3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Heartaches 3 is a romantic novel written by H. M. Irwing that chronicles around the life of the protagonist Anna as she tries separate herself from her painful past that entails heartbreak and misery. She actively chooses to avenge herself after everything that she has been through. She takes the aid of Suzi and Rafe, having decided to ruin the wedding of Peter Preston to finally be able to move on with her own life by attaining some kind of closure.
I personally felt that this book leaves much unsaid. The earlier books have set a precedent for what would follow, and while this book has certainly not disappointed, it has left quite a lot to the imagination of the reader, something that is not necessarily a bad thing. This book invokes nostalgia within the reader by constantly reminding her of the past narratives, and I found this element quite intriguing. I felt that while it is fluid in its narrative, and connects well with the other two books in the series, something has been lost. While earlier events are mentioned, their place in the narrative is quite vague.
If I look at this novel in an isolated context, I feel that it was a very interesting read. The plot of the novel was intriguing and it left the reader asking for more. The storyline developed with a certain elegance that I don’t often find in novels. I certainly felt that as a standalone novel, it was a good read, but it left the feminist in me in tears. The issue of rape in this novel has been disgracefully dealt with, and that constantly irked me.
I must say that despite these flaws, I really loved the characterisation in this novel. These are characters that you would love to hate and hate to love. They all were marked by elements of realism, and no character was too idealistic. I felt that the character development could have been a bit stronger, but other than that, the characterisation was certainly one of the pros of the novel.
I give this book 3 out of 4 stars. Despite the sexist undertones, I did like the narrative overall, but I have taken off a point due to the writers offbeat writing style that often left me confused. The choice of words seemed unusual, and it was often hard to decipher what the author was implying. I also certainly had a problem with the framing of the sexist narrative, but despite that, it was a good read.
******
Heartaches 3
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like HouseOfAtticus's review? Post a comment saying so!
