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193 reviews for:
Heartsick: Three Stories about Love, Pain, and What Happens in Between
Jessie Stephens
3.89 AVERAGE
193 reviews for:
Heartsick: Three Stories about Love, Pain, and What Happens in Between
Jessie Stephens
3.89 AVERAGE
This book gave me all the feelings, I found it transported me to my lost loves and gave me a feeling of being seen. What a debut!
This book was beautifully written and easy to read... but for me, I was hoping for something a bit more. It felt like I got to witness the fresh, acute heartbreak, but I wanted to see what came next. How the feelings changed, what evolved, what was learned. It felt very abrupt, the way it ended. Maybe the author intended that: she did say in her epilogue that she believes some people never fully heal from heartbreak. Possibly I am lucky, but I have always learnt lessons and fully recovered. It would have been nice if at least one of the characters could have done that. Two of the characters’ stories were pretty similar. I might have liked a different scenario, although I understand she got the stories from real people.
REVIEW FOR FUTURE ME WHEN I FORGET THAT I EVEN READ THIS BOOK:
If you were the kind of person who read physical books and highlighted quotes and passages that you loved, this entire thing would have been covered in fluorescent ink.
The quote: “It’s rare in life that you know how much you’re enjoying something at the precise moment you’re enjoying it. Happiness is something more often felt in retrospect – a sensation you later ascribe to memories.”
If you were the kind of person who read physical books and highlighted quotes and passages that you loved, this entire thing would have been covered in fluorescent ink.
The quote: “It’s rare in life that you know how much you’re enjoying something at the precise moment you’re enjoying it. Happiness is something more often felt in retrospect – a sensation you later ascribe to memories.”
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
I went into this expecting myself to cry three times as hard as I usually do (I'm a big crier), but I felt nothing throughout each of the stories. We already know what the ending is going to be and so I thought Stephens would spend more time fleshing out emotional connection the characters had with their partners. Instead, I felt like I was reading step-by-step accounts of their days and didn't fall in love with any of the characters.
Claire - bless her - came off as desperate and co-dependent, which largely stemmed from her depression. Most of her story was incredibly hard to read because I wish I could shake her and tell her that Maggie wasn't treating her well. After Yazmin cautioned Claire about Maggie, I expected a big blow up around the red flags Maggie had. I expected her to be the co-dependent one or be the one to bring Clare down, but I saw the opposite.
Although I wouldn't call Patrick co-dependent, I felt like he lacked any sort of independence outside of his relationship with Caitlin. He was happy to see her be successful and grow as a person but didn't ever seem to want to be a better person for her. I'm not surprised that she broke up with him because it's hard to maintain a relationship when you've been together since you were teenagers and you haven't finished growing and finding yourself.
Ana's story was the most interesting but, even then, I felt like it lacked nuance. She spent so much of her time pining after Rob, drinking wine, and being disgusted with her husband. I was hoping to read more about how she handled the situation with her husband after she told Rob to give her a year. She didn't spend that year doing anything except feel sorry for herself. I don't condone cheating but I think she went about it in the worst way.
The only saving grace of this book was the way it was written. There was a lot of unnecessary exposition, and although I enjoyed some of it, I found myself skipping over paragraphs to get it over and done with. Stephens has a talent for writing but a lot could've been cut down and still have the same affect.
In the end, I didn't cry or feel any type of emotion except annoyance at the characters and the author.
Claire - bless her - came off as desperate and co-dependent, which largely stemmed from her depression. Most of her story was incredibly hard to read because I wish I could shake her and tell her that Maggie wasn't treating her well. After Yazmin cautioned Claire about Maggie, I expected a big blow up around the red flags Maggie had. I expected her to be the co-dependent one or be the one to bring Clare down, but I saw the opposite.
Although I wouldn't call Patrick co-dependent, I felt like he lacked any sort of independence outside of his relationship with Caitlin. He was happy to see her be successful and grow as a person but didn't ever seem to want to be a better person for her. I'm not surprised that she broke up with him because it's hard to maintain a relationship when you've been together since you were teenagers and you haven't finished growing and finding yourself.
Ana's story was the most interesting but, even then, I felt like it lacked nuance. She spent so much of her time pining after Rob, drinking wine, and being disgusted with her husband. I was hoping to read more about how she handled the situation with her husband after she told Rob to give her a year. She didn't spend that year doing anything except feel sorry for herself. I don't condone cheating but I think she went about it in the worst way.
The only saving grace of this book was the way it was written. There was a lot of unnecessary exposition, and although I enjoyed some of it, I found myself skipping over paragraphs to get it over and done with. Stephens has a talent for writing but a lot could've been cut down and still have the same affect.
In the end, I didn't cry or feel any type of emotion except annoyance at the characters and the author.
Absolutely amazing book for her first time out. I absolutely LOVED it and can't wait to read more from Jessie!
Really enjoyed it, do think this book is something you can have if you are going through a heartbreak
I absolutely inhaled this book within 2 days. A raw, honest and compelling biography about 3 different people entering into the perfect relationship, living through it, and then experiencing the devastating heartbreak when it ends. There are elements of all 3 people which we all identify with. I loved the diversity of the 3 relationships and think it was wonderful to have a male perspective and to have representation from the LGBTIQ community included. Very much for fans of Three Women... but even better as the emotions pack a punch.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced