ARC Review: No Words by Meg Cabot

Welcome to Little Bridge, one of the smallest, most beautiful islands in the Florida Keys.

Jo Wright always swore she’d never step foot on Little Bridge Island—not as long as her nemesis, bestselling author Will Price, is living there.

Then Jo’s given an offer she can’t refuse: an all-expense-paid trip to speak and sign at the island’s first-ever book festival.

Even though arrogant Will is the last person Jo wants to see, she could really use the festival’s more-than-generous speaking fee. She’s suffering from a crippling case of writer’s block on the next instalment of her bestselling children’s series, and her father needs financial help as well.

Then Jo hears that Will is off-island on the set of the film of his next book. Hallelujah!

But when she arrives on Little Bridge, Jo is in for a shock: Will is not only at the book festival, but seems genuinely sorry for his past actions—and more than willing not only to make amends but prove to Jo that he’s a changed man.

Things seem to be looking up—until disaster strikes, causing Jo to wonder: Do any of us ever really know anyone?

• Title: No Words
• Author: Meg Cabot
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
• Publication Date: October 12th, 2021 
• Genre: Romance, Contemporary
• Source: Digital ARC received via NetGalley 
• Targeted Age Range: Adult
• Trigger Warnings: Depictions of discussions of sexual harassment, past (off the page) parental death, brief mentions of cancer, mentions of depression, brief disappearance at sea, threatened and on-the-page violence 
• Rating:  ★★★★

Everyone has that one series that meant a lot to them growing up, and for me, that was The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot. Not only was it a bit of a comforting, escapist read (who didn’t want to be a princess?) that contained some of my favorite characters (Mia, Michael, Tina, Lily… just to name a few), but Volume X: Forever Princess was the first book I remember reading where a main character had depression, and went to therapy for it. Cabot’s books were fundamental in my reading journey – I spent hours devouring The Princess Diaries series, then the Airhead series, Avalon High, you name it!  I actually reread the entire The Princess Diaries series last December (thanks Scribd!), and have been meaning to check out Cabot’s adult works for the longest time. So you can only imagine my excitement when I got approved for No Words on NetGalley. 

The third book in the Little Bridge Island series, No Words follows author Jo Wright, who has been offered a $10,000 stipend, first class airfare, and a luxury suite at the Lazy Parrot Inn in exchange to attend Little Bridge Island’s first book festival. Which, for anyone else, would be a no-brainer — except for Jo, who is trying to avoid her nemesis, best-selling author Will Price who just happens to live on Little Bridge Island. But when she finds out that Will Price is off the island, and some of her best friends will also be in attendance, she’s quick to say yes. Only to be met with a surprise once she’s at Little Bridge — not only is Will Price there and intricately involved with the book festival, but he’s genuinely sorry for their past altercation, and is determined to prove that he’s changed. 

A standout of No Words for me was actually the ensemble cast of characters — whether it was Jo’s writer friends, the attendees of the book festival, or other residents of Little Bridge, I found myself curious to learn more about them and their stories. Little Bridge is absolutely charming, to say the least. It was a place I could easily picture myself visiting, and was a nice escape to read in current times. I found myself falling in love with Little Bridge and the people there, and am so excited to go back and read the first two books in the series. 

I found Jo to be an amusing and witty heroine. She was easily likable, and I found myself really curious about the events that had transpired between her and Will. While others may find her petty or maybe even juvenile for clinging onto past events for so long, I couldn’t help but sympathize with her. I do wish that Will had a better explanation of why he did what he did, but I also didn’t find myself caring too much by the end of it. Will reminds me of a stand-in for any romantic lead, in which he was charming enough, but I didn’t particularly care for him. I wish he had more character development, or that his character was more fleshed out in general. Together, Jo and Will had some tension, although you could easily tell that the enemies-to-lovers hate was only on Jo’s side. I would’ve loved to read more about Jo and Will’s relationship once they got together — I wanted to know about their lives after the festival was over, and was just left hanging. Hopefully there’ll be more of Jo and Will in future Little Bridge Island books! 

One of my favorite things about No Words was how it was a love letter to books, and what they could do for other people. I particularly loved Chloe’s storyline, but was also really drawn to Lauren’s storyline too. Like many others, books played a fundamental part in my upbringing, and in my day-to-day life, and so to read about what books meant to other characters, albeit fictional, was still heartwarming. 

I had an inkling of how the events of No Words would go very early on, but I didn’t find that to detract from my enjoyment of the novel at all. That being said, the sexual assault storyline felt unfinished, and I wished there was a more well-rounded ending to it. 

Overall, I found No Words to be a charming relatively light-hearted contemporary rom-com, and would easily recommend it! 

Links for No Words: Goodreads | TheStorygraph | Bookshop | IndieBound