A review by mandersjojo
What I Should've Said by Max Monroe

emotional funny inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

I kept seeing this book mentioned online and decided to give it a go. I didn't really know much about the book, just that it's an emotional read. I did a read along with some friends, who also went into the book kinda blind.  Oh boy, we had no idea what we were venturing into. 
 
Nora flees town before her wedding and decides to head to the town where her sister lives.  The two are estranged but she didn't know where else to go.  The first person she meets is Bennett, but she doesn't know who he is, including name, for a while. 
 
I loved a lot of things about the book but also found a few things a bit…. Strange if you will. What I wasn't really a fan of is the time frame in the story.  Had the chapters not had dates, I personally think that would've been better.  The whole relationship was too rushed in my opinion.  It was over the span of about a month, which is just too short of time for all that happens. The other thing was Nora's ex and her mother.  Their story, while good to really solidify how awful they are, was a bit too much.  It was like they could've been terrible people with the outcome of the letter Nora receives, but it's like that wasn't enough so the authors went even further down the rabbit hole and made them even worse.  It's hard to explain without ruining the story, but I think their awfulness could've just stopped with the information found within the letter.  
 
I did love the overall story, how strong Nora is, and the love felt throughout the book.  I also did love the emotions I felt while listening to this book.  Aside from top notch narrators, I felt the pain in the story.  At one point, while I was outside weeding AND CRYING, I had to wonder if Sebastion York was truly crying while reading or if he's just that great of a narrator.  Both are likely. 
 
Overall, good story but could've done without a few of the more over the top things.  I do recommend this book.