Member Reviews
#NoWords #NetGalley
A fun, romance with the going to the beach feel type book. It reads quick and Meg Cabot always writes great characters.
This book to me lacked substance and depth. It didn’t keep me wanting to read. I struggled to get through and finish after about halfway. It’s a great concept but to me the delivery is off.
Disclaimer: I got this arc in exchange for an honest review.
I've been a massive fan of Meg Cabot's for MANY years!! This kind of reminded me a little of beach read and people we met on vacation. I love the enemies to lovers trope so I enjoyed reading about Jo Wright and Will Price. Meg Cabot's adult novels are just as delightful as her young adult books!
After the crazy year and a half we have all had this book is exactly what I was craving!!! No Words is the third installment in the Little Bridge Island series and just like the other novels in this series, I was hooked from the very beginning!! I love, love, love Meg Cabot’s writing style and her character development is on-point! She does a fantastic job with creating an addictive rom-com without adding in unnecessary drama! No Words can be read as a stand-alone, but honestly, I highly recommend the entire series! Reading this 5 star book felt like a warm hug. I am already so excited for the next novel in this must read series!!
Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
No Words by Meg Cabot is an amazing rom-com that is laugh-out-loud funny. Very few rom-coms are able to make me laugh out loud, and this was one of them. This year, I have been loving books that parody the writing process and the publishing industry, from The Plot to The Other Black Girl. No Words is similar in that vein, because the author makes fun of a lot of author and book convention tropes. For example, the main character Jo, a bestselling children's book author, says that she doesn't know how to react when fans come up to her and say that they "used to" love her books. That's just one example of the author's wit.
Here is a funny excerpt from the Prologue. This text message exchange is between Jo and her agent Rosie as she's deciding whether or not to attend a book festival where she might bump into her arch-nemesis, best-selling "literary fiction" novelist Will Price:
"Jo Wright: Have you ever even been to a book festival? OF COURSE I’m going to see him. I’ll probably have to sit right next to him on some dumb panel.
Rosie Tate: I don’t see how. You write delightful little stories for children about a teenaged cat who has exciting adventures while babysitting adorable kittens. He writes horrible books about heartbroken women who fall in love with arrogant dullards who then thankfully die.
Jo Wright: You know at these book festivals they make all the authors go to dinner and cocktail parties with the donors, right? So I'm sure I’ll see him at one of those.
Rosie Tate: Oh. Well, just say you aren’t feeling well and sit on your hotel balcony and write in the lovely tropical breeze! Only come out to give your speech, do your signing, and collect your check... You have my word: YOU WILL NEVER SEE WILL PRICE AGAIN."
Overall, No Words is a hilarious romantic comedy that will appeal to fans of Sophie Kinsella's Love Your Life or Bethany Turner's Plot Twist, other romances involving writers. Even though the book is funny, it also touches on serious topics such as sexual harassment and public-shaming in the news media. It might seem out-of-place to talk about serious topics in a romantic comedy, but I felt it added depth to this novel and the author handled it well. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of rom-coms, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in September!
Review (3.5 stars): This is the 3rd book in the Little Bridge Island series by Meg Cabot. A new reader could easily read this book as a standalone, since the plotline is not developed throughout the series.
Jo Wright, famed children’s book author, is facing a serious case of writer’s block. She’s also dealing with a feud with superstar author Will Prince. When Little Bridge Island decides to host its first book festival, Jo is made an offer she can’t refuse- $10,00 stipend and all-inclusive stay. She’ll be a featured author at signings and will also be able to speak about her famous series. Her only worry is that Prince will be there, since he owns a house on the island. Jo’s editor assures her that Will is on the set of his next film and she can enjoy herself.
Once Jo arrives on the island, she realizes that Will is at the festival and she’s going to have to play nice, especially since Will has apologized. An entertaining romance that’s perfect as a beach read.
Note: I received a free copy of this ebook from the publisher via NetGalley. My review is my own. #NoWords #NetGalley
No Words is fun RomCom with lovable characters and an a bookish theme (what bookworm doesn't love that?). While her plot and characters were well developed, I wasn’t a fan of how unreasonably angry Jo continued to be towards Will.
