Scan barcode
sunny_pipes's review against another edition
3.0
Cute, but wanted it to be a bit more medical. Not as much a medical romance as romance with one character who is a doctor/surgeon...
mjsam's review against another edition
4.0
ARC received via Ylva in exchange for an honest review.
I’d read Zett’s [b:Irregular Heartbeat|41050183|Irregular Heartbeat|Chris Zett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533481491l/41050183._SY75_.jpg|64096478], and saw this was a sequel of sorts, so wanted to try it. I liked this more than the first one. This features Jess, a cardiologist who has decided to have a baby on her own and Lena, a sort of Jill of all trades, who works multiple jobs and lives in a cottage on Jess’ mother’s property.
Jess has a heart issue after the birth of her daughter and moves back in with her mother while she heals. This throws her into proximity with Lena, whom she is suspicious of. Not gonna lie, Jess is hard to take for the first third of the book. She has her head so far up her butt it’s surprising she could walk around. But as she warms to Lena (who is sweet as pie) her defences come down and she’s also has sweet scenes with her daughter.
The romance is a friend to lovers type slow burn. Lena also has issues from her past and those affect how she relates to Jess. There’s the usual ‘drama’ type thing at the 80% mark, but what impressed me was that the two leads actually discussed it like reasonable adults and were able to resolve it. I also liked that the solution was a compromise for both of them, not just one giving in to what the other wanted.
Fans of book one should enjoy this sequel. Emily has a cameo of sorts, but Diana features a bit. This is a sweet enough romance, and an improvement on book one. I look forward to more from this author. 4 stars.
I’d read Zett’s [b:Irregular Heartbeat|41050183|Irregular Heartbeat|Chris Zett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533481491l/41050183._SY75_.jpg|64096478], and saw this was a sequel of sorts, so wanted to try it. I liked this more than the first one. This features Jess, a cardiologist who has decided to have a baby on her own and Lena, a sort of Jill of all trades, who works multiple jobs and lives in a cottage on Jess’ mother’s property.
Jess has a heart issue after the birth of her daughter and moves back in with her mother while she heals. This throws her into proximity with Lena, whom she is suspicious of. Not gonna lie, Jess is hard to take for the first third of the book. She has her head so far up her butt it’s surprising she could walk around. But as she warms to Lena (who is sweet as pie) her defences come down and she’s also has sweet scenes with her daughter.
The romance is a friend to lovers type slow burn. Lena also has issues from her past and those affect how she relates to Jess. There’s the usual ‘drama’ type thing at the 80% mark, but what impressed me was that the two leads actually discussed it like reasonable adults and were able to resolve it. I also liked that the solution was a compromise for both of them, not just one giving in to what the other wanted.
Fans of book one should enjoy this sequel. Emily has a cameo of sorts, but Diana features a bit. This is a sweet enough romance, and an improvement on book one. I look forward to more from this author. 4 stars.
theamandashelby's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed Irregular Heartbeat and was so excited when this one came out. I enjoyed Heart Failure, but I didn’t enjoy it the way I did the first. To be honest, in the beginning, I disliked Jess so much she had to make a comeback, and it was an uphill battle. It did get better as the book went. I started to feel for Jess, but I still thought Lena was just way too nice for her.
I spent the first bit of the book hoping Lena did, in fact, stay away from Jess, and the middle being skeptical but giving Jess some leeway. By the end, I got it and decided it was okay. Typically I enjoy rooting for the characters to get together from the start, and for me, this wasn’t the case. It took longer than I am used to in a romance. When I think of an enemies to lovers book, I think of two people actively trying to make one another’s life hell. For me, this isn’t that either. I did think Lena was too nice and almost too easy to forgive and move on. Especially about a misunderstanding by Jess in the book. Lena handled it much better than I would have. It was in line with her personality though.
As the relationship progressed and they began to share more common interest I did finally allow myself to believe they could make it. A few parts were slow, but the overall story was good. By the end, I was happy and enjoyed reading it. 3.75 rounded up for me.
I spent the first bit of the book hoping Lena did, in fact, stay away from Jess, and the middle being skeptical but giving Jess some leeway. By the end, I got it and decided it was okay. Typically I enjoy rooting for the characters to get together from the start, and for me, this wasn’t the case. It took longer than I am used to in a romance. When I think of an enemies to lovers book, I think of two people actively trying to make one another’s life hell. For me, this isn’t that either. I did think Lena was too nice and almost too easy to forgive and move on. Especially about a misunderstanding by Jess in the book. Lena handled it much better than I would have. It was in line with her personality though.
