4 stars.

I absolutely loved Annette Chavez Macias' novel "Too Soon for Adiós," so I was excited to read "Everything She Never Knew." Macias has her finger on the pulse of heartbreaking stories that involve love, loss, and growth, and this one is no different. Wow. Talk about a tear-jerker! This story weaves several characters and situations together in a beautiful, authentic, cathartic way. First, we have the relationship between the main character, Claudia, and her mother. Gloria. Gloria often abandoned Claudia when she was younger in favor of whatever man was in her life at the moment. Because of this, Claudia had a very close relationship with her abuela, who unfortunately passed away suddenly when she was a teen. Claudia comes to see that Gloria has had her life lessons and stories to tell and deal with over the years. The chapters go back and forth between Claudia's diary entries from her youth and the present day, when Gloria has come to help Claudia with her eight-year-old daughter, Maya, after Claudia's husband, David, suddenly said he wanted a divorce (and told her about it via EMAIL????????????????????? STRAIGHT TO JAIL, SIR). Not only did he ask for a divorce, but he also ran off to San Francisco with Claudia's long-time best friend and next-door neighbor, Rachel. Second, we have the blossoming friendship (and maybe more) between Claudia and Rache's soon-to-be ex-husband and neighbor, Nick, who find solace with one another following the double betrayal by their respective spouses. Third, we have the broken friendship between Claudia and Rachel, who was her platonic soulmate for a good portion of her life. The way their friendship is shown over time really got to me. Finally, we have the new relationship between Claudia and Mercedes, the woman who owns a shop in town where Claudia gets a job to help support her and Maya after David cuts off her credit card. I must say, I wanted to throttle David from the very first few chapters! Oh my goodness, what a horrific person... but so well written! I don't love how Claudia is much harsher on Rachel than she is on David (her own husband, like, blame him, girl!!!), but it wasn't enough to sway my enjoyment of the book as a whole. I think a lot of people can relate to a story like this, being blindsided in love with a divorce or breakup you didn't see coming. We watch as Claudia slowly rebuilds her life and her confidence over time. It's a well-written book, though not necessarily a happy one. I definitely cried while reading this.

Thank you to NetGalley, Annette Chavez Macias, and Montlake for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

I eat up Annette Chavez Macias’ books in a DAY, so I wasn’t even surprised when I finished this one in just a few hours!!! 📚✨

She does not miss. The story pulled me in from page one, and I was all in for the ride—fully invested and side-eyeing certain characters 👀

And listen… I’ve got beef with Rachel. 😒 If you know, YOU KNOW. Like girl, please.

I definitely related to the FMC, Claudia—especially with the way she handled betrayal. Been there, felt that. Her strength and the way she navigated those moments hit so close to home.

This book gave me everything I needed—heart, culture, complicated family dynamics, and a little drama to keep me talking to the pages like they could hear me.

This is the kind of book that reminds you life can begin again, even after everything falls apart. Tender, warm, and wonderfully human.

The emotional depth of this story had me reeled in since the very beginning. This story highlighted the importance of matriarchal relationships among families as well.

I received this ARC from NetGallery and this book was so touching, hitting on all the feels of different types of grief. As soon who’s gone thru a friendship break up without knowing the why, it HURTS very different than a romantic break up and this story hit it on the nail. Very grateful for this read!! :)

This book wasn’t my favourite read. I liked her writing and would try another book by her but I just didn’t really relate to or care for the story.

I can imagine the heartbreak of finding out that your husband left you for your best friend and she portrayed her sadness and heartbreak very well.

I didn’t jive with her trying to blame Rachel for it all and not giving any accountability to her husband. The pain from your best friend from childhood running away with your husband would be horrible I’m sure but it’s both of their faults, not specifically the other women… it takes two to tango and she spent a lot of time blaming Rachel specifically.

I think it’s great how she said she wanted to be independent and not having to rely on anyone after being a SAHM for 8 years but the way she found her job was strange and even her being so open about everything with her boss felt strange. If she would have made the character her counsellor it would have made way more sense than her boss.

Her mom was infuriating through the whole book. Lots of people struggling with parents and situations similar to Claudia’s but her mom just drove me crazy. She would try to mend the relationship and then do something silly by recommending just “getting under someone new”.

I’m sure those who have been through similar situations or heartbreak would enjoy the book but it just wasn’t for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Montlake for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

The true heart of Everything She Never Knew lies in its characters—Claudia, Maya, and Gloria. Brought together by the fractures of a broken marriage and friendship, their bond grows into something profoundly moving. What stood out most to me was the quiet, unwavering love Gloria has for Claudia. Through that love, Claudia begins to see her mother not just as a distant parent, but as a woman with her own story. That understanding becomes a powerful turning point in Claudia’s own journey.

