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All the Words Unspoken
Things are not going well for Maansi Cavale.
Her depression is worsening, she barely passes her university exams and she winds up stuck at home, full of regret and unable to find a job. She'd do anything for a way out.
Though Maansi previously considered arranged marriage an outdated tradition (only to be agreed to if you're in your mid-forties and unable to bag anybody yourself), a chance meeting at an Indian wedding party changes everything. Desperate to escape the shackles of monotony and unemployment, she agrees to marry the handsome and wealthy Aryan Alekar. She convinces herself a new lifestyle and wealth will lift her out of the pit. She secures the marriage, but not before serving up a few lies about herself...
As they settle into married life, Aryan remains a mystery to Maansi: some days warm and loving, others cold and distant. Maansi can't help but wonder... who is Aryan Alekar really? And why did he choose to marry so young? While living with Aryan, Maansi realises she could never be satisfied playing housewife. After all, she once had goals and dreams.
While searching for the ambitious Maansi she has buried, Maansi starts to realise that the man she has married is even further from what he seems... Can she salvage their union or will they set each other free?
All the Words Unspoken is a fresh, new voice from debut British-Asian author, Serena Kaur. It is a love story that challenges our preconceptions of relationships and shows us that the choices we make have implications and ramifications far beyond the horizon we can see.
Her depression is worsening, she barely passes her university exams and she winds up stuck at home, full of regret and unable to find a job. She'd do anything for a way out.
Though Maansi previously considered arranged marriage an outdated tradition (only to be agreed to if you're in your mid-forties and unable to bag anybody yourself), a chance meeting at an Indian wedding party changes everything. Desperate to escape the shackles of monotony and unemployment, she agrees to marry the handsome and wealthy Aryan Alekar. She convinces herself a new lifestyle and wealth will lift her out of the pit. She secures the marriage, but not before serving up a few lies about herself...
As they settle into married life, Aryan remains a mystery to Maansi: some days warm and loving, others cold and distant. Maansi can't help but wonder... who is Aryan Alekar really? And why did he choose to marry so young? While living with Aryan, Maansi realises she could never be satisfied playing housewife. After all, she once had goals and dreams.
While searching for the ambitious Maansi she has buried, Maansi starts to realise that the man she has married is even further from what he seems... Can she salvage their union or will they set each other free?
All the Words Unspoken is a fresh, new voice from debut British-Asian author, Serena Kaur. It is a love story that challenges our preconceptions of relationships and shows us that the choices we make have implications and ramifications far beyond the horizon we can see.
- GenresContemporaryFictionLGBT
320 pages, Paperback
Published April 16, 2020
10 people are currently reading
329 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
June 19, 2020
This book is a huge breakthrough and it should be read by EVERYONE.
Serena Kaur effortlessly focuses on so many issues within the South Asian community in her first novel. From mental health to abortion to abuse and homophobia. Whilst dealing with all of these themes, the author also succeeds in developing a lovable character inside of an exciting plot.
I bought this book on Kindle since all the book stores are closed at the moment and even though I usually hate using it, I genuinely couldn't stop reading once I'd started. It took me less than a day as I was gripped from start to finish.
At one point I had guessed the plot twist and yet, when I was reading the exact part I had already predicted, I was still interested and excited because of how well it was written. The rest of the book was a surprise with each development and the whole story flowed so well, including the backstories of the main characters, Maansi and Aryan, which were consistent and complimented the characters personalities throughout.
The parts that sit with me the most in this book are most likely different from the parts that sit with someone else and that's because the two main characters have been through and then go through so much throughout the entirety of the book that I can't imagine anyone not finding this book informative. Even if you don't relate to the parts such as arranged marriage or the homophobia within the community, you empathise with the characters because of the way that Kaur has developed them throughout.
Overall, this is an amazing book, it's so important and I really hope Kaur gets the credit she deserves for this.
(Side note: I finished this book at around midnight and I typed out a crazy message to Serena on instagram expressing how much I loved it and she was really sweet when responding so if I could, I'd give this an additional 5 stars because of how kind she was).
All the Words Unspoken Serena Kaur
Serena Kaur effortlessly focuses on so many issues within the South Asian community in her first novel. From mental health to abortion to abuse and homophobia. Whilst dealing with all of these themes, the author also succeeds in developing a lovable character inside of an exciting plot.
I bought this book on Kindle since all the book stores are closed at the moment and even though I usually hate using it, I genuinely couldn't stop reading once I'd started. It took me less than a day as I was gripped from start to finish.
At one point I had guessed the plot twist and yet, when I was reading the exact part I had already predicted, I was still interested and excited because of how well it was written. The rest of the book was a surprise with each development and the whole story flowed so well, including the backstories of the main characters, Maansi and Aryan, which were consistent and complimented the characters personalities throughout.
The parts that sit with me the most in this book are most likely different from the parts that sit with someone else and that's because the two main characters have been through and then go through so much throughout the entirety of the book that I can't imagine anyone not finding this book informative. Even if you don't relate to the parts such as arranged marriage or the homophobia within the community, you empathise with the characters because of the way that Kaur has developed them throughout.