I get that he publicly said some unfair things about her writing, but he went above and beyond to apologize and it seemed like she was just dead set on being angry.
That being said, I LOVED how she used Jo & Will’s writing/books in the story, and how human it is for someone to be able to write well, but not always be able to clearly verbally communicate what they’re feeling. Also, Garrett’s ending was SO satisfying. Overall it was a witty creative RomCom and you should give it a try!
3.75 / 5
I've not read the other books in the Little Bridge Series, but that didn't bother me at all when I jumped into the story of Jo Wright and Will Price--two authors at a small book festival on adorable Little Bridge Island in the Florida Keys. Jo is a children's book writer and Will is a People's sexiest man of the year author and fictional stand in for a sort of Nicholas Sparks who slighted her in an interview with the New York Times. Since the interview, Jo's had writer's block, and Will has been overseeing his various film adaptations. She haaaaates him, and Will is seemingly oblivious to her. Or is he?
Out of the blue, Jo gets an invitation to the book festival, and, once she's assured that Will (who lives on the island) won't be involved, goes. Then the truth comes out: Will is deeply involved. Maybe he was even the one behind asking her to attend. Maybe he feels bad about what happened with the NYT. And maybe he's not as bad as Jo has cooked him up in her head. But if all of that is true, why badmouth her? She's determined to find out.
No Words is a very quick romp over a couple of days in the Keys--a catamaran ride, sunsets, book signings, author panels, chaotic authors, lots of drinking, and some magic shenanigans. It kept me glued the pages just to see how it would all resolve. Jo could be a little pessimistic and petty--but deep into writer's block I expected her to be frustrated and out of sorts. Will was a romantic hero with a soft side, eager to right the wrongs, which was weirdly refreshing. The chaos of a book festival was an interesting setting and kept the book moving at a fast clip. Overall it's a fast, satisfying read and perfect for anyone looking for a light-hearted rom-com.
No words is a sweet romance about second chances and not being scared to take chances on yourself!
Will and Jo had an unfortunate event and Jo wants nothing to do with the author of romance novels! She just wants to write her next book and move on, but an opportunity of a lifetime presents itself and she finds herself face to face with the man she just can’t stand!
This book was hilarious and not just because of Jo’s quick wips and her dislike for mornings but because the cast of characters is just laugh out loud fun! I also really loved Will. He was more than the brooding silent author!
Cute! I love the Little Bridge Island series because it's exactly what I expect from Meg Cabot. Heartfelt, funny, emotional, and HEAs.
Meg Cabot has done it again! This is a delightful, smart, and witty rom com set during a book festival and tackling sexual harassment and plagiarism in publishing.
I have really enjoyed this series until this book. The female main character was immature and unreasonably angry with the male main character. Her reactions made no sense. I couldn't finish.
This was a cute little rom-com from one of my favorite authors, Meg Cabot. The little phrases from the main characters kitty books were hilarious. I think I might take up saying “Whiskers”! Fun beach read, perfect for summer
Snapshot
Author Jo Wright comes across her nemesis, fellow author and hottie Will Price, while attending a book festival in the third installment to Meg Cabot's Little Bridge Island series.
💖 Rom-com
👩❤️💋👨 Enemies to lovers
🏛️ Love in a small town
✍️ Book festival
TW: Loss of a parent, sexual assault
Thoughts
No Words is the perfect quick, lighthearted beach read. It can be read as a standalone romance despite being part of an ongoing series. While Jo is a likeable MC, she does come across as more immature than she should considering her age and experience. Her overall growth in the novel is satisfying despite the juvenile antics. More time spent developing the relationship between Jo and Will would have been delightful. If you have read and enjoyed the previous two books in the series, you're bound to enjoy this book too.
This is an entertaining romantic comedy with a lot of humor, skillfully written and with delightful characters. The story takes us into the world of writers, literary agents, publishers, and book expos and skewers it with sharp yet gentle wit. Jo Wright, author of a successful children's series featuring an intrepid female cat and her cohorts, and Will Price, a successful writer of angsty fiction, are both on a panel at a book festival held on an idyllic Florida island. Jo is suffering from depression and writer's block brought on by Will's interview in the New York Times in which he panned her writing in terms of harsh dismissal. Naturally, Jo and Will are destined to fall in love, and the bumps along the road they take to get there are a lot of fun for the reader. The only quibble I have is that the reasons for Will being so nasty about Jo's work in the first place are never really adequately explained. It's established that he's not good with words and had been going through major difficulties at the time, but as Jo says to her friend, many people go through hard times without being nasty about someone else--especially when it's on record to a NY Times reporter. However, that's a fairly minor objection. The story is amusing, enjoyable, and funny and overall a delight to read.
I love Meg Cabot, I jumped at the chance to read this one. I Love the Little Bridge Island Series so much. This one was great. I love the characters and I love returning to Little Bridge Island. I do wish that we got a bit of an update on Bree and Drew. This one was witty and funny as usual. I Loved the book festival. My only negative is the pacing. It just seemed to end abruptly. But as always Meg Cabot is amazing.
Back on Little Bridge Island, this time for an adorable book festival! Molly the children's librarian is throwing the inaugural Little Bridge Island Book Festival, and famed children's book writer Jo Wright is invited. Her agent is adamant that Will Prince will definitely not be there. Because why would she want to be at the same event of someone who completely demeaned her work to the New York Times!? Well, guess who's there and guess who's actually fully funding the event? You got it! Will Prince! It seems like he wants to make amends with Jo, but she's hesitant to just accept the apology and move on.
SO, this is a classic Meg Cabot book with a very minimal amount of drama, angst, and conflict. This one was just as satisfying and cute as the others in this series. I loved Jo and Will. It was a fast read for me, and recommend to any Meg Cabot/Chick Lit fans!
So a Meg Cabot book comes in and I drop everything I'm reading and pretty much everything I'm doing as well. It's safe to say I'm obsessed with the Little Bridge Island series and I'm always so excited to see a new addition to this adorable town. Jo Wright only agreed to attend the Little Bridge Book Festival because Will Price wouldn't be there, and yet it's five minutes after touching down on the island and everything has changed. I loved the will-they, won't-they of Jo and Will, but a few parts of the book fell short. I really wish we could have learned more about Jo, her back story, her writing, everything. We got bits and pieces throughout the book but I just wanted more. And although some people may like the splices of The Moment throughout No Words, honestly I just skipped through them and didn't find them at all necessary to the story. Overall this was a good book but far from the best Little Bridge Island or Meg Cabot read.
Great for a light beach read but not if you're looking for something substantial or memorable.
Personally, I wasn't a fan of this and struggled past the halfway mark to keep reading until giving up. The concept is original but poorly executed. The characters were thinly written and felt more like character molds than real people. The heroine, Jo, is petty and juvenile and the male hero is cowardly. The enemies-to-lovers troupe here is one sided, as the grudge is mostly fabricated by Jo and her supposed hatred towards him feels awkward since it's obvious she's obsessed with him.
I used to love Cabot's writing style, but it's apparent (at least, in this book) that her tone is best suited for young adult books and not older crowds. Jo's constant references in her inner monologue to the kids book series she pens got old fast and were quite strange, honestly. It's almost like, no wonder this woman can't let go of the past, accept an apology and move on - she has the emotional maturity level of an eight year old. She's not totally unlikeable, but it was hard to empathize with her and made me question why she was written like this.
Cabot's over-explanation of what's happening and unnecessary inclusion of details were frustrating to read. Excellent writing is being able to convey something through context clues, basically trusting the reader will piece it together themselves without having to be told outright. At a certain point, writing that's bloated with too many details and explanations is exhausting to want to finish.
Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow and Custom House for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This series has become one of my favorite mood boosters. Everyone on Little Bridge Island is delightful and entertaining and this enemies to lovers story was no different. Set during a weekend Book Festival, Jo and Will had great sizzle and banter. I enjoyed seeing familiar characters and look forward to the next book!