If you're a woman in her late 20s/early 30s, have ever dealt with racism, have ever gone through thinking you'd achieved your dream life yet it doesn't feel like you're loving it, or if you ever dealt with friendships that just felt *off*, you should read this book. I personally think that regardless of any of that, you should read this book. But you need to have a small idea of what you're getting into.

Things Left Unsaid stays mainly in the story's present, with some flashbacks to the main character's high school time. Shirin works in publishing and is trying to be on her way to a promotion in her company. She feels like she should be happy with where she is, working the jobs she always wanted, but something is off. Her friendships feel off, her family feels off, and she doesn't super enjoy her living situation either. At a friend's event one day, she runs into a former classmate with whom the friendship ended poorly (who had also been the only other Iranian kid at her high school) and it brings up a LOT of feelings. This book follows the aftermath of all of this and how Shirin reacts.

I LOVE quarter-aged coming-of-age stories. Shirin is so relatable, and even the parts that weren't specifically relatable to me (like dealing with racism) were so emotional and resonated with me. Shirin is flawed and going through life, just like the rest of us. This book is character-driven, and so well done. I appreciated Shirin's growth, as well as some of the other characters' growth too.

In conclusion, Loved!! Highly recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-ARC.

Things Left Unsaid by Sara Jafari is somehow a reflective and calm book though it covers serious themes. Shirin and Kian met in high school but a traumatic event severed their friendship. As adults life brings them back into the same circles, and while they are magnetically drawn to each other both have walls up due to their pasts.

This book is a slow burn character based story. While we know there was a "big event" in both Kian and Shirin's past because it is referenced, it creates suspense as the reader has to get to know them first. The story is told in the present day with flashbacks to their high school days. In the present day, Shirin is desperately trying to claw her way out of depression through examination of her toxic work environment and problematic friendships. Meanwhile, Kian is dealing with guilt over the past while trying to pursue his artistic dreams.

Things Left Unsaid is real and raw. A quote I highlighted was "it's only through experiencing the specific publishing micro aggressions that one can truly understand them and their capacity to wound." I loved how true this is. How easy it is for other people to brush off problem's because of a lack of empathy, experience, and understanding. Jafari did a great job developing the relationships in this book with both main and side characters. I felt like everything that happened to Shirin could and does happen in real life.

At times the prose got a bit wordy during inconsequential scenes or events, but I'm glad I read this book. The more I think about the story the more I believe it will be an excellent read for a book club.

Beautifully written story that makes you feel all the things that can come with being a 20-something year old feeling lost, hopeless or confused. Shirin and Kian were wonderful, flawed characters who knew each other in childhood and rekindled again later in life. They look back on their shared and personal traumas and discover a lot about themselves as they evolve through the book. I loved the fact that there was a Palestinian character as well

I absolutely love this book, and I learned so much from the Iranian and Muslim culture and also how important it is to not pressure yourself into believing in a religion unless you truly want to seek it for yourself, regardless of whether your parents have taught it to you or not. I could really relate to this book in so many ways, especially during high school and how I wish I would’ve stood up for myself more.

Shirin and Kian were written so beautifully, and if they could be taught in schools, I would absolutely advocate for this. They are two characters are thrown into troubling times and they have to learn to cope and deal with the hand that they are given by society. This book is honestly so important and I’m so happy that I got to read it and I’m so honored to have read this and actually learned something from it.

Making amends with the people who have hurt you or at least standing up for yourself to these people is so important and I’m so happy that this was shown in the book at the very end. Dealing with anxiety and depression myself I could really see how we try to make the most out of every day despite our circumstances.

Huge thank you to NetGalley, Sara Jafari and the wonderful team at St. Martin’s Press for the honor.

I DNFed this story at 20%. The writing had way too much telling and not enough showing. It lacked a true plot and instead focused on Shirin’s complaints in her life. She over explains everything, instead of trusting the reader to put things together.

Things Left Unsaid by Sara Jafari draws the reader in calmly and quietly, reflecting the novel’s central theme of silence.

When Shirin and Kian abruptly reunite after ten years, Shirin is forced to confront a past she had tried to bury by pursuing her biggest dreams. The story moves between their high school friendship—once close until life pulled them apart—and their present-day realities filled with empty relationships and demanding careers. As they meet newer versions of each other, Shirin and Kian are faced with the quiet but pressing question: "What next?"—and the even quieter one: "What if I don't say anything now?"