Overall, this is an amazing book, it's so important and I really hope Kaur gets the credit she deserves for this.
(Side note: I finished this book at around midnight and I typed out a crazy message to Serena on instagram expressing how much I loved it and she was really sweet when responding so if I could, I'd give this an additional 5 stars because of how kind she was).
All the Words Unspoken Serena Kaur
April 27, 2020
My review on my website www.bookread2day.wordpress.com Twitter@bookpage5
I found the paperback All The Words Unspoken, impossible to put down. Wow! What a page turning story. Here is set a great example where there something on every page to keep me glued to the story of Maansi and Aryan.
Maansi is just 23, and believes that arranged marriages are a stupid idea. Everything changes after her leaving her education with not good grades and with no job, fighting depression, she changes her mind about having an arranged marriage. Maansi dreams of marrying with an attractive man, with money. Maansi marrys Aryan Alkekar a very handsome man with his family millionaires that are Brahmin and Hidu-Punjab, like Maansi’s family. Aryan runs his family business. Both married couple Maansi and Aryan have secrets, while Husband Aryan finds out his wife Maansi secret that she sufferers depression, what is Aryan’s secret is much bigger.
With my hand on my heart the whole story is brilliant from beginning to end, that’s why I have to 100% recommend it to every reader.
I’m now following Serna Kaur on Goodreads and I just can’t wait until Serna Kaur has her second book published.
I found the paperback All The Words Unspoken, impossible to put down. Wow! What a page turning story. Here is set a great example where there something on every page to keep me glued to the story of Maansi and Aryan.
Maansi is just 23, and believes that arranged marriages are a stupid idea. Everything changes after her leaving her education with not good grades and with no job, fighting depression, she changes her mind about having an arranged marriage. Maansi dreams of marrying with an attractive man, with money. Maansi marrys Aryan Alkekar a very handsome man with his family millionaires that are Brahmin and Hidu-Punjab, like Maansi’s family. Aryan runs his family business. Both married couple Maansi and Aryan have secrets, while Husband Aryan finds out his wife Maansi secret that she sufferers depression, what is Aryan’s secret is much bigger.
With my hand on my heart the whole story is brilliant from beginning to end, that’s why I have to 100% recommend it to every reader.
I’m now following Serna Kaur on Goodreads and I just can’t wait until Serna Kaur has her second book published.
April 21, 2020
Firstly I want to say thank you to Red Door Publishing for sending me a copy of this book and allowing me to be part of the blog tour, I am so grateful.
I am still in awe of the fact that this is a debut novel by Serena Kaur. Honestly, the writing style, the plot, the characters and the sheer complexity of the story is wonderful.
This book deals with some hard hitting topics including religious ideology, homophobia, general sexuality and domestic violence to list a few. Each of these topics can be difficult to read and understand, especially if you have not experienced them. However, Serena deals with each an every one of these topics in a delicate and beautiful way - giving them the justice and the attention that they deserve.
All the Words Unspoken is not a book that I would normally pick up, the genre isn't my favourite and is not one I generally gravitate towards. However when I was approached and I read the synopsis I realised that this book may be a nice change, one that I may enjoy. I was wrong. I absolutely LOVED it. Honestly, I'm struggling to sum up exactly how I feel and portray this to you. If you take anything out of this review, please let it be that you pick yourself up a copy and read it.
I really enjoyed the characters in this book. They were so complex and wonderful. Serena portrays her characters in a way that you build up a connection with them more or less when you meet them and from that moment onwards the said connection just gets stronger and stronger - to the point where you don't want to let them go. Maansi was such a raw and beautiful character, I loved her from the beginning but by the end I love her so much more. She dealt with so many different things in a short period of time, with the added pressure from her family. She could have dealt with said problems in so many different ways however she actually dealt with them with such dignity and strength. That leads me to Aryan - what a character. I must admit I didn't warm to him as quickly as I did Maansi but as I got to know him and give him a chance he rapidly because one of my favourites, if not my favourite character. I could go on about the characters in All the Words Unspoken for a long time however I won't.
What I also enjoyed is the writing style. This book was so easy to read, and so difficult to put down. I more or less devoured this book in one sitting, apart from the obviously annoying adulting I had to do in between. I started and finished on the same day I just didn't want to stop once I had started. I was so invested in the plot I needed closure, I needed to know what happened.
I would definitely recommend this book to people, and will be doing so. I loved it so much and it definitely took me by surprise. I feel like it is an important read that everybody needs to read at some point in their lives. I will be reading other books by this author in the future, I am looking forward to what Serena Kaur is going to produce next.
I am still in awe of the fact that this is a debut novel by Serena Kaur. Honestly, the writing style, the plot, the characters and the sheer complexity of the story is wonderful.
This book deals with some hard hitting topics including religious ideology, homophobia, general sexuality and domestic violence to list a few. Each of these topics can be difficult to read and understand, especially if you have not experienced them. However, Serena deals with each an every one of these topics in a delicate and beautiful way - giving them the justice and the attention that they deserve.
All the Words Unspoken is not a book that I would normally pick up, the genre isn't my favourite and is not one I generally gravitate towards. However when I was approached and I read the synopsis I realised that this book may be a nice change, one that I may enjoy. I was wrong. I absolutely LOVED it. Honestly, I'm struggling to sum up exactly how I feel and portray this to you. If you take anything out of this review, please let it be that you pick yourself up a copy and read it.
I really enjoyed the characters in this book. They were so complex and wonderful. Serena portrays her characters in a way that you build up a connection with them more or less when you meet them and from that moment onwards the said connection just gets stronger and stronger - to the point where you don't want to let them go. Maansi was such a raw and beautiful character, I loved her from the beginning but by the end I love her so much more. She dealt with so many different things in a short period of time, with the added pressure from her family. She could have dealt with said problems in so many different ways however she actually dealt with them with such dignity and strength. That leads me to Aryan - what a character. I must admit I didn't warm to him as quickly as I did Maansi but as I got to know him and give him a chance he rapidly because one of my favourites, if not my favourite character. I could go on about the characters in All the Words Unspoken for a long time however I won't.
What I also enjoyed is the writing style. This book was so easy to read, and so difficult to put down. I more or less devoured this book in one sitting, apart from the obviously annoying adulting I had to do in between. I started and finished on the same day I just didn't want to stop once I had started. I was so invested in the plot I needed closure, I needed to know what happened.
I would definitely recommend this book to people, and will be doing so. I loved it so much and it definitely took me by surprise. I feel like it is an important read that everybody needs to read at some point in their lives. I will be reading other books by this author in the future, I am looking forward to what Serena Kaur is going to produce next.
March 17, 2022
I was captivated by this story immediately and entirely. It is so well written, the words just flowed within me. There were so many life issues that were a part of difficult decision making, it was a wonder the author kept everything in perspective. From seeing, by my mind’s eye, the life and expectations inside two Asian family lifestyles, an arranged marriage, dealing with mental health issues, love, loss, betrayal, abuse, shame, acceptance, and hurt.
The story went in a direction I did not see coming, yet I was still captivated by the realness that this explored.
The only reason I gave four stars instead of five was due to the ending. In my opinion, it ended abruptly. Mansii speaks to Aryan, has made her decision and what?? What was that discussion? Did Aryan understand? Accept? Disagree? I need more closure between Mansii, Aryan and Logan. I don’t like guessing what possibly took place for the ending.
I look forward to reading future books by this author. Her writing is beautifully expressed.
The story went in a direction I did not see coming, yet I was still captivated by the realness that this explored.
The only reason I gave four stars instead of five was due to the ending. In my opinion, it ended abruptly. Mansii speaks to Aryan, has made her decision and what?? What was that discussion? Did Aryan understand? Accept? Disagree? I need more closure between Mansii, Aryan and Logan. I don’t like guessing what possibly took place for the ending.
I look forward to reading future books by this author. Her writing is beautifully expressed.
June 5, 2020
I received a copy of this book for an honest review.
NOW THIS IS HOW YOU DEVELOP A CHARACTER!!
This book centres around the idea of arranged marriage and the mystery behind the person you are meant to call your partner.
The author beautifully gives us a three dimensional view of all the characters! including a nice little twist into the background and personality of our protagonist’s husband.
it explores the culture around arranged marriages perfectly without over embellishing the thoughts and feelings of our leading lady.
If you want to read more into mental health, different cultures and the idea of love after marriage, then you need to pick this up!
NOW THIS IS HOW YOU DEVELOP A CHARACTER!!
This book centres around the idea of arranged marriage and the mystery behind the person you are meant to call your partner.
The author beautifully gives us a three dimensional view of all the characters! including a nice little twist into the background and personality of our protagonist’s husband.
it explores the culture around arranged marriages perfectly without over embellishing the thoughts and feelings of our leading lady.
If you want to read more into mental health, different cultures and the idea of love after marriage, then you need to pick this up!
October 1, 2020
Perfect title! This book was very frustrating at times. Kept wanting Maansi to open up and speak up.
But I also loved her, bless her kind heart.
This is a story that tackles many difficult yet important topics, and does so very well I think.
I would describe it as part brokeback mountain and part east is east.
Maansi and Aryan are two young people, lost within their religion. A marriage is arranged for them and although this is not what Maansi really ever wanted, all things point to it being the best decision.
After uni, Maansi's life changed rapidly. Getting to know her new husband proves difficult, and uncovering his past feels like torture to her already messed up head.
I felt so bad for her, but although major issues took over most of her life, I believe Maansi was a lot stronger than even she believed.
The last part of the story was mostly Aryans '.... I didn't enjoy these parts too much, not the plot, but just the over detailed descriptions of his school days.
But it ends well, and leaves many questions that I feel is clever for a book like this.
I think Maansi is the true hero of the story.
But I also loved her, bless her kind heart.
This is a story that tackles many difficult yet important topics, and does so very well I think.
I would describe it as part brokeback mountain and part east is east.
Maansi and Aryan are two young people, lost within their religion. A marriage is arranged for them and although this is not what Maansi really ever wanted, all things point to it being the best decision.
After uni, Maansi's life changed rapidly. Getting to know her new husband proves difficult, and uncovering his past feels like torture to her already messed up head.
I felt so bad for her, but although major issues took over most of her life, I believe Maansi was a lot stronger than even she believed.
The last part of the story was mostly Aryans '.... I didn't enjoy these parts too much, not the plot, but just the over detailed descriptions of his school days.
But it ends well, and leaves many questions that I feel is clever for a book like this.
I think Maansi is the true hero of the story.
May 17, 2020
This book was pretty interesting.
In the Indian culture arranged marriages are still a thing, so when Maansi agrees to an arranged marriage to the wealthy Aryan they quickly realize their marriage is based on secrets and lies.
They don’t really know each other!
There are Many hard topics throughout this story including abortion and homosexuality.
4⭐️
Would you marry someone you didn’t know?
In the Indian culture arranged marriages are still a thing, so when Maansi agrees to an arranged marriage to the wealthy Aryan they quickly realize their marriage is based on secrets and lies.
They don’t really know each other!
There are Many hard topics throughout this story including abortion and homosexuality.
4⭐️
Would you marry someone you didn’t know?
June 27, 2020
Full review on my blog!
All the Words Unspoken is a refreshing take on a lot of familiar contemporary romance tropes and stories. It centers on Maansi, a girl whose life kind of takes a dive from bad to worse very early on in the book–but her pain isn’t glossed over or simply alluded to. From the very first pages, Maansi is fighting herself on her decision to get an abortion. Her depression is a super ugly monster that is very real and very relatable. Right off the bat, you can tell that this won’t be an easy contemporary to swallow (in the most genuine and honest manner.)
What makes Maansi’s story and the gritty exploration of the life of a young woman struggling with crippling depression is how her heritage as second generation Desi-British integrates into her daily life. Mental illness is a huge stigma in Desi communities, for instance. She also deals with quite a bit of colorism since she’s dark-skinned. Maansi simply cannot find an easy way out of her problems because her heritage also entraps her.
So what does she do to finally try to escape it all? She agrees to an arranged marriage with a wealthy business executive Aryan Alekar–you know, the Desi easy way out. Except, it’s obviously not that easy.
All the Words Unspoken is a refreshing take on a lot of familiar contemporary romance tropes and stories. It centers on Maansi, a girl whose life kind of takes a dive from bad to worse very early on in the book–but her pain isn’t glossed over or simply alluded to. From the very first pages, Maansi is fighting herself on her decision to get an abortion. Her depression is a super ugly monster that is very real and very relatable. Right off the bat, you can tell that this won’t be an easy contemporary to swallow (in the most genuine and honest manner.)
What makes Maansi’s story and the gritty exploration of the life of a young woman struggling with crippling depression is how her heritage as second generation Desi-British integrates into her daily life. Mental illness is a huge stigma in Desi communities, for instance. She also deals with quite a bit of colorism since she’s dark-skinned. Maansi simply cannot find an easy way out of her problems because her heritage also entraps her.
So what does she do to finally try to escape it all? She agrees to an arranged marriage with a wealthy business executive Aryan Alekar–you know, the Desi easy way out. Except, it’s obviously not that easy.
Want to read
March 5, 2020March 5, 2020: Thank you so much, Serena Kaur, for the digital review copy!
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April 9, 2020*Received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review! Thank you!*
September 6, 2021
I feel like this book's description on Amazon was a bit of a bait and switch. I thought I was buying a book about a woman with depression and how she handles it while marrying a hot dude and working out why he's so mysterious – and also they're Indian, so there's the whole mental health vs Indian culture storyline. And that's what this book was for about a third of it. Ticking along nicely.
Then suddenly, it becomes an entirely different book. (Stop reading now if you don't want spoilers.) Now it's about the hot Indian dude who married our girl with depression only he didn't know she had any mental health issues but that seems irrelevant because he's actually bisexual and fell in love with his best friend back in college and his parents found out and sent him to conversion therapy in India and he came back and made lots of money in the family business and let his parents arrange a marriage for him but he never really stopped loving his best friend and now he has to hide who he truly is. That old trope.
Hot Indian dude and his best friend get back together (yay!!) and he says a bit FU to his horrible dad. So that all ends well. Then at this point, our girl seems to be adrift, oh and by the way, pregnant. And then it ends.
Obviously, this is all just my opinion, and as a white person, life as an Indian person with mental health issues or queerness is outside my realm of experience.
While this book wasn't bad and did raise what seem to be some important issues regarding how Indian culture handles both mental health and queerness (again, she says from her position of white privilege), it felt confused. Almost like it should have been two books. One about the girl dealing with depression, and another about the guy who never got over his best friend and their secret love. Or if those two stories need to be mashed up together, at least give it some better resolution.