As the relationship progressed and they began to share more common interest I did finally allow myself to believe they could make it. A few parts were slow, but the overall story was good. By the end, I was happy and enjoyed reading it. 3.75 rounded up for me.
alloveragain's review
2.0
4/10
I expected much more and got so little. I’m guessing I expected this book to be better than the first one I read by the author (Irregular Heartbeat). I liked the idea of this one better, for sure, I was rooting for it even.
Somehow, the characters and the whole story felt very flat, very two-dimensional. I didn’t like one single character, honestly.
At one point I was really scared they would be using Croatian in the book as well and, as a native speaker, I’d be too annoyed and I’d have to drop the book but, thankfully, that hadn’t happened.*
I’m not sure if I’ll be reading more books of Chris Zett soon. These two are it for now. I would probably recommend many books before I’d recommend this one.
*Only because I can’t stand when authors use a language in their books they obviously don’t know enough about. It’s very obvious and poor. In those situations it’s really just better to not use the language at all (like Zett has done). The only good example of using another language in their books (I can think of) is G. Benson’s Who’d Have Thought. I really recommend that one.
I expected much more and got so little. I’m guessing I expected this book to be better than the first one I read by the author (Irregular Heartbeat). I liked the idea of this one better, for sure, I was rooting for it even.
Somehow, the characters and the whole story felt very flat, very two-dimensional. I didn’t like one single character, honestly.
At one point I was really scared they would be using Croatian in the book as well and, as a native speaker, I’d be too annoyed and I’d have to drop the book but, thankfully, that hadn’t happened.*
I’m not sure if I’ll be reading more books of Chris Zett soon. These two are it for now. I would probably recommend many books before I’d recommend this one.
*Only because I can’t stand when authors use a language in their books they obviously don’t know enough about. It’s very obvious and poor. In those situations it’s really just better to not use the language at all (like Zett has done). The only good example of using another language in their books (I can think of) is G. Benson’s Who’d Have Thought. I really recommend that one.
nonbinaryknight's review against another edition
2.0
I was interested in this book, but I found that it didn’t go how I was expecting. My expectations had Jess having to move back in with her mom and getting to know Lena and changing. That did happen, but so did other things that I didn’t enjoy.
Jess has always had a detailed plan for her life. Part of that plan included wanting to have a child but at 37 she’s decided to skip the steps about having a partner and go straight into having a baby. After the baby is born, she’s stretched thin and winds up suffering heart failure as a result, forcing her to move back home with her mother and her mother’s tenant. Lena has been living with her mother for almost a year know. She works three small side jobs in order to pay back her mountain of debt. She has issues from her past that she’s trying to ignore but being around Jess and her daughter, Ella, is bringing those emotions back.
I like Lena more than I like Jess, but there were also times when I didn’t like either of them. Jess is difficult. She doesn’t trust Lena, she’s rude, she’s sharp, and at first, she doesn’t seem to care about anyone else. She loves her daughter, that is true, but she seems to ignore people and things around her. She’s not perfect by any means, but she’s not exactly horrible. She also has insecurities after giving birth and I really wish that had been dipped into more. I also find it hard to believe that a 37-year-old doctor wouldn’t realize that being a single mother would come with problems. She seemed completely oblivious to that idea.
Lena seems too perfect at times. Her flaws start showing towards the last quarter of the book but before that she just seems too good to be true. She’s nice, sweet, and patient with Jess when her mom explains that Jess is nice deep down. She seemed too good to be true at first and I was happy when her flaws began to show. She hasn’t processed fully her past and she doesn’t seem to want to acknowledge the negative emotions she has. I honestly really didn’t like her during the later parts of the book.
The middle part of this book is easily the best thing about it. Jess is learning to relax and is spending more time around Lena. It’s nice to watch their friendship develop. It was also nice to learn about the free clinic and the patient that Jess cares so much about. It was sweet. I do wish more had been done with the free clinic or the patient. It was nice to see a softer side of Jess.
I didn’t like the conflict at the 70-80% mark of the book. I know that conflict towards the end of the book is normal, but I couldn’t stand it. Lena came off, to me, as very judgmental about Jess’ life and her parenting style while Jess reverted to who she had been at the very beginning of the book. Both of these points felt unnecessary. Jess had lightened up during her stay with her mother and had cooled down, but she never considered cutting back her hours to spend more time with the daughter she loves. Lena also started a fight with her because she was late picking up her daughter. She was quite late, and the mom did have plans that she didn’t ask about. Both of these are true. But Lena seemed to think that she was doing this on purpose. I get that it stems from her issues with her own mother, but she had already acknowledged those issues earlier and realized that Jess is working, not partying. I just felt like it was unnecessary to have this conflict. Another conflict might have worked better, but I hated this part of the book.
