excited for given that the main character already had a connection to the love interest. It started with the beginning and when they meet. It did feel a little forced and hard to connect to. There were some moments I loved between them throughout but I felt as if there was something missing.

*arc provided by netgalley*

The first book from this author and I'm blown away. I loved the fact it covered dealing with chronic illness and mental health. Not only was it a cute romance the side characters pulled through and made it even more enjoyable, but the friendships also really pulled it all together.

4/5 stars!

Speechless Review

Rating: ★★★★★

Read if you like:
・ Forced proximity
・ He falls first
・ Strangers-to-friends-to-lovers
・ Dual POV
・ Lovable service dog
・ Found family
・ Chronic illness rep

“But you are special, Luce. You are my anomaly.”

Let’s cut to the chase: this book is absolutely amazing, and I am strongly encouraging you to buy it right now. I am absolutely flabbergasted that this is a debut novel because it is near perfection. Thank you so much Lindsay Lanza and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this fantastic romance early.

Lucy and Henry on their own are enough to make me love this story. A great cook with a very specific musical taste, Lucy is bright, caring, and obsessed with the small things in life; like dessert. She also does a great job navigating a chronic illness and maintaining hope despite her most recent life events. Henry is an introverted songwriter who loves fiercely and always says the right things. He is the perfect cinnamon roll hero despite his battle with social anxiety and selective mutism (both of which are portrayed wonderfully). And last, but not least: Rowan. This pup loves pool floaties, herding Lucy’s friends, and being an all-around adorable edition to this book.

This book is jam-packed with tropes and they are all done so well. Lucy and Henry’s meet-cute had my jaw on the floor and instantly excited me for the duration of the book. I think the pacing of Lucy and Henry’s strangers-to-friends-to-lovers is absolutely perfect and I love how that is developed through the book’s dual POV. Another wonderful addition to this story is the guys and their relationship with Lucy. I love the found family trope, and I think it was very well executed here.

Suffice to say, I am obsessed with this book. It is everything I could have ever wanted and more out of a debut romance. Lindsay Lanza is now an auto-buy author of mine, and I highly recommend you show her some love and support.

—

I usually add a quote or two in my reviews to give readers a feel for the book, but I had a hard time choosing just one to include for this review so, here are some more of my favorites:

❤︎ “Times are tough, but at least you’ve got a beating heart. It’s important to remember that.”
❤︎ “You’re my perfect.”
❤︎ “You look vibrant. Like the sun. Like everyone else is just orbiting around you.”
❤︎ “But under the rainbow, that’s how I feel when I’m with you. Like the storm has just ended and I can finally see the sun. You’re my fairy tale, Luzu.”

🎶 SPEECHLESS 🎶 by @readwithli - thank you so much Lindsey and @netgalley for my e-arc!
Pub date: Jan 17!

Friends. If you choose to read one debut indie romance author this year- can I suggest SPEECHLESS by Lindsey Lanza?! This book is everything I love.

🎶Dual POV
🎶Endometriosis/chronic pain rep
🎶 best selling author FMC
🎶 award -winning composer MMC
🎶author created playlist
🎶strangers to friends to lovers
🎶 he falls first
🎶 lovable service dog
🎶 mutual pining
🎶 airport meet cute
🎶 queer side characters
🎶 social anxiety and selective mutism rep
🎶men’s mental health rep
🎶 infertility issues
🎶 found family
🎶 slow burn 🔥

Henry has my entire heart and must be protected at all costs. 🥹❤️ He has a very troubling past, which makes it VERY hard for him to be social. But for whatever reason, he is able to talk to Lucy- a stranger. The best part? Lucy is obsessed with his songs and listens to them on repeat because they provide her with comfort ❤️🫠

One of my fav characters? ROWAN! (Named after Rowan from the Throne of Glass series- which Lucy gets Henry to read!) what a loveable dog 🐶 ❤️ such a good boy who dotes on Lucy and has HAAAM wrapped around their fingers.

Speaking of HAAAM- they are Henry’s employees/best friends/roommates. Literally the best guy fiends anyone could ask for. The way they just accept Lucy into their home and their lives is seriously the best. I fully support (and need!!) Graham (but really all members of HAAAM to have his own book. Graham is the best friend Lucy didn’t know she needed to help her with her divorce (her actual BFF is complete trash).

I highly recommend reading this book! I cannot wait to read what Lindsey is working on next!

"I want to taste every inch of you. I want to hear every sound you make. You are my favourite melody."

Henry Turner, folks 🙇‍♀️. Speechless follows author, Lucy, who's moving from Boston to LA to be with her best friend after her divorce. But at the airport, her bestie tells her she can't move in with her anymore. When the guy sitting next to her overhears, he introduces himself as Henry Turner, a British composer and her musical idol. He asks if she wants to stay in his Malibu home with four other musicians and she spontaneously agrees. What could possibly go wrong?

What to expect:
- Forced proximity
- Grumpy/sunshine
- Dual perspectives
- Found family
- Strangers to friends to lovers
- Mental health and chronic illness rep (endometriosis)
- Slow burn
- Lots of tension and mutual pining
- An adorable service dog

Here's what I loved:
- The found family vibes, obviously. Each of the musicians had a unique personality but they were so caring toward Lucy and healed her in a way. "Maybe it's just feeling like I might finally be enough."🥹 I particularly loved her friendship with Graham.
- Henry, the sweetest cinnamon roll hero you'll ever meet and he had the patience of a saint waiting for Lucy to be open and honest with him. I wanted to give him a hug multiple times while reading. Also, the fact he was open about his mum being his best friend? I'm so glad we got to meet her!
- Henry and Lucy's relationship. I liked how they started off as friends and then slowly became something more. They really were so well-suited and cute (don't even get me started on their made-up songs 🫠). "You brought me back to life, Henry."
- The mental health and chronic illness representation.
- Can I say Rowan the dog... because Rowan the dog 🫶🏻.

Overall, I think this is a very strong debut from Lindsey and I definitely look forward to seeing what she does next.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the early copy.

Such a great debut! Speechless is full of love, friendships, humor, and many difficult topics. Lanza successfully wrote about a number of dynamics – new friendships, swoonworthy crushes, and toxic friendships. She also added depth and tackled difficult topics with the two main characters and their backstories. This book felt like New Girl meets Laguna Beach, and I loved it. I would love to see this as a series and explore a romance for one of the other roommates. Even if this ends up being a standalone, I am sure Lanza will be on my auto-buy list. I can’t wait to see what she writes next!

“My heart still believes in fairy tales, still sees the perfect ending playing out for me, again. My brain knows better. She’s seen some shit.”

Lucy is looking to start anew across the country following her divorce, but when her housing falls through right before she leaves Boston, she receives an offer from a dreamy stranger to live with him and his roommates. It just so happens that he is the incredible composer who orchestrates music that has been helping Lucy survive so many tough challenges life is throwing her way.

This book had a white-knuckle grip on my heart from the first page until the last. I absolutely adored Lucy and Henry, as well as their HAAMM (the roommates and Henry’s writing team) and her sweet support dog Rowan. Watching Henry battle crippling social anxiety, while Lucy grieves the loss of her mother, her divorce and a future that would never be, really hit hard on chords of my heart. I most appreciated how Lindsey addressed Lucy’s endometriosis and infertility, vocalizing inner thoughts about how society views a women’s worth as intertwined with her ability to have children. While this book certainly doesn’t shy away from tough issues, it also has plenty of levity (and top notch steam) you would want in a contemporary romance.

Thank you to Netgalley & Victory Editing for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I can't believe this was a debut novel.

Speechless by Lindsey Lanza, follows author Lucy and composer Henry. They meet at the airport when Lucy, who is making a cross country move at her best friend's request, gets a phone call where said friend bails on her. Henry notices that Lucy is humming a familiar song, a song he composed, and strikes up conversation. On the flight, Lucy's story of now being homeless in LA comes out and Henry offers her a place to live. Since she has no other options, she accepts.

Both Lucy and Henry have personal situations that make it hard for them to trust and open up. Fresh off a divorce and a medical situation, Lucy is afraid to open herself up and also doesn't want to let anyone down. Henry has anxiety and a tough background. For some reason, he doesn't freeze up with Lucy. As they both begin falling for each other, they both need to open up and move past their personal demons for their own happily ever after.

I adored everything about this book. Lucy and Henry were both so down to earth and relatable with their personal struggles. Rowan the dog was a joy. I loved most of the members of HAAAM (you'll see when you read), especially Graham. The idea of found family is always something so beautiful to me. This book pulls at the heart strings in the best way.

A romance book about a recently divorced writer who reimagines fairy tales and a mysterious, shy film score composer who both struggle with their demons? Throw in some mental health and infertility rep? And a group of supportive friends that turn into a found family? Count me in! This book sounded like everything that I love to see in romance novels, so it‘s needless to say that I was very excited to read Speechless.

The book‘s strongest suit definitely were the characters. I adored Henry although I would have loved for him to make more of an appearance earlier (mostly so Lucy wouldn‘t gawk at his housemates, but maybe that‘s just my lack of understanding for physical attraction speaking) and I also really liked Lucy as a female lead. The dual POV was a great way for me as a reader to relate to both main characters‘ thoughts and feelings. I liked the pace at which their relationship developed and I could kiss Henry for actively working against the lack of communication trope and doing his best to make Lucy feel comfortable enough to open up to him.

I also liked the cast of side characters (although I found that rude dude whose name I forgot to be unnecessary drama) and my favourite of them definitely was Adamma! I would love to have her as my bestie. She slays!

While I thought that the character dynamics between Lucy and the guys was well developed, I was missing the same bond between them and Henry, and the choice of having them only come together as a friend group due to Lucy felt forced to me. I would have liked to also see Henry opening up to his friends and not just Lucy bonding with them.

The one thing that I really did not like about this book was the extremely overdrawn drama with Lucy’s supposed best friend. The interactions Lucy had with her felt almost comical to me. I mean, some people are just shitty friends like that, but throwing them out while they scream at you begging to tell them that s*x position that your ex-husband loves (who is asking for you to come back, but under the condition of an open relationship, because you know, you can‘t have children) is ridiculous.

I did very much appreciate the lack of a miracle pregnancy, which must be my most despised trope in books that address fertility issues, but I‘m also not a fan of the finds-partner-whose-existence-magically-heals-trauma trope which was present for both Lucy and Henry. Yes, in Lucy‘s case her endometriosis definitely may have become better by reducing stress, but it‘s still very much a physical illness that doesn‘t just stop showing symptoms because you feel comfortable around this new guy. And in Henry‘s case, all his trauma-induced speech impediments also mostly go away around Lucy. I mean, yes it‘s cute, but I don‘t like the saviour picture that it paints.

As someone who struggles with anxiety herself, I was also very grateful for that representation in the book.

All in all, it was a great and quick debut that I would recommend to any and all romance lovers out there.

4/5 stars.

I was unable to finish before the expiration date, but what I've read so far (40%) is super cute! A romcom with depth and lots of feeling, I know people are going to love this one!