Forgiveness is a central theme in this novel, and it’s explored with raw honesty. Claudia’s path is anything but easy, yet it’s her resilience that shines. She learns that falling isn’t the end—it’s the start of rising. By the end, she becomes a strong, self-assured woman who realizes she never really needed her not-so-best friend Rachel; all she ever needed was to believe in herself.

Annette Chavez Macias delivers a beautifully layered story of healing, self-discovery, and the complexities of mother-daughter relationships. The novel left me emotionally invested—and longing to know what happens next in the lives of these incredible women.


Thank you NetGalley for the advance readers copy!

A Thoughtful Exploration of Betrayal, Healing, and Self-Discovery

“Some truths don’t shatter you all at once. They wear you down, grain by grain, until you wake up one day and no longer recognize your own reflection.”

Annette Chavez Macias’s Everything She Never Knew delves into the emotional aftermath of betrayal and the journey toward healing. The novel centers on Claudia, whose life unravels when her best friend and neighbor, Rachel, runs off with her husband. As Claudia grapples with this double betrayal, she’s forced to confront long-standing issues in her relationships and within herself.

Claudia:
Claudia is portrayed as a woman who has always valued stability and routine. The sudden collapse of her marriage and friendship thrusts her into unfamiliar territory, challenging her to reevaluate her life choices and personal identity. Her journey is one of self-discovery, as she learns to navigate the complexities of trust, forgiveness, and personal growth.

David:
David, Rachel’s jilted husband, remains in the neighborhood, serving as a constant reminder of the past. His interactions with Claudia are marked by shared pain and a mutual understanding of loss. Through David, the novel explores the nuances of grief and the possibility of finding solace in unexpected places.

Rachel:
Rachel’s decision to leave with Claudia’s husband is the catalyst for the novel’s events. While her actions are undeniably hurtful, the narrative offers glimpses into her motivations, suggesting a deeper dissatisfaction and longing for change. Rachel’s character serves as a complex figure, embodying both betrayal and the human desire for fulfillment.

Final Thoughts..?
This read was quite an introspective novel that explores the hidden layers of family dynamics and personal truth. The author does a nice job of creating characters that feel real, with emotions that unfold gradually over the course of the story. While I found the pacing slower than I usually prefer, and some parts left me wanting more development, the emotional depth and themes of forgiveness and self-discovery still made this a worthwhile read. If you enjoy character-driven stories with a reflective tone, this one might resonate with you.

Annette Chavez Macias did it again! A beautiful, heartbreaking story, with historical elements of Los Angeles and Mexican culture and traditions spread throughout this book.

Navigating Claudia's heartbreak of losing her husband and her best friend was beautifully woven into the journey of grief, forgiveness, moving on and moving forward, her relationships with her mother and daughter, and finding the strength in herself. I enjoyed the jumping timeline with the diary entries. It made me want to look back for my old journals.

The history of El Mercadito and Cielito Lindo resonated with me because I grew up going there a few times a year. I also loved reading about the history of La Placita Church (Our Lady Queen of Angels), especially because I just baptized my son there earlier this year.

Like in her previous work, the author also includes details of Mexican food and I wanted to make molé while I was reading.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and am always excited when this author announces she is working on a new project.

Thank you to NetGalley, Annette Chavez Macias, and Montlake for providing me with an ARC copy of this book!

Everything about this book is 5 stars! From Claudia picking up the pieces of the mess that David left when he left her, running off with her best friend since she was a child. To Claudias mom showing up after a wine drunk conversation and them attempting to fix their very strained relationship as Gloria steps in to help raise Maya as Claudia navigates her newly single life. I loved them learning about eachother and more about Claudias Abuela in turn, and setting boundaries in their adult lives while still accepting help and learning to love eachother. Claudias progression from the beginning to the end is incredible and such a huge F YOU to David and Rachel and everything about the blossoming friendship between Claudia and Nick, the exes, was absolutely a joy. Throughout the book, Claudia learns just what shes capable of, all while learning about her culture and her relationships and how those relationships may not have always been what she thought or how they seemed on the surface.

Annette is back to take you on an emotional rollercoaster! Though Claudia has just been left by her husband, she’s also lost her best friend. Rachel….so not only is she grieving the loss of her marriage but also of her best friend.

I love how the story alternated between the present and the past. The past is as told in a series of diary entries that paint the picture of this friendship. Some will say this is about the loss of the marriage, for me, it was the raw pain and anger Claudia felt from the betrayal. Definitely recommend this read!

This was raw, heartfelt, and helped me to work through some of the thoughts and feelings I had about my relationship with my own mother growing up, as well as the hard time my husband and I have had in our marriage. No relationship is perfect and we all suffer heartbreak. This book shares the hope we can have that we will make it through.

The journal entries she had written helped me to understand her life up until the heartbreaking moment she realizes her husband cheated on her and he ran away to start a new life with her best friend. Not only did she have to get over her husband cheating on her, she had to release the pain of her best friend's betrayal.

