REVIEW: HEAVY HEARTS by Kylie Kaemke

We were given the great opportunity to review the debut, self-published novel, Heavy Hearts by Kylie Kaemke (@trulydauntless on twitter) and we finally have it for you! heavyheartscover

Heavy Hearts is the story of a girl, Lucy Whitten, who lives a life of wealth and privilege, but is also a sweet, down-to-earth girl who doesn’t possess the same shallowness of her family.  Lucy also has a problem — she must choose between three handsome, charming men who are vying for her affection!

There are many dramatic, sexy, and sweet moments with Lucy and her three suitors, which really help make this a fun and entertaining read.  The men — rugged Finn, charming Brit Simon, and playboy millionaire Malcolm— are well-developed for the most part and have interesting stories.  My biggest criticism  would be concerning how the men selfishly put Lucy in such an awkward “choose me” position by pretty much just showing up (rudely, I felt) at her door.  And Lucy lets them — and strings them along in her confusion.  While my adult brain (and intolerance!) finds this unacceptable, this is a teenage (ish) love trapezoid, which would be prone to having a messier dynamic — complications on so many levels! That being said, I did want to have a long talk with all four of them, in a “get it together, guys!” kind of way. But through her struggles and indecision, I think the reader will be happy with Lucy’s ultimate choice, which helps put all that drama in the past.

Kylie does a fantastic job of capturing the feelings of Lucy in her late teens in a way that I think many girls can relate to.  I was impressed with how many “yep, that’s how I’d feel” moments I came across (unfortunately none of which were concerning the three handsome men all being madly in love with me part — still waiting for that to happen!). And she paints vivid, descriptive pictures for the various settings in the story which include London, New York City, and a country ranch — all well-defined. The narrative begins in the present day and goes back and forth in time, telling the tale of each of the men and Lucy’s relationship with them.  This isn’t an easy thing to do well, and I am impressed with her execution of the non-linear construction, especially for a first-time author.

Overall, this is a great first effort!

Our Grade: B

To get your very own copy of Heavy Hearts go to Amazon! It’s currently available for Kindle and in paperback. The Kindle version is priced at $2.99 which is an EXCELLENT deal!

Here’s the official description from Amazon:

It was Blaise Pascal who wrote “The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of… We know the truth not only by the reason, but by the heart,” and that couldn’t be more true for love-struggling Lucy Whitten.

This romantic time jumping tale takes you back into Lucy’s past and spiraling into her present where three men all confess their undying love to her. When she finds herself caught in the center of this epic love triangle it takes a heavy heart to decide whose heart to love, and whose hearts to break.