1 out of 4 stars
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Heartaches is an age-old story about two broken souls finding refuge together. Anna Simmons, young, damaged, lonely and still finding her way, is thrown off the deep end, which is where she meets Rafe Brown, the tortured ex-army commando who is struggling under the weight of his past. Together, they start their journey of healing, justice, lust, and love.
Let me start with the redeemable qualities. I liked the dog, Bruno. Jane Simmons, Anna’s mother, had a promising premise and I would have loved reading more about her. Rafe Brown was your typical alpha male but his past was decidedly different to what most would expect, which was a breath of fresh air. He had dealt with something normally considered taboo for a strong male character. Anna had me shaking my head but I do have to admit that towards the second half of the book she became a bit more bearable. And while I might not like her character, I do appreciate Anna’s self-awareness and that she doesn’t shy away from the darker parts of herself.
However, I really struggled to finish Heartaches. The vocabulary reminded me of someone trying to impress a Grade 8 English teacher by using ‘thus’ over and over in an essay, and while some scenes were beautifully written and vivid, it all felt very forced and pretentious. Sometimes less really is more.
Now, for the not-so redeemable qualities. Anna Simmons had me clenching my fists and to be frank, her thoughts on rape made me very uncomfortable. I wanted to smack her. Repeatedly. I was cringing and the scenes between her and the Preston men felt very unnecessary. She was raped. I think we got it the first time it happened. While I do love the way H.M. Irwing writes sex scenes, it’s a whole different story when that is also used to write a rape scene. I could understand Anna's conflicting feelings about what she went through but the way she thought about her rape made it feel almost romanticized.
The constant use of ‘molten chocolates’, ‘lush’ and ‘green orbs’ had me on the verge of a nervous breakdown, nothing about the story gripped me. Not even the dog. It felt rushed and more time was spent describing the landscape than building Anna and Rafe’s relationship.
I rate Heartaches 1 out of 4. The story fell flat, none of the characters were great and it all felt very disconnected. I would not recommend this book. Period.
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Heartaches
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