This is a heartwarming and relatable read that will resonate deeply with anyone who has experienced loss, is seeking a story of hope and healing, and is drawn to tales of female friendship, family dynamics, and the transformative power of love and forgiveness.

When We Were Widows follows three generations of Mexican-American women who all happen to be—you guessed it—widows. The tone is light and compulsively readable, while still treating the subject matter with the respect and attention it deserves. Annette nails the intergenerational voices and complicated family dynamics, spinning a tale that is by turns heartbreaking, romantic, and oh so relatable. You won’t be able to put it down. Book clubs, make this your next pick!

Thanks to NetGalley and Montlake for access to this title. All opinions are my own.

A contemporary story about three generations of Mexican-American women, Imelda, Ana, and Yesica who over six weeks tackle the heartache and secrets that have kept them apart.

This book kept me engaged as chapters alternated between Ana and Yesica who have never had the easiest relationship. I would have loved at least one chapter from grandmother Imelda's p.o.v as she seemed quite interesting. There is a little bit of romance for both the mother and daughter and even a little bit of history concerning the Chavez Ravine. Many Mexican Americans were forced out of their homes in the early 1950s so that the city of Los Angeles could build Dodger Stadium.

A few trigger warnings as this one deals with topics such as infertility and infidelity.







#WhenWeWereWidows #NetGalley
Publication Date 01/11/24
Goodreads Review 03/11/24

This was a beautiful and emotional read! Here are 15 of my thoughts of the book:

1. My initial thoughts going in: the way this book started off, ok I’m invested!
2. So far I’m relating to both Ana and Yesica. Our families tend to go thru these generational cycles and trying to break these cycles are difficult to do especially if we’re not aware of them.
3. The fact that all three of these women are living under the same roof is causing me anxiety.
4. I completely get the miscommunication and or lack of. Some of my family members hardly speak, so I can relate.
5. I wanted to slap Yes for disrespecting her mother in front of other people.
6. I’m rooting for Ana and Lucas!
7. Even tho I wanted to slap Yes earlier, I feel so much for her cause she is carrying a lot… without giving away spoilers.
8. Lawd, these women sure do know how to hang on to these secrets.
9. Now, I want a plate of entomatadas.
10. I appreciate that the author included the history of Chavez Ravine. That many Mexican Americans were forced out of their homes in the early 1950’s so that the city of Los Angeles could build the Dodger stadium.
11. I feel such a relief now that those three have let go of all their secrets.
12. When Yesica confronted Amber, and then Yes got back into the car and she let out of all that pain and anguish, I cried at this part. It felt like I was in the car with her and could feel that release of emotions.
13. Another moment where I balled my eyes out when Yesica gave Henry back the train. This made me think about my great grandmother 😭😭
14. I grew to love Ana, Yesica and Mama Melda equally! What a trio.
15. Oh my goodness, there’s recipes in the back of the book! Not me thinking I can make these entomatadas!

Highly recommend this book! Annette Chavez Macias is becoming a favorite!

thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for a chance to read this book early.

this book my friends, it’s a GEM! I loved everything about this book. This story follows three generations of women who have lost their husbands but, soon realize, they lost much more than that along their lives. We experience through them: grief, pain, regret, sadness, anger, resentment, the consequences of gentrification, the discrimination against women of color but, also Latinx communities and, how they are not taken into consideration when building new stadiums is more important than people’s housing, and so much more. We have the chance to see how every story connects itself and how each woman reacted to that experience.

I loved the conversations on mother x daughter relationships. in some cases, it’s not the healthiest. A lot goes on in that relationship that we have been able to see lots of expectations and dynamics being perpetuated that usually doesn’t happen in mother x son relationships.
Ana and Yesica have spent their entire lives not getting along. we learn little by little why the relationship is strained and how both of them feel about this distance. I appreciated the author explaining the importance of understanding that the people who are our parents ARE NOT PERFECT while also, reminding ourselves that they can be great parents but horrible partners and vise versa. Recognizing that we put our fathers (sometimes) in a pedestal because our mothers have made it their lives mission to protect them and us from heartbreak and suffering by discovering who they really are.

