“Control the controllable. Look on the bright side. Find the silver lining.”

When this book comes out January 17, 2023 – go and buy it! It is such a feel-good read about loving yourself and choosing happiness that will be a quick page-turner.

Speechless is Lindsey Lanza’s debut novel and she wooed me for sure. Lucy Gold is a writer who is obsessed with famous composer Henry Turner. In an attempt to start her life over, she leaves Boston to head to California, but ends up with nowhere to stay. By happenstance, she meets the one and only Henry at the airport who offers his mansion for her and her service dog, Rowan, until she can get back on her feet.

The characters in this novel were a hoot. HAAAM is not to be missed and everyone will want a friend like Graham to be in their corner. I loved the premise (maybe a tad unlikely!) and the constant messaging about how it’s ok to be an anomaly and be a little bit broken – while still deserving love and happiness.

Lanza intertwined a lot of heavy topics with ease, giving insight into people with invisible disabilities and chronic illness, making me want to hug her (and of course Henry and Lucy). I hope that this becomes normalized in books by all authors without the negative connotations that are usually given. I was diagnosed with Lupus when I was young, and people just don’t understand . . . so thank you Lindsey Lanza!

Lanza even starts the book with a soundtrack of songs that inspired the book, along with how to easily view/listen to the songs on Spotify! EEKK! How original! Yes, this book is about music and being an artist, but it’s the little things that are going to make Lanza stand out soon! If you are a music fan, this adds another level of appreciation to this novel!

Lastly, Lucy’s thoughts on dessert – she could be my new best friend!!: “Dinner without dessert is like saying goodnight without a kiss.” Without giving any spoilers, there was one topic that didn’t come up (it eventually did in Henry’s hometown) that would have lowered my rating of the book – but once it was addressed my rating went right back up again (DM me for what I’m talking about!). This is a fun, sweet, easy-read, loving story that will make its way into your heart. 4.5 stars!

Thank you NetGalley for this amazing novel! All opinions are my own!

“What happens next is the story.”

Lucy finds herself at the airport, waiting for a flight to LA, only to realize that she will be homeless upon her arrival. While there, she chats to the man seated next to her on the plane, who turns out to be her favorite musician. Despite his crippling anxiety, Henry decides to take a risk and invites her to stay at his beach house while she works out what to do. The story follows the characters as they navigate their way through the complications that arise when they all collide. This book provides an insightful look into someone with anxiety and how it can be managed, as well as an exciting and romantic plot. A great read full of music and love, I highly recommend it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book.
Wow. This is her debut novel? I love finding new authors and I can't believe this is her first one. Well done. All of the characters were memorable and I really loved that the houseful of friends all supported each other unconditionally. The more I read, the more I had the feeling that these guys were the grown up version of the ones in the Reese Witherspoon movie "Home Again." Lucy and Henry were so great together, proving that romance isn't just sex. I loved the character of Henry's mother and how she was such an important character even though she appears for such a short time. A beautiful story. Highly recommend.

Wow I really loved this book. It’s exactly the kind of romance for me. A musician and and author? Yes! All the emotion baggage, angst, and pining? Yes! Also Rowan really was the main character. What a sweet good boy (the dog). I would read more books from this author in the future.

Speechless was a true delight - from the minute Lucy and Henry met, I was totally hooked. Toss in sweet Rowan and a great ensemble and I couldn't put this down. I loved the way Henry and Lucy struck up a friendship and made each other better, helping each other heal from some pretty big letdowns and losses and struggles in their lives. But it balanced some big health issues and life trauma with a story of starting over and finding someone who truly gets you and the hope and joy never got too bogged down in the tough stuff so the story built in a way that felt very organic. I also loved the introduction of friends and supporting characters to build an entire world and a new support system for Lucy as she moved into her new phase of life across the country post-divorce. As a woman who is struggling with fertility, I appreciated the endometriosis and adoption rep in this story - not being able to have a baby when you want to can be super isolating and this book and all of its heart made me feel way less alone in all of that. Also, bonus, Lucy goes to two of my favorite places in the entire world in this book: Sketch + The Ripped Bodice and that fully warmed my heart. I can't wait for this sweet story to be out in the world!

A fun story that really surprised me with how much I liked it! Quite a deep story about friendship, loneliness, and what it's like to learn to trust those who love you. I found Henry's anxiety very genuine, almost painful to read, The family dynamic of Henry and his friends, and how sweetly Lucy fit into it, was delightful. I think all of us would want to spend some time in that house (and the pool) and have a musician write us a love song.

Thank you to Lindsey Lanza and Netgalley for sending me an e-ARC to read and review. I ADORED this book. I loved it with my whole heart and soul. The relationships and friendships were beautiful. I thought the character development and open communication was so important. I loved Rowan and he made for a great side character. I also of course love his namesake and all of the pop culture references Lanza included. The endometriosis rep was done well as was the anxiety and mental health rep. Also Lucy is Jewish and I loved the couple of times it was brought up in the book especially the Matzo Ball Soup scene (IYKYK). Overall the writing pulled me in, I thought the use of music was so well done, and I was feeling all of my feelings. This is one of my new favorite books and I'm so excited to see what Lanza will do next.

Oh, how I loved this story. As someone who grew up around music, I love to read about musicians and how they do their work. The Spotify soundtrack for the book is a great touch, and I liked how the sections of the book were separated into movements.

Lucy finds herself at the airport, waiting for a flight to LA. While there, she learns that she will be homeless upon arrival. She ends up chatting to the guy next to her on the flight, and it turns out he's her favorite musician. And he invites her to stay at his house while she tries to figure out what to do and where to go.

Henry has crippling anxiety, but is intrigued by this woman at the airport and on his flight. In a very un-Henry move, he invites her to stay at his beach house.

What will happen when they all collide? It's interesting to watch it all unfold, and I really felt invested in the characters and in finding out how it would all play out.

It is a very good look into someone with anxiety, and into how it can be managed successfully, in addition to being a steamy, swoony romance. I actually want to re-read it, now that I'm writing this review and thinking about it again.

A great beach (or anytime) read, full of music and love. I definitely recommend this book.

*I received a digital ARC from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Loved this one! I can't stop thinking about the characters. Their stories of healing and compassion keep coming back to me. This debut novel wasn't what I was expecting it to be but it was everything I needed at that moment. Can't wait to read more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5 (3.5) rounded up to 3.5 on my blog.

Going into this book I had pretty high hopes after seeing so many glowing reviews on bookstagram. I’m happy to say it lived up and I really liked it! It’s a great debut novel.

My favourite thing about this book has got to be the chronic illness rep, more specifically the endometriosis rep. I’ve never read a fictional book that has tackled this so positively and I felt SO seen. I’m so grateful to the author for her hard work and inclusion of this topic!

This book left me smiling but I was so grateful for the inclusion of the heavier topics because they were handled so well. I felt seen by not only the chronic illness rep but also the anxiety rep.

I really loved the friendship group and the feeling of “found family”. I want to live in that giant house with them all! I loved how protective they all became over Lucy and the female friendship that developed between Lucy and Adamma was so special. There were so many great bookish moments like Tog references and pop culture mentions with Taylor Swift, which I loved and was so fun to read!

The only thing that I didn’t really care for was the romance, I just didn’t find it all that believable and the miscommunication was abit too cliche for my liking.

Overall, I really liked this one and I’d recommend to those looking for a feel-good romance with a little more too it than fluff. I look forward to reading more by the author in the future!

When her best friend gets back together with an ex, Lucy suddenly finds herself without a place to live, even though he's already en route to LA to start over. Panicking, she turns to the music of Henry Turner, her favorite composer. And when the man sitting next to her on the plane complains about Rowan, her service dog, the man she briefly spoke with in the terminal offers to trade seats. But then he introduces himself as Henry Turner, and, to make the night even more incredible, offers her a place to stay with him and the musicians he lives with.
Lucy quickly finds a home with Henry, Graham, and the rest, but as she starts getting closer with Henry, she can't stop thinking about the reasons her ex-husband left her. Fearing Henry may have a similar response to her endometriosis and all that it entails, she pushes him away.

I really love both the core relationship in this book and the whole ensemble, but my favorite thing about the book was Lucy's endometriosis. The things she struggles with--pain, surgeries, and what motherhood means for her-- hit pretty close to home. I saw myself in Lucy--in her disability, in her writing, in the relationships she's distanced herself from and the ones she's cultivating now.

Speechless is sweet, funny, and, at time, pretty raw, without ever fully descending into the darkness that Lucy and Henry feel. Both main characters have disabilities-- Lucy's endo and Henry's severe anxiety--and with both of them, the disability is at the forefront for parts of the book, and a little more background at other parts. Lindsey Lanza does a phenomenal job of balancing the pain and the pleasure, the darkness and the light. Overall, it's a surprisingly light read, and I can't wait to read more by her.

This was adorable!!! I love Lucy and Henry and their love story is so cute. I love that he was able to talk to her right away without any hesitation. I’m a,so obsessed with th found family in this book.

I received an arc through netgalley.

Author Lucy is on her to live with her friend in LA after going through a divorce. After her plans fall through while waiting in the airport, a kind stranger offers to let her move in with him and his friends; as it turns out, the kind stranger is Lucy's favourite composer, Henry Turner.

This was a really disappointing read. I would have DNF-ed it before even getting halfway through it but I decided to hate read the rest. The premise is already kind of hard to believe - a typical fanfiction plot - but the things that happen are so nonsensical. The romance just happens out of the blue and there's the cliche of non-communication that complicates it, obviously.

The main characters are childish and their dialogue is immature and cringey. For example, the Taylor Swift situation was out of control. I love Taylor Swift but yelling out the lyrics to White Horse during an argument is too much and even though I'm sure it was meant to be cringey, it was actually uncomfortable to read.

The side characters (the other band members) are barely fleshed out and are basically impossible to distinguish between them. Also the antagonists are unbelievable and are written like evil villains but evil villains that are badly written.

Overall, it was truly disappointing since it has good anxiety and chronic pain representation.

