A nostalgic and reflective look into the intersections of motherhood, friendship, and love.
What happens when you lose those you love the most?
Reconciling the past with the present, this book is written expertly in a contemporary voice, interspersed with a narrative that brings forth the past.
My heart went out to Claudia, and the strength she had to pull through betrayal. What really resonated with me was the journey, and how her mother came through at the end to support her. We all need someone, and sometimes those people are the ones we least expect.

Everything She Never Knew by Annette Chavez Macias is an emotional and heartfelt story about betrayal, family, and starting over.
Claudia’s life falls apart when she discovers that her husband and best friend have been having an affair. The people she trusted most hurt her the deepest, and her world is turned upside down. What I really loved was watching her slowly rebuild her life, not just for herself but also for her daughter, Maya.
Her mother, Gloria, adds so much personality to the story, and I enjoyed their complicated but loving relationship. I also appreciated how the author weaves in Mexican culture and traditions, giving the story even more depth and heart.
This is not just a story of heartbreak, it’s about resilience, family bonds, and second chances. Claudia’s journey felt real and relatable, and by the end, I was rooting for her happiness. A touching, uplifting read.
Very grateful to the publisher for my copy through NetGalley, opinions are my own

4.5 stars

This book follows Claudia as she grapples with betrayal by her husband and best friend while also navigating a complicated relationship with her mother. There is lots of grief and the emotions are very real. This, for me, was ultimately redemptive and explored the important of family and the fact that it’s never too late to fix things if people are willing to do the work.

Mexico is beautifully represented. I learned quite a bit about Mexican history and culture. I appreciated the way the country was portrayed almost as a character in the book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this lovely story. This was my first book by this author but it will not be my last.

Claudia’s life is in shambles after reading one email that changed everything. Sending her into a spiral of depression and making my blood boil. Her husband has left her for her next-door neighbor and best friend, Rachel… who also has left her husband. It hurt watching Claudia put the pieces together and think back on all the signs.

What’s heartbreaking is that Maya gets completely overlooked while the adults play out their drama around her. But what the author does a great job of doing is showing how generational trauma happens, and it’s very subtle. Whether it’s Claudia watching her grandmother react to Gloria, dealing with Gloria directly, or failing to see how her own depression impacts Maya, each moment reveals just how unaware she is of her own place in the family pattern.

I loved that this was in a dual timeline and using Claudia’s journal entries. It was such a great and smart way to show character growth. While I would have loved to see more anger at her cheating husband, I completely understand all the hurt and resentment toward Rachel. I’ve always viewed my best friend like a sibling, so for you to have an affair with Claudia’s husband was heartbreaking. (I literally wanted to break things. The song I had playing while reading the first couple of chapters didn’t help. Mi Mayor Venganza, in case you were interested!)

While romance isn’t the main point of this story, it was there and I enjoyed it. It feels weird to say this, but I enjoyed the fact that we don’t really get to see where this relationship between Claudia and Nick goes.

There was heartbreak, grief, unlearning and relearning. It was an emotional rollercoaster, and I enjoyed it very much.

Rating: 4.5 stars

This was a character-driven story that focused more on relationships than a big plot. It dragged a little — especially early on, as not much was happening beyond Claudia being sad and her Gloria hovering. As the story unfolded, I appreciated the layers.

The real strength was in the dynamics — mother/daughter, friends, the shifting relationships you lose and rebuild in the aftermath of something painful. Gloria ended up being far more complex than she first appeared, and by the end it felt like a tender exploration of moving on.

It’s not a book I’d reread since the plot itself is pretty sparse, but I did enjoy meeting the characters and watching the subtle growth play out.

Great read! Really well written, you resonated with the main protagonist and really felt for her and her daughter. Couldn’t put it down, would highly recommend.

📖 🅱🅾🅾🅺 🆁🅴🆅🅸🅴🆆 📖

Feature: 𝓔𝓿𝓮𝓻𝔂𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓢𝓱𝓮 𝓝𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓚𝓷𝓮𝔀 by Annette Chavez Macias (September 16, 2025)

🌟Thank you partners @authorannette, @hearourvoicestours, @amazonpublishing, @netgalley, and
@brillancepublishing for the gifted copy and ALC.🌟

𝓔𝓿𝓮𝓻𝔂𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓢𝓱𝓮 𝓝𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓚𝓷𝓮𝔀 by Annette Chavez Macias invites readers to gather hope and forgiveness in the same room for a long-overdue conversation with friends, family, or even themselves.

