4.5 stars!
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i want to thank lindsey for this arc 🤍 this is her debut novel and she did a fantastic job!

this book touched on so many important things that are close to my heart. chronic illnesses, mental illness, service dogs and more. as someone with all 3 of these things reading a book with them made me so happy!

“I hate hospitals. I should just wear a list of my medical history around my neck”

this book was amazing. i loved watching henry and lucy’s relationship develop. Henry being sweet, lucy being strong, the found family, the banter, rowan, the music, the taylor swift mentions, the romance, the steam. i loved it all.

“I’d sell my soul to see you smile.”

“What’s flutter tonguing?” Henry chuckles lustily. “Lie down. I’ll show you.”

the only thing is that i wish there was more where Rowan was being a service dog. more with him tasking and just life in general with a service dog. there were also a few moments that i felt were inappropriate behaviour for a service dog. those however don’t take away from the story line and anyone who’s not a service dog handler probably wouldn’t even bat an eye.

being a service dog handler and chronically ill this book touches on the struggles we have to go through on a daily basis. the people staring, the question asking how i could possibly be ill and more. this book made me feel seen and it will live in a special place in my heart.

i’ll be waiting for my henry who accepts me, my crazy dog, and my chronic illness.

Lucy's life has been really hard in the last few years. She decides to make a change and move to LA to live with her old college roomie, the one person she has left. Then, as she sits in the airport with her service dog, that friend bails. Thank goodness for the handsome stranger who talks to her, sits next to her on the plane, and then offers her a place to stay in Malibu. Oh, and did she mention that he is Henry Turner, her favorite movie score composer?! Good thing Lucy knows she isn't meant to have a happy ending and can ignore her crush on Henry. Yeah... that'll be easy.

This was such an easy read in a good way, which is to say I was captivated by the story and wanted to spend more time with the characters so I just kept reading. Add in disability rep with both MCs, music and book lovers, an adorable dog, dual POV, a cover by Sam, and an incredible found family? As a music and book loving person who lives with a sometimes disabling chronic illness, I loved it! I'll even forgive Jayce for not being a cat person.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. You can find my review in my story highlight called ARCReviews on my IG and the book when it is released Jan 17/23.

Lucy is on her way to move from Boston to LA to move in with her best friend after her divorce. But when her living arrangements fall through, Henry offers Lucy to stay with him and his roommates in his Malibu home. Henry is a successful music composer who has crippling anxiety that interferes with his everyday life. But after Lucy moves in, he feels the happiness he never thought possible. As Lucy and Henry’s relationship deepen, Lucy struggles with her past relationships and fails to see that Henry may be different.

I loved this book and the characters! Lanza had me hooked from the first page - which is hard to do! Henry’s roommates were wonderful and gave me New Girl vibes. Lucy’s relationship with Adamma was great. I loved seeing two women cheer each other on instead of bringing them down. The way the characters talked about anxiety and infertility provided real thoughts on their concerns.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #VictoryEditing in exchange for my honest review.

I adore this book so much. Speechless is the romance novel that I didn’t know I needed.
Lucy and Henry are truly a match made in Heaven. I am now obsessed with them. They compliment each other so well and are such likable characters!
I enjoyed the other themes present in this story like family, friendship, chronic illness, mental health, and more. Lindsey Lanza is truly talented at taking all of these topics and putting them into the story without making it feel forced nor just skimming over them.
Speechless is definitely one of my favorite books that I’ve read recently!

I LOVED this book! I literally could not put it down. It started off with what I thought was going to be cheesy rom-com story; her favorite composer's music heals her and she meets him on an airplane, and the rest is history, but it becomes so much more. I loved Lucy and Henry's playful moments and their vulnerable moments together, but I also loved the supporting characters and house dynamics. It felt complex, but not in anyway confusing. WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

A lovely slow burn romance. This is for the readers who enjoy fluffy romance, but it was such a lovely read.

Henry was so charming and his meet-cute with Lucy was adorable. I loved the additional characters and they all flowed well into the story.

This book focuses on some important topics and also explores friendship relationships as well as the romance.

I really enjoyed this book!

I finished this the other day. I was browsing through NetGalley, read the blurb and requested to read it. It started strong. I don't know the author or her writing style and so I went in blind.

Their meet cute wasn't that up there but you can feel the tension and the attraction between the two main characters. The story was like a story about fate or destiny because who would've thought that these two, would wind up together? Like I said, it started strong. It was riveting and exciting... but the momentum slowed down in the somewhere in the middle... but overall it was heartwarming, swoony read.

Will they find love? you have to find out. this was a good book and my first from Lindsey Lanza. Love it all Hooked from the start.

This book was so cute and completely took me by surprise. This is Lindsey Lanza’s debut novel and I am so fortunate to have received an ARC from her and Netgalley. This book is 4 stars and I can’t wait to follow along with Lindsey’s career as an author!!
 
Speechless follows recently divorced Lucy as she moves from Boston to California to live with her best friend. When her best friend calls her at the airport bailing on Lucy, Lucy is stuck on her way to a city where she knows absolutely no one. When airport stranger Henry offers to sit next to her on the plan after her previous seat mate had an issue with her support dog, Rowan (yes named after Rowan from Throne of Glass), he offers her a place to stay at his house. It just so happens that Henry is the composer that Lucy always listens to, and his scores have gotten her through many difficult times in her life. While they both struggle with things I don’t want to spoil, their connection and support for each other is amazing to read.
 
If you love forced proximity, the cutest dog ever, great side characters, and music scores as much as I do, this is the book for you. I absolutely loved Lindsey Lanza’s debut novel and can’t wait to see where she goes from here!

Speechless
3.9✨
Yes. yes. yes. yes. I LOVED that this book was dual POV.
I usually like books where the guy main character is a little more rough and dominant so this was a little bit of a change for me but not in a bad way! I feel like there was a good amount of representation, which was nice.
I was so curious to see if Henry was going to make the first move and how he was going to do so and I was not disappointed with how it played out.
Until about 65% in, I was struggling to picture Henry. In my head at first he was sort of nerdy looking and thin. But once I got to the spicy scene, I had no problem picturing him looking like a jacked Ian Somerhalder 😂
This really was such a sweet book!

Spoiler
When Lucy got her surgery and all of the guys homemade her SOUP. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! My freaking heart.
Okay…Mary saving the day!!! I loved her story so much, it literally brought tears to my eyes. It really made me love this book so much more!!

Fav quotes
“Control the controllable.”

“‘Want me to hum a tune for you?’”

“‘Because you remind me of sunshine.’”

“‘I’d sell my soul to see you smile.’”

“‘You’re my perfect.’”

“‘Please be here when I wake up.’ He whispers.”

“‘You’re my fairy tale, Luzu.’”

“For the first time ever, I’m quite happy to be speechless.”

Thank you so much for the ARC provided by Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op!

This review will be available on Goodreads and Instagram. Posted review to Barnes & Noble

Thank you to Lindsey Lanza and Netgalley for the ARC of this absolute homerun!

I went into this book completely blind, and full disclosure it was because of who did the cover art. Is that cover now the cutest?

This book has so many wonderful things: starting over romance, close proximity, a faithful canine companion, and the most amazing group of found family/male roomies.

I laughed, I cried, and smiled so much whilst reading this book. Speechless is more than a romcom, though it certainly has comedic relief and romance (and a little steam). It also is a story of dealing with chronic illness, the rebuilding of life after divorce, the ever present effects of grief, and the falling out of friendships.

Don’t let this debut pass you by; it’s definitely worth the read!

TW: endometriosis, divorce, loss of a parent

Speechless wasn’t what I expected, but the summary itself didn’t give loads away, so whatever I got would be a pleasant surprise.

I loved Lucy and Henry was charming but also confusing. The way that they met wasn’t exactly unconventional, but being invited immediately to live with him gave them the opportunity to get to know each other.

The book was filled with lovely characters, though I have to admit I was relieved that they weren’t all perfect. By perfect I don’t mean they were ‘all gorgeous’ and ‘quick to love’ but ‘nice’. We had a few duds, including Lucy’s supposed best friend who, when she finally showed up surprised me a great deal.

I really enjoyed this book, the slow-burn love story between Lucy and Henry and the friendships that she built with all his friends, especially Graham, who was anything but cliche and for that I have to thank the author.

Definitely a recommended read.

I really really enjoyed this story!! Lucy and Henry are flawed, but so honest and earnest… you’re rooting for them the entire time! Obsessed with Henry’s housemates, especially Graham. The way that anxiety and chronic illness were both woven into the story was really special and added an added element of “realness”. The conflict felt authentic and I loved the addition of music!! Love Rowan forever, he’s a national treasure

I really enjoyed this book. Before this arc, I had never heard of this author and now I’m glad I know about her! This story was ever evolving and I loved it so much

This was a simple and cute read. It was fun. If you need a breath of fresh air and to cleanse your reading palette, this one is it!

Thank you NetGalley for the preview of this book! Speechless is a easy, modern retelling of Snow White. The story is told from the point of view of Lucy & Henry as their chance encounter in the Boston airport drives them together. While I found this book enjoyable, it was way less realistic than I usually prefer. Nevertheless, I thought it was fun and a great escape.

I like books where the main character is an author or reader. Lucy Gold is a bestselling author and she is looking for a new life. Henry Turner is a famous composer who met Lucy and she is the ray of the sun for him.

I really like this book! Henry and Lucy are strangers who become friends then lovers. Friends-to-lovers trope! I am obsessed with Henry; his thoughts were amazing. I liked his povs, they were perfect! Also, the dog’s name is Rowan! Yes, Rowan from Throne of Glass! Lucy and Henry have their own flaws and imperfections, but it makes them perfect for each other. This book is an amazing slow-burn romance, it made me cry, laugh and all the spectrum of emotions that you can find in it.
The author did a great job to make the characters alive with real feelings and problems. This book is full of music that is more than just music and the writer's life routine. I truly love how Lucy interacted with HAAAM; they are witty. All these characters together are at least something WONDERFUL! This novel shows that there will be people in your life who will love you despite any problems, flaws or illnesses. Dialogues sometimes looked a little awkward but this does not spoil the book. This book is more than just a rom-com, it shows the problems with personal life that can break us, it also takes the issue of chronic illnesses and the book is much deeper. I highly recommend this book to you.

Selfishness sounds the death knell for a character because they are in it for themselves. When it is the heroine, the reader is expected to empathize with her despite her selfishness, and I cannot.

This book started off brilliantly enough. She is a writer who found herself suddenly divorced. She has always felt left behind by the people in her life, and the resulting insecurity and low self-esteem coupled with crippling endometriosis, is sucking the joy out of her life. She survives her chronic illness through the love of her service dog and the glorious music of one composer. When her best friend from college asks her to move to LA to live with her, she jumps at the chance. And guess who is her seatmate? None other than the composer, who is extremely gorgeous and is afflicted with crippling social anxiety. They are so wonderful to and for each other in the first sections of the book. It all sounds good so far, but then it goes pear shaped.

He pours all his love into her and gives her anything that she might possibly need, materially and emotionally. And she blows hot and cold constantly and takes and takes. The worst is after they make love, and it is amazing, she simply runs out of his house and disappears for two days. Yes, she has some emotional stuff to work on, but why doesn't she talk to him?? Instead, she goes to her friend's house and drowns her sorrows in drink and binge-watching for two days without a thought for him even though she knows his feelings are very much engaged. In the meantime, he has been frantic with worry wondering if she had an accident, where she was, etc. When she swans back, she is nowhere near as contrite as she should've been. This is unforgivable.

This review will publish on Cogitations & Meditations at http://keirasoleore.blogspot.com towards the end of October.

This book is amazing! I absolutely loved every second of reading Lucy and Henry's story. The dual POV was exactly what this needed, and I enjoyed following Lucy and Henry's growth, both individually and together.

I loved the bookish references, the shout out to Throne of Glass, and other pop culture mentions. It made the book feel more realistic. The representation of chronic illness and anxiety was fantastic, and it was beautiful to see how Lucy and Henry supported each other. The author note acknowledging her own experiences with chronic illness and how it has shaped her book.

Henry, Graham, Jayce, Preston and Adamma are beyond perfect, and I am obsessed with the found family theme in this book. It's so nice to see characters who are non-judgemental and open to accepting new people.

This is such an incredible debut, and I genuinely cannot wait to see what Lindsey Lanza writes next!

"I'm picturing her face while my fingers start to dance over the keys.
Not her face, her eyes.
I saw an entire symphony in those eyes. There was so much sadness, maybe even despair, swimming through her irises. But there was also her smile. The way her entire face lit up while talking about Rowan. I hear the notes instantly change."

Lucy Gold's life is coming apart and the only things she can count on are her service dog, Rowan, Henry Turner's music. Lucy finds herself on a flight to California, recently divorced, suddenly without a place to live, and being harassed by an angry flyer when a stranger swoops in to save her.

Lucy's airport hero is non other than her actual hero, Henry Turner. He not only saves her from the dog-hating flyer, but also offers her a place to stay in Malibu. In a house with multiple other people that all work with Henry, she rarely sees him. But the times she does? There's not denying they're attracted to each other and that there's a lot more to be discovered.

Lucy and Henry both have secrets and reasons why a relationship wouldn't work but it's hard to ignore that they're better when they're together. Lucy soothes Henry's anxiety and Lucy's pain flair ups have been far and few in between since arriving at the Malibu house.

This was a wonderful debut book for Lindsey Lanza! I picked it up to read a couple chapters before bed and suddenly it was 2am and I was finishing the book. Lanza's storytelling is captivating and the book was demanding to be read.

Lucy's dealt a shit hand in life, but she's still able to bring sunshine to those around her, and lets happiness into her life. Lanza did a fantastic job of writing about Lucy's experience living with chronic pain. There were good days, bad days, and everything in between. There was honesty in the way it negatively effected her life, relationships, and self worth. Her personal journey was such a highlight of this book and I loved her character.

Henry is so freaking soft. I just wanted to wrap him up in a hug. As someone who is no stranger to anxiety, I could really connect with him. Like Lucy, he also went through so much in his life. Despite what he went through, and continuously goes through, he has such a big heart. From inviting a struggling stranger like Lucy to live with him, to giving his friends a space to not only live, but create music and thrive, he is so endearing. Him and Lucy are so well matched.

One of my favorite parts of the book is the found family. Henry's friends (aka HAAM), especially Graham, were so much fun to read about. A group of broken/struggling people that managed to find a home and family with each other is ALWAYS something I want to read about.

I wish the end of the book was wrapped up a little better. I felt like a huge part of their relationship we were waiting for them to have honest conversations with each other and be honest about their history. I think the way it played out was a bit unsatisfying (I won't say how so I wont spoil it). There was so much more potential for it to have gone another way based on their character development. Regardless of this, I still had a great time reading this. Lanza does a good job of writing a story that keeps you engaged and connected.

Thank you so much Netgalley, Lindsey Lanza, and Victory Editing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

↠ 4 stars