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4.18 AVERAGE
4.18 AVERAGE
Overall Grade: 4.5 ⭐️
“You were never the tightrope. You were Kody’s anchor and Lavender’s shield.”
H. Hunting’s newest series, Lies, Hearts, & Truths, has an edge. Born out of her Pucked and All In series, Little Lies and Bitter Sweet Heart reveal the truth about families: they are messy and fraught. To date, Little Lies has been my favorite of the two books. After reading Bitter Sweet Heart, Maverick’s story, it still holds that claim, but BSH is beautifully wrought and a reminder that our future trajectories can change and family trauma impacts more than the person directly involved in the trauma. H. Hunting’s Bitter Sweet Heart is another example of Helena Hunting’s capacity to pivot her storytelling, finding a new space to inhabit for herself.
Here are my own truths as a romance reader uncovered after reading Hunting’s Bitter Sweet Heart:
**I love a hero who ensures consent. Honestly, it doesn’t seem romantic, but I love a hero, one such as Maverick, who checks in with his heroine. In my mind, it equates to compassion and care. The MMC can be a burly, alpha-hero and still ensure the FMC’s boundaries are being honored. In fact, it’s downright sexy to read.
**Maverick is nothing like I thought he’d be. He has spent most of his life caring for others at the expense of himself, and even in the end, he continues to do it. Yes, he’s gorgeous, but his compassion and thoughtfulness actually make him more attractive. Additionally, it doesn’t detract from his masculinity; it adds depth to his character. He is not fun-loving, although he has fun. He is an old soul in a young body.
**I think I’m a fan of reverse age-gap stories. Yes, they have shades of the forbidden, only because our minds are often turned by decades of patriarchal rule. Hunting carefully curates Maverick and Clover’s relationship, infusing him with maturity while keeping Clover youthful. Their physical relationship combines eroticism and responsibility, so it never reads wrong. There is something very right about Maverick and Clover together.
**I am the biggest fan of taking Hunting’s wildly popular Pucked and All In series, reminding readers of our favorite characters, ones who have doled out laughs and tears and familial camaraderie. When you finish a series such as Pucked and All In, you remember the humor of it, the off-the-cuff inappropriateness of Violet, and the quirkiness of the other characters. However, entering the Lies, Hearts, & Truths series, readers are met with the repercussions of trauma in the younger generation. These kids are messy, forcing you to consider that seemingly perfect worlds in romance don’t always mean the same for future generations. While Maverick is thoughtful, compassionate, and the perfect older brother who takes care of his younger siblings, it comes at a cost to himself. Hunting crafts this reality beautifully in his character, showing the ramifications of living life making others happy at the cost of his own happiness. Thankfully, Hunting creates parents who want to remedy the sins of their past. My favorite parts of Bitter Sweet Heart are Maverick’s dealings with his parents, especially his father, as he reconsiders his future. All of it reads messy and realistic, and I was engrossed in his struggle.
Bitter Sweet Heart is engaging, erotic, and emotional. It’s layered, and you lose yourself in Maverick’s struggle to live a life in his own light. The humor of the Pucked and All In series floats through his story, but BSH is meant to provoke your thinking about familial trauma and its aftermath. When you finish H. Hunting’s book, it feels like you’ve endured a journey of a thousand miles while surrounded by your favorite people.
“I love you.”
“And I love you. Every minute of every day until forever ends.”
“You were never the tightrope. You were Kody’s anchor and Lavender’s shield.”
H. Hunting’s newest series, Lies, Hearts, & Truths, has an edge. Born out of her Pucked and All In series, Little Lies and Bitter Sweet Heart reveal the truth about families: they are messy and fraught. To date, Little Lies has been my favorite of the two books. After reading Bitter Sweet Heart, Maverick’s story, it still holds that claim, but BSH is beautifully wrought and a reminder that our future trajectories can change and family trauma impacts more than the person directly involved in the trauma. H. Hunting’s Bitter Sweet Heart is another example of Helena Hunting’s capacity to pivot her storytelling, finding a new space to inhabit for herself.
Here are my own truths as a romance reader uncovered after reading Hunting’s Bitter Sweet Heart:
**I love a hero who ensures consent. Honestly, it doesn’t seem romantic, but I love a hero, one such as Maverick, who checks in with his heroine. In my mind, it equates to compassion and care. The MMC can be a burly, alpha-hero and still ensure the FMC’s boundaries are being honored. In fact, it’s downright sexy to read.
**Maverick is nothing like I thought he’d be. He has spent most of his life caring for others at the expense of himself, and even in the end, he continues to do it. Yes, he’s gorgeous, but his compassion and thoughtfulness actually make him more attractive. Additionally, it doesn’t detract from his masculinity; it adds depth to his character. He is not fun-loving, although he has fun. He is an old soul in a young body.
**I think I’m a fan of reverse age-gap stories. Yes, they have shades of the forbidden, only because our minds are often turned by decades of patriarchal rule. Hunting carefully curates Maverick and Clover’s relationship, infusing him with maturity while keeping Clover youthful. Their physical relationship combines eroticism and responsibility, so it never reads wrong. There is something very right about Maverick and Clover together.
**I am the biggest fan of taking Hunting’s wildly popular Pucked and All In series, reminding readers of our favorite characters, ones who have doled out laughs and tears and familial camaraderie. When you finish a series such as Pucked and All In, you remember the humor of it, the off-the-cuff inappropriateness of Violet, and the quirkiness of the other characters. However, entering the Lies, Hearts, & Truths series, readers are met with the repercussions of trauma in the younger generation. These kids are messy, forcing you to consider that seemingly perfect worlds in romance don’t always mean the same for future generations. While Maverick is thoughtful, compassionate, and the perfect older brother who takes care of his younger siblings, it comes at a cost to himself. Hunting crafts this reality beautifully in his character, showing the ramifications of living life making others happy at the cost of his own happiness. Thankfully, Hunting creates parents who want to remedy the sins of their past. My favorite parts of Bitter Sweet Heart are Maverick’s dealings with his parents, especially his father, as he reconsiders his future. All of it reads messy and realistic, and I was engrossed in his struggle.
Bitter Sweet Heart is engaging, erotic, and emotional. It’s layered, and you lose yourself in Maverick’s struggle to live a life in his own light. The humor of the Pucked and All In series floats through his story, but BSH is meant to provoke your thinking about familial trauma and its aftermath. When you finish H. Hunting’s book, it feels like you’ve endured a journey of a thousand miles while surrounded by your favorite people.
“I love you.”
“And I love you. Every minute of every day until forever ends.”
Well, I love Maverick. And Clover.
What a fun take on a hockey romance! Throw in a bit of forbidden fruit and mental health talk and you’ve got an amazing story.
I didn’t think about how hard it would have been for Mav after the carnival incident and seeing him struggle through his anxiety, guilt, depression, and self-worth was such a great experience.
Clover was cute and her struggles with her garbage ex were so sad and it was well done, his manipulation. Ugh. What a pile of human trash.
The forbidden fruit trope?
* They hook up one night only for him to walk into class and see she’s his new professor 🤭🤭
* And she’s 8/9 years older than him😏
* And he only likes older women because he is very…big? Like, women-have-run-away-after-he’s-dropped-his-pants big 😂
And true to Helena Hunting stories, this one is full of funny moments and I literally snorted at certain parts 😂 I have a bunch of tabs in my book but I’m lazy and I don’t want to write them out, so just take my word for it 😂😂
What a fun take on a hockey romance! Throw in a bit of forbidden fruit and mental health talk and you’ve got an amazing story.
I didn’t think about how hard it would have been for Mav after the carnival incident and seeing him struggle through his anxiety, guilt, depression, and self-worth was such a great experience.
Clover was cute and her struggles with her garbage ex were so sad and it was well done, his manipulation. Ugh. What a pile of human trash.
The forbidden fruit trope?
* They hook up one night only for him to walk into class and see she’s his new professor 🤭🤭
* And she’s 8/9 years older than him😏
* And he only likes older women because he is very…big? Like, women-have-run-away-after-he’s-dropped-his-pants big 😂
And true to Helena Hunting stories, this one is full of funny moments and I literally snorted at certain parts 😂 I have a bunch of tabs in my book but I’m lazy and I don’t want to write them out, so just take my word for it 😂😂
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This review was originally posted on Cocktails and Books
Cocktails and Books received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect our opinion of the book or the content of our review.I wasn't sure what to expect from Maverick but this book left me like Janet from Friends.
Maverick is a protector of his family and his friends, constantly putting himself behind everyone else. You see this right away, so when he finally grabs something just for himself it's a little heartbreaking that it comes with so much baggage and that he dealt with it by himself. I wanted to yell at everyone to open their eyes and see what was going on, but understood this was Maverick and he had to decide when he was going to let someone in.
Clover was perfect for Mav. Like Lavender, he is his mother's son and needed someone who would even out his crazy. And like Alex and Kody, Clover was that person. She saw past the sparkle and smiles to the man beneath. She calmed him and gave him a safe place to just be himself. The age gap didn't matter with these two...they just got each other.
After reading this book, I had to go back to read Pucked and Forever Pucked. I thought it was just to revisit how the Waters family came to be, but I realized it was because I recognized Alex in Maverick. The questions (is this OK?), the consideration and his actions are just like his father. It made everything that Maverick went through live up to the title of his book.
Cocktails and Books received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect our opinion of the book or the content of our review.I wasn't sure what to expect from Maverick but this book left me like Janet from Friends.
Maverick is a protector of his family and his friends, constantly putting himself behind everyone else. You see this right away, so when he finally grabs something just for himself it's a little heartbreaking that it comes with so much baggage and that he dealt with it by himself. I wanted to yell at everyone to open their eyes and see what was going on, but understood this was Maverick and he had to decide when he was going to let someone in.
Clover was perfect for Mav. Like Lavender, he is his mother's son and needed someone who would even out his crazy. And like Alex and Kody, Clover was that person. She saw past the sparkle and smiles to the man beneath. She calmed him and gave him a safe place to just be himself. The age gap didn't matter with these two...they just got each other.
After reading this book, I had to go back to read Pucked and Forever Pucked. I thought it was just to revisit how the Waters family came to be, but I realized it was because I recognized Alex in Maverick. The questions (is this OK?), the consideration and his actions are just like his father. It made everything that Maverick went through live up to the title of his book.
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Soulmates ♥️♥️
I loved this book. I loved Maverick and all that he is and how his life, trauma and all created him into who he is. He is a beautiful human! ♥️
I loved this book. I loved Maverick and all that he is and how his life, trauma and all created him into who he is. He is a beautiful human! ♥️
So much angst. I love that Clover was the older woman. Even with the gap Maverick and Clover work well together. They bring out the best in each other.
One of my only criticisms is I don't feel like the issues between Kody and Maverick were resolved on page. It was talked about but not really addressed.
Overall, a good read and I'm interested to see which "kid" will be next.
One of my only criticisms is I don't feel like the issues between Kody and Maverick were resolved on page. It was talked about but not really addressed.
Overall, a good read and I'm interested to see which "kid" will be next.
5 Stars!
Tropes: Reverse age gap, Student/teacher, Sports romance (ish)
Triggers: Anxiety, Abduction (brief mentions and not MCs), Self harm (not MCs), Stalker ex
Liked: Maverick, I just loved him. He has an almost self inflicted weight of the world on his shoulders and just wants to look after the people he loves. Including Clover. Even when she tries to pull away, it just makes him more determined that they’re meant to be. You don’t notice the 9 year age gap, because he’s such an old soul (with an enormous an package, which gets mentioned once or twice!)
Disliked: Violet took a long time to soften to Clover. I know it’s her son, but he’s an adult and can make his own choices.
OM/OW: H goes on a date with OW before the MCs get together, but it’s barely mentioned and off page. h has a stalker ex husband who is refusing to divorce her.
Tropes: Reverse age gap, Student/teacher, Sports romance (ish)
Triggers: Anxiety, Abduction (brief mentions and not MCs), Self harm (not MCs), Stalker ex
Liked: Maverick, I just loved him. He has an almost self inflicted weight of the world on his shoulders and just wants to look after the people he loves. Including Clover. Even when she tries to pull away, it just makes him more determined that they’re meant to be. You don’t notice the 9 year age gap, because he’s such an old soul (with an enormous an package, which gets mentioned once or twice!)
Disliked: Violet took a long time to soften to Clover. I know it’s her son, but he’s an adult and can make his own choices.
OM/OW: H goes on a date with OW before the MCs get together, but it’s barely mentioned and off page. h has a stalker ex husband who is refusing to divorce her.