Review: The Heart by Kate Stewart

The Heart (The Reluctant Romantics Book 2) by Kate Stewart
Series: The Reluctant Romantics #2
Published by Self-Published on April 30th 2016


Amazon

Jack

For the last ten years, I've roamed the globe, captivated by the world around me. I've seen the seven wonders and admired sunsets from every continent. I'd lived and loved and that was enough for me. It would have to be.

I was content, satisfied with my collection of experiences . . . until a phone call led me down a road less traveled.

If I'd known my fascination would pique and be forever quenched only a few hundred miles from where my curiosity had been born, I may have never set sail.

Rose

Stripped of the future I'd planned with the love of my life, my family and my career were now all that mattered. I'd lived and loved and that was enough. It would have to be.

I struggled to move forward, to discard the part of me that held out hope for my obliterated heart. But I was bred a romantic, so it was easier said than done.

The chances of being struck by lightning are 1 in 960,000.

The odds of being struck twice are 1 in 9 million.

I risked those odds every minute, often cursing the dark sky, praying for static and a rumble of thunder, but it never came.

No, that second bolt hit me on a clear day.

The Heart can be read as a stand alone but it is HIGHLY recommended you read the first two books in the series first.
The Reluctant Romantics Series
The Fall
The Mind 1.5
The Heart Books that compliment the series (Room 212, Never Me.)
Explicit Sex and Strong Language

** This review contains possible spoilers pertaining to The Fall and The Mind. ** 

 

Having read The Fall and The Mind, I was more than ready for Rose to find happiness again. I had high expectations for this book, and Kate Stewart absolutely delivers.

 

It’s been three years since Rose’s tragic loss. She’s done her best to pick up the pieces of her life, and for the most part she’s been successful. Immersing herself in her career has helped her cope. She’s now a top-notch surgeon, and she and her sister, Dallas, are months away from opening the cancer treatment center they’ve dreamed of forever. She hasn’t let go of Grant, though, and her heart is closed off to the idea of being with another man.

Along comes Jack, a charismatic contractor from New Orleans. An attraction quickly develops between Rose and him, even though they are polar opposites. Jack is fun and easy going, whereas Rose is stubborn and has a quick temper. She’s rooted to work and family, while he’s a free spirit who travels the world. Jack awakens familiar and frightening feelings in Rose, but does loving another man diminish what she had with Grant?

Oh, Jack, how I love thee! Let me count the ways. Forget it. I can’t count that high. He cooks, he dances, he’s got that Cajun accent going for him, he’s sexy as hell—and that’s just the start. He also has a knack for saying heart-melting things.

“I want your breaths, your minutes, your movements, and to be included in your memories. I want to be the man you run to. I want to be significant. I want you. It’s that simple.”

Come on! How does a girl stand a chance against that? Rose’s reluctance to enter into a relationship with Jack is more than understandable, but her two steps forward, one step back attitude and mixed signals had me screaming, “If you don’t want him, I’ll take him!” Fortunately for her, Jack is more than patient.

Time and again, Kate Stewart delivers the most superb quotes to completely gut me.

“My heart…was rooted to her. Subtly and without me being truly aware, it had planted itself here next to her. But I was unwanted, a weed growing wild in someone else’s future.”

I really admired Rose. She may be wounded, but she’s a survivor and not at all bitter. Her relationship with her nephew is absolutely precious, and the interactions with her girlfriends are hysterical.

There’s a situation towards the end that I found to be a bit cliché and the resolution rather abrupt and underwhelming. However, it’s a small bump in the road in an otherwise delightful journey.

Kate Stewart has a knack for creating engaging stories and heart-felt characters that completely envelop you in another world. That’s certainly the case here. The Heart is emotional, sexy, and humorous—a wonderfully romantic conclusion to an amazing series.

 

Recommended for fans of:
Second-chance romance
Nice guys
Cajun dialects

**ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.**

 

Purchase Links

Amazon US | Amazon UK | B&N | Kobo | iBooks

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