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A review by theeditorreads
Healing My Heart by Gina Azzi
4.0
Healing My Heart, the fourth book in the Second Chance Chicago Series is a second-chance contemporary romance. There are spoilers in the review for Book One and Two of the series.
Synopsis:
Charlotte "Charlie" Adams once hoped, when she was twenty-four, that Evan Holt will make her his. But then she realised that she should never put her dreams on hold, certainly not for a man who wasn't certain about her. And she moves to New York to pursue interior designing.
Some three years later, Evan Holt, a now thirty-six-year-old criminal defence lawyer, is successful beyond his dreams. But he still misses what could not be, with Charlie, and feels guilty about making his now eleven-year-old son, Ollie, go through that too.
When Charlie moves back to Chicago for a brief period of time, and with Ollie's babysitter not available due to a family emergency, it is up to Charlie to entertain Ollie. And the kid is enthusiastic enough. Will these three be able to be a family this time around?
Review:
This is the first book by the author that I am reading. I am a sucker for both the second-chance and the single dad tropes.
Narrated in the first-person dual perspective, the story starts with a prologue about three-and-a-half years earlier. It is a blissful beginning. But it quickly turns sour when it is evident that Evan doesn't want to go all the way and is content with things remaining casual between them.
Healing My Heart is a Christmas romance that will tear your heart and stitch it back up. It will make your heart ache for Evan and Charlie but it will heal your heart too as the title says.
It is a really gooey romance, but the poor confused souls blow hot and cold towards each other till about the middle of the story, neither willing to be upfront about their feelings for each other. And then the unthinkable happens, when first Charlie, and then Evan's ex are thrown in the mix.
Also, having a pre-teen's feelings to consider too, what happens after that is not at all easy to get through, resulting in so much heartbreak all around.
The character transition that Evan goes through is so amazing. And it was kind of strange, the way the book makes you feel about falling out of love, it digs into how that can happen, especially when the same has to be explained to an eleven-year-old. And that was something amazing to experience, the way it was written.
Another magical experience was Charlie and Evan's casual conversations. I know that in a book nothing is casual, but it was so heart-warming, it was like at a whole different level, the way Evan and Charlie cared for each other. That is how their love for each other became obvious.
Ollie, how can I not mention that understanding and lovely kid. He is a joyful presence throughout the book and it was amusing to see Evan frustrated whenever Ollie mooned over Charlie at the beginning of the story.
There was one thing that bothered me though, the unresolved case of Frankie, Charlie's ex. He created so much trouble in all their lives and in the end, there was not a single mention of him. It's like he simply vanished.
Eli Holt and Zoe Clark from Broken Lies and Twisted Truths (formerly known as the Regretful Lies Duet and now Book One and Two of the present series) are here with a beautiful family. While Healing My Heart can be read as a standalone, Charlie is Zoe's best friend and Evan is Eli's older brother. So, there's a lot of family time and bonding which I absolutely adored. And I can't wait to read more of [a:Gina Azzi|14086131|Gina Azzi|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1558532929p2/14086131.jpg]'s works, including all the previous books in this series!
Thank you to Candi Kane PR for an e-ARC of the book.
Originally posted on:
Shaina's Musings
Synopsis:
Charlotte "Charlie" Adams once hoped, when she was twenty-four, that Evan Holt will make her his. But then she realised that she should never put her dreams on hold, certainly not for a man who wasn't certain about her. And she moves to New York to pursue interior designing.
Some three years later, Evan Holt, a now thirty-six-year-old criminal defence lawyer, is successful beyond his dreams. But he still misses what could not be, with Charlie, and feels guilty about making his now eleven-year-old son, Ollie, go through that too.
When Charlie moves back to Chicago for a brief period of time, and with Ollie's babysitter not available due to a family emergency, it is up to Charlie to entertain Ollie. And the kid is enthusiastic enough. Will these three be able to be a family this time around?
Review:
This is the first book by the author that I am reading. I am a sucker for both the second-chance and the single dad tropes.
Narrated in the first-person dual perspective, the story starts with a prologue about three-and-a-half years earlier. It is a blissful beginning. But it quickly turns sour when it is evident that Evan doesn't want to go all the way and is content with things remaining casual between them.
Healing My Heart is a Christmas romance that will tear your heart and stitch it back up. It will make your heart ache for Evan and Charlie but it will heal your heart too as the title says.
It is a really gooey romance, but the poor confused souls blow hot and cold towards each other till about the middle of the story, neither willing to be upfront about their feelings for each other. And then the unthinkable happens, when first Charlie, and then Evan's ex are thrown in the mix.
Also, having a pre-teen's feelings to consider too, what happens after that is not at all easy to get through, resulting in so much heartbreak all around.
The character transition that Evan goes through is so amazing. And it was kind of strange, the way the book makes you feel about falling out of love, it digs into how that can happen, especially when the same has to be explained to an eleven-year-old. And that was something amazing to experience, the way it was written.
Another magical experience was Charlie and Evan's casual conversations. I know that in a book nothing is casual, but it was so heart-warming, it was like at a whole different level, the way Evan and Charlie cared for each other. That is how their love for each other became obvious.
Ollie, how can I not mention that understanding and lovely kid. He is a joyful presence throughout the book and it was amusing to see Evan frustrated whenever Ollie mooned over Charlie at the beginning of the story.
There was one thing that bothered me though, the unresolved case of Frankie, Charlie's ex. He created so much trouble in all their lives and in the end, there was not a single mention of him. It's like he simply vanished.
Eli Holt and Zoe Clark from Broken Lies and Twisted Truths (formerly known as the Regretful Lies Duet and now Book One and Two of the present series) are here with a beautiful family. While Healing My Heart can be read as a standalone, Charlie is Zoe's best friend and Evan is Eli's older brother. So, there's a lot of family time and bonding which I absolutely adored. And I can't wait to read more of [a:Gina Azzi|14086131|Gina Azzi|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1558532929p2/14086131.jpg]'s works, including all the previous books in this series!
Thank you to Candi Kane PR for an e-ARC of the book.
Originally posted on:
Shaina's Musings