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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
This was a highly anticipated read for me & I’m glad I wasn’t disappointed! First book that I’ve read by Marley but I really enjoy her writing style so will definitely be checking out more especially since it seems her characters pop up among her other books. I think hurt/comfort is such an underrated trope & I loved how Deacon and Julian took care of one another.
My only wish would have been to find out what was in Rhett’s letters to Julian! Rhett’s letter to Deacon at the very end though had me 😭😭😭
Also Deacon’s mom?? The WORST! She needed to be slapped instead.
4 stars.
My only wish would have been to find out what was in Rhett’s letters to Julian! Rhett’s letter to Deacon at the very end though had me 😭😭😭
Also Deacon’s mom?? The WORST! She needed to be slapped instead.
4 stars.
4.3⭐️
This book has a lot of feels. Somehow I feel like I wasn’t sure how I felt about it but also couldn’t stop. They were great together and worked through all the emotions and unconventionalness of their relationship. It was good.
This book has a lot of feels. Somehow I feel like I wasn’t sure how I felt about it but also couldn’t stop. They were great together and worked through all the emotions and unconventionalness of their relationship. It was good.
Who am I? 4⭐️ on a VERY slow burn? Emphasis on VERY.
They’re adorable, I love them. It’s a story of getting over grief, of love and it was what I was looking for.
Not gonna lie, I would’ve taken more spice. Some scenes are fade to black and I’m a smutt slut so I was disappointed when it happened.
They’re adorable, I love them. It’s a story of getting over grief, of love and it was what I was looking for.
Not gonna lie, I would’ve taken more spice. Some scenes are fade to black and I’m a smutt slut so I was disappointed when it happened.
4.5 stars!!!!
Excuse me while I gush over this book/audiobook I have just finished....
*Takes a deep breathe*
****Highly Recommended Heartstrings****
Audiobook narrated by Teddy Hamilton and Tim Paige
Why read/listen to this book...
1. The Characters...
Deacon, a mechanic, is slightly estranged from his family after his younger brother Rhett dies of cancer. His mom especially hasn't been there for him and he feels left out. #INeedToBeLoved
Julian, Rhett's best friend and boyfriend, is struggling to move on after Rhett's death. The world is passing him by, while he stays in place. #ExistingIsNotLiving
2. The Relationship....
Deacon and Julian have never been friends. Deacon even feels jealous because his parents treat Julian like they should be treating him. Then one moment in time changes everything. It takes months for them to see each other again, but when they do, they feel the shift and let it guide them. #MyEyesAreFinallyOpen
3. The Romance...
These two men, who are both extremely lovable btw, go with the flow. There is guilt and sadness and hesitation because of who Rhett is for both of them. But what was refreshing about their romance is that they actually TALK. They work through their feelings. There is no big misunderstanding and an even bigger fight and/or breakup. They work and talk and move on and they are swoony AF.... *see glove incident* #EndlessFeels
4. The Heat...
Let me just say, that Deacon embraces his attraction to Julian and lets his instincts guide him. These men are hot together, romantic and sweet and sexy all at the same time. #SexyIsMyMiddleName
5. The HEA...
Let's just say, these guys are in it for the long haul and still Swoony years later. #ForeverAndEver
6. The Audiobook...
I am already a huge fan of Mr. Teddy Hamilton. His tone is one that just works with every character. It was my first Tim Paige experience though and I was pleasantly surprised....even more so when I saw his profile pic... Ahem. Moving on. His take on Julian, the inflections in his voice and the emotions he portrayed so well were a joy to listen to. #EargasmicNarration
7. The Cover...
I mean, have you seen the cover? #InsertDroolEmojiHere
Excuse me while I gush over this book/audiobook I have just finished....
*Takes a deep breathe*
****Highly Recommended Heartstrings****
Audiobook narrated by Teddy Hamilton and Tim Paige
Why read/listen to this book...
1. The Characters...
Deacon, a mechanic, is slightly estranged from his family after his younger brother Rhett dies of cancer. His mom especially hasn't been there for him and he feels left out. #INeedToBeLoved
Julian, Rhett's best friend and boyfriend, is struggling to move on after Rhett's death. The world is passing him by, while he stays in place. #ExistingIsNotLiving
2. The Relationship....
Deacon and Julian have never been friends. Deacon even feels jealous because his parents treat Julian like they should be treating him. Then one moment in time changes everything. It takes months for them to see each other again, but when they do, they feel the shift and let it guide them. #MyEyesAreFinallyOpen
3. The Romance...
These two men, who are both extremely lovable btw, go with the flow. There is guilt and sadness and hesitation because of who Rhett is for both of them. But what was refreshing about their romance is that they actually TALK. They work through their feelings. There is no big misunderstanding and an even bigger fight and/or breakup. They work and talk and move on and they are swoony AF.... *see glove incident* #EndlessFeels
4. The Heat...
Let me just say, that Deacon embraces his attraction to Julian and lets his instincts guide him. These men are hot together, romantic and sweet and sexy all at the same time. #SexyIsMyMiddleName
5. The HEA...
Let's just say, these guys are in it for the long haul and still Swoony years later. #ForeverAndEver
6. The Audiobook...
I am already a huge fan of Mr. Teddy Hamilton. His tone is one that just works with every character. It was my first Tim Paige experience though and I was pleasantly surprised....even more so when I saw his profile pic... Ahem. Moving on. His take on Julian, the inflections in his voice and the emotions he portrayed so well were a joy to listen to. #EargasmicNarration
7. The Cover...
I mean, have you seen the cover? #InsertDroolEmojiHere
How did I ever think this man was indifferent and unfeeling? Love pours out of him, like he’s been waiting his whole life to shower someone with it.
