Reviews

A Piece of My Heart by Sharon Sala

thebookdivareads's review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional hopeful fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

muffreads42's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

I loved the book. Was glad Mercy was able to find love and her sister.

mshultz89's review against another edition

Go to review page

lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

kbranfield's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

3.5 stars

A Piece of My Heart is a cute addition to Sharon Sala's small-town Blessings, Georgia series.  Although this latest release is the fourth installment in the series, it can easily be read as a standalone.

As someone who grew up in the foster care system, Mercy Dane is a self-reliant, tough as nails waitress who works in a biker bar.  When she gets an emergency phone call requesting a blood donation for a car accident victim, she immediately jumps on her Harley and rushes to Blessings.  Her good deed yields surprising benefits as Mercy is reunited with Lon Pittman, a man whom she shared one incredible night with several years earlier. But most shocking is the discovery that Mercy is the long lost sister of Hope Talbot, the accident victim to whom she donated blood. The sisters were separated as children after Hope was adopted out of foster care. Mercy does not hesitate to move to Blessings to become better acquainted with Hope, her brother-in-law Jack and his brother Duke. Despite the years that have passed since they last met, Lon would like nothing better than to date Mercy, but will she let down her guard enough to give their fledgling romance a chance?

Mercy is a refreshingly straight forward woman who does not play games nor does she hesitate to speak her mind. With no family of her own, she has forged close ties with the bar owner where she is employed but the chance to get to know Hope is too tempting to pass up. Although she is a little uncomfortable living with complete strangers, she is delighted for the opportunity to reconnect with her sister.  While Mercy is a bit wary, she also quickly agrees to renew her acquaintance with Lon in order to see if there is the potential for a relationship between them.

Lon never forgot the night he spent with Mercy and he is stunned when he recognizes her at the hospital.  Determined not to let the opportunity to date her slip through his fingers, Lon wastes no time letting her know he is still interested in her. Lon is a steady, reliable man who is not afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve and he is quick to reassure Mercy he will give her all the time she needs to decide how she feels about him.

Despite Lon and Hope's easy acceptance of Mercy, some of the townspeople are not as quick to welcome her to Blessings. Mercy's reaction to an ill-spirited verbal attack is quite unexpected and exposes her well-hidden vulnerabilities. Hope's brother-in-law Duke is quite judgmental but Mercy never hesitates to put him in his place.  Some of the residents are quick to stereotype Mercy based on her appearance and the fact she rides a Harley.

The relationship between Lon and Mercy is free from conflict but there is a bit of an insta-love quality to their romance. This is most likely due to the fact that although they have a few dates, their time together is short and often interrupted by a variety of dramatic events. It is also not much of a surprise when someone from Mercy's past resurfaces although the ensuing situation is rather surprising.

With an eclectic cast of endearing characters and a sweet romance A Piece of My Heart is an engaging novel with a delightful small town atmosphere.  Longtime fans of the Blessings, Georgia series will enjoy catching up with their favorite characters from previous installments.  Sharon Sala provides enough background information on the various characters that new readers can easily begin the series with this latest installment.

muffreadsreview71's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

I loved the book. Was glad Mercy was able to find love and her sister.

aspiro27's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional tense fast-paced

3.75

katiewiewski's review against another edition

Go to review page

lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

traceyanderson's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

I really love this series.

asparagusisreading's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

4.5⭐️
Dec 8th: I thought I had written a review for this but it seems I can’t find it anywhere so I apologize in advance if this isn’t as detailed as the first time.

Mercy Dane is living on her own just trying to make it through each day when she gets a call from a hospital asking if she could give blood ASAP. There was an accident and someone desperately needs blood, but Mercy is the only one that is close enough with the blood they need. When she gets there, family and friends of the patient are acting a bit off. They soon discover the patient and Mercy are related, they’re sisters. It turned out she also knows the cop that was at the scene, Lon Pittman. They have a little bit of a past from years ago that strikes up some past emotions.

Mercy decided to move into town to build a relationship with her family and friends... and possibly explore what’s going on between her and the cop from her past.

I loved this book, I think it’s one of my favorites by her. The story is similar to other stories Sharon writes (small town, mystery guy or girl, both have some baggage to work through and at at least one has to deal with it coming back, one comes to town for some reason, slowly helping each other and building a relationship..) However, this is one of the few that doesn’t have a romance starting from the very beginning. Instead, they already have a past that they build on. It has been awhile since I read this but I don’t think they had much conflict between them. They knew exactly how they felt and went for it.
More...