3 out of 4 stars
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Heartaches 2 written by I.M. Irwing is the second book of the Heartaches: Bad Boy Vibes series. True to its genre, this romance novel follows the relationship between Anna and Rafe two rape survivors in their journey to happiness and peace. Alas, their past still follows and haunts them. As they encounter harsh truths and fight to get justice, all odds seem to be against them. And it makes us wonder, will they ever be able to obtain their happily ever after? Can love really conquer it all?
This book is made for romance fans and people who believe that love is strong enough. Anna and Rafe are madly in love with each other to the point where they’re dysfunctional when apart. At first it seems like your typical love story, girl meets boy, girl and boy have similar background, girl and boy work past their issues, girl has a gay best friend, guy is jealous of gay best friend. But that’s where the similarity stops. The story takes place in a military college, where arguments are settled in a fighting ring, and the bad guys are still very much present.
The book starts with a disturbing dream haunting Rafe, his nightmare is the result of the fight happening between him and his rapist Eric the next day. Despite her boyfriend’s win, Anna feels pressured and drops the charges against her rapist. Meanwhile Anna’s best friend Pat is struggling with coming out to his parents.
What I really liked about this book is the addictive story and the continuous plot twists, I never knew what to expect. I read the book in one sitting and at no point in time I felt the need to take a break. The story wasn’t boring, it kept me entertained and served as an inspiration to my daydreams. Truthfully, Rafe and Anna’s love is a miracle, two damaged souls found their match, their love for one another is touching and motivating.
However, I did find some ridiculous moments, where the characters’ actions aren’t realistic at all. For example, Pat refuses to tell his parents about his preferences, so Anna challenges him to a fight which she wins eventually. Since Pat lost, he has to confess to his parents, although he doesn’t want to, he goes with Anna and Rafe immediately. I felt like he immediately agreed without putting up a fight, he could have at least complained. Additionally, Rafe goes swimming naked while sleeping in the same house with his rapist, and then he proceeds to make love with Anna on the open roof, I find that it’s very contradictory. I’m not saying that they should hide, but I also feel that survivors wouldn’t be taking these kinds of risks when they’re in a close proximity of a group of known rapists.
Toward the last chapters I.M. Irwing introduced a new character Susanne Smith, and from there the story was so fast paced that I couldn’t grasp all the twists the plot endured. The book ended with a cliffhanger that immediately made me want to read the sequel. And I.M. Irwing seems to be aware of that.
The book wasn’t professionally edited, I found a few mistakes, plus the pages weren’t numbered, although it didn’t distract me from the story, it could have been great if I knew how much I still have to read. Moreover, the narrator changes throughout the story in an aleatory rhythm, I was often confused and had to reread a few sentences in order to understand whose point of view is being shown.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars, I was lost between 2 or 3 stars but then settled on 3. I feel like this book has a lot of potential and I hope the sequel is written in a more down to earth manner. It’s not my favorite romance novel but I definitely want to read the sequel.
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Heartaches 2
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