DNF - I couldn't seem to engage with the story & struggled to pick up the book. There is certainly an audience that will adore this book for everything that it is. This just wasn't my jam.

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!! Each of the characters - Penelope, Jesenia and Lotus has such a tremendous story on their own, yet they are woven together in a tale of motherhood, friendship and just general - life - and it creates a tale that is huge and meaty. While one characters story angered me from the beginning with her decision(s) - my heart completely wept for her by the end. There are a LOT of social situations in this book - several "hot button" topics. I appreciated how each of these was presented in a way that didn't offend (I hate that word...) but enabled the reader to feel empathy and compassion towards the individual characters that found themselves in the scenerios that they were in. Ms. Romero did a fabulous job in getting me to care for every character (okay, except for Lotus' "husband" - he's a moron) I was completely invested in the outcomes of each woman's story and would LOVE a sequel!! This honest review is given in exchange for a digital copy of the Words We Cannot Say by Netgalley and the Publisher.

I am a real sucker for books told from multiple different perspectives and Romero did a great job of this. I really enjoyed the acknowledgement of how pregnancy/conceiving children is not the same experience for everyone and the struggles endured in a journey that majority of people will go through in their lifetime. The diversity of characters in race and relationships added layers to this story that were essential and incredibly well done. Thoroughly enjoyed!

Thanks to Netgalley for sending me the ARC! I liked it but expected so much more. I didn't agree with some of the characters morals so it was a struggle to get through it. I rate it a 3.1

Emotionally driven, with great characters and story line, Words We Cannot Say is an intriguing read. Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book

Words We Cannot Say is a deep dive into the various perspectives of motherhood, each as unique as the person who experiences it. It was hard not to identify strongly with at least one of the main characters, as they were all quite likeable and multifaceted. Romero is a master at capturing both elation and sorrow, both of which come through the book flawlessly.

Although I felt that 90% of the book was very strong, the parts written about Penelope's past seemed a little disjointed. Her grandmother, aunt, and brother were important to her, but their parts were confusingly intertwined with her cousin Lotus' back story. It was hard to develop any emotion towards those characters or understand their significance.

Note: I received a free ebook copy of Words We Cannot Say from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

Words We Cannot Say is the poster child for inclusivity in a modern world.

Fast-paced from the beginning, a lot of ground is covered, and you're expected to jump on board. I was definitely intrigued but uncertain; several characters feel selfish, judgmental, or annoying at first. But as the story continues, these characters become nuanced and more well-rounded. I found my opinion of several of them changing as the story evolved.

While Words We Cannot Say is set in our time and our world, it feels like a utopia. The characters are open-minded and conscious of others' feelings and beliefs. Covering almost every angle of fertility (and infertility), abortion, adoption, IVF, miscarriage, and stillbirth are all on the table. On top of this, several different relationship models are explored, from extramarital affairs to polyamorous marriage and almost everything in between. This may sound like a lot, but it is all addressed naturally throughout without feeling like a checklist of inclusivity. Because of how much is addressed, it does feel at times that we are getting a quick summary or shallow exploration, but for the most part, I found the narrative to be inciteful and respective of many different life choices.

For an open discussion about fertility and family, I would highly recommend Words We Cannot Say.

Words We Cannot Say by Sita Romero

Three women, three different situations and lives.

One longs for a baby of her own. Her heart has broken many times, month after month, as she and her husband wait for their turn to have a baby.

Another has a toddler, an unconventional marriage, and a new pregnancy. But, she's wondering if she can trust her husband anymore after the choices he's made recently.

The third friend has a great job she loves. And, freedom she loves, too. But when she finds herself in a difficult situation, her choice will have consequences for a lot of people.

"Words We Cannot Say by Sita Romero a highly recommended-five star book!"-Books and Pens on Green Gables

Such an amazing and beautifully written unique story about three women. Highly recommend this one! Cannot wait to read more by this author!!

a beautiful story about friendship, motherhood and life choices. the story follows three friends and their relationship, Penelope, Lotus and Nia. throughout the story and as they each face their own problems and life choices, I became really fond of these three realistic characters and at the end I wasn't really ready to let them go. each of these women have their own personalities, interests, fears and ideas about the concept of motherhood. a very very strong story that I enjoyed deeply.
thanks to NetGallery for providing my copy.

"Every birth is different." It's a truth given early by labor and delivery nurse, Penelope. Every birth is different. So is every pregnancy, every person who experiences pregnancy, and the journey they took to reach parenthood. In Words We Cannot Say, Romero tells a story of pregnancy in today's society in all its miraculous, complex and heartbreaking varieties. The story weaves together the lives of three friends, Penelope, Nia and Lotus, who all become pregnant but through different means and with very different feelings about it. Romero creates characters who feel real with honest and complex attitudes towards pregnancy and motherhood, and she tells their stories with heartbreaking empathy and no judgement. Words We Cannot Say eloquently shows how our attitudes towards pregnancy and motherhood are shaped by our personalities, personal history and cultural and societal expectations. The whole book is an argument why therapy should be automatically prescribed right along with prenatal vitamins.

My favorite part of the story is the presentation of female friendship. Thank you, thank you, thank you Romero for writing a story that shows us grown women with different backgrounds and lifestyles, valuing friendship and choosing to love and support one another despite these differences. There are no mean girls here. Only best friends going through difficult times in their lives.

The book definitely needs a trigger warning given the fact it deals with infertility and pregnancy loss. I think there are many women who will want to hold off on reading this until they're at a different point in their lives, but will then be grateful to have this story.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. This book is heart wrenching and heart warming all in one. It touched on a lot of hard issues, but dealt with them in a beautiful and touching way. The story is based on three different woman all on different journey’s but intertwined with one another. I recommend this book to every women. Though please note it does have trigger warnings.

I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to read an ARC of this novel. Words We Cannot Say captivated me from the start and by the end, I didn’t want to let Penelope, Nia, Lotus, and their loved ones go. Told from the perspective of three women as they navigate motherhood, relationships, and family, Sita Romero’s debut novel is one I couldn’t put down.

Romero explores important themes in her book and I particularly like how she discusses choice and agency. She isn’t afraid to talk about all sides of motherhood, one’s relationship to motherhood before–and if–they even choose it for themselves, and what happens when life doesn't go as expected.

One of my favorite things about the novel is the individuality of the three main characters. They each have their own interests, beliefs, desires, and ideas of what they want out of life, but their bond throughout the book grows stronger as their individual journeys come together, diverge, and join again. The character development in this book is spectacular and it was a privilege to watch these three women grieve and grow together.

If you are a mother, have a mother, know someone becoming a mother, or may want to become one in the future - this book is for you. I'd also recommend this as an excellent book club read in 2022.

Words We Cannot Say follows three wonderfully distinct women - fiercely independent nurse Penelope, blissfully bohemian Lotus, and fiery model Jesenia (Nia) - who, despite their difference all have something in common - the desire to be a mother. Each is dealing with their own challenging reality - Penelope with an unexpected pregnancy, Lotus with a very much planned pregnancy but impossible marriage struggles, and Nia, who so desperately wants to have a child and continues to experience challenges. I loved that we came to know each characters inner workings - their family relationships, the decisions that formed them, as well as appreciate that when it comes to motherhood, no path is easy. The novel also explored how your identity as a mother can fundamentally shift your identity as a person, whether its your dreams, desires, goals, energies - which is a story I think many shy away from. I read this SO quickly - the chapters were short, punchy and I felt it was extremely well paced! I do feel that every character got a "happy" ending, which is certainly not always the case with fertility - but I appreciate that was the way THIS particular story turned out.

I was also interested to learn that the author worked in women's health for 15 year before pursuing her MFA; she built these characters from her real experiences, and I loved that!

Three very different women are facing pregnancies.

Nia is desperate to be a mother. She's afraid she's being punished for decisions made when she was younger but is willing to try anything including IVF and adoption. Will she ever get to be a mom?

Lotus is struggling to pull the weight of her household and barely has time to notice, let alone enjoy, her second pregnancy. As her marriage blows up, will she admit to what she needs?

Penelope is a labor and delivery nurse. She loves her job and is jarred to unexpectedly find herself pregnant following a break up with a married man. What decisions will she make for her future?

There is loss, infertility struggles, tough decisions, messy relationships with friends, family, lovers and the very scary transition of becoming a mom.

Being well past the pregnancy and new mom stage I didn't expect to get as into this book as I did. Yes the central plot point is pregnancy but there is something more to it that draws you in to keep your attention.

"Words We Cannot Say" by Sita Romero, is a deep heartfelt novel that reached out and pulled me in. It follows three very different women (Penelope, Lotus, and Nia), as they navigate life and a beautiful friendship.