Thank you to NetGalley for this arc in return for an honest review.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. At first I thought it was going to be an instalove which isn't exactly a bad thing but I was happy to see the relationship between Lucy and Henry turn out to be more gradual. I absolutely loved Henry, he was so adorable and sweet. As someone who has struggled with social anxiety, although not nearly to the same degree as him, I could relate to him at some moments.
I loved that he was patient with Lucy and never gave up on her. As for Lucy, her back story broke my heart. I thought she was a strong character for all that she's been through and even though she frustrated me a few times, I did understand her insecurities. I think anyone who went through what she did would have trust issues too. There were times when I really wanted to cry for both characters when they were hurting and was teary eyed when they finally got their happy ending.
Overall, I really liked this book. It was different from anything I've read in awhile and the side characters were a lot of fun. I absolutely loved Graham, he was such a good friend to both Lucy and Henry.

Thanks to Lindsey Lanza, NetGalley, and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

We love a "celebrity + non-celebrity" romance trope. This was a cute take on it. A quick and light read!

4 stars!

Speechless is Lindsey's debut novel and it was SO good! I really loved the premise and thought it was so unique. Even though there are some common tropes, both Henry and Lucy's characters were really well developed that it didn't feel like just any other romance book. Their meet-cute was adorable, the connection Lucy had to the music was so special, and each of their personal identities and experiences made me love them from the start. The found family in this book is SO strong, and you'll enjoy all the scenes with side characters. The timeline is realistic (a bad timeline is a pet peeve I usually have in rom-coms!), and I'm so excited to see what Lindsey comes up with next!

Read if you like:
🤝 Friends to lovers
🏠 Forced proximity
🎶 Books with musicians
❤️ Found family
🏥 Dialogue about chronic health issues
🌊 Books that make you want to go to the beach!

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Published 1/17/23!

BOOK REVIEW - slight spoilers
Pub date: 17/1/23
𝑺𝑷𝑬𝑬𝑪𝑯𝑳𝑬𝑺𝑺 𝒃𝒚 𝑳𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒔𝒆𝒚 𝑳𝒂𝒏𝒛𝒂
⭐️⭐️⭐️.75

This book started with Lucy being let down by her best friend. She met a handsome stranger (Henry) who decided to help her out on the flight to LA. Henry is coincidently Lucy's favourite musician. She since lives with Henry and the rest of HAAAM. This was a lovely story, and the pinning between Henry and Lucy is super sweet but with great found family. The angst is just perfection. Their story cover very hard topics, which I don't think get covered a lot. With hidden illnesses being a main focal point in this book.
Rowan is the highlight of the book. Rowan being Lucy's dog. Especially the scene in the pool. If you know, you know.
I did find the pacing of the book in the middle slow. But maybe I just love a hint of spice
This book is for you with
- zero spice but great angst/pinning
- found family
- strangers to friends to lovers
- Great dog content

Highly recommend this book if these themes are up your alley. Thank you, netgalley, and the publishers for the ARC.❤️

Such a feel good love story.

If you love romance, buy this book when its out in January 2023,

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and yo Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy. My thoughts are my own and aren't influenced by anyone else.

2.5 Stars Speechless by Lindsey Lanza is a feel-good, romance with strong themes of found family and OwnVoices chronic illness representation. Recently divorced thirty-year-old author Lucy is on her way to move to LA when her friend suddenly tells Lucy she can no longer live with her. Unsure of what to do, Lucy encounters her favorite composer, Henry Turner, at the airport. Henry is far from the old, Beethoven-looking man she imagined him to be, but is instead a handsome and very introverted Brit. Henry offers her a place to stay at his house, where he lives with his fellow musicians. Lucy quickly bonds with Henry's bandmates, especially Graham, and they love the life she's brought back into the house, especially with her cooking and her service dog, Rowan. Lucy brings Henry back to life, too, and helps him with his social anxiety.

The book was sweet, but I deduced stars from my review because it felt like everything in the book was left somewhat unresolved. There was an epilogue, but it left a lot open that I would've loved to have seen more of. I can't say more without spoiling the book.

𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 tells the story of Lucy, who has moved across the country for her bestfriend but who's ditched her at the last minute. Henry who has worked up courage to talk to Lucy ends up offering her a place to stay with him and his mates. What follows is an wholesome concoction of what it means to find a family at most unexpected of places and times and how they stick up for you, no matter what.

- ~ -

I have to begin by acknowledging how apt the title is. Initially I thought It'd refer to something corny like how the hero made the heroin speechless with his love(?) But I love how it is perfectly suited to the story.

The writing was lovely and created just the right blend of heartfelt and agonizing. My biggest hesitation with a new author is almost always the writing style and I'm glad it was not an issue here.

Each scene was perfectly painted and portrayed the emotions of that moment with great precision and care.
I also wanna elaborate how good the characters were with each other when they were really together:

"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘱."

Yes, Henry is indeed the swoony Maestro.

My only problem throughout the story seemed to be with how the characters were almost instantly in love but let their insecurities ride more than half the book.

- ~ -

3.87 /5✩

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘝𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘌𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 & 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘥. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.