Macias is a masterful storyteller who pulls you deep into the plot and the chaos simmering beneath the surface. You stay tucked in, unmoving, until you know these characters as intimately as you know yourself. The writing is so good, you devour it without realizing you’re nearly done. That was my experience, at least—I read immersively between the audiobook and physical copy in under 8 hours while doing random chores and grading, and I was blown away by the colossal messages that hit close to home: mother-daughter dynamics, mothering, and relationships.

Macias is a new-to-me author, but definitely not one I’ll read just once. I love her warm, inviting style because she welcomes you not just as a reader, but as a friend or long-lost cousin she’s eager to hug and feed. This book wants to make you feel whole and wholesome by the end.
The epistolary format and dual timeline added depth and understanding to the storyline, the characters, and their pasts. Also, any book that gets me to hate characters immensely and ready to fight on the protagonist’s behalf is a win for the author.

𝓔𝓿𝓮𝓻𝔂𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓢𝓱𝓮 𝓝𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓚𝓷𝓮𝔀 is more than women’s fiction or messy drama—it’s a raw exploration of betrayal, grief, and loss across relationships with parents, friends, and lovers. Love shouldn’t be hard, but this book shows how loving someone can bring pain we never knew or expected.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🏷 #AnnetteChavezMacias #EverythingSheNeverKnew #HearOurVoices #HOV #LatinxFiction #womensfiction #BookRecommendation #BooksToRead #Bookish #Bookstagrammer #BookLover #wellreadblackgirl

Thanks to NetGalley and Montlake for the eARC.

This book was hard to get through, and I should have known better from the synopsis. stories about affairs are really challenging for me.

I first heard of this book during Annette's last book release where she hinted on what was to come and I have been waiting for this release ever since! Annette's writing is full of love, woman empowerment, culture and history. I learn something new with every book I read from Annette. This book show the ultimate heartbreak someone can experience. It shows that even though we may not want help, it is important to have a support team to help you through the hard times. This book shows how breakdowns can happen even when we think that we are having a good day. We have journal entries from the past throughout the book and I loved this! It provided an insight on the relationship Claudia has with her mom as well as her relationship with Rachel. We only get Claudia's POV, yet it feels like we get other POVs since all other characters are written well and we get to know them through Claudia or through her journal entries. I cannot wait to see what is next for Annette.

A huge thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the E-ARC, it in no way influences my review.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Montlake for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely adored this book - from the beginning to where Claudia finds out her husband & Rachel, to when her mom shows up - seemingly for her own gain, and to when Claudia truly shows so much growth with her ability to stand up. This book had it all and so much more. The love, the loss, the grief, and the growth are all shown beautifully and I just loved it.

The writing felt incredibly authentic - I really loved reading Claudia's journal entries from her youth, and then to present day is done exceptionally well. I cried more than once and cheered at the end! It wasn't necessarily a truly happy ending but it was satisfying.

Everything She Never Knew explores the abrupt end of a marriage, the unraveling of a longtime friendship, and the complicated rekindling of a mother and daughter bond. Claudia, the main character, struggles through betrayal and loss while leaning, sometimes reluctantly, on her mother Gloria.

I found Claudia to be a frustrating narrator at times. She placed most of the blame for the affair on her best friend while her husband seemed to escape much accountability. She also failed to give her mother credit for being supportive, which made it harder for me to connect with her grief. The ending wrapped up too quickly for my taste and felt rushed.

That said, this is a heartfelt story of grief, betrayal, and healing. While it did not fully land for me emotionally, I think readers who gravitate toward novels about family dynamics, fresh starts, and intergenerational relationships will find plenty to connect with here.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Claudia had a beautiful life. She had a loving husband, the house of her dreams, an amazing daughter, and her best friend living next door. Everything changed when her husband sent an email. That email changed everything. She lost her husband and her best friend.

I couldn't put this book down! I was on a roller coaster of emotions. I was cheering for Claudia while she navigated her life as a single parent. This was a beautiful story of rebuilding, found family, and self-love.

Picking up the pieces of a life that fell apart is not always easy.

Audiobook Stats:
⏰: 8 hours and 6 minutes
🎤: Elena Rey
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Format: Single POV/ Multi Timeline
I found the narrator to be clear and concise in her narration. I never had to adjust my speed and was able to listen within my typical range. I enjoyed the tone and tempo of this narrator. I enjoyed the pronunciation and mixed in Spanish in the novel. It was very well done.

