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maryjaneb14's review against another edition
5.0
Loved this book!! The characters had me (Olivia & Josh) and the little spills of secrets kept me hooked to the end. I don't always like to read Mystery/Thriller books because I get so impatient when I can't predict what will happen. I had my suspicions but I was just as shocked as Olivia when it came to. Next book here I come.
giovanna20's review
4.0
No More Words is one of those books that knows how to keep the reader in suspense.
At the age of sixteen, Olivia Carson's sister, finds herself pregnant and is forced to choose between abortion or adoption.
Lily chooses to run away, but continues to maintain contact with her sister Olivia, through an annual letter and a photo of her son.
Until the letters stop and Olivia finds herself at the front door of the house Josh, Lily's son.
Josh is terrified, has difficulty speaking and cannot read or write. All he has with him is a statement from Lily: "In case you have to disappear..."
Olivia has no idea where her sister is and Josh, at first is no help at all, but thanks to his amazing creative talents, through his drawings, he tells a story.
This story is his and Lily's, so Olivia uses Josu's drawings as a map and retraces their journey.
As I mentioned at the beginning, No More Words was a book that kept me on the edge of my seat. Along with Olivia, I was trying to decipher Josh's drawings as well. I will tell you, it would have been another if the depictions had been present as well. They would have given the story an extra edge.
I can't wait to read the sequel!
ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange of an honest
At the age of sixteen, Olivia Carson's sister, finds herself pregnant and is forced to choose between abortion or adoption.
Lily chooses to run away, but continues to maintain contact with her sister Olivia, through an annual letter and a photo of her son.
Until the letters stop and Olivia finds herself at the front door of the house Josh, Lily's son.
Josh is terrified, has difficulty speaking and cannot read or write. All he has with him is a statement from Lily: "In case you have to disappear..."
Olivia has no idea where her sister is and Josh, at first is no help at all, but thanks to his amazing creative talents, through his drawings, he tells a story.
This story is his and Lily's, so Olivia uses Josu's drawings as a map and retraces their journey.
As I mentioned at the beginning, No More Words was a book that kept me on the edge of my seat. Along with Olivia, I was trying to decipher Josh's drawings as well. I will tell you, it would have been another if the depictions had been present as well. They would have given the story an extra edge.
I can't wait to read the sequel!
ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange of an honest
goosecreekgirl01's review against another edition
5.0
This book was so amazing!!!! Loved everything about it!! All the twists and turns, lies,secrets and love. Once I started it I couldn’t put it down.
goosecreekgirl01's review
5.0
OMG was so incredibly amazing!! Such as easy read, with lots of family drama and lies, love, secrets., complicated relationships. It had everything. And still threw in surprises at the end! Love her books!!
tkirby's review against another edition
emotional
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
ntbarrin's review
2.0
I found this book frustrating for a few reasons.
1. The author's overuse of Similes, there was one just about every page. About half way through the book I started laughing every time one appeared. In addition to the quantity of similes they were BAD!
2. Spoiler here: The ending; So, Lily/Jenna goes missing for several days leaving her kid who has had. TBI and when they reunite it is SO anticlimactic and it seemed to me like she was just having a little lover rendezvous with her kid's dad (Umm..what??)
3.Olivia was a complete narcissist I mean the flashbacks to childhood, clearly her parents were CRUEL to Lily, how did she not pick up on that? Way to into herself.
4.Throughout the book the author makes it clear that Olivia has SERIOUS trust issues especially with men, yet she trust every single word that came out of her dad's mouth and she readily believed her mom's lies.
5. The Police- So they pretty much brushed off Olivia's attempt to find her sister. Totally unrealistic, I mean at least they could have tried to get Lilly for "abandoning" her child--I mean technically Josh was a lost child and couldn't find his mom...pretty sure the police would be concerned about this.
To sum up This book is like a pimple on picture day ---> BAD!
--sorry I couldn't resist!
1. The author's overuse of Similes, there was one just about every page. About half way through the book I started laughing every time one appeared. In addition to the quantity of similes they were BAD!
2. Spoiler here: The ending; So, Lily/Jenna goes missing for several days leaving her kid who has had. TBI and when they reunite it is SO anticlimactic and it seemed to me like she was just having a little lover rendezvous with her kid's dad (Umm..what??)
3.Olivia was a complete narcissist I mean the flashbacks to childhood, clearly her parents were CRUEL to Lily, how did she not pick up on that? Way to into herself.
4.Throughout the book the author makes it clear that Olivia has SERIOUS trust issues especially with men, yet she trust every single word that came out of her dad's mouth and she readily believed her mom's lies.
5. The Police- So they pretty much brushed off Olivia's attempt to find her sister. Totally unrealistic, I mean at least they could have tried to get Lilly for "abandoning" her child--I mean technically Josh was a lost child and couldn't find his mom...pretty sure the police would be concerned about this.
