“Don’t you ever say things that you don’t mean? Or wished that you’d said, but couldn’t find the right words – or any words at all?”
When children’s author Jo Wright receives a generous offer to speak at a book festival in the Florida Keys (all-expenses-paid), she accepts because she desperately needs the money and she is assured that Will Price, her nemesis and the bestselling author who badmouthed her work, will not be in attendance. But as soon as she arrives in Little Bridge Island, everywhere she turns Jo runs right into Will, who turns out to be the main benefactor of the event. Spending time with Will turns out to be not so bad; in fact, the handsome Will Price seems genuinely sorry for his past actions and is providing ample inspiration for the next instalment of Jo’s book series, which is past its deadline. Just as things are starting to look up for Jo, one of the authors at the convention stirs up drama.
No Words is the third book in Meg Cabot’s Little Bridge Island series, but you do not need to read the other books in the series before you read No Words. This book is a slowburn enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy with some dramatic elements. It’s ideally suited to lovers of the contemporary romance and women’s fiction genres, and if you enjoyed Beach Read by Emily Henry, The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren, Shipped by Angie Hockman, or How Sweet It Is by Dylan Newton, then No Words would be a perfect read for you! It deals with themes such as appearance versus reality, love and family, escapism, communication (or lack thereof), harassment, and vulnerability. The main takeaways for me were that words can be powerful, first impressions aren’t always correct, and everyone deserves a second chance.
Since Jo’s children’s book series is about a talking cat (Kitty Katz), there are lots of hilarious cat puns throughout No Words. The tropical destination of Little Bridge Island in the Florida Keys was a huge plus for me; it was especially cool to read about the dolphin sighting that took place during an author event on Will’s catamaran! I also loved how the plot was centred around the book festival and all the main characters were authors and book nerds; all the bookish dialogue was very interesting and relatable.
Some cons were that this book was slow to start and it ended a bit abruptly. It would have been great if there were less lead-up to the book festival at the beginning and more chapters at the end of the book depicting what happened with Jo and Will post book festival. Without giving too much away, at the beginning of the festival, Jo learns that a fellow author was rumoured to be acting inappropriately at a past convention; I found this part to be quite sketchy and I disliked how it took focus away from the budding romance between Jo and Will. Furthermore, it is important to note that No Words includes some depictions of characters’ past and present traumas (including harassment, missing persons, death of a family member, depression, etc.) that may be triggering for some readers.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and think that it would make a perfect beach read!
No Words is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of October 12th 2021.
Will you be picking up No Words? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
Welcome to Little Bridge, one of the smallest, most beautiful islands in the Florida Keys.
Jo Wright always swore she’d never step foot on Little Bridge Island—not as long as her nemesis, bestselling author Will Price, is living there.
Then Jo’s given an offer she can’t refuse: an all-expense-paid trip to speak and sign at the island’s first-ever book festival.
Even though arrogant Will is the last person Jo wants to see, she could really use the festival’s more-than-generous speaking fee. She’s suffering from a crippling case of writer’s block on the next instalment of her bestselling children’s series, and her father needs financial help as well.
Then Jo hears that Will is off-island on the set of the film of his next book. Hallelujah!
But when she arrives on Little Bridge, Jo is in for a shock: Will is not only at the book festival, but seems genuinely sorry for his past actions—and more than willing not only to make amends but prove to Jo that he’s a changed man.
Things seem to be looking up—until disaster strikes, causing Jo to wonder: Do any of us ever really know anyone?
