More Than Words by Jill Santopolo – BOOK REVIEW

I won four books from Goodreads giveaways in 2020: More than Words by Jill Santopolo; This is All I Got by Lauren Sandler; Josephus by B. Michael Antler; and the AMAZING Sherlock retelling – Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison.

Since I lost all of my 2020 reviews, I’m going back and pulling from my Goodreads and limited number of posts that for some reason are still saved under a different site to repost them here to share all over again. (I have no idea why there’s a random copy of my early book blog and nothing recent, but what are ya going to do?). So I figured I’d take this week and try to catch up on my Goodreads giveaway winners, starting with my first ever win – More Than Words by Jill Santopolo.

Because More Than Words by Jill Santopolo was the first book I’d ever won through a Goodreads giveaway, I was super excited about finally winning a book there and, honestly, was excited to read it no matter what it was about! (Fortunately, I only enter giveaways for books I actually want to read, so no worries there!)

My Thoughts on More Than Words by Jill Santopolo:

This was an odd one for me. I loved the actual story of More Than Words by Jill Santopolo. I can even see myself maybe reading the book again in the distant future.

But I am NOT a fan of the main character, Nina Gregory. I immediately connected with her in the beginning because 1) she’s close to her dad and I’m immediately endeared to anyone who loves their father as much as I love mine; and 2) her father is dying and that’s a feeling I can’t (and don’t want to) imagine but sympathize with, and so I wanted to love Nina.

But I just couldn’t.

She’s been born into a world of privilege and has been blessed with just about everything she’s ever wanted until now. Yes, her mom died when she was young and I feel bad for her about that but that’s where my ability to like her ends – at least in the beginning. She became slightly more tolerable by “the end” – but only slightly.

At first, she came across as too entitled and selfish even though she seemed to want a normal life, but her father is a hotel magnate and she’s an heiress. So “normal” for her isn’t exactly normal for most of us. She’s dating her best friend since she was born (literally) but she’s thinking about throwing that away for her boss.

And then, things change. Her father dies and everything she thought she knew is thrown into question. And suddenly, I really did feel sorry for her. But I still just couldn’t get myself to truly root for her. I felt bad for her boyfriend, Tim, and for his parents, who had been her family and she kinda treated them like poo while she tried to figure things out. Even when Tim does something stupid, I get it and find myself sympathizing more with him than Nina.

I still enjoyed the story itself though… despite Nina annoying me, I felt intrigued by her journey to discover herself and her family’s past after her father died. So I’m not disappointed I read the book and I think it’s worth the time, I just really wish Nina had been more likable!

So what do you think? Have you read More Than Words? Have a suggestion for my next read? Leave a comment below!