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A review by carley
The Heart of the Deal by Lindsay MacMillan
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The Heart of the Deal centