Name: This Heart of Mine
ISBN: 9781250131652

C. C. Hunter

From the "New York Times"-bestselling author of "Taken at Dusk" comesa haunting, poignant tale about living and dying, surviving grief, guilt, andheartache, while discovering love and hope in the midst of sadness.

A Novel

This Heart of Mine

Sofie

This review will contain spoilers.

Lets start with the good. Leah was a witty, strong, and relatable protagonist. I loved her stubbornness, her empathy, her charm, and her humour. Every insecurity she had about her relationship with Matt made complete sense to me, and (most of) her choices were dead on. Matt was also an enjoyable character. I liked how his chapters gave us some insight to what things were like from his perspective. Though I was upset with Leah that (view spoiler)[ he didn't call after their kiss,  (hide spoiler)] after reading his chapter, I completely understood why. I loved the insight into his head. And yes, I got that nice warm feeling reading this book. Hearing the way Matt spoke about Leah, saw Leah, and treated Leah, I got those delicious butterflies I always get when reading a good romance.

The, not bad, but meh: I felt the book dragged on. The mystery of Eric's death didn't make progress as quickly as it should have. (view spoiler)[ For instance, ever time Matt confronted Eric's friends, which was about 3 or 4 times, he asked the same question, "did Eric say anything to you the day he died". It didn't matter that he'd already asked them like, 3 chapters ago. The progress was slow. The dreams were slow. The investigation was slow. Cassie has been hiding something for majority of the book, and every time Matt confronted her, he asked the same question and got the same answer. By the time he did get anything new from Cassie, we were so far along in the book. It was like there was no progress until Leah ran into Cassie at the restaurant.

To put it in simpler terms, there were really only 2 or 3 clues Matt and Leah needed to figure this out. One, the dream with the bullet in the tree. Two, Cassie saying that thing about Jayden not being who Eric was mad at, and Three, the run in with Cassie at the restaurant. 

Also, this book had a few plot holes I can't seem to get over. 1, how could anyone think Eric committed suicide when he was shot at from the guy chasing him? Can't they tell it wasn't close range, or from the same angle as it would have been if it were self inflicted? Also, I don't remember reading anything about Eric ever actually shooting the gun, so how could they think he shot himself if there were no bullets missing? Does this mean Eric and Yates had the EXACT same gun, that the bullet that killed Eric matched perfectly with the gun he took from his dad even though that wasn't the gun that killed him?? And why did he have gun powder on his hands if he never shot the gun??
 (hide spoiler)]

As a romance, I really enjoyed the book. But the murder mystery was drawn out and sloppy. Also, that epilogue was pointless.

Sorry for the truth bomb, guys. New year, new book standards, I guess.

Jessica Williamson

4.75 Stars

Cover *** It's okay. It works but it's a little plain for my tastes. I don't think a lot of people would pick this up by the cover alone.

Characters ***** They were AMAZING. Looking at our two (three?) main characters Leah and Matt are fully fleshed out, have flaws and weaknesses, feel like real teenagers, and their personalities fit the trauma they've been through in their lives. The side characters are great as well. I really like the parents and the two best friends. And Leah's Dr.! She's great! This was some of the most realistic character work I've read this year. I enjoyed it very much

Pace ***** Loved the way the story moved, and how it switched between Leah and Matt to get the whole perspective of Eric's story. 

Plot **** I LOVED everything about this except for one (small?) thing. I figured out what actually happened to Eric (who/how/why) so early on that I'm not sure how Matt and Leah didn't see it. They're both pretty smart kids and I'm not sure how they didn't put the pieces together. I know the book is supposed to be about more than the mystery aspect of it, but if you're going to have a mystery plot, I need it to be mysterious. 

Writing ***** This is some of the best writing I've read all year. I knew from the first 30% of this book that even if I didn't end up liking this story, I'd be looking for more of Hunter's works by the end of it. She's probably my favorite new author I've found this year. 

Enjoyment ***** Could it be anything but a 5? This story was everything the flap copy said it would be and more. It covers grief and loss but also how to live and love. It was a really beautiful story that I'm so happy I read. 

Cry bonus * - ugh yeah. I sobbed, but they were happy tears this time. Beautiful stories hit me hard sometimes!

Sophia

I loved every part of this book (see - romance + a bit of an investigation + dream profession) 🥺
I am to say the least emotional.

This Heart of Mine A Novel