Jafari’s writing is simple yet powerful, addressing complex topics such as identity and racism with clarity. I appreciated the glimpse into Iranian and British-Iranian experiences and culture. In my current season of life, I deeply resonated with the themes of identity and the tension of staying in spaces where you know you don’t quite belong—but also don’t have to leave. Friendship, culture, race, career, and more are explored in a way that feels thoughtful and clear, never messy or overwhelming.

I would be remiss if I left this unsaid: this is a wonderful book to read.

Shirin, in her mid-20s, is living what she thought was her dream. She's escaped her hometown of Kingston upon Hull, gone to university, and gotten a job in the publishing industry on London. But the dream isn't all it was cracked up to be. The path to promotion out of her low-paid assistant editorship is unclear and as one of just a few people of color in the office she's expected to take on unpaid work on diversity initiatives that don't accomplish much of anything at all, she lives in a falling-apart apartment with roommates she barely knows, and her relationships with her friends are changing. She's in a rut, but a chance meeting at a housewarming party shakes things up when she sees Kian again. They'd been best friends at one point in high school, but an incident happened that estranged them from each other for a decade. They reconnect and begin growing closer again, but the weight of the past lingers. As they negotiate their renewed bond, Kian works towards a future as an artist and Shirin tries to figure out how to deal with the increasingly challenging environment at her job...and she watches Rob Grayson, the bully that harassed both her and Kian for their Persian ancestry as teenagers, become more and more famous as a comedian who makes racist jokes and then decries "cancel culture" when he's criticized. The pressure Shirin feels mounts, and she finds herself with many decisions to make about how she wants to live the rest of her life. This started out very promising. Shirin is a well-constructed character, and the rootlessness she feels in her mid-20s feels achingly familiar. Trying to manage family dynamics, getting established in your professional field (or trying to figure out how to change direction), feeling out of sync with your friends, dealing with roommates...it can be a very heady time, and Sara Jafari renders it thoughtfully and realistically. Shirin and Kian's hesitance to talk to each other about the depression and anxiety they're experiencing, and their relief at having their disclosures met without judgment, is refreshing. These are not incredibly dynamic characters, there is a lot of restraint and withholding and shyness, but for most of the way through the book that worked for me because their inner lives (particularly Shirin's) are developed nicely. There's a delicacy in the early going that was intriguing. In the end, though, it doesn't hold together and for me that was due to two factors: the increasingly unsubtle messaging, and the underwhelming nature of the reveal of the reason for Shirin and Kian's falling-out. To take the latter first, there's a lot of build-up throughout the novel to the enormity of what happened. Which turns out to be a major but not cataclysmic situation in a way that feels anticlimactic and might not have if it had been given less weight. But the larger failing was that Jafari seemed to have less and less faith in her reader as she came to the end of the book to understand the points she'd like to make, and so starts all but underlining what we're supposed to get out of the situations she portrays. I started to feel preached to, not because of any of the plot developments themselves, but because the prose did not trust me to understand the subtext and made it text. The ending also felt rushed and almost perfunctory in a way that made it emotionally unsatisfying. It's kind of a bummer, I enjoyed the first two thirds quite a bit, so I wished I'd felt like it nailed the dismount. There is a lot to like here regardless, but it's too uneven for me to really affirmatively recommend.

Things Left Unsaid has a lot going on in a good way. Shirin is a few years out of college and really still trying to figure things out. The job she has was supposed to be her dream job, she lives in a rental flat, and she is balancing her different friend and family relationships. Then Kian, someone special from her senior year from high school, is at the same party she is at. Many years have passed since she has last seen Kian and so many unresolved thoughts and feelings start coming to the surface. Shirin has to deal with this as well as the ever evolving issues in her personal, work, and family life.

I really enjoyed Things Left Unsaid. I was pulled into Shirin’s story right away. I liked the story alternated between her point of view as well as Kian’s view from their high school years. The story explored the lasting effects of things not said can have on people; hence the title of the book. The book kept me reading on to see what happens to Shirin and Kian in the present day as well as what happened to them in their teenage years. The book had a satisfying ending. I will definitely read any future novels by this author!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Sara Jafari, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Shirin finds her power and her true love. This is a love story that starts when Shirin meets Kian ten years after they’ve graduated high school. Jafari deftly switches back and forth from Shirin and Kian’s present relationship to their high school relationship. Fluid writing delves into the pervasive racism in school, work, and life in general making this an easy read although the subject matter of pervasive racism is not. An excellent read. Thank you NetGalley for providing the ARC.