This story is also about her rebuilding her life after all of the fallout and finding who she is again. Her relationship with her mom, who neglected her growing up, is growing into something new, as her mother helps her to pick up the pieces.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC. I loved this book. It was a relatable story that kept me interested the whole time. My favorite part was going back and forth from the diary entries to present. I can’t wait to read more from this author.

An enjoyable read by a new to me author, a real scenario story for Claudia’s divorce and the heartbreak done by her “best friend” to navigating a new life after a heart break by two people you’re supposed to have support from the most.
I enjoyed the diaries bringing us to her past as well as the small details of her abuela and their culture tying it into the whole book.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC

I finished Everything She Never Knew on Mother's Day. As part of this book dealt with the main character Claudia's relationship with her mother, it seemed fitting.

But this book was about so much more--it was about Claudia's loss (of a marriage and a friendship), renewal, and her finding her way as a newly single mom. I loved the use of Claudia's past journal entries as a device for showing that growth.

I first came to Annette Chavez Macias's writing via her romance books written as Sabrina Sol. I truly think her mastery of the romance genre makes her such a skilled literary fiction writer. She's so good at developing the characters of Claudia, Maya, Gloria, and Merecedes in this book and how their lives intertwine and influence each other. While Everything She Never Knew doesn't have that archetypal happily ever after that a romance book has, she still finished the book in a satisfying way.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for an advanced copy of this book.

As someone who shares a name with the main character, I was so excited to dive into this novel—until chapter two left me gutted. What happens to Claudia is one of my deepest fears, and seeing it unfold on the page felt like watching a nightmare I’ve imagined in secret, brought to life. But that’s what made it so compelling—I couldn’t look away.

You know, I have a complicated relationship with my best friend. And although, god forbid anything like this ever happens to me, this book was my worst fear in story form—but I loved it so much. It’s almost like Annette Chavez Macias wrote the exact scenario I’ve driven myself crazy with for years. A scenario I’ve never said out loud… suddenly there it was, spelled out on the pages of my Kindle. There was even a passage toward the end that eerily mirrored something my husband—and even a few friends—have said to me about my best friend. It’s crazy. And it made me feel seen in a way I didn’t expect.

The betrayal Claudia experiences—her best friend Rachel running off with her husband—is so intimate, so personal, it’s not just about a marriage ending. It’s about the devastation of losing someone you trusted with your heart, who knew what would hurt you most… and did it anyway. As painful as it is, it’s also a beautiful story of resilience. Watching Claudia slowly reclaim her identity, reconnect with her roots, and find strength in the rubble felt like watching someone bloom through the cracks.

I especially loved how she began to rediscover her Mexican heritage—something that really resonated with me, as I’ve been on that same journey myself. Macias doesn’t shy away from life’s messy, complicated truths, and yet she always weaves in hope. Claudia’s growth, her love for her daughter Maya, and even the subtle sparks with Nick, all made this story linger long after I finished.

Heartbreaking, raw, and ultimately empowering—Everything She Never Knew is a novel that cracked me open a little. Thank you, Annette Chavez Macias, for writing this story. It meant more to me than you know.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the entries in the diary. I felt so bad for the mc but she turned out to be a tuff cookie. I would recommend this book.

4.5 ⭐️

A book with all the ingredients that would dive you in not just in Claudia’s journey rediscovering her worth and value but also her Mexican roots and traditions. A family story full of emotions and reconciliation.
I can relate myself with Claudia in many ways because what happened to her happened to me, although with some differences, I was left alone with a daughter after believing I had an almost perfect marriage. The betrayal and lifting myself not only for me but for my daughter reaffirmed to me how strong and independent I had always been. But not all of us are prepared to face those situations from minute one, and that's okay, as long as you do it and see how strong and valuable you are, that’s all that matters.
I know there’s so many Claudia’s out here and this story definitely would teach one or two things that would help us to get ahead or keep going rewriting our journey to happiness.

Thank you NetGalley and Montlake for providing an ARC on exchange of my honest review.

Firstly, thank you to Net Galley for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC in return for an honest review.
The use of Spanish words and phrases throughout the story taught me some new things, especially about 'The Day of the Dead'.
However I did feel like the story dragged a little bit in the middle. I picked this book up as it was being advertised as a romance novel but found there wasn't really any romance happening at all in my opinion and wished there was a little bit more of a connection between Claudia and Nick.
On the whole I did enjoy this book, it was a good storyline with a satisfying ending

I have really come to love this authors writing. She once again gave us a beautiful story about the strength a woman has when she doesn’t realize it. I enjoyed this story more because I feel that it is very relatable as it shows how perfectly flawed we are. Claudia’s anger was focused on her friend throughout the book as that is where her true heartache came from.

I loved the flashbacks with the diary entries that detailed Claudia’s childhood experiences and how they related to present day events. A great depiction of breaking generational trauma.

Thank you Montlake and Netgalley for this Advance Readers Copy ebook in exchange for my honest review.