My favorite character was Ana, she was by far the one I wanted to see achieve her goals, discover herself and find out what is life without THAT MAN. I loved seeing her growth and how she had to learn that keeping secrets and pain, can cause even more damage than being truthful.

If you guys are looking for a book that’s gonna be funny, interesting, focuses on mother x daughter dynamics, Latinx experiences and, deep emotional feelings and processes, then this is for you!

When We Were Widows by Annette Chavez Macias was a sweet story of family relationships and grief.
What an incredible, heart-warming story.
The way it encapsulated grief and moving on was perfect.
Such a beautiful story.

Thank You NetGalley and Montlake for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This is a heartbreaking yet beautiful story of three generations of strong Latinas who find themself back under one roof having to face the secrets they have been keeping from each other.

This is a book filled with complex family dynamics, emotions, fears, loss and grief but written in the most beautiful and powerful way and so full of love.

A very emotional book and I cried a few times reading it and felt so connected to the characters.

I look forward to reading more books by this author because this was such an incredible story and I highly recommend that you check it out!

Thank you to Hear Our Voice Tours and Annette Chavez Macias for this e-arc.

This is one of those books that made me feel so many things that I don't know where to start this review. 

Three generations of women under one roof will always be interesting and complicated, especially among women of color. Younger generations tend to bottle things up because they know some things just aren't going to be well received. As a result, it leads to miscommunication. Typically, I wouldn't say I like the miscommunication trope; however, it worked and was realistic. Yesica, Ana, and Mama Melda are members of a club that no one really wants to be a part of, and they all grieve in different ways. 

There were moments of frustration, some humor, and a lot of crying. Family secrets were revealed, and there were twists and turns. It was nice to see each character well-developed, and there were great cultural references. I do wish that Mama Melda had a perspective, but her presence was in every chapter. It was interesting to see the mother-daughter dynamic and how difficult it can be to negotiate those relationships. 

This story made me think about how I grieve any loss. I tend to try to suppress my emotions and keep going. In my mind, if I stop to think about the loss, I'll break down and "I don't have time for that." 

This was a beautiful story that, at times, was tough to read (emotionally). It had great Latinx representation and cultural references, and I felt like I knew each character.

“No matter how old we get, we all need our mothers to take care of us again at some point.”

When We Were Widows by Annette Chavez Macias

It’s quite rare that a book grabs hold of me so fully that I finish it in a day, but this book did just that for me. Once the story really started going I just couldn’t put it down. When We Were Widows follows three generations of widows in the same family as they are forced to confront their pasts, their secrets, and their grief. This novel examines how grief can create chasms within families, especially in Latin (and in this novel specifically, Mexican) ones. It is ingrained in us to keep our heads down and keep pushing, not stopping to realize that we don’t have to handle everything alone. Macias does a wonderful job at exploring this theme, and I really enjoyed the mother-daughter dynamics in this book. Although the story follows three women, it is a dual POV between Ana and Yesica which allowed for Mama Melda’s character to be a more omniscient presence. All of the women’s individual traumas inform how they navigate these complex relationships, and Macias writes about such heavy topics with extreme care. Even though this can be a tough read emotionally, it is also incredibly hopeful. We get to see these women start to come out the other side and take control of their lives once more.

A beautiful heartfelt story about the complexities of the relationship between mothers and daughters. The story deals with grief and how each woman dealt with it differently. The writing was amazing and I loved the character development of each woman especially Ana and Yesica. I definitely recommend this book.

This book was everything I didn’t know I needed!

Yésica, Ana, and Mamá Melda are all widows. Their circumstances led them to be under one roof, even though communication and trust is not fully there.
These three women share the loneliness and the nerve racking feeling of having to be independent after being with their spouse for so long. Although they share a home, they still struggle with vulnerablility and dealing with loss of who they were before. The pain, although different for all three, is still very much present.

