I loved this book. I loved the individual obstacles the main characters had to overcome. I love the love they shared. I. loved. this. book.

Lucy has been through a lot. The beginning of the book devastated me. I couldn’t imagine that happening to myself.. She is so brave & conquers through her battles. Henry sounds like a dream. He is so sweet & patient with Lucy. He has had a difficult past which has caused his anxieties but it is so amazing to see him grow throughout the book. All of the characters in Speechless are swoon worthy. & don’t forget about Rowan - he is the start of the show. I love how Rowan became everyone’s dog, not just Lucy’s.

Lindsay did an amazing job with her DEBUT novel! There is spice, love, real connections leading to friendships. The issues represented in this book are done beautifully.

Lucy meets Henry on a plane journey. He is surprised that she is a fan, and also that he manages to speak to her. When she needs a place to stay he offers, and both their lives turn out better. A great read, some sad parts where you learn about his past.

This is a rollacoaster of a book, you will laugh, cry & smile when reading this & will probably read it in no time like I did. It is a bit of a slow burn but Lindsey wrote this book perfectly. I highly recommend this book to all romance lovers and everyone else looking for an enjoyable read.
Thanks to netgalley for sending me this ARC in exchange for my honest review,

When I beta read this book last year I fell madly in love with these characters and this amazing story. Now, reading an arc of the final book, I feel so emotional seeing how far this story has come.

I loved every second of this amazing story. I loved the romance, I loved the spice, I loved the found family, I loved the mouthwatering food descriptions, I loved the SJM references, I loved the music, and I loved the fluffy floof (who is 100% my favorite character). I am so inspired by the beauty that @readwithli was able to capture in this story and the amazing representation she included. I know a lot of readers are going to feel so seen by these characters.

At its core, this is a book about building a community, finding your people, and allowing them to see and love you for who you are. I just love it so much 😭💕

What a stunning debut !!! Absolutely loved and adored Lucy & Henry. Lucy’s journey after her divorce was so raw and emotional sometimes and through all of her doubts I love how Henry stuck it out and stayed with her and didn’t let her give up. Absolutely cannot wait for the authors next work!!! 4.5⭐️

I was lucky enough to beta read this and LOVED it the first time I read it. I am happy to report that I love it just as much now that it's complete. To reiterate my thoughts from my first review for this gem of a novel: Lindsey Lanza was able to “compose” an actual masterpiece! The love story was “music to my ears”!

Reading the finished product solidified my deep feelings of love for these characters, this story, and of course, this author! This was one of my absolute favorite romances last year when I'd read the beta version, and remains one of my favorite romances EVER.

The story was just so well done - I’d be here for days talking about what specific things I adored, but to quickly name a few things - the romance (duh!), the found family trope, the modern bookish references throughout, the original story, the setting, and the lovable characters. If you want a feel good story with depth, do yourself a favor and read this! I highly recommend it and will continue to scream about how fantastic it is forever.

Lindsey did the best job for her debut novel and I can’t wait to see what’s next for her!

Thanks to NetGalley and Lindsey Lanza for the eARC of this!

Both the hero and heroine have their own personal problems. Some unknown trauma when Henry was a small child has led him to freeze up and be unable to talk to strangers. And Lucy’s evil ex-husband asked for a divorce when she got a bad health diagnosis. These were two lovely people and I really enjoyed seeing how they developed a close friendship and learned to help each other deal with their personal traumas.

The only problem was that the author had to figure out a meet-cute for these two unlikely people to meet up. So the meeting takes place at the Boston airport where Lucy is supposedly travel to live in LA. Henry has been meeting with TV producers who want to hire him to write the score for their new Game-of-Thrones-like series. Henry just happens to be a multi-award winning composer. And Lucy just happens to love his music and uses her personal playlist of his music to calm her down when she’s depressed or has panic attacks.

What is never explained is why does this guy who is constantly portrayed as unable to talk in person to strangers and has his best friend, Graham, act as a business go-between for his important meetings traveling alone across the country to meet with the TV producers? Wouldn’t Graham have gone with him? We’re told that Henry has invited his musical partners to live with him in his Malibu mansion. Can’t one of them at least help out when he has a major business meeting? There still could have been the meet-cute.

Other than that, I was willing to suspend disbelief and read along pulling for Lucy and Henry to find their HEA.

After a divorce, author Lucy Gold is supposed to move to Los Angeles and live with one of her friends as she starts fresh. As she is in the airport, her friend tells her that there is no longer space for Lucy because her friend's former ex moved back in. A handsome stranger at the airport turns out to be Lucy's favorite composer, Henry Turner. After hearing about Lucy's situation, Henry invites Lucy to live with him and his band at his Malibu beach house until she can find out a new living situation. And I bet you can guess where it goes from there :)

This book was FUN!

Contemporary romance is definitely not my favorite genre (if I'm picking up a romance, I would prefer it have some sort of fantasy or scifi element), but I had an absolute blast reading SPEECHLESS. It had some of my favorite things - dogs, cooking, and Disney references!

Henry was an absolute sweetheart and deserves to be protected at all costs. One of my biggest frustrations with romances is when the third act breakup is due to some MAJOR red flag that you saw coming from the beginning. I'm usually telling one of the two to run far away. But from the beginning, Henry was precious and kind and I wanted nothing more than for the two of them to finally admit their feelings for each other!

That being said, I probably not would have accepted Henry's offer, even if he was my favorite composer, because there are people in this world that seem nice but are actually creeps. While I wish that they had been able to form some sort of friendship before she went to live there, I also appreciate that the book did not drag on and made that choice for the sake of getting to the meat of the plot.

I also really loved how much time was spent developing Lucy's friendships with the side characters. The B-plots were woven in seamlessly without adding too much bulk to the book and I was rooting for those friendships to develop just as much as her relationship with Henry.

The writing style was simple but enjoyable and worked well for the tone of the book. It never dragged or felt like it was spending too much time on one topic.

Thank you so much to the author for the gifted copy! I can't wait to read what Lindsey writes next!

I loved this book! It has such amazing and relatable characters. The romance was lovely and the way this book was written is fantastic!

This was such a cute and fun read that dealt with some serious topics which I loved! A perfect summer read for people who want something a little bit more serious while still getting that rom com feel. I felt like this plot was something I had yet to read which I also loved.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishing team for this ARC!

Unfortunately, it was not for me. The writing style did not keep my attention at all and felt juvenile. I found the FMC to be very annoying and immature. The MMC was boring and I didn't find the romance believable. There's only so much suspension of belief I can do in a contemporary romance and this felt too much.

I didn't connect with the story or the characters and found it very hard to keep pushing through. All the side characters were a copy of each other (couldn't tell any of the band members apart), and it all seemed too convenient and easy.

The story had good representation but everything fell too flat for it to matter. Everything felt all over the place. There is no character or plot building. It wasn't fleshed out well.

This cover is deceiving.

The story contained in the pages is so much more than the light and fluffy cover would lead you to believe. Yes we had a romcom. BUT we also had so much more depth and meaning and heart to the story.

This one will stick with me for a while - highly recommend!

I got about 16% through before DNFing. I honestly wasn’t enjoying it much before, and it seems incredibly unrealistic that a relatively well known musician and an introvert would invite a complete stranger to live with him, and even more unrealistic that the fmc thought it was smart to blindly trust an almost stranger. And then the author had to disrespect cats by saying they’re pointless and all they do is hide and hiss? Like clearly they’ve had one bad experience with cats and equate that to all of them.

This was a cute romance with with chronic illness rep and focus on friendship. I was really into the book at the beginning and curious where it was going to go. Once again, a dog in a book is always loved! I felt like some of the feelings and romance for the two main characters went from 0 to 100 rather quickly and without warning. I was almost afraid I skipped over some parts and missed something. There seemed to be disconnect here and there. I really like the friendships Lucy developed with other characters. Overall, it was a sweet read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for the arc. All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc of this book!

What a beautiful beautiful book. I felt every emotion while reading this book. I kept think how much i adored each & everyone of the characters. They were so well developed and you couldn’t help but love getting to know them. This book dealt with heavy topic in a seamless way & ensured they did sugar coat anything in the process giving a raw representation of people who suffer from these diagnoses. Henry & Lucy’s love story was magical in every way, they supported & accepted each other for exactly who they were. I was sad to see the book come to end, i could read about these characters forever. An easy 5 star read. I can’t wait to see what else this author will write in the future!

Thanks NetGalley!

It is cute, sweet, deals with hard topics lightheartedly, has great banter and characters are likeable and quirky in a fun enjoyable way.

It is easy to read and good to get through your reading slump. It has a really pretty cover which was initially why I requested it!
You should check it out for a fun time!

Though it focuses on some tough subjects, this charming and touching novel maintains a tone that is never too heavy or depressing. The characters are quirky and likeable, and the unusual friendships formed by a band of diverse and sometimes difficult personalities are well-developed throughout the story. Themes of infertility, chronic illness, extreme social anxiety, depression, infidelity, and bereavement are explored as the main characters navigate their fragile new relationship to find joy amidst the pain. There are also welcome light touches of humor in the story as they find their way to a happy ending. Highly recommended for lovers of women's fiction and romance.