I wish I liked this story more. It’s not horrible and I genuinely like the middle part of it. The problem is it feels too much like a caricature, I guess. Jess is the workaholic doctor who didn’t think through having a child and has to change, while Lena made mistakes in the past but is an angel now.
Jess has always had a detailed plan for her life. Part of that plan included wanting to have a child but at 37 she’s decided to skip the steps about having a partner and go straight into having a baby. After the baby is born, she’s stretched thin and winds up suffering heart failure as a result, forcing her to move back home with her mother and her mother’s tenant. Lena has been living with her mother for almost a year know. She works three small side jobs in order to pay back her mountain of debt. She has issues from her past that she’s trying to ignore but being around Jess and her daughter, Ella, is bringing those emotions back.
I like Lena more than I like Jess, but there were also times when I didn’t like either of them. Jess is difficult. She doesn’t trust Lena, she’s rude, she’s sharp, and at first, she doesn’t seem to care about anyone else. She loves her daughter, that is true, but she seems to ignore people and things around her. She’s not perfect by any means, but she’s not exactly horrible. She also has insecurities after giving birth and I really wish that had been dipped into more.
Lena seems too perfect at times. Her flaws start showing towards the last quarter of the book but before that she just seems too good to be true. She’s nice, sweet, and patient with Jess when her mom explains that Jess is nice deep down. She seemed too good to be true at first and I was happy when her flaws began to show. She hasn’t processed fully her past and she doesn’t seem to want to acknowledge the negative emotions she has. I honestly really didn’t like her during the later parts of the book.
The middle part of this book is easily the best thing about it. Jess is learning to relax and is spending more time around Lena. It’s nice to watch their friendship develop. It was also nice to learn about the free clinic and the patient that Jess cares so much about. It was sweet. I do wish more had been done with the free clinic or the patient. It was nice to see a softer side of Jess.
I didn’t like the conflict at the 70-80% mark of the book. I know that conflict towards the end of the book is normal, but I couldn’t stand it. Lena came off, to me, as very judgmental about Jess’ life and her parenting style while Jess reverted to who she had been at the very beginning of the book. Both of these points felt unnecessary. Jess had lightened up during her stay with her mother and had cooled down, but she never considered cutting back her hours to spend more time with the daughter she loves. Lena also started a fight with her because she was late picking up her daughter.
I wish I liked this story more. It’s not horrible and I genuinely like the middle part of it. The problem is it feels too much like a caricature, I guess. Jess is the workaholic doctor who didn’t think through having a child and has to change, while Lena made mistakes in the past but is an angel now.
banrions's review
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Really sweet romance!
_mazx's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
lezreviewbooks's review
4.0
Dr. Jess Riley is a successful cardiologist who has just given birth to a baby daughter. She is single but determined to balance a demanding professional career with motherhood. However, when she is diagnosed with acute heart failure, she is forced to take time off and go back home to live with her mother. But Jess’s mother already has a tenant, struggling artist Lena Walker, and Jess isn’t happy about it. Jess is distrustful of Lena but slowly both women start to leave their differences aside to form a tentative friendship with benefits. Will they have a happily ever after?
‘Heart failure’ is part of the universe of Ms. Zett’s debut ‘Irregular Heartbeat’ and it starts by retelling a scene from the end of that book but, this time told from Jess’s point of view. Despite the repetition, this is a standalone novel though I recommend reading ‘Irregular Heartbeat’ because, in my opinion, it is the best of the two. Despite the title and the cover (but not the blurb), this is not a medical romance per se. It’s true that one of the protagonists is a doctor and there are a couple of scenes set in a hospital environment but don’t expect much in the medical drama department. If you need to put a label on this story, it could be a lesbian enemies-to-lovers romance book.
It’s hard not to compare this book with its predecessor as they share the same universe and some of the characters of ‘Irregular Heartbeat‘, especially Diana, have a very important role in this novel. Compared to the previous book, the leading couple didn’t appeal to me that much. Jess is a hard-to-love character, at the beginning she seems self-centered and cold, but eventually, the readers witness her transformation into a more agreeable woman. While I understand that motherhood and a serious illness change people so her transformation is justified, it took me a long time to warm to her. Lena, on the other hand, is a lovable and patient woman who had a difficult childhood. I felt she was too good to be true and definitely, too good for Jess. So, for me, the chemistry between them was just there but not enough to reach hot levels.
