Everything She Never Knew

De: Annette Chavez Macias

Narrado por: Elena Rey

The author of When We Were Widows turns to life after betrayal in this emotional, heartwarming novel about a woman whose marriage and friendship collapse all at once.

As next-door neighbors and best friends, Claudia and Rachel share everything. But in Claudia’s mind, that means recipes and clothes—not husbands. So it’s a huge shock when Rachel runs off with hers.

If that weren’t enough, her mom shows up at her door with heavy suitcases in tow. She intends to stay until Claudia has pulled through this. But behaving like a typical mother or grandmother isn’t Gloria’s style, and Claudia wonders why she’s really there. She also wonders why she can’t stop thinking about Nick, the husband Rachel jilted for her own, who still lives in the next house over.

It’s all a bit much for Claudia, who, unlike her impulsive mother, has always prized the familiar comforts of stability and routine. Now that those have been snatched away, she’ll have to face her fears and take some risks—for herself and for her daughter.

©2025 by Annette Chavez Macias. (P)2025 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Awesome reading

I loved the detail the author took to describe Olvera street. I could visualize the area and could practically taste the churros from the mercadito yummm!

Really great story

This is a really interesting and great story. I wasn't quite sure what to expect from it however, it was very well written. I read the story for my book club and I also purchased the audible so when I couldn't read my Kindle I could listen to the story. I found myself pulled into the story and wondering what would happen next. It was very emotional for me because of the situation that happened in book I had empathy for the character. I feel like there is a lot happening in a deeper sense so it's going to take me probably a few days to let everything really sink in. Overall, I really enjoyed reading / listening to the book and I'm glad that our book club chose it. Very interesting, sad at times, but also kind of empowering.

3 stars

Everything She Never Knew by Annette Chavez Macias drew me in immediately. However, we are never given a reason as to why David or Rachel were worth Claudia being so desolate about. There weren't any significant flashbacks to show us how they interacted before the breakups. It seemed like the mere fact that her husband left her for her best friend was a sufficient reason for us to stay engaged. Because we weren't shown, I didn't have much sympathy for Claudia.

As a fellow Latina, I loved how the characters incorporated talking about their Mexican culture, cuisine, and products in El Mercandito.

Elena Rey is a great narrator that kept me engaged.