Yesica, Ana, and Mama Melda are women before anything else. Women who by sismilar situations, bond over the loss of someone they loved or at least cared for.
The relationship between mother and daughter across generations are explored and we get to see generational trauma be addressed and discussed . I loved how the topic of being a mother/daughter was portrayed as something in addition to who they are as a person. The rediscovery of who you want to be and what you desire to accomplish in your life is a very important and beautiful journey that these women go through together.

There is so much emotion and lessons packed in this book. I learned from them to not judge our parents and learn to forgive and listen to them because at the end of the day they are just as lost and trying their best like everyone else.

I highly recommend this book to all, especially Latinx readers!

Thank you to the author and to (IG: hearourvoicestour) for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Beautifully written story about Love, loss and familia! Annette managed to capture the nuanced and often complicated relationships between Latina mothers and daughters. She also sheds light on the often forgotten & buried history of Chicanos in the US and the lasting impact of those traumas. The women were so complex full
of depth and authenticity I could see bits of myself, my sisters and tias in them. Most importantly Annette highlights the power of forgiveness, growth and self-grace. I HIGHLY recommend!

A story about share grief to be sure but really more a story about mothers and daughters. Yesica, Ana, and Mama Melda are all widows and thanks to a flood in a bathroom, they're sharing a house again. This is an easy read, the secrets aren't dark, and it's got good atmospherics. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Annette Chavez Macias delves into the lives of three widows in one family who are forced to live under one roof. Tensions rise, secrets are bursting at the seams, and family drama is bound to ensue. When We Were Widows is a story about grief, communication, and the importance of living authentically.

Yesica has sadly found herself in a club that her mother and grandmother are a part of, the widows club. She lost her husband and has tried to move on the only way she knows how; putting her head down and keeping her emotions locked up. When she has an outburst at work, her boss/friend forces her to take a leave of absence and attend a mandatory grief support group. And to add to her stress levels, her mother and grandmother are about to be living under her roof because of a house flood. In this journey, readers can see the mother/daughter relationship between Yesica and Ana is strained. Most of it is unknowingly caused because of family secrets. Mama Melda( Ana's mom and Yesica's grandmother) is often the peacemaker. Will the truth set them free? Can they move past their drama?

Although the chapters transition from Yesica and Ana's (her mother) POV, readers are also given the voice of the glue to the family, Mama Melda. I really enjoyed reading about these three women because it's so relatable, especially to a Mexican American like me. It highlights the secrets that all families seem to keep in hopes of protecting their loved ones and how they can add strain to relationships. The growth each character takes is a joy to read about. Ana and Yesica deserve to find love again and let go of their fears and "loyalty' to their pasts. I was balling my eyes out when I read about Mama Melda's stories and I too hate "Los pinche Doyers". Annette Chavez Macias has quickly become one of my favorite authors because her writing tells a story that anyone can find relatable. She represented the Mexican American culture authentically and we need more of that. I will be passing this book along to my friends and family because I can't wait to talk about it with them.

Annette Chavez Macias has become an auto buy author for me so when I got this ARC I was very excited to say the least. This book is about grief and delaying with grief and anger. All the perspectives we might have of grief and the secrets we keep to protect those around us.

Also magnifies mother/daughter relationships and how they can be so hard throughout different they are throughout their lives. Also I love how it magnified the first daughter relationship in Latinx families. It is so complex. There is so much to unpack in the first daughter relationship, unless you a first daughter you don't really understand that relationship. I'm glad it was such a main point for this book.

Thanks to Netgalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest reaview as always all words are my own.

While I really struggle with miscommunication trope in romance, in general fiction / women's fiction it's a different story - and in When We Were Widows it worked really well. I felt a real personal connection to this book. It reminded me so much of the communication challenges I witnessed and had experienced between generations within my own family. The complicated and messy way that we withhold information to protect ourselves and others; the ways we respond to acts done with helpful intentions; the way we speak over one another rather than to one another.

The story is told primarily through Yesica (daughter) and Ana's (mother) perspectives, but the third key character is Mama Melda (grandmother). When a flooded bathroom causes Ana and Mama Melda's home to become uninhabitable due to damage and subsequent construction, they take up temporary residence with Yesica in her Santa Monica home. This is a far cry from the Bell Gardens (Los Angeles area) home where these three once lived. Now with three generations of women, all widows, under the same roof, they have to finally confront their strained mother-daughter relationship, marital secrets that have been kept for years, and find ways to heal the grief, hurt, and resentment they have held on to.

