Title: More Than Words
Author: Jill Santopolo
Genre: Contemporary
Edition/Pages: Hardcover, 342 pages
Goodreads page

Synopsis

“I think it’s hard not to fall apart when your view of life is shifting.”

This story follows Nina, the heiress to a hotel corporation. Her world is crashing around her as her father’s health declines. She is thrust into a role she wasn’t ready for, she’s questioning her relationship with the man she always thought she’d have a future with, and she is discovering well-hidden secrets about her family. All the while, a connection is blooming between her and her ex-boss.

My Review

Overview

My biggest issue with this book was that I felt nothing. This was a book that relied on a connection to the characters and I sadly never felt one.

This is told in 3rd person from Nina’s perspective. And for some reason this kept throwing me off. Since the entire story was purely from her perspective it almost felt like it should have been 1st person. This totally may be a just-me thing though!

This book contained a few tropes/topics I didn’t love – insta-love and sex-shaming. And it was kind of hard for me to move past them.  

What I Liked

“Solitude is the profoundest fact of the human condition. Man is the only being who knows he is alone.”

1. Santopolo’s writing is captivating. Regardless of the story, her writing always keeps me invested. She just has a way of making her stories accessible yet gripping.
2. The chapters where Nina is grieving were really well done. I felt Nina’s pain. It was really the one time in the novel where I felt the story and connection.

What I Didn’t Like

Some of my thoughts were spoiler-y so if you’re interested in those, check out my Goodreads review here. I removed the spoiler parts in this review.

1. Overall I felt no connection to these characters. And this was not a plot driven book, so connecting to the characters was vital. I don’t know what stopped me from connecting, honestly. I just never felt anything. From anyone. But it made all the romances and missteps feel completely lackluster.
2. Tim. Oh man where to begin. Despite not connecting with the characters, I definitely felt strong emotions about the boyfriend in this. Unfortunately they weren’t good ones. At one point, about half way through the book, he blatantly sex-shames the main character. But on top of that I don’t feel like it was ever acknowledged as being wrong. It was just like ‘oh yeah, that’s Tim being boring’. No it’s sex-shaming and I’m not here for it. And to keep piling it on, Tim’s behavior felt weirdly controlling. He kept telling Nina what she should do, pointing out every little thing she changed. Literally at one point he complains because she adds fruit to a salad.
3. Nina’s actions made little to no sense to me. One minute she wants nothing to do with the corporation and the next minute she’s some kind of corporate wiz who exactly how to fix everything. One minute she needs time to figure herself out and 4 hours later she’s in love. She was all over the place.
4. The insta-love. Oh how instant it was.

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Overall this was a flop for me. However, I do plan to continue picking up Santopolo’s books because genuinely love her writing.

Have you read this? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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