To sum up This book is like a pimple on picture day ---> BAD!
--sorry I couldn't resist!
jhscolloquium's review
4.0
With No More Words, bestselling author Kerry Lonsdale launches her "No More" trilogy.
Lonsdale says that the heart of the series is her attempt to answer this question: "Does a parent’s dysfunction prevent the younger generation from having a normal life, or have circumstances fated them to live with their trauma?" No More Words focuses on three siblings: Olivia, her younger sister, Lily, and their brother, Lucas. Olivia is a successful graphic novelist, living in their hometown on California's beautiful Central Coast just west of San Luis Obispo. As the book opens, she is in the process of breaking up with her boyfriend, Blaze, because she believes he has been unfaithful to her. Tumult in their relationship is nothing new.
Suddenly, Olivia's nephew, Josh, shows up at her house. Olivia is stunned when he is dropped off. She has never met Josh, although she has received a photograph of him every year from Lily, who ran away when she was just sixteen years old and pregnant. She never returned and Olivia has no idea where she lives or how she supports herself. At the time, their father, Dwight, told Olivia that the father of Lily's unborn child was Olivia's twenty-one-year-old boyfriend, Ethan. That revelation shattered Olivia's relationship with him and she has not been in touch with him in many years, either. Olivia has long struggled to trust anyone.
At first, Olivia finds Josh's behavior odd and unsettling. But she soon realizes that Josh isn't simply choosing not to communicate with her. He is unable to speak more than a few words at a time, and his efforts to do so cause him to become frustrated and angry. Olivia also notices a scar on his scalp, suggesting that he has undergone a procedure fairly recently. He's unable to explain how he got to Olivia's home, where he and his mother live, or why he has arrived there alone. Naturally, Olivia fears the worst -- that something horrible has happened to Lily. And, of course, she becomes determined to learn the truth. She has to know if her sister needs help and, perhaps, if it is now her responsibility to finish raising Josh. When she realizes that he is a talented artist, she suggests that he draw pictures to relate what he can't articulate.
As children, Olivia, Lily, and Lucas spent summers with Harold and Rhonda Whitman and their sons, Theo and Ty, at the Whitman's cabin. Until something happened and they were returned home, never to enjoy more carefree days swimming in the lake, hiking, and sleeping in tents in the cabin's loft. Appearances meant everything to Dwight and Charlotte. Dwight had political ambitions until a scandalous and tragic event derailed them. The children, reluctant at first, came to love the time at the cabin.
Josh's sudden appearance drudges up old conflicts, alliances, resentments, and secrets. Lonsdale has crafted a cast of characters whose lives will be forever changed by Josh's introduction into their lives. The first volume of the trilogy is devoted primarily to Olivia -- her history, relationships with her family members, as well as Ethan and the Whitman boys, and the way that her childhood experiences inform the woman she is today. She has achieved professional success, but her personal life has remained unsettled. And as she grows increasingly fond and protective of the nephew she is only now getting to know, she must piece together a fourteen-year-old mystery: What exactly happened to Lily, and why was she treated differently by their parents than Olivia and Lucas? Is Ethan really Josh's father? If not, who is? And why did she leave, cutting off all ties with her family? And, more urgently, what happened to Olivia herself? Did she witness and experience things years ago that she is only now able to understand? The Carson family's life seemed idyllic to outside observers but, in reality, appearances are deceiving. As Olivia grapples with clues to the truth, she has to decide what her newfound knowledge means and find a way to move forward.
No More Words is a gripping, emotional concoction of domestic drama and psychological thriller rolled into one. Lonsdale is at her best in this novel, deftly interspersing glimpses of the past with Olivia's present-day efforts to solve multiple mysteries. The pace of the story never slows, and Lonsdale's characters are fully developed and multi-layered. Charlotte is particularly exasperating. She's a woman who wants to maintain the facade of perfection, literally shutting down to avoid confrontations, but Olivia spares no mercy when she realizes that her own mother may be complicit in harboring dark family secrets and covering up damaging truths. Josh is particularly endearing, of course, because of his age and vulnerability. He is an adolescent adrift. Away from the mother who has raised him without the benefit of a loving, supportive extended family, he is frightened and worried, thrust into the midst of family members has has never known, and grappling with his inability to express his emotions except through his drawings. Readers will take him into their hearts and cheer for him to be reunited with his mother. Lucas was a bit wild as a young man, but paid dearly for incidents that took place years ago. He hasn't forgotten and there may be no space in his life for forgiveness . . . for himself or anyone else.
The Carson family saga continues in volume two, No More Lies in 2022. Which is not soon enough.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book.
Lonsdale says that the heart of the series is her attempt to answer this question: "Does a parent’s dysfunction prevent the younger generation from having a normal life, or have circumstances fated them to live with their trauma?" No More Words focuses on three siblings: Olivia, her younger sister, Lily, and their brother, Lucas. Olivia is a successful graphic novelist, living in their hometown on California's beautiful Central Coast just west of San Luis Obispo. As the book opens, she is in the process of breaking up with her boyfriend, Blaze, because she believes he has been unfaithful to her. Tumult in their relationship is nothing new.
Suddenly, Olivia's nephew, Josh, shows up at her house. Olivia is stunned when he is dropped off. She has never met Josh, although she has received a photograph of him every year from Lily, who ran away when she was just sixteen years old and pregnant. She never returned and Olivia has no idea where she lives or how she supports herself. At the time, their father, Dwight, told Olivia that the father of Lily's unborn child was Olivia's twenty-one-year-old boyfriend, Ethan. That revelation shattered Olivia's relationship with him and she has not been in touch with him in many years, either. Olivia has long struggled to trust anyone.
At first, Olivia finds Josh's behavior odd and unsettling. But she soon realizes that Josh isn't simply choosing not to communicate with her. He is unable to speak more than a few words at a time, and his efforts to do so cause him to become frustrated and angry. Olivia also notices a scar on his scalp, suggesting that he has undergone a procedure fairly recently. He's unable to explain how he got to Olivia's home, where he and his mother live, or why he has arrived there alone. Naturally, Olivia fears the worst -- that something horrible has happened to Lily. And, of course, she becomes determined to learn the truth. She has to know if her sister needs help and, perhaps, if it is now her responsibility to finish raising Josh. When she realizes that he is a talented artist, she suggests that he draw pictures to relate what he can't articulate.
As children, Olivia, Lily, and Lucas spent summers with Harold and Rhonda Whitman and their sons, Theo and Ty, at the Whitman's cabin. Until something happened and they were returned home, never to enjoy more carefree days swimming in the lake, hiking, and sleeping in tents in the cabin's loft. Appearances meant everything to Dwight and Charlotte. Dwight had political ambitions until a scandalous and tragic event derailed them. The children, reluctant at first, came to love the time at the cabin.
Josh's sudden appearance drudges up old conflicts, alliances, resentments, and secrets. Lonsdale has crafted a cast of characters whose lives will be forever changed by Josh's introduction into their lives. The first volume of the trilogy is devoted primarily to Olivia -- her history, relationships with her family members, as well as Ethan and the Whitman boys, and the way that her childhood experiences inform the woman she is today. She has achieved professional success, but her personal life has remained unsettled. And as she grows increasingly fond and protective of the nephew she is only now getting to know, she must piece together a fourteen-year-old mystery: What exactly happened to Lily, and why was she treated differently by their parents than Olivia and Lucas? Is Ethan really Josh's father? If not, who is? And why did she leave, cutting off all ties with her family? And, more urgently, what happened to Olivia herself? Did she witness and experience things years ago that she is only now able to understand? The Carson family's life seemed idyllic to outside observers but, in reality, appearances are deceiving. As Olivia grapples with clues to the truth, she has to decide what her newfound knowledge means and find a way to move forward.
No More Words is a gripping, emotional concoction of domestic drama and psychological thriller rolled into one. Lonsdale is at her best in this novel, deftly interspersing glimpses of the past with Olivia's present-day efforts to solve multiple mysteries. The pace of the story never slows, and Lonsdale's characters are fully developed and multi-layered. Charlotte is particularly exasperating. She's a woman who wants to maintain the facade of perfection, literally shutting down to avoid confrontations, but Olivia spares no mercy when she realizes that her own mother may be complicit in harboring dark family secrets and covering up damaging truths. Josh is particularly endearing, of course, because of his age and vulnerability. He is an adolescent adrift. Away from the mother who has raised him without the benefit of a loving, supportive extended family, he is frightened and worried, thrust into the midst of family members has has never known, and grappling with his inability to express his emotions except through his drawings. Readers will take him into their hearts and cheer for him to be reunited with his mother. Lucas was a bit wild as a young man, but paid dearly for incidents that took place years ago. He hasn't forgotten and there may be no space in his life for forgiveness . . . for himself or anyone else.
The Carson family saga continues in volume two, No More Lies in 2022. Which is not soon enough.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book.
loribree83's review
4.0
I'm a big fan of Kerry Lonsdale, and will automatically read everything she writes--so I was excited to see that this book is the first in a trilogy! This book pulled me in from the beginning and kept me interested right through to the last page! I loved the characters, and got particularly attached to Olivia and Josh. I can't wait to read the next book in the series!
Thank you to the publilsher via NetGalley for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you to the publilsher via NetGalley for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.