Themes:
💥: Unconventional Mother/Daughter Relationship
💥: Loss and grief
💥: Finding yourself after divorce/betrayal
💥: Toxic Friendships

Representation:
: Mexican FMC and side characters
: Spanish conversation
: Teaching a child Spanish
: Dia De Los Muertos

🥵: Spice: 🚫
Potential Triggers: domestic violence **check authors page/socials for full list.

General Thoughts:
Claudia's personal life is imploding from all angles. And it is rough to watch. The author does a great job of immediately tying emotional threads between the reader and the main character by making her relatable yet level headed. Which pulls your sympathy from the first chapter while keeping her likable and relatable.

The book was a mix of predictable and mysterious. There was clearly a secretive plot surrounding the mother that I was able to predict the main idea of, but not the intricacies. So it kept me engaged and guessing. I was also able to predict where Claudia's character arc was going to go. But watching it unfold was both fun and interesting for me. The story and the jumping timelines from past to present were very compelling.

I enjoyed the Mexican representation surrounding the textiles and Mercados. Dia De Los Muertos and talks of Ofrendas was so refreshing and welcome within the text. I loved watching Claudia not only reclaiming her heritage in her grief but passing it on to her daughter. Lovely addition!

Claudia was a very layered and nuanced character. Watching her development through the novel was difficult. At times I loved her, was exasperated by her and was straight annoyed with her. However, I never stopped rooting for her or generally liking her. Impeccable character work to be able to feel so many things for a main character seamlessly.

The ending felt complete and wrapped up everything well. I was happy with how things turned out and it felt realistic.

Disclaimer: I read this audiobook via free ALC through NetGalley and Brilliance Audio. All opinions are my own. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Had me hooked from the blurb in the back of the book! I could not stop reading we are immediately dropped into a bombshell our main character , Claudia's husband and her best friend have runaway TOGETHER! and just a few days later her mother who she doesn't have the best relationship with arrives to help Claudia and her daughter during this time. But her mother arrives acting a little strange possibly with some secrets of her own?
yes they book had some drama but also so much soul. The complex relationships, the mending of relationships and even the building of new ones. I wish I had a 100 more pages to this book I was so invested in the characters and plot.

I had quite a few issues with this one. I wanted to love it, but the FMC was insufferable. Everything was her friends fault, with barely blame placed on her husband.

Claudia lost her husband and her best friend in one swoop. They aren't dead just dead to her. Now she's navigating life as a single mom to Maya and as a daughter to the slightly meddling Gloria. And there's a little romance in the air. I liked this for the spirit of family and the way that Mexican culture (and food) is woven through the narrative. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Long story short

Claudia's world is turned upside down when her husband David suddenly leaves her for her neighbor, and best friend, Rachel. What follows is a moving journey of Claudia overcoming the double betrayal, and being forced to re-examine the people and relationships in her life. Everything She Never Knew is a beautifully layered story about second chances, primarily for a mother and daughter; a subtle but strong romantic subplot rounds out the ultimately uplifting novel.

Short story long

Some people use a diary to collect beautiful memories. Others journal to collect thoughts, to work through them, to reach epiphanies and conclusions. Sometimes it's good for catharsis. Claudia uses it to document everything she never knew.. To remember, to learn. Only to find out she knows absolutely nothing at all. When her husband David, with whom she shares a daughter, suddenly leaves her for another woman, Claudia is absolutely stunned. But it's not just being blindsided that has Claudia reeling: her entire world shatters upon learning whom he's been having the affair with. Her best friend Rachel. Forced to rely on herself (and her suddenly very intrusive mother), Claudia has to relearn who she is, and who to trust moving forward.

This beautiful novel had me feeling everything. The reader bears witness to the absolute annihilation of Claudia's marriage in the first chapters, and it's completely heart-breaking to see Claudia fall apart when it's clear who third party in the betrayal is. One can balk at the idea that The Other Woman is more to blame when a marriage ends; it can feel like the husband gets away with more than the mistress. But here, I understand why Rachel's betrayal cuts so much deeper. David blindsiding Claudia the way he does, and how he's an absolute trash father to their daughter in the process, gives "he's not worth the pain" very quickly. No, it's the loss of Rachel that's causing Claudia's intense hurt: from the time they were teenagers, Rachel has been Her Person.