Speechless by Lindsey Lanza takes us through the lives of Lucy and Henry. Lucy is a divorced thirty year old starting over moving to California with her friend until it falls through. In comes Henry. Henry offers Lucy a place to live. The chemistry flies, friendships form, lots of heartbreak.

I genuinely did not expect to like this book as much as i did. Its a solid 3 star read for me.
Congratulations Lindsey Lanza on this great book!




Decided to write my thoughts of the chapters as I read the book, here you go lol.
Chapter 1 Thoughts:
* Lucy is very rude when speaking of someone she says is a good friend of hers
* Lucy trying to downplay her supposed best friend’s crazy life as an “excuse” because the FMC lost her mom, had surgeries, etc. is not it. Everyone struggled and has different pains. Everyone’s feelings/life matters

Chapter 2 Thoughts:
* Please don’t be a love at first sight book…

Chapter 3 Thoughts:
* All Lucy does is complain
* She is so fricken rude for no reason

Chapter 4 Thoughts
* I feel like Henry is creepy. Four chapters in and he talks as if he’s known and been in love with Lucy for forever
* Why is he so concerned about the way she smiles at him.. you guys just met
* I saw it coming.. YOU WANT A STRANGER to move in with you? Nah. Not in this day of age. “You don’t know me and i don’t know you”-L “is that true. Feels like i know her”-H. Girl ruuuun when that plane lands.
* “Why not” - Lucy on moving in with a man she quite literally just met. Babe, i can think of a million reasons

Chapter 5 Thoughts:
* Why is everyone just so okay with Lucy moving in right after Henry met her. RIGHT after.

Chapter 6 Thoughts:
* When “HAAAM” tries to ask about Lucy I feel like it is clear Henry wont answer because he cant answer. He asked a stranger to move in
* Homeboy is obsessed and not in a cute way

Chapter 7 Thoughts:
* She is too trusting
* How is it her business how much the guys make?
* If the basement isn’t fifty shades red room style I might be upset lol
* Im highly confused about the timeline.
* Lucy is more emotional than me. Respectfully.
* So the FMC is 30 but is acting like a college freshman? Got it.

Chapter 8 Thoughts:
* “Orphaned at 25” but Lucy is 30 and she said her mom passed three years ago. Im even more confused now
* They all verbally jump on each other with the tiniest of a joke/sarcasm…
* I truly truly despise Craig for some reason

Chapter 9 Thoughts:
* Homegirl. He lets you live there rent free and you’re gonna be mad you didn’t see him for a day and a half? Idk who is crazier
* The whole “EGOT” situation is a little far fetched considering less than 20 people irl have accomplished this(though Im aware its book world)

Chapter 10 Thoughts:
* Im starting to like you Mr. Henry Turner

Chapter 11 Thoughts:
* Graham I love you

Chapter 12 Thoughts:
* I love Lucy and Rowan’s relationship
* Im so confused by what happened at the sushi place
* I hate that I am starting to love their “relationship”

Chapter 13 Thoughts:
* FU Craig
* Im sorry but the cookie balls scene took me out lmao
* Homeboy is jealous of Graham and Lucy’s relationship but locked himself in hi room for nearly two days. Idk what you want me to say man. Grahams gay, babe
* Rowan I love you

Chapter 14 Thoughts:
* FU Craig
* Graham coming in hot with the jokes
* FU Craig
* …Luzu?

Chapter 15 Thoughts:
* FU CRAIG
* Henry flipping the raft gives intrusive thoughts lol. I love it
* That whole pool scene was cute i wont lie

Chapter 16 Thoughts:
* …I need Lucy to get spicy with Henry. I do not care if i read it or not, but it needs to happen
* “Because you remind me of sunshine” okay give me a Henry Turner right now please
* Where it goes more into Graham’s backstory I felt sadness. Drugs hit close to home for me right now
* Im still confused about Luzu
* ROW BOAT is sending meeee
* Jacye is the main character. I don’t make the rules lmao
* Graham whispering the flute thing was out of pocket and Im here for it
* Why a harp?
* Okay. Okay. I am completely obsessed with Lucy and Henry


Chapter 17 Thoughts:
* I don’t know Henry’s situation but Graham saying Lucy is normal and Henry isn’t actually annoys me
* I get its quick, just read my notes, but is Graham secretly in love with Henry or something? Why is he acting like a brat?
* Henry, babe, I want to know your history asap

