This was an interesting read, but by the end, I felt like it dragged on longer than necessary. I appreciated Enola's character and her toxic relationship. That said, the beginning felt confusing to me...and while it made sense later on, I just didn't like the flow. I also didn't like the main character, who despite being 30-years-old, felt emotionally immature. The writing overall was very good and descriptive, I just didn't connect with the story.

What It’s Like in Words is a pretty heavy tale of relationships and life in your late twenties. Our main character, Enola, is a barista by day and an aspiring writer. She had a best friend, Ruth, which is a character we could all aspire to be like - patience, timely advice, reliable. Unfortunately for Enola, she seems to forgo her instincts (and advice from Ruth) to pursue a relationship with “HIM,” who is also an aspiring writer and a pretty miserable person on the daily.

Eliza Moss delivers a very powerful character arc. There is definitely payoff in reading this book to the end. With that said, you will want to hit your head against a wall in hearing how desperate and delusioned Enola can be in her relationship with HIM. I would recommend this book with the trigger warnings of emotional abuse, childhood trauma, suicide, and substance use.

I think this book will hit home for too many women, myself included. For all of us who have pursued a relationship under the guise of believing you could be a feminist and be happy with whatever the man was willing to give, despite knowing damn well you would rather have the happy ending - wedding, house, kids. Ah pain. I interpreted this as a critique to modern day feminism.

I loved the narration from Victoria Blunt. She really brought the characters to life and it was easy to distinguish which character was speaking with her voices. The English accent was wonderful in feeling more immersed in the book’s setting.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, the author Eliza Moss, and the narrator Victoria Blunt for this ALC of What It’s Like In Words.

There should be a greater emphasis on the fact that this book is, indeed, very dark and very intense. The writing is well done, but the content can be a bit triggering. What It's Like in Words depicts a highly toxic relationship between a woman in her late 20s and an older man that she quickly puts on a pedestal, overlooking all that is problematic in their relationship.

I put this one down around 30% through because it was just too heavy for me. As a reader, you want to constantly scream at the main character every time a red flag appears. But if you're someone who has personally experienced a toxic relationship, this can make for a very difficult read, because you recognize the red flags, but also see things through the main character's rose-colored glasses. Others may love this book, but it was a bit too melancholy for me.

Thank you to Eliza Moss, Macmillan Audio, & NetGalley for the ARC! All opinions are my own.

This book was fairly captivating to read, and I think that really made it for me. This material in a less skillful narrator would have likely been much less engaging..


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review

This was...wild. I went back and forth on requesting it, both in ebook and audio formats, for days before finally deciding to request it. I'm glad I did, and glad I went with the audio version. The narration is excellent and really captures the essence of the characters and the manic nature of the relationships that are at the core of the story.

This is an infuriating, exasperating, cringe-inducing, wearying, emotional mess of a tale, but I mean that in the best possible way. I was completely drawn into the mania. There were so many resonant moments, as I remembered my own first love/relationship (I too was not his first love/relationship) and I too was subjected to a lot of the on-again, off-again balancing act), and they made me cry and wince and go "Aha!" over and over again.

It was really powerful to watch the attempts to save something that is already lost - it generated so many emotions, most of them negative, and really tested my ability to empathize as I found myself wanting to just shake Enola until she saw sense. (I can only imagine how many of my own friends must have felt the same back in the day!) The considerations of emotional manipulation, friendship, fear, grief, obsession, and narcissism were managed very well and really captured what it is to be involved in a toxic relationship.

This was a high-impact story and while it feels weird to say I enjoyed it, I did.

This book is an absolute masterpiece.
I have so many thoughts about this book. I was actually staring my husband down remembering every single time he has ever been less than ideal because I hated HIM so much and I could not stop feeling all gross about the negging and other things he does to Enola. That is the point of the book, right? Anyway, I kept wanting to put it down but then I couldn't bring myself to leave the protagonist because although I was annoyed with her for centering HIM, I loved her. She is relatable. I have a brilliant friend with a husband like HIM and ugh she frustrates me.
Actually I might fight with my husband anyway. This puts me in a mood to fight.

Also the other boyfriend was so cringy. I felt bad for him but he gave me the ick.

Oh and the narration was spot on. I love this too much.

This had to be one of the most frustrating books I've ever read, but it was really well written, so I kept going. The audiobook was excellent and I spent my time yelling, 'just leave him', 'why are you doing this?' and 'Noooo' at my phone. I'm glad I persevered and look forward to Eliza Moss's next book.

If you enjoy books about awful relationships full of gaslighting and emotional abuse, this is the book for you. Thank you to Net Galley and MacMillan Audio for this ARC.

Ok. 3.5 ⭐️
This book was a hard read. Coming from having a relationship similar to this one when I was younger, it was a struggle to read.
I wanted to shake the main character, Enola, often. And the gaslighting was painful to live through this character.
I did however like this story. I loved the ending and really felt like through all the trials and the addiction to this toxic relationship, we got to see Enola truly grow.
Thankful that Holt Publishing shared this one with me.
It’s a good one yall.

Plot: Enola is a barista and aspiring writer. She meets Him during a writing group. The story tells what it’s like when one person puts every effort into a relationship and desperately seeks their validation and coddle the other persons ego.

Characters: I think Eliza Moss does an excellent job writing Enola’s perspective. Enola was likely not an easy character to write, especially considering readers who need to like the characters to like the book. The themes in this book can create characters that readers can go really frustrated with, but I like that Enola can see the dynamic of the relationship but wants it so badly anyway. I also like that this story shows that people can be both the victim and the perpetrator of the toxic behavior in relationships. As far as Him - I think readers will all find they know a Him.

Themes: emotional abuse, manipulation, childhood trauma, repressing memories

Writing: I can’t believe this is Eliza Moss’s first novel. The writing is smart, strong, and even though there are other books that cover this topic I think this is different in that the main character is not always reliable and can be somewhat morally gray.

Narration: great narration, great production.

I really enjoyed this book and this writers voice.

Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for an ARC of this book!

I listened to this novel on audiobook, and I loved the narrator, it really added to the overall reading/listening experience! It felt like I was having brunch with my friends and talking about life and the social scene. This is another good example of a novel which speaks to the concerns of women in our current generation. What does success look like? What does a healthy relationship look like? And what is our place an impact within society?

While the book ventures to ask and in someway answer these questions, I did feel that there was nothing groundbreaking added to our everyday discourse. This book felt very similar to many of the popular party and social novels.

I would suggest this novel is you enjoyed “Happy Hour” by Marlow Granados! Overall this was a good debut, and I look forward to Moss’s next works!

What It's Like in Words tells the story of Enola and her two-year-long toxic relationship. They met in a writer's group, and he was blunt, enigmatic, and captivating, and she couldn't pull herself away. He was also the king of gaslighting, constantly hung around his ex, and was prone to alarming mood swings. And still, Enola kept pushing past those faults for those rare moments of light.

I love when a book can make me feel strong emotions, and I was so annoyed by both Enola for staying and for her butthead of a boyfriend for his entire personality. Anger-inducing as it was, it did feel realistic and painted the highs and lows of a new relationship very well. The narration was also incredibly well-done. All of the characters had a believable voice, and it pulled me even deeper into the story.

Victoria Blunt completely brought this story to life. She was the perfect narration choice and she absolutely nailed it. Enola was a frustrating character at times but Victorias tone really helps the audience fill up with the empathy needed to listen to her story and fully get consumed by it. I have this in print too and the story is amazing both ways, but I HIGHLY recommend the audio.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced audio version of this book. The description had me really intrigued. Overall I would rate this a 3.5 stars. It had me captivated for awhile then fell flat and then picked back up again

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced audio book.

I hung in for as long as I could but, even acknowledging that this is literary fiction and that not all characters need to be likeable, I struggled with understanding why Enola was with "him." There was nothing redeeming about him; even when he was being nice to her he was making fun of her. It got to the point that I couldn't stand spending time with her either,

Ugh, this book was painful to read. For a debut author, it's a masterpiece. There were so many moments when I had to pause and stare at the wall because it took me back to my 20s, a time when I felt deeply every raw emotion of wanting to be seen and desired.

The story dives into the nuances of destructive relationships, illustrating how women can find themselves repeatedly drawn into patterns that don’t serve them—often without realizing why. It explores these dynamics without judgment, providing insight into how early experiences, particularly with family, can shape beliefs about love and self-worth. Through raw and honest storytelling, it depicts the subtle ways people internalize painful relationships and how those experiences can lead to seeking validation in all the wrong places.

This book reminded me of Sarah Manguso’s Liar. Like Manguso, the author captures the complexity of why women should decenter men, move beyond the need to be "chosen," and reclaim their self-worth. It offers an unflinching and painful look at many women's journeys as they work to untangle themselves from these cycles.

UPDATE: I was recently given an opportunity to revisit this novel on #audiobook via Net Galley/Audible - narrated by Victoria Blunt - and the experience truly enhanced the rich writing I had already experienced when I read the book electronically in May. I ended up absolutely LOVING this book and changed my 4+ rating to an EASY 5 stars.

I highly recommend it to anyone interested in: 1/ excellent writing - plot, dialogue, characters 2/ the relatable confusion and dissonance of being in an emotionally abusive relationship - the push/pull of the attraction and pain of abandonment - its addictive darkness and 3/ the triumph of witnessing an excellent protagonist find her own inner strength and identity - with the assistance of a truly great friend (Go, Ruth!) - while she also resolves relationship traumas from the past- family and other. This novel left me feeling lifted by a very believable and strong ending. Eliza Moss is a wonderful writer - this debut is excellent - and I look forward to anything else she releases in the future!!

This was added to my original review from the end of May but I wholeheartedly recommend this book and THANKS AGAIN for letting me experience it on audiobook!

An excellent debut novel by Eliza Moss. What It’s Like in Words is a well written and authentic story about what happens when a broken, codependent, young woman falls in love with a handsome, gaslighting narcissist. The book tells a realistic story of the unhealthy relationship cycle of passion, obsession, self-blame, and desperation. As an over 50, recovering codependent, with years of therapy under my belt, this was a tough read on audible. I kept screaming “NO NO NOooooo!” Every few chapters. I guess that’s a sign of great storytelling- but all the flash-backs it gave me will take a while to recover from. That being said - the writing was excellent and the narration by Victoria Blunt was entertaining and engaging. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the early release of the audiobook.

I listened to this book on audio so let me first say that the narrator was awful. She was supposed to be 30....She sounded a lot older. That was strange to me. As for the book, it was super depressing. I know that people go through things like this all the time but I didn't get the point of the book at all. It was a toxic relationship with a toxic guy who was just the worst. I don't even know why they began dating at first. The author just glossed over that part. The entire book was dedicated to a woman's "relationship" with a man who clearly had issues. The end wrapped things up but very quickly. I did not feel like there was a purpose at all to this book.

If you've ever experienced the suffocating, all consuming feeling of desperately wanting someone to like you, to want to feel seen and cared for by them - this book may be for you.

This was a tough read at times, especially because I felt the gut punches and anxiety along with Enola. I understood why, and that made my heart ache for her more. But it was absolutely worth pushing through to the end.

If you are a fan of books like Acts of Desperation , I think you will enjoy this one.

After meeting an arrogant writer in her writer's group, Enola falls into a toxic situationship that she has trouble leaving over the next two years. Readers familiar with abusive relationships may find this a difficult read at times.