By way of Claudia's diary chapters, Annette Chavez Macias gently chronicles Claudia's friendship with Rachel from start to finish, and how their bond has always conflicted with Claudia's relationship with her mother Gloria. Their friendship is promising at first, but Claudia's naivety begins to shine through quickly - and it's not because hindsight is 20/20. Rachel comes into Claudia's life at when they're 14, shortly after Claudia loses her beloved abuela. She is clinging to this perceived one-and-only bond with another female, to a girl who enables her clashes with her mother Gloria, whom Claudia regards as selfish, a bad mother. Young Claudia almost idolizes Rachel: her friend is always on and by her side: they even become neighbors. As they both grow up, subtle (then blatant) red flags are entirely missed, or disregarded.

Present-day Claudia doesn't look at Rachel as primarily a homewrecker: she mostly ruined THEIR bond, which was supposed to go beyond friendship, beyond sisterhood almost. In a sense, Rachel was the actual (platonic) love of Claudia's life. Not just that: Rachel's also had a heavy hand in the steady erosion of Claudia's regard for Gloria.

Everything She Never Knew is, more than a romance novel, a second chance novel for a mother and daughter (the latter also being mom to a girl). Throughout the book, Claudia is very hard on her mother; as Claudia's dependency on Rachel is ripped away, she has to reluctantly learn to rely on the only other person who shows up for her. Because Gloria ain't taking no for an answer. She is beautifully written: flawed and scarred, but so desperate for a chance to prove herself to her daughter. Their heart-felt journey back to each other examines both Gloria and Claudia in their roles as mothers and daughters, and how it's shaped them from one generation to the next.

The romance subplot, while not at the forefront, is still very strong. The male lead is Rachel's similarly blindsided husband Nick, who knows better than anyone else the betrayal Claudia is enduring. Their relationship has always existed, barely, on the periphery, so when the David And Rachel bomb bursts, their first encounters are antagonistic and accusatory. It is a great story-telling decision: starting them off from a place of mistrust gives them the opportunity to move forward from their lowest point, proving to each other they are reliable. The trust and friendship they build, they can believe in henceforth. It begins to blossom into something more, but we aren't really privy to what happens next... but that's really okay. The author decides to focus on Claudia's personal development, which is needed for her to build actual solid personal relationships. Yes, I would have loved to read more about Claudia and Nick, but it's quite clear nonetheless that they'll be just fine. (And Nick is definitely mole(-accent-on-the-e)-worthy!)

Finally, some things in the book come a little easy to Claudia, such as finding a new job and a new friend in the same package immediately: her new boss Mercedes becomes a very important figure in Claudia's post-David life. But Claudia has already been through so much, I'm letting her have the double win. Through Mercedes, Annette Chavez Macias shares her love for Mexican culture, educates the reader on traditions belonging to Día de Muertos, and makes a case for the importance of buying art from local Mexican artisans. Her friendship with Mercedes connect Claudia (and Claudia's daughter to their own roots, and give the still-raw-grief for her abuela a more calm place in her heart, helping her find the courage to start over.

Rise. Fall. Rise. With spirit and hope, Annette Chavez Macias weaves together the rise and fall of relationships, giving rise to new, stronger bonds. Everything She Never Knew is Claudia's prequel: her real story is only just beginning.

**Thank you NetGalley and Montlake for generously providing me with a copy of this book; all opinions expressed are honest, voluntary and 100% my own.**

emotional, heartfelt, and interesxting novel that, although it looks like a romcom, is really not, instead being a vaguely-lit fic about surviving after your spouse leaving you for your best friend. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

This is a beautifully written book. It follows Claudia’s story of becoming a single mother, repairing relationships, and heartbreak. I wouldn’t consider this a romance novel. You can feel the emotions behind the main character and I feel many people can relate.

Thank you NetGalley and Montlake for this ARC.

This story follows Claudia as she discovers her husband Nick was having an affair with their neighbor and best friend since childhood, Rachel. Now Claudia has to figure out life as a single mom to her daughter, Maya, while dealing with the emotional grenade of loosing her husband and best friend all at once.

The author did a wonderful job of incorporating Mexican heritage into the novel in a very organic way that was lovely to learn about. It’s set in LA area so if you are familiar with the city, so many historical landmarks are brought into the narrative of the story. There was also a sense of community that huddled around her and her daughter and that was a sweet aspect of the story as well.

Ultimately I enjoyed this one. I rated it a 3.5 stars (rounded up here) There were some moments where the story felt a bit stagnant in the first half but as Claudia started to find her footing and voice I found it picked up for me and it became a bit more engrossing to me.