4.03 AVERAGE

dovesnook's profile picture

dovesnook's review

5.0

I wanna preface this by saying IIII asked for an ARC of this bc I love this author’s stories and I’m so happy @hearourvoicestours reached out to me for this tour after bc yes yes yes!!! I loved this book!

5⭐️❤️‍🔥

Words simply can’t explain these emotions of mine. I feel like this book gave me so much. It’s immediately jumping up to one of my favorite books ever. When We Were Widows spoke to so many parts of my past, present, and future. It follows three generations of widows (the grandmother, mother, and daughter) as they navigate life through different stages of grief… and SO MUCH MORE. This author is yet to show me anything but an effortless understanding of what it means to be a Chicana. I loved these Mexican women because Annette loved them and I saw it through the careful consideration of not only their actions at every turn (planned or not) but in their intent too (whether conscious or a byproduct of circumstance). I saw my abuelita, mi mama, myself, y hasta la vecina reflected in the joy, sorrow, and chisme of these pages. Reflected in the restless nights, sharp tongues, and swallowed emotions. In their Chicana pride, strong but loving nature, and family loyalty. From the stubbornness to the vulnerability shown. ALSO IN THE FOOD! I love these women up and down because they are like me and mine.

Other thoughts:
  • I love how important Chicanx history is so easily interwoven into the plot AND also into these characters lives. These are everyday conversations for so many of us.
  • I’m so happy to see positive representation for Latino men in this book!!!! I like that the white man was bad (cause duh) and even tho one of the Latino men was gross too, I think the positivity with all the others really shined! 
  • I love that mental health was important throughout this story.
  • I hated Yesica’s ex and I’m glad what happened to him happened to him. His mom and dad can go screw themselves too. 
  • I’m glad Yesica grew into herself with the help of those who were actually there for her. 
  • I love the abuelita so much, even tho she made me cry so much
littleloterialibrary's profile picture

littleloterialibrary's review

4.0
emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The relationship between the three women was so believable and relatable. I feel like it’s no secret that in the Latinx culture talking about emotions is something we don’t do enough and the author depicted this through out the whole story. 

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mood_reading_maya's profile picture

mood_reading_maya's review

5.0
emotional hopeful sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes

While I really struggle with miscommunication trope in romance, in general fiction / women's fiction it's a different story - and in When We Were Widows it worked really well. I felt a real personal connection to this book. It reminded me so much of the communication challenges I witnessed and had experienced between generations within my own family. The complicated and messy way that we withhold information to protect ourselves and others; the ways we respond to acts done with helpful intentions; the way we speak over one another rather than to one another.

The story is told primarily through Yesica (daughter) and Ana's (mother) perspectives, but the third key character is Mama Melda (grandmother). When a flooded bathroom causes Ana and Mama Melda's home to become uninhabitable due to damage and subsequent construction, they take up temporary residence with Yesica in her Santa Monica home. This is a far cry from the Bell Gardens (Los Angeles area) home where these three once lived. Now with three generations of women, all widows, under the same roof, they have to finally confront their strained mother-daughter relationship, marital secrets that have been kept for years, and find ways to heal the grief, hurt, and resentment they have held on to.

Yesica is a prickly heroine. Her portrayal as such is rooted in the expectations placed upon eldest daughters, a desire to excel as a Latina in a capitalist/corporate world, internalized patriarchy, and of course her grief. In the beginning, that grief and pain has her navigating the story with blinders on. She is convinced that therapy won't help and determined to both hide it from her mother and grandmother while also trying to escape future sessions by convincing her boss/mentor she's fine. In that sense, When We Were Widows looks at how some within the Latino community look down on mental health services or talking about mental health challenges. Bury that pain down deep. Keep going. Be resilient. We don't put our business out there for all to see! Que verguenza. But Yesica grows as a character as she embraces speaking about her late husband, their marital challenges, infidelity, and struggles with infertility. All of this helps her in finding better ways to communicate with her mother and begin the long road of repairing their relationship.

Ana is so much like my mom and tias it's not even funny. She is very much an "acts of service" character. And again you have an eldest daughter taking on the weight of those familial and elder care expectations. With her husband several years gone, she is finally taking steps to make her life what she wants it to be: going back to school, reconnecting with a high school friend she had feelings for, finally changing the look and feel of her home through renovations. She is also a keeper of secrets, and it takes time and an emotional confrontation with Yesica, for it to finally be revealed. Like Yesica, Ana also has important character growth through the course of this book. And it was wonderful to see how those changes impacted her relationship with both Yesica and Mama Melda.

This is the third book I have read by Annette Chavez Macias and has solidified her as an auto-buy author for me. I loved everything about this story.

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emotional reflective
bites_of_books's profile picture

bites_of_books's review

4.25
emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The thing that I love about Annette Chavez Macias' books is that there are always heartfelt lessons within them. She'd previously talked about grief in Too Soon for Adios, but in When We Were Widows she tackles it from a completely different perspective. We have three generations of women, Mama Melda, Ana, and Yessica, all who became widows in sudden and unexpected ways. Each woman has a complex relationship with their grief, which stems from more than losing their husband, and I also loved how the author depicted how the lack of processing this grief affected everyone around them in some way. Then, there was the layer of Mexican-American culture and the sense of obligation to one's family (especially as the oldest daughter for Ana). 
All in all, a beautiful story wrapped in layers of grief, family, friendship, the past coming back, and more. If anything I would have loved for it to be longer so we could dive into the stories of the other characters in the book. I want to know more about Evie and Damian and just everyone. 
Thanks to the author for the eARC! I'm looking forward to adding a physical copy to my collection <3 

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lifeofmavsgirl's profile picture

lifeofmavsgirl's review

4.5
emotional inspiring relaxing sad
pamslibros's profile picture

pamslibros's review

4.0
emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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jb_reads_'s profile picture

jb_reads_'s review

5.0
emotional reflective
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Loveable characters: Yes