1 out of 4 stars
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Heartaches 3: Bad Boy Vibes, by H.M. Irwing, centers on the love triangle between vocational student Anna Simmons, combat soldier Rafe Brown, and Rafe’s brother and old flame, Matt Preston. At least, that’s how it begins. The story quickly becomes overrun with a slew of characters and a whirl of various passions, revolving instead around a central theme of revenge and forgiveness. When the family drama reaches a boiling point, Anna and Rafe must work – and fight – together to protect their future and prevent the sins of the past.
I enjoyed the arc involving Pat and Dan, who easily became my favorite characters. While Anna and Rafe hit many of the notes to be expected in a romance, I found the character of Suzi to be much more engrossing, and I found myself looking forward to her reappearance in the plot. The erotic scenes were well-paced, and several descriptions throughout the book lent a poetic, meditative quality to the passage in which they were placed. Similarly, the later action scenes did a generally good job of keeping the energy and excitement constant, and the final resolution to that action was both unexpected and satisfying.
There are some books which can stand alone as sequels, bringing the reader with them and drawing them effortlessly into the ongoing story. Unfortunately, Heartaches 3 made it painfully obvious that I had missed out on most of the story, and did little to bring me up to speed. Even by the end of the book, I had no sense of setting and even less idea of why the characters shared the bonds they professed. Irwing’s prose, while lyrical at points, more frequently relied on repetitive words and phrases. The story seemed to burst at the seams with extraneous characters and subplots, and the few lines of explanation offered were quickly swept away in a torrent of fresh drama.
The most dominant emotion I experienced while reading was confusion. It took multiple re-reads of pages to figure out where the characters were and what they were doing. I wanted to be swept away by Anna and Rafe’s passion, but their scenes, save for one, read as static and stale. Granted, I haven’t read the first two books in the series, so it’s entirely possible that I simply lacked the early development of their relationship. As it stands, I would not be able to recommend Heartaches 3 as a standalone story.
A good romance sucks you in, holds you close, and makes you crave more. Heartaches 3 held me at arm’s length, and even when I managed to claw my way into a brief embrace, its palms were cold and clammy. I wish it had focused more on the interactions between our two romantic leads and less on the vast and often one-note cast of supporting characters. Selective romantic phrasing and a few good scenes were almost enough to push me to offer a rating of 2, but they were not enough to erase the sense of how lost and alone I felt in a book that was supposed to explore one of the closest bonds humans can share. I must, therefore, rate this book 1 out of 4 stars.
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Heartaches 3
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