Yesica is a prickly heroine. Her portrayal as such is rooted in the expectations placed upon eldest daughters, a desire to excel as a Latina in a capitalist/corporate world, internalized patriarchy, and of course her grief. In the beginning, that grief and pain has her navigating the story with blinders on. She is convinced that therapy won't help and determined to both hide it from her mother and grandmother while also trying to escape future sessions by convincing her boss/mentor she's fine. In that sense, When We Were Widows looks at how some within the Latino community look down on mental health services or talking about mental health challenges. Bury that pain down deep. Keep going. Be resilient. We don't put our business out there for all to see! Que verguenza. But Yesica grows as a character as she embraces speaking about her late husband, their marital challenges, infidelity, and struggles with infertility. All of this helps her in finding better ways to communicate with her mother and begin the long road of repairing their relationship.

Ana is so much like my mom and tias it's not even funny. She is very much an "acts of service" character. And again you have an eldest daughter taking on the weight of those familial and elder care expectations. With her husband several years gone, she is finally taking steps to make her life what she wants it to be: going back to school, reconnecting with a high school friend she had feelings for, finally changing the look and feel of her home through renovations. She is also a keeper of secrets, and it takes time and an emotional confrontation with Yesica, for it to finally be revealed. Like Yesica, Ana also has important character growth through the course of this book. And it was wonderful to see how those changes impacted her relationship with both Yesica and Mama Melda.

This is the third book I have read by Annette Chavez Macias and has solidified her as an auto-buy author for me. I loved everything about this story.

This was such a heart warming book. I loved how the author explored mother/daughter relationships. How there are so many various degrees of bonds * dynamics between mothers and daughters. I also thought the message of exploring how our parents had lives before they were our parents was really well done. There is so many times as kids, we can feel as if our parents say or do things that does not fit into our ideals as an adult. And from the book between the main characters, we learned that that is ok. That we can still grow, learn, and love each other through our different viewpoints. I also really enjoyed how Yessica's character was able to find she didn't have to be so perfect for others to love her. That love and being able family was more than just a family bond but could also be close friends too!

I loved this story. I can’t imagine losing someone let alone your partner. It was told in dual pov which I appreciated because it really let us dive into the mother/daughter relationship. I think the dynamic between them was very relatable.

The thing that I love about Annette Chavez Macias' books is that there are always heartfelt lessons within them. She'd previously talked about grief in Too Soon for Adios, but in When We Were Widows she tackles it from a completely different perspective. We have three generations of women, Mama Melda, Ana, and Yessica, all who became widows in sudden and unexpected ways. Each woman has a complex relationship with their grief, which stems from more than losing their husband, and I also loved how the author depicted how the lack of processing this grief affected everyone around them in some way. Then, there was the layer of Mexican-American culture and the sense of obligation to one's family (especially as the oldest daughter for Ana).
All in all, a beautiful story wrapped in layers of grief, family, friendship, the past coming back, and more. If anything I would have loved for it to be longer so we could dive into the stories of the other characters in the book. I want to know more about Evie and Damian and just everyone.
Thanks to the author for the eARC! I'm looking forward to adding a physical copy to my collection <3

Mother/daughter relationships can be so hard. They can filled with secrets, fears, resentment and misunderstanding. Thank you Annette for a copy of your book. I didn’t realize I would connect with the characters so much.

Yésica, Ana and Mama Melda all share a connection. They are all widows. Yésica, the newest to the widow club, a club no one wants to be a part of, is dealing with the grief of her husband’s death. Ana and mama Melda are forced to move in with Yésica when Ana’s house has to have some work done. Three generations of women all under one roof. All women’s carrying secrets, fears, grief and resentment in one way or another. On so many levels i connected with the feelings I read about. I felt seen. I loved the complex emotions & feelings that we are forced to deal with.

Thank you Annette for this story filled with stories, pain, anger and love.