✍️Things Left Unsaid is a brilliant story that packs so much in a subtle yet bold way. It’s difficult to categorize this novel, literary, contemporary, or romance because while it is, at its core, a love story, it’s also a powerful exploration of a woman discovering herself.

Shirin is a young woman in her mid-20s working in the publishing industry. Unexpectedly, she runs into Kian, her high school best friend, at a party, and just like that, all the past trauma resurfaces. Both Shirin and Kian are of Iranian heritage, living in the UK, and as the story unfolds, so do the layers of their shared and individual histories. Together, they must confront the pain they’ve buried.✍️

💫Where do I begin unspooling my feelings about this book? As a woman and a person of color, I connected with Shirin on so many levels. Her attempt to blend in like bleaching her hair blonde speaks volumes. As an immigrant, I felt the sting of microaggressions, the subtle jabs, the bullying, the family silence in the name of "honor." And then there’s privilege woven throughout the narrative in sharp, honest ways.

Shirin and Kian’s trauma could easily be the story of many in today’s world. Kudos to the author for the unflinching portrayal of anxiety, depression, past trauma, and all the uncomfortable truths we often shy away from. If you're looking for a book that is raw, real, and centered on identity and self-discovery, Things Left Unsaid is one not to miss.💫

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for this book.

If you loved Normal People, Things Left Unsaid will feel like a welcome companion—quiet, thoughtful, and emotionally resonant. Sara Jafari crafts a deeply introspective story that unfolds through layered character studies and delicate observations about race, gender, friendship, and the messy process of growing up.

It’s a novel that simmers rather than boils, inviting readers to sit with the unsaid moments, the things left hanging between characters, and the emotional weight of identity and belonging. Jafari writes with tenderness and empathy, making even the quietest scenes feel full of meaning. A lovely, contemplative read.

The journey from adolescence to adulthood was a rollercoaster of adjustments and emotions for Shirin and Kian, the two main characters. As a reader, I quickly realized that this story was so much more than just two friends connected by a shared traumatic event in their youth—one that tore them apart, only to bring them back together in adulthood. It offered a profound exploration of the complexities of immigration to the UK, identity and belonging, misogyny, racism, and depression.

This was an important read, not only because of its compelling storyline but because it asked readers to fully engage with the layered experiences of these two characters. We’re invited to feel their pain, growth, and healing, and to witness their evolution over time.

What resonated with me most was how Shirin and Kian were exactly what the other needed—an emotional anchor, a motivator, and a source of comfort. There’s something deeply moving about having someone in your corner during life’s most difficult moments. While there was a romantic element to the story, the real depth lay in the tragic and raw parts of their journey: two people from Iran settling into life in the UK, grappling with external hatred and internal fears about their worth and happiness.

I truly felt the weight of those themes, and I found the writing incredibly vivid and heartfelt. I highly recommend this book.

Their friendship ended badly years ago...can it be repaired?

The last person twenty-something Shirin Bayat expected to bump into at a party was Kian Rahimi, who in their pre-university school days was her best friend. As two Iranian-British teens in a very white school in Hull where people of color were not made to feel very welcome, they had understood one another in ways that others could not. But when the non-stop abusive behavior (particularly towards Shirin) caused Kian to act out in a way that the school, and both sets of parents, found unacceptable and which resulted in both teens being suspended from school as a result, their friendship just...ended. Shirin left their hometown for university and from there went to a life in London working as an assistant at a publishing firm as she had always dreamed she would. Kian had followed his own passion to become an artist, and has just been offered an opportunity to pursue a fellowship in New York. There is still a connection that each feels to one another, but they also harbor guilt and regret over things that happened in their past. Shirin is coming to realize that she is not happy at her job or with many of her friendships, and Kian will soon be leaving the country. Is there any kind of future for their relationship, or are the burdens of the past and the struggles in the present too much to overcome after all this time?
Things Left Unsaid is an emotionally powerful novel that, through the prism of two characters shaped by their less than ideal upbringings, explores the roles of identity in a person's life, the reality of racism in the lives of people who are deemed "other" (regardless of how much discussion there is about inclusion and diversity), and the value of supportive relationships to help each person through their struggles. Shirin has blocked out the bullying she endured back in Hull, thinking that it was best to just forget it ever happened, but one of the people who perpetuated that behavior is about to reappear in her life and impact it on many levels. Kian seems to have done a better job of moving on from those days, but he still harbors many negative feelings about his behavior and his involvement in his older brother's earlier conviction and prison sentence. As the narrative bounces between the present and the past, the reader is able to see how what happened then has molded the couple into the very different people they have become. Their heritage and families, personal growth and quests to belong lend depth to the story. The pacing of the novel was slowed a bit in parts, often as internal pondering took over the page, and I was distracted at times by a certain level of preachiness. All in all, It was a worthwhile read with nuanced characters who came across as authentic and a peek at how prejudices can flourish even as people talk about the importance of eradicating them. Readers of Jessica George, Jhumpa Lahiri and Sally Rooney would likely enjoy this novel. My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me access to Things Left Unsaid in exchange for my honest review.