Then suddenly, it becomes an entirely different book. (Stop reading now if you don't want spoilers.) Now it's about the hot Indian dude who married our girl with depression only he didn't know she had any mental health issues but that seems irrelevant because he's actually bisexual and fell in love with his best friend back in college and his parents found out and sent him to conversion therapy in India and he came back and made lots of money in the family business and let his parents arrange a marriage for him but he never really stopped loving his best friend and now he has to hide who he truly is. That old trope.
Hot Indian dude and his best friend get back together (yay!!) and he says a bit FU to his horrible dad. So that all ends well. Then at this point, our girl seems to be adrift, oh and by the way, pregnant. And then it ends.
Obviously, this is all just my opinion, and as a white person, life as an Indian person with mental health issues or queerness is outside my realm of experience.
While this book wasn't bad and did raise what seem to be some important issues regarding how Indian culture handles both mental health and queerness (again, she says from her position of white privilege), it felt confused. Almost like it should have been two books. One about the girl dealing with depression, and another about the guy who never got over his best friend and their secret love. Or if those two stories need to be mashed up together, at least give it some better resolution.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 5, 2020
Thanks to Lizzie from #RedDoorPress for providing the e-arc. This does not in any way influence my rating. All opinions expressed are my own.
I rated this book 3.75 stars
All The Words Unspoken was a great book for me to have picked up for the #AsianReadathon. Apart from the obvious Asian rep (Indian, to be specific) the book also focuses on various other important issues.
The main message I seemed to get from the novel was that we cannot depend on others to heal us or make us whole. Rather, we need to fall back upon ourselves to work on our growth and development. Yes, external forces such as family and friends are there to support us (or not), but the ultimate determiner is we ourselves. We cannot let others determine our worth!
When it comes to the characters, their arc was a bit disjointed - especially that of Aryan, I feel. We get a slight glimpse of him towards the beginning and then only towards the, we are bombarded with his POVs. As such, it was kind of difficult for me to retain the fact that this is the same guy. When the story started I genuinely thought it was Maansi's story but as it progressed, of course, it wasn't just hers alone. Yet I do think the story focused more on Aryan and less so on Maansi.
Perhaps if the author had decided to reveal Aryan's POVs a litter sooner, the story would have gone way more smoothly.
The themes covered were like sexuality, homophobia, family, marriage as an institution, societal norms, etc. I do think the idea was a great one and the author did well by mixing all of these together especially in the Indian expatriate community, you could say, where culture, religion, etc play a big influencer in all the decisions the characters make. The way the author has weaved in the different nuances of human behavior, based on nad affected by, external forces, events, experiences, and memory, added a great flavor to the narrative as well.
I also feel that it was a bildungsroman or a coming-of-age story for the two main characters who underwent growth and changed from who they were in the beginning. It is also a story of sexual awakening in a manner, and the author pulled off that aspect really well. And in this regard, I can definitely consider this book along the same shelf as CALL ME BY YOUR NAME.
I rate it 3.75/5 stars.
I rated this book 3.75 stars
All The Words Unspoken was a great book for me to have picked up for the #AsianReadathon. Apart from the obvious Asian rep (Indian, to be specific) the book also focuses on various other important issues.
The main message I seemed to get from the novel was that we cannot depend on others to heal us or make us whole. Rather, we need to fall back upon ourselves to work on our growth and development. Yes, external forces such as family and friends are there to support us (or not), but the ultimate determiner is we ourselves. We cannot let others determine our worth!
When it comes to the characters, their arc was a bit disjointed - especially that of Aryan, I feel. We get a slight glimpse of him towards the beginning and then only towards the, we are bombarded with his POVs. As such, it was kind of difficult for me to retain the fact that this is the same guy. When the story started I genuinely thought it was Maansi's story but as it progressed, of course, it wasn't just hers alone. Yet I do think the story focused more on Aryan and less so on Maansi.
Perhaps if the author had decided to reveal Aryan's POVs a litter sooner, the story would have gone way more smoothly.
The themes covered were like sexuality, homophobia, family, marriage as an institution, societal norms, etc. I do think the idea was a great one and the author did well by mixing all of these together especially in the Indian expatriate community, you could say, where culture, religion, etc play a big influencer in all the decisions the characters make. The way the author has weaved in the different nuances of human behavior, based on nad affected by, external forces, events, experiences, and memory, added a great flavor to the narrative as well.
I also feel that it was a bildungsroman or a coming-of-age story for the two main characters who underwent growth and changed from who they were in the beginning. It is also a story of sexual awakening in a manner, and the author pulled off that aspect really well. And in this regard, I can definitely consider this book along the same shelf as CALL ME BY YOUR NAME.
I rate it 3.75/5 stars.
October 6, 2020
Welcome to the world of Maansi! And what a fascinating story she has to share! She's a young woman living in Britain but expected to 'conform' by her parents to the world of arranged marriages so can her mind be changed when she meets Aryan, a very wealthy and handsome suitor! It all seems a bit too fairytale and easy to begin with for Maansi as she settles into a new married life, but soon the cracks begin to appear and she's left to wonder if she was right all along and should have stuck to her way of living life!