As I had the expectation of a medical romance, I was a bit disappointed that there wasn’t much hospital action. Again, I couldn’t help to compare to the previous book, though this is not the author’s fault. I just couldn’t empathise with the characters’ conflict and I wasn’t invested enough in their relationship. Having said that, I like Ms. Zett’s writing style and will definitely read her next book.
Overall, an ok enemies to lovers romance book, 3.5 stars.
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
See all my reviews at www.lezreviewbooks.com
‘Heart failure’ is part of the universe of Ms. Zett’s debut ‘Irregular Heartbeat’ and it starts by retelling a scene from the end of that book but, this time told from Jess’s point of view. Despite the repetition, this is a standalone novel though I recommend reading ‘Irregular Heartbeat’ because, in my opinion, it is the best of the two. Despite the title and the cover (but not the blurb), this is not a medical romance per se. It’s true that one of the protagonists is a doctor and there are a couple of scenes set in a hospital environment but don’t expect much in the medical drama department. If you need to put a label on this story, it could be a lesbian enemies-to-lovers romance book.
It’s hard not to compare this book with its predecessor as they share the same universe and some of the characters of ‘Irregular Heartbeat‘, especially Diana, have a very important role in this novel. Compared to the previous book, the leading couple didn’t appeal to me that much. Jess is a hard-to-love character, at the beginning she seems self-centered and cold, but eventually, the readers witness her transformation into a more agreeable woman. While I understand that motherhood and a serious illness change people so her transformation is justified, it took me a long time to warm to her. Lena, on the other hand, is a lovable and patient woman who had a difficult childhood. I felt she was too good to be true and definitely, too good for Jess. So, for me, the chemistry between them was just there but not enough to reach hot levels.
As I had the expectation of a medical romance, I was a bit disappointed that there wasn’t much hospital action. Again, I couldn’t help to compare to the previous book, though this is not the author’s fault. I just couldn’t empathise with the characters’ conflict and I wasn’t invested enough in their relationship. Having said that, I like Ms. Zett’s writing style and will definitely read her next book.
Overall, an ok enemies to lovers romance book, 3.5 stars.
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
See all my reviews at www.lezreviewbooks.com
synth's review
1.0
It wasn't that I hated this, but this was not a good book imo. I think, one reason for such a low rating is also that I was disappointed after reading the previous book. The writing was certainly fine technically and regularly decent in its depiction of emotions and confict. The middle even made me reconsider not liking it for a hot second but in the end, no.
The doctor is insufferable and simplistic in her issues, while the poor one is, while avoiding the manic pixie dream girl archetype, too perfect and she works through her issues on her own in an ideal way, issues that never truly impact her relationship with anyone. And then, we are supposed to agree that the doctor has worked through her years-old issues in a week and that the poor one trusts her apology. Even if the apology is sincere, the fact of the matter is that behaviors and defense mechanisms are not fixed so easily, even if one sincerely wants to change, but needs to be confronted by someone one cares about to be forced to think about what one did wrong.
Additionally, the conclusion that the doctor loves the poor one because she values her opinion of her more than if she thought of her as a friend is nonsensical and I hope real-life people don't use this criteria to judge of romantic love... And the whole reasoning about who needs to care for the baby boils down to creating a nuclear family that, in the end, felt very hetnorm and glossed over the underlying dismissal of the entire "nanny" conflict –which is explained with "don't ever suggest to pay me to spend time with you" as if this is the core problem ("oh no need to pay me to take care of your daughter, let's just make me her mom" which fine have your HEA with a wife and kid, but also this rubs me the wrong way from a queer book).
The doctor is insufferable and simplistic in her issues, while the poor one is, while avoiding the manic pixie dream girl archetype, too perfect and she works through her issues on her own in an ideal way, issues that never truly impact her relationship with anyone. And then, we are supposed to agree that the doctor has worked through her years-old issues in a week and that the poor one trusts her apology. Even if the apology is sincere, the fact of the matter is that behaviors and defense mechanisms are not fixed so easily, even if one sincerely wants to change, but needs to be confronted by someone one cares about to be forced to think about what one did wrong.
Additionally, the conclusion that the doctor loves the poor one because she values her opinion of her more than if she thought of her as a friend is nonsensical and I hope real-life people don't use this criteria to judge of romantic love... And the whole reasoning about who needs to care for the baby boils down to creating a nuclear family that, in the end, felt very hetnorm and glossed over the underlying dismissal of the entire "nanny" conflict –which is explained with "don't ever suggest to pay me to spend time with you" as if this is the core problem ("oh no need to pay me to take care of your daughter, let's just make me her mom" which fine have your HEA with a wife and kid, but also this rubs me the wrong way from a queer book).
More...