Things Left Unsaid by Sara Jafari was a mesmerizing story that sucked me in.
This is a beautiful story of self-discovery for anyone in need of a realistic novel.
The writing was just beautiful and the characters were very well developed.

I haven’t seen this book around, but it sounded interesting. When Shirin unexpectedly reconnects with Kian—a childhood friend she never truly got over—old feelings and unfinished history resurface.

I enjoyed the dual timelines, especially getting glimpses of the characters when they were younger. The story touches on some serious topics in a thoughtful way, which I appreciated. I also really liked how the female lead stood up for herself, both in her workplace and in her friendships. Overall, I found it an enjoyable read.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced e copy in exchange for my honest review

Publish date: today, April 15

3.5 I wasn't sure what to expect and it was slow to start. This is a romance between Shirin and Kian. They met is high school and were bonded by the fact they were the only students of color in an all-white school. They drifted apart after graduating and 10 years later they found each other by chance at a party.

Told in a then/now format develops the past they shared, and secrets not told that carry to the present. The weight of racism loomed around every situation. I liked the character development and tension between Shirin and Kian, but the big reveal wasn't that dynamic and left me feeling blah about the book.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc.

This was a great story about mental health, friendships, family, and coming into one’s own, told with empathy and care. I’ve seen this classified as a romance, and, while yes, there is a romance, I don’t think it is the main point of this story.

The writing style was good; I was able to settle into the story quickly and comfortably. It flowed nicely and I found the dialogue to be natural.

I really liked the main characters, Shirin and Kian. Shirin this the *main* main character, and we follow her on her journey of personal growth and self-discovery. She finds her voice and learns to stand up for herself and what she believes in, in all areas of her life. Kian, having been on his own personal journey, was a great complement to her. There were a lot of interesting discussions around their religion, Islam, and I was also given some insight as to what it’s like for Iranian people living in the UK. I found the characters to be well-developed and nuanced.

While I was interested throughout the entire story, I especially liked the parts centering around Shirin’s work in the publishing industry. The author highlights issues within the industry, mainly centering race and diversity, and how companies like to talk as though they work hard to encourage diversity and inclusion, when in reality, their execution is incredibly lacking (and sometimes straight up hypocritical). At no point did I think that any situation Shirin faced at work felt forced or exaggerated for the sake of making a point. These felt like very real conversations, patterns, and behaviors.

I want to mention that I appreciated that the author didn’t make one of the plot lines as severely traumatic as they could have. What Shirin and Kian went through was horrible and unacceptable, but the author could have taken it multiple steps further and didn’t. I’m so used to everything being taken to the extreme for shock value, so it was refreshing to see some restraint here.

I was drawn to the premise and cover of this book. I am usually a fan of character driven novels, and stories about cultures I am less familiar with. However, I found the pacing too slow. I am not a huge fan of miscommunication tropes, as I find myself wanting the characters to grow up and just talk to each other about the issue.

This is well written but just wasn't for me. I am sure others will really enjoy this book.

Thank you for the advanced reader copy Netgalley & St. Martin's Press.

It is hard to pinpoint how exactly I felt about this story. Whether it is the characters, or the flow of writing...this story just didn't grab me like I'd hoped it would. In the current climate of overt and openly seemingly acceptable racism and bigotry, this story brought forth a lot of salient points and the theme that all of us who oppose such things must act in order to change things. Those of us with the privilege to not worry that the color of our skin or our religion will make us targets for hate and physical and emotional abuse have a duty to learn all we can to help avoid the catastrophes of the past. Seeing Shirin find her strength finally was glorious.

First let me say this book was very well written and the author did a great job with developing the characters. With that said though I just could not get into this book the way I wanted to. I wasn’t invested and even though I finished it, it was a struggle at times.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.