Trigger warnings include: infertility, miscarriage, abortion, death, and polyamorous relationships. If you are comfortable with the triggers, it is an unforgettable story that is straight from the heart.

Lets look at the main characters:
Penelope is a busy labor and delivery nurse. Her boyfriend Jasper has just ended their 3-year relationship. After the breakup, Penelope finds out she is pregnant. Can she raise her child alone?

Lotus is pregnant with her 2nd child. She feels overwhelmed trying to juggle her family and a successful business. Lotus is a free spirit and is planning a home birth. Will Lotus be able to handle her stressful life and a home delivery?

Nia is a very successful model. She is married to a doctor and they are blissfully happy. They desperately want a baby. The couple has been trying for 3-years will no luck. Will Nia's dream of motherhood become a reality?

"Words We Cannot Say" will be published April 19th.

Thank you NetGalley and Red Adept Publishing, LLC for allowing me to review this outstanding e-book. I look forward to reading much more from Sita Romero. This story touched my heart. ❤

This is the story of three women--two cousins and their friend--and their pregnancies. One, Penelope, is a Labor and Delivery nurse who has no desire for children at the outset due to her own experience of poor parenting. Her cousin Lotus grew up more happily in a commune and now has an open, polyamorous marriage and a toddler, as well as running a business. Their Venezuelan-American friend Nia, a former model married to one of Penelope's doctor colleagues, tries desperately to get pregnant.

Nothing goes as expected for any of these women, and they must deal with heartaches and loss as well as friendship, love, and joy. While I'm not sure I want to read any more fiction focusing on pregnancy (at least for a while), this is a well-told, engaging narrative that many readers will connect with. The relationships among the various characters are sensitively explored, and I liked the inclusion, without judgment, of a poly and bisexual couple's complex marriage.

I loved this book. Three women linked in various ways come together with their care for each other, but also in the quest for a child. Penelope is a labor and delivery nurse, but with a recent breakup with someone, her personal life is in tatters. Jesenia (Nia) is a famous model, who longs for a baby, but fertility treatments are taking a toll. Lotus is Penelope's cousin and becomes friends with Nia, and she has a whole bunch of problems of her own. She has a toddler, is now pregnant again, and is in a polyamorous marriage that is showing signs of strain. It's like people say...we are all fighting a hard battle. These women show that the path to birth, or away from a child, is not always straight and easy. Thank you to RedAdept Publishing, NetGalley, and the author for an e-ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

I am so honored to receive and e-ARC of this book. This is my first ARC to say this book impacted my life is a severe understatement. It is worth more than just 5 stars. The first thing you should know was how hooked I was after reading the first chapter. I seriously could not and did not want to put it down. While my lifestyle is certainly not even relatable to Penelope, Nia, and Lotus’s, the connection I formed with each one of these characters was deep and meaningful. From Penelope’s desires to be a better parent than her own, Nia’s constant guilt and worry of her past affecting her present and Lotus’s struggle with boundaries… I could relate to it all. Not because I am like those characters, but because I am a woman living in a women’s world. This isn’t to say this book is all about feminism, and it’s more than about being a mother. It’s about handling life’s problems, being vulnerable and being truthful and accepting of the past to get to where you need to be in the present. I was so emotionally involved in this story, I felt like Penelope, Nia and Lotus were my friends too. I cried with them, celebrated with them, and hurt with them. The line that stuck with me and perfectly sums up this story’s power just so happens to be the last line, “she knew that she had always loved the life she was meant to-during the good moments and the bad”. I love this book so much, I am buying it when it comes out… and you should too!

Three women. Three friends.Three very different lives. Three pregnancies.

Jesenia: A beautiful Venezuelan model married to an ObGyn. She has everything. A luxurious condo, expensive clothing, a dream job. Everything except what she really wants.. a baby. Three years of unsuccessful fertility treatments have left her angry and depressed.

Lotus: She’s a pregnant yoga teacher, a hippie granola type who has chosen an open marriage and is now living with her husband Rob, their son Blaze and Rob’s former lover Jagannath. What could go wrong?

Penelope: A hospital Labor and Delivery nurse, she has just ended a relationship with a married man. And she’s just discovered she is pregnant. Now she has to decide how to handle this unwanted pregnancy.

Words We Cannot Say is an emotional tale about women, friendships and family. It’s about how friendships ebb and flow. Most importantly, it’s about family - what makes a family and the love that keeps it together. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Red Adept Publishing, LLC and Sita Romero for this ARC.