She's also dealing with depression, something her family do little to understand, and I found it fascinating to see her dealing with these issues as I think it will connect with most women reading this. It's a book that centres around female issues, that will connect with women of any religion or race, and I really enjoyed seeing how Maansi tried to deal with everything life throws at her. And it throws a multitude of issues her way in this story!! From her past, to her marriage and to trying to forge her own path in the world doing things she loves - working in publishing! - it was a great mix of issues that she has to deal with.
I think this book shows up brilliantly of how living your life to suit other people just isn't a good thing for you! While she comes to terms with the way that Aryan blows hot and cold and picks up on things about his family, life carries on around them and you just wish things would go smoothly for her for once at least! You want her to find her 'happy'!
This was an emotional and thought provoking read and gives a great insight into life as a young asian woman.
She's also dealing with depression, something her family do little to understand, and I found it fascinating to see her dealing with these issues as I think it will connect with most women reading this. It's a book that centres around female issues, that will connect with women of any religion or race, and I really enjoyed seeing how Maansi tried to deal with everything life throws at her. And it throws a multitude of issues her way in this story!! From her past, to her marriage and to trying to forge her own path in the world doing things she loves - working in publishing! - it was a great mix of issues that she has to deal with.
I think this book shows up brilliantly of how living your life to suit other people just isn't a good thing for you! While she comes to terms with the way that Aryan blows hot and cold and picks up on things about his family, life carries on around them and you just wish things would go smoothly for her for once at least! You want her to find her 'happy'!
This was an emotional and thought provoking read and gives a great insight into life as a young asian woman.
April 21, 2020
I received a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.
I went into this not entirely sure what I was going to get and left with a story that's made an impact on me. This review is going to be hard to write without spoiling some stuff, so forgive me if it seems vague at points!
Arranged marriage isn't something I've ever had any personal interactions or experiences with. So, for me, this book taught me a lot and it's a beautiful, accessible story that shows you the lives of two people in an arranged marriage.
I thought this was going to primarily be a story about Maansi, and it does appear that way. Until maybe half way through when it takes a u-turn and it really begins to focus on Aryan and his story. This was a great turn, I loved it, it takes you through multiple years of his life and explains some of his family life. It turns him from a cold, calculating character into someone vibrant and alive, making him three-dimensional and interesting.
Maansi is a strong character, she's fiercely independent and I actually don't think she is a perfect character. The further into the book I got the less I sympathised with her and the more I sympathised with Aryan. She does redeem herself towards the end but her actions were frustrating to me. But this really adds to the story as you experience this conflict of feelings alongside the characters.
I really, really enjoyed this book, and I think many other people will too.
I went into this not entirely sure what I was going to get and left with a story that's made an impact on me. This review is going to be hard to write without spoiling some stuff, so forgive me if it seems vague at points!
Arranged marriage isn't something I've ever had any personal interactions or experiences with. So, for me, this book taught me a lot and it's a beautiful, accessible story that shows you the lives of two people in an arranged marriage.
I thought this was going to primarily be a story about Maansi, and it does appear that way. Until maybe half way through when it takes a u-turn and it really begins to focus on Aryan and his story. This was a great turn, I loved it, it takes you through multiple years of his life and explains some of his family life. It turns him from a cold, calculating character into someone vibrant and alive, making him three-dimensional and interesting.
Maansi is a strong character, she's fiercely independent and I actually don't think she is a perfect character. The further into the book I got the less I sympathised with her and the more I sympathised with Aryan. She does redeem herself towards the end but her actions were frustrating to me. But this really adds to the story as you experience this conflict of feelings alongside the characters.
I really, really enjoyed this book, and I think many other people will too.
October 29, 2023
I bought this book slightly by accident after I saw it recced somewhere (it turns out I got it confused with another book! But I kept it anyway). This book is about a woman who enters an arranged marriage after the relationship she chose herself crashed and burned and she was dealing with mental health struggles and her place in the world. As she entered into the marriage, she has to get used to living with someone she doesn't know as well as she thought she did, as well as the secrets in her new family. The twist was great, I really loved the exploration of what that actually meant for Aryan and Maansi, and the consequences of both their decisions in the fallout. They all felt like real people, no one was really in the right or wrong (apart from a certain ), and I liked the beginning and ending of this book as Maansi wrestled with herself.
That said, there were a lot of flashback chapters in the middle/second half of the book (not clearly indicated either which means I was very glad that I wasn't listening to this on audiobook) focused on Aryan and the secrets he and his family have. And while I liked these chapters because it gave more development to Aryan and his decisions in the future, I feel like we moved away from Maansi and her own development quite a lot and then we had to play catch up at the end.
But it was a debut novel so I'm happy to give this author another try with any future books!
3.5 stars!
That said, there were a lot of flashback chapters in the middle/second half of the book (not clearly indicated either which means I was very glad that I wasn't listening to this on audiobook) focused on Aryan and the secrets he and his family have. And while I liked these chapters because it gave more development to Aryan and his decisions in the future, I feel like we moved away from Maansi and her own development quite a lot and then we had to play catch up at the end.
But it was a debut novel so I'm happy to give this author another try with any future books!
3.5 stars!
February 16, 2024
A bit of a different one for me as I don't feel like I pick up a lot of romance, although this love story is a little different. Here we have a story inside a story, which really helps build on the mysterious character of Aryan, a young business mogul who works for his successful father.
Two young twenty something's Maansi and Aryan, decide on an arranged marriage but immediately after the wedding they fail to connect, however not for lack of trying on Maansi's part. I can relate to her character where she feels this one thing, in this case marriage, will magically sort out all of her problems. By the end, Maansi realises, as we all do, that you can't just ignore your problems, at times you actively have to move through them in order for them to be let go.
It turns out Aryan too has emotional baggage of his own. We go back in time to better understand his character in the present day, and his complicated relationship with his parents.
An emotional story of love, friendship and maturing - I liked this one more than I expected to. I liked the modern take on arranged marriages and how Kaur manages to follow a couple through their personal journey, whilst highlighting South Asian relationships and attitudes.
Two young twenty something's Maansi and Aryan, decide on an arranged marriage but immediately after the wedding they fail to connect, however not for lack of trying on Maansi's part. I can relate to her character where she feels this one thing, in this case marriage, will magically sort out all of her problems. By the end, Maansi realises, as we all do, that you can't just ignore your problems, at times you actively have to move through them in order for them to be let go.
It turns out Aryan too has emotional baggage of his own. We go back in time to better understand his character in the present day, and his complicated relationship with his parents.
An emotional story of love, friendship and maturing - I liked this one more than I expected to. I liked the modern take on arranged marriages and how Kaur manages to follow a couple through their personal journey, whilst highlighting South Asian relationships and attitudes.
October 15, 2020
3.5/4
Phew. Maansi is going through it and I had some pretty standard romance novel expectations for this one going in. Which was completely wrong so first I applaud the book for being much more than the cover. ⠀
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I don't want to ruin those unexpected turns but one of my critiques of the novel involves how it is portrayed as a Maansi focused novel but then we get a total shift of POV to Aryan and his background. It is just a bit of convoluted organising and could have been broken up into parts or books to make the switch more seamless. ⠀
This is Kaur's debut work and I think in some of the pacing and characterisation descriptions, you definitely get that sense. However, the fresh meandering of plot and endpoint show real promise. I would definitely pick up another future work by Kaur.
Overall, this was not the book I was expecting and for the most part, I think the entire thing is better for it.
Phew. Maansi is going through it and I had some pretty standard romance novel expectations for this one going in. Which was completely wrong so first I applaud the book for being much more than the cover. ⠀
⠀
I don't want to ruin those unexpected turns but one of my critiques of the novel involves how it is portrayed as a Maansi focused novel but then we get a total shift of POV to Aryan and his background. It is just a bit of convoluted organising and could have been broken up into parts or books to make the switch more seamless. ⠀
This is Kaur's debut work and I think in some of the pacing and characterisation descriptions, you definitely get that sense. However, the fresh meandering of plot and endpoint show real promise. I would definitely pick up another future work by Kaur.
Overall, this was not the book I was expecting and for the most part, I think the entire thing is better for it.
February 21, 2022
I love the fact that Serena has created an important conversation around so many stigmatized topics in her book. All through the book, I kept feeling what would I have done? Like we think we are feminists until the things that require us to raise our voices as feminists, start happening around us. Like Maansi seemed like quite a women's rights activist at first but then she got married because of the pressure from her parents, then she started behaving like a good wife to please her husband, then when she got to know that her FIL abuses her MIL ..she doesn't do anything either. And I am not saying that I would behave differently. Growing up in India, we have all seen things like this happening but what have we done about it? And this book gives you so much food for thought.
The biggest brownie point goes to Serena for joining us and discussing her thoughts on All the words unspoken. We loved talking to her and we really appreciate her taking the time out to get on our podcasts.
The biggest brownie point goes to Serena for joining us and discussing her thoughts on All the words unspoken. We loved talking to her and we really appreciate her taking the time out to get on our podcasts.
May 24, 2020
“Rakhee looked at Maansi and regurgitated the timeworn response advocates for arranged marriages waved like banners: ‘Love will grow.’”
I finished this book in under 12 hours, I sat awake until 3:30 in the morning to finish it. I couldn’t put it down, and when I did all I could think about was picking it back up again.
This is about a woman called Maansi and a man called Aryan, and how they try to navigate their new arranged marriage. A highly unconventional story about love, loss, and rebirth.
Serena has an incredible way of writing about difficult topics like depression and the pressure that can be felt within a very tight knit and orthodox community, where every move you make is speculated and gossiped about.
I highly recommend reading this earth shattering book.
I finished this book in under 12 hours, I sat awake until 3:30 in the morning to finish it. I couldn’t put it down, and when I did all I could think about was picking it back up again.
This is about a woman called Maansi and a man called Aryan, and how they try to navigate their new arranged marriage. A highly unconventional story about love, loss, and rebirth.
Serena has an incredible way of writing about difficult topics like depression and the pressure that can be felt within a very tight knit and orthodox community, where every move you make is speculated and gossiped about.
I highly recommend reading this earth shattering book.
September 30, 2020
First of all can we just appreciate how STUNNING this cover is, the red and gold works so well I absolutely love it!
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I really enjoyed this book and was shocked to find out it is the authors debut novel, I’m excited to see what else she brings us.
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I thought there were many sensitive subjects within this book such as abortion, depression, arranged marriage and more that were handled with great sensitivity.
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I love the style of writing and the way the author captures you from the very start of the book.
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I really enjoyed this book and was shocked to find out it is the authors debut novel, I’m excited to see what else she brings us.
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I thought there were many sensitive subjects within this book such as abortion, depression, arranged marriage and more that were handled with great sensitivity.
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I love the style of writing and the way the author captures you from the very start of the book.
March 20, 2021
4.5 rounded up. For the most part, this was excellent. You start the book thinking one thing and before you know it, you're rooting against it. I do wish the book had been organized a bit differently so that it was clearer when there was a shift of perspective or a shift of the time setting. And the ending felt both clunky and unsatisfying pretty much all the way around. Other than that, I really liked it and wanted more -- more of the story and more for each of the main characters, especially Maansi.
May 20, 2020
Review originally published here: https://joyfulantidotes.com/2020/05/0...
I am in love with this book. I originally choose it because I am trying to read more from diverse authors. Plus, you know I love to learn about other cultures through fiction. With All the Words Unspoken, I certainly learned a lot about British-Asian culture and arranged marriage, but it was the themes that I wasn’t expecting that I enjoyed the most.
All the Words Unspoken opens in an abortion clinic. Right then and there I knew that I was going to have a strong, independent woman in Maansi. I wasn’t wrong. However, what I didn’t see coming was how Maansi’s struggle with depression would touch my soul. The author offers a real and frank depiction of depression. It is simply written but so pure and emotional. Plus, it’s not all tied up at the end in a neat bow, something I loathe in other books.
About halfway through the book the narrative switches to Aryan. Up until this point, the reader just sees his as a moody git, but suddenly he comes alive. I can’t go into much detail about Aryan because that would entail too many spoilers. I’ll just say that he is one to watch and his evolution throughout the book is phenomenal.
All the Words Unspoken was not the love story I expected; it was so much more. I know I won’t stop recommending it to people for a very long time.
I am in love with this book. I originally choose it because I am trying to read more from diverse authors. Plus, you know I love to learn about other cultures through fiction. With All the Words Unspoken, I certainly learned a lot about British-Asian culture and arranged marriage, but it was the themes that I wasn’t expecting that I enjoyed the most.
All the Words Unspoken opens in an abortion clinic. Right then and there I knew that I was going to have a strong, independent woman in Maansi. I wasn’t wrong. However, what I didn’t see coming was how Maansi’s struggle with depression would touch my soul. The author offers a real and frank depiction of depression. It is simply written but so pure and emotional. Plus, it’s not all tied up at the end in a neat bow, something I loathe in other books.
About halfway through the book the narrative switches to Aryan. Up until this point, the reader just sees his as a moody git, but suddenly he comes alive. I can’t go into much detail about Aryan because that would entail too many spoilers. I’ll just say that he is one to watch and his evolution throughout the book is phenomenal.
All the Words Unspoken was not the love story I expected; it was so much more. I know I won’t stop recommending it to people for a very long time.
April 3, 2025
i was very shocked by this book it was super interesting but so unexpected. i was expecting a marriage first love after story but that wasn’t really the story. it was just not expected and some things hit a little close to home. its a great story nothing against the writing but the story wasnt for me.
October 21, 2020
A captivating story about an entanglement between three characters, two of whom are Hindu Brahmins. The realism and sexism of Indian culture, tradition and relationships is so clearly and cohesively captured.
March 21, 2022
A must read! The protagonist goes through real life difficult situations which draws you in as she's relatable in that she's a flawed person living in a flawed world. Her Indian culture makes it even more relatable and enjoyable to read.
April 28, 2022
Loved this debut novel by the author….
Beautifully written. The depth of emotions are soo well articulated . Very realistic characters. As story unravels, one end up feeling empathy for all the characters.
Beautifully written. The depth of emotions are soo well articulated . Very realistic characters. As story unravels, one end up feeling empathy for all the characters.
November 24, 2020
Absolutely fantastic book!
December 11, 2020
This was fantastic, heartbreaking, enlightening, honest. Review to follow on www.haveyoureadthis.co.uk
February 25, 2024
Predictable
Well written and relatable as it sums up the South Asian taboos and culture
A bit predictable though for my liking
Well written and relatable as it sums up the South Asian taboos and culture
A bit predictable though for my liking
June 4, 2024
Another good book for South Asian Literature. Breaking away from the norm to explore taboo topics that you wouldn't normally hear about.
I couldn't put it down!
I couldn't put it down!
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