Chapter 18 Thoughts:
* I want to hug Lucy. Endometriosis sucks butt

Chapter 19 Thoughts:
* Not sure how I feel about Adamma

Chapter 20 Thoughts:
* Luzu…
* Kiss kiss kiss kiss
* Henry is beyond adorable
* “You are my anomaly” get married please

Chapter 21 Thoughts:
* Oh no Henry.. I know you dont know but dang
* Henry tells Lucy about his anxiety but gives him nothing in return. Shes pushing him away. Just be the 30 year old you are and use your words
* You know what Lucy? Be completely honest and take us along on the naked journey please lol
* I understand Jack was her husband but all she does is compare the guys to him. Graham who is gay. Preston who is in a long term and happily commited relationship....
* Why does it matter how the photos were taken. I know I am overanalyzing everything but stll
* Jayce is a child

Chapter 22 Thoughts:
* Luzu will never not confuse me
* Please tell me this is a dream Henry is having
* It was indeed a dream
* I keep forgetting theyre supposed to be in their thirties because they arent so mature.. I dont know how to explain it I guess
* Henry is mad because he thinks Jayce and Lucy are becoming an item but wont do anything to let her know he is interested in her.. okay babe

Chapter 23 Thoughts:
* She did not ask him to play a lullaby… he asked her and she said no
* A High School love. Thats what this feels like
* FINALLY THEY KISSED
* Stinking Jayce lol
* Jack babe what are you doing here?
* Im a swiftie but that was too much for me lmao
* Slightly confused if Graham is mad at her or not

Chapter 24 Thoughts:
* I cannot with Lucy right now. Just fricken tell him you have a health condition and let him decide if its a deal breaker or not. I genuinely despise this in books tbh
* I officially hate Lucy

Chapter 25 Thoughts:
* You hate that you lied then be the thirty year old you supposedly are and dont lie. Confusing concept i guess
* No doubt Jack took Rowan
* Jesus woman tell him you like him or leave
* I think she is bipolar

Chapter 26 Thoughts:
* Please tell me they get spicy. Please
* So is he a virgin? Thats hot
* I absolutely love how he talks(thinks. Same thing) about women. He’s what all men should be
* SPIIIIIICE 🥵

Chapter 27 Thoughts:
* And the spice continues *enter Elmo Fire emoji here*
* I swear to gosh if this “woman” pushes him away in the morning i might strangle her
* You do not know the future he wants because you haven’t even given him the option
* “Youre my perfect” say this to me Henry. Im begging. I will appreciate you more

Chapter 28 Thoughts:
* Im all for short chapters but what the heck lol

Chapter 29 Thoughts:
* Henry you have a fiiiine way with words
* So you will tell Adamma about your struggles but not the man you are mutually interested in? Okay
* I feel bad for her that she cant have kids on her own but i still think she needs to talk to Henry and stop making decisions for him
* I, like Adamma, want to read this fascinating study lol
* Jack was not in love with you. Im sorry but it is true. If he truly loved you he wouldnt have treated you like crap from beginning to end
* Im also begging for some dark romance
* I have said it before and i will say it again, be a big girl
* Graham is being a little too harsh on Lucy. I swear he’s in love with Henry idc

Chapter 30 Thoughts:

Chapter 31 Thoughts:
* Poor Henry
* Poor Lucy
* I want to hug them all

Chapter 32 Thoughts:
* “Does anyone know a jewish prayer” ily Jayce
* Not the matzo ball song lmao

Chapter 33 Thoughts:
* Of all your comparing between Jack and Henry. You constantly saying Henry is better. Why are you STILL comparing and acting as if Henry is anything remotely like Jack
* Listen to graham. Tell Henry
* Fu sarah
* Again, FU Sarah
* Lucy, babe, kick her out of the house you idiot
* You tell her Henry
* HIGH SCHOOL DRAMAAAAAAA just leave and dont talk. Boom easy
* She definitely showed Henry the move
* SPIIIICE

Chapter 34 Thoughts:
* Luzu. Its been a while
* Rain kiss please
* Not the furry convention
* I feel secondhand embarrassment
* I love you Henry

Chapter 35 Thoughts:
* Adamma is my spirit animal
* Im drunk on his affection too babe
* Please beg. Please. Beg.
* I applaud you henry. Stand your ground
* Luzu. Ill never get over that nickname
* … over the rainbow, Henry? You naughty naughty man. That was her and her moms song lmao

