{Release Day Review} More Than Words by Jill Santopolo (@JillSantopolo @PutnamBooks)

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Light We Lost comes a tender and moving new novel about a woman at a crossroads after the death of her father, and caught between the love of two men.

Nina Gregory has always been a good daughter, a good girlfriend. Raised by her father, owner of New York City's glamorous Gregory Hotels, after her mother's death, Nina was taught that family, reputation, and legacy are what matter most. And her boyfriend Tim, thoughtful, kind, and honest, not to mention her best friend since childhood, feels the same. But after Nina's father passes away, she learns he may not have practiced what he preached. 

As her world falls apart, Nina begins to question everything she thought she knew and to see the men in her life--her father, her boyfriend, and unexpectedly, her handsome and attentive boss, Rafael--in a new light. Soon Nina finds herself caught between the world she knows and loves, and a passion that could upend everything.

More than Words is a heartbreaking and romantic novel about grief, loss, love, and self-discovery, and how we choose which life we are meant to live.

Nina Gregory lives a life of privilege and of responsibility.  As the sole heir to the Gregory Corporation, it has been ingrained in her psyche since birth.  
 
Determined to make a difference, she lands a job as a speechwriter for the up and coming NYC mayoral candidate, Rafael O’Connor-Ruiz.   He embodies everything that she loves about New York City - He’s hard working, honorable and entirely too handsome for her peace of mind. 
 
She keeps telling herself that she’s happy with her comfortable boyfriend and the predictable path that she’s set for the future. But all of that was before cancer threatened to steal her father away long before she's ready to let him go.

​“Do you read poetry?” he asked her. 

Nina swallowed the lump in her throat. “Not much,” she said. “But a little. When I was a kid, I memorized Lewis Carroll’s ‘Jabberwocky,’ for my dad.” 

“He took his vorpal sword in hand; Long time the manxome foe he sought—” Rafael quoted. 

“So rested he by the Tumtum tree and stood awhile in thought,” Nina finished. 

Rafael laughed. “You’re full of surprises,” he said. 

You too, Nina wanted to say. But instead she just smiled. “Why did you bring up poetry?” 

“Well,” Rafael answered, stretching out the word. “I took a couple of poetry classes in college, and I’ve come to think of life like poetry. It’s my own theory, but it makes me feel better about things.” 

“What do you mean?” Nina asked, hoping that whatever he was about to say would be comforting. 
​
“I think of people like poems,” he said. “Maybe someone’s a haiku, or a villanelle, or a cinquain, a sonnet—our length and form are predestined, but our content isn’t. And each form has its own challenges, its own difficulties, and its own beauty. Your father’s poem is coming to an end, but that doesn’t make it any less beautiful or worthwhile or important.”

​With her world falling apart, she begins to question everything she’s ever thought she wanted out of life. Nothing is as it seems, people aren’t what they appear to be, and love isn’t always easy. The only thing that she does know is that she feels so alive when she’s with Rafael.

Rafael looked at her. Their hands were still touching and now their eyes locked. “I feel like I can be myself around you,” he told her. “All of me. I never feel that way. Not even with my ex-wife.” 
​
“I feel like I can be myself around you, too,” Nina said. She was whispering. The pieces of her that felt new, the questions she had—Rafael didn’t seem like he had expectations of who she would be. More like he wanted to learn who she was, deep inside.

​Jill Santopolo’s More Than Words can be best described as a journey to find truth - that special kind of soul truth.   

​In poignant prose, she leads you from the beloved streets of New York City to the unknown depths of the human heart.  

Yes, there is crippling grief and overwhelming joy.  But most of all, there is triumph.  And perhaps within its pages, you will also find the inspiration to live your most authentic self…

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