3.5 stars. 3.75? I don't know. This is one of those rare cases of books that got worse at the very, very end. An immediate caveat: I don't mean worse in a monumental or book breaking way. It's still a really great romance, covers everything you would need a romance to cover, and has an interesting plot and a heart-wrenching depiction of people grappling with grief, one of my favourite things to read about. But some of the emotional writing, and some of the motivations of some of the side characters were so cliché, it did kind of cool my feelings towards the book as things went on.
One year after his brother's death, Deacon returns home to visit his family and ends up developing a connection with the last person he would expect to: his brother's best friend and boyfriend, Julian. They never really had the closest relationship, and in the years since his brother's passing, Deacon and he haven't spoken much. But they shared a moment after the funeral that meant a lot to each of them. And now they are getting closer, actually becoming friends, bonding over things that have nothing to do with their grief and also everything to do with their grief. Romances that grow out of loss, that have a tinge of the taboo about it, can be so powerful. The author really made me feel the attraction between them, and the way they just felt irresistible, even though Deacon has always thought himself straight, and Julian feels horrible for falling for his dead boyfriend's brother. It was written with so much swoon and so much skill and the chemistry was there from the first page. As always, I would have enjoyed it more if the journey towards getting into a relationship had been just a liiiiittle bit slower, but it's not like it was superfast either.
Sometimes the writing would end up feeling a bit cheesy and a little bit corny. I always expect that to a certain degree in romance novels, and I honestly enjoy it most of the time. But one time too many, I think, the drama felt like melodrama and the writing got a little purple in ways that were no longer fun to read. And the whole situation with Deacon's mother...
Spoiler
See, it's not that I think that it was unrealistic. She's a bitter woman suffering from grief, and it sounds like she had her issues with Deacon that she took out on him even before Rhett died, and that's fucked up. But her outsized reaction to finding out that Deacon and Julian were a thing was just a little bit ridiculous? Not the slap, but that she would say that "Julian belonged to Rhett"? It was a moment that was supposed to be really emotional and really hard for Deacon, and I could see why it was, but my brain kept snagging on the fact that it was such an unrealistic thing for her to say, no matter how bitter she's been, no matter how grief has changed her. It felt silly!Listened to the audiobook as read by Teddy Hamilton and Tim Paige and I really enjoyed it. Nice emotional work on both their parts, although sometimes I got a frat boy vibe that I didn't really like, lol. Just a taste thing though. I might revisit this author, see if her other books work for me as well.
“You don’t have to move on to move forward, Julian.”
I love mxm books they are my true escape from the world. this was such a cute story but it didn’t like blow my mind away. I for sure liked the book a lot but I didn’t love love love it. it’s still a must read!
“You’re the beat of my heart, the blood in my veins, the strength in my bones. None of me works without you. And if you need me to tell you every fucking day for the rest of our lives, then I will, because you are more than enough. You’re everything.”
Deacon and Julian had my entire heart the whole time. I don't have any clue how to move on from them because their relationship was so beautiful and so so so comforting to me. It was really hard reading the last few chapters without being teary eyed. Everything about this book was excruciatingly tender and heartwarming and now i just want more of them
Deacon and Julian had my entire heart the whole time. I don't have any clue how to move on from them because their relationship was so beautiful and so so so comforting to me. It was really hard reading the last few chapters without being teary eyed. Everything about this book was excruciatingly tender and heartwarming and now i just want more of them
I was NOT prepared for the emotional turmoil that this book has left me with. I went into this hoping for good smut & a cute read jokes on me bitch I cried like a MF baby MULTIPLE TIMES.
This one really got me right in the goddamn feels, losing a brother hits VERY close to home. Dealing with loss is hard wether you’re expecting it or if it’s sudden, the pain is still the same. Being able to share that pain with someone else who loved that person equally as much as you did forms a different type of bond that cannot be explained.
Julian & Deacon honestly were made for each other no other way to put it. This story was so well written I literally have not one complaint about anything. I was intrigued from the very start and I read it from start to finish with no breaks as I write this review it’s 5AM in the morning. Right now my emotions are raw so I’ll probably double back tomorrow for a better review.
Loved loved loved this book not much else I can say to convince you to read this.
Want to laugh? Read this
Want to cry? Read this
Want to swoon? Read it
Want to smile? Read this
Want kitty butterflies? Read this
Want to hurt a little? Read this.
This one really got me right in the goddamn feels, losing a brother hits VERY close to home. Dealing with loss is hard wether you’re expecting it or if it’s sudden, the pain is still the same. Being able to share that pain with someone else who loved that person equally as much as you did forms a different type of bond that cannot be explained.
Julian & Deacon honestly were made for each other no other way to put it. This story was so well written I literally have not one complaint about anything. I was intrigued from the very start and I read it from start to finish with no breaks as I write this review it’s 5AM in the morning. Right now my emotions are raw so I’ll probably double back tomorrow for a better review.
Loved loved loved this book not much else I can say to convince you to read this.
Want to laugh? Read this
Want to cry? Read this
Want to swoon? Read it
Want to smile? Read this
Want kitty butterflies? Read this
Want to hurt a little? Read this.