Chapter 36 Thoughts:
* I want to marry Henry

Chapter 37 Thoughts:
* I hate being a woman too
* Well thats depressing, Mary..
* Well thats depressing. Lucy
* LIVE THE LIFE WITH HENRY OR I WILL i swear i love this man
* Rip into her!
* God you’re so infuriating Lucy
* Leave her for meeee

Chapter 38 Thoughts:
* Too short of a chapter again

Chapter 39 Thoughts:
* Maybe Lucy will finally listen to someone
* Mary you funny funny girl lol

Chapter 40 Thoughts:

Chapter 41 Thoughts:
* You don’t deserve his love. I said what i said.
* Write me a song please
* Did he say Luzu if i didn’t put it here too?
* A little cringe ngl
* Finally the harp meaning and omg hoooott

Chapter 42 Thoughts:
* He’s going to propose I just know it
* Wont even lie, i like Lucy’s friendship with the boys better than her with Henry. I just dont see the chemistry if I am being honest
* So no proposal

CONTENT WARNING: anxiety, ableism, mention of death of a parent, grief, infertility, mention of cancer, mention of child abuse

This book came to my attention when I was researching a post about books by Jewish authors featuring Jewish characters that are being released in 2023. Next thing I knew, I was on a requesting spree on NetGalley, and almost immediately got approved for this book. I was excited to read it for a few reasons—it features a Jewish character and involves a service dog, so I was immediately sold.

I was even more pleased to discover that it’s hilarious. Like, laugh out loud funny. Not just a few chuckles, but I was cracking up in public while reading this. At least I happened to be in a place where everyone knew me and my quirks, so I didn’t really get many strange looks. I loved the use of humor, especially between all the characters. There’s also a fantastic use of the found family trope throughout the story. While Lucy starts out with basically no one in her life except one friend who isn’t there for her in any way at all, leading to the situation that starts the story, Henry has a stable group of supportive friends that he leans on, and who lean on him. They all live together, and this is the little family group that Lucy promptly finds herself immersed in. She quickly finds herself forming bonds with the men in the household, and developing very different relationships with each of them, but winning them over in her own unique way, and I loved watching it happen.

I think one of my favorite parts of the story is the way that invisible disability is portrayed throughout the story. Lucy has a service dog (who obviously stole the show in many scenes), and although service dogs are most often associated with seeing eye dogs, they can also be trained for a number of other purposes, like sensing seizures, or in the case of this situation, sensing pain and oncoming loss of consciousness. However, people with invisible disabilities are often challenged and discounted, much like Lucy herself is in this book. There’s one instance of ableism in the story, but it isn’t viewed as acceptable behavior even if it isn’t directly challenged. I loved how the author discusses how Lucy’s disability is linked to her self-concept and her view of the future she wants compared to the future she thinks she can have.

We also get to see things through Henry’s eyes, and his own struggles with severe anxiety which has led to social isolation. It led to him using music as a coping skill, which ultimately turned into a lucrative career for him, but he’s always had incredible difficulty socializing and forming connections with people. There’s something about Lucy that makes it easy for him to talk to her, and she’s naturally bubbly and outgoing where he isn’t, making them a perfect match, even if she doesn’t necessarily see it right away.

I enjoyed watching the two of them grow and change over the course of the story, not only leaning on each other, but the people around them for help and advice, demonstrating character development as individuals before coming together. Each of them makes the sweetest gestures towards the other, and as someone who also tends to show my feelings through actions rather than words, I could appreciate the efforts of each character. The matzah ball scene in particular got me laughing so hard, but it was adorable!

Rowan, the service dog, was the most adorable show stealer in the history of show stealers. He’s a fluffy little Sheepdog, and I couldn’t help but adore him. He’s a service dog, but he’s also the sweetest and cuddliest pupper, and as the owner of a few little beastly dogs myself, I can appreciate the value of a good cuddle, especially when I’m not feeling so hot.

This was the most adorable and hilarious romance that I’ve read in a while, and while there was a little bit of spice, it was minimal, maybe 2 🌶 out of 5, but it was really well done. There were multiple emotional parts, and there was one scene towards the end that really got me tearing up to the point where I needed a tissue, but it was super sweet and I loved every second of it. This is one of those books that I highly recommend, and it’s a really impressive debut, so I’m definitely going to be watching out for more books by Lanza!

I feel honored to have read an ARC of this book because Lindsey Lanza is about to be HUGE! I can’t believe this is her debut novel because it’s just so good. Speechless has all the components of a great novel—flawed characters that you root for, a romance you cheer for and of course the fun celebrity factor! I can’t wait for her next book. Thanks for the advanced copy Lindsey!