★★★★★ I'm a complete beginner with zero prior exposure to Spanish. I spent about two hours across 3 reading sessions, and got to Lesson 14 already (out of a total of 18). I've understood everything so far. I think the book is really good for developing the linguistic connections between English and Spanish, your intuitive sense of how words are changed from their common ancestor (Latin) grows quickly. I recommend for anyone to learn their Spanish or multilingual speakers that are interested in seeing the connections.
★★★★★ I really enjoyed Decode Spanish. What I appreciate most is that, instead of spending page after page on useless greetings and textbook-style school exercises, it shows you the connections between Spanish and common English words. Suddenly, I feel like I already know 500 Spanish words—and, more importantly, I feel confident actually using them in all kinds of situations. The occasional bits of language trivia are another highlight. There were so many little “wait, I already know this word!” moments that made vocabulary stick in my memory without feeling like memorization.
★★★★★ The book's core idea is genuinely clever: instead of memorizing Spanish vocabulary from scratch, it "decodes" high-frequency Spanish words through the Latin roots you already know from English and the guess exercises deliver plenty of aha moments. It's an excellent on-ramp for absolute beginners who want to get past the "I can't read anything" wall fast!
★★★★★ For anyone who can read English, this book is a fast way to remember Spanish words. It explains the connections so thoroughly that after seeing just the word, you can usually guess its meaning. After a few lessons, you can already use this decoding skill to read Spanish. The same technique works for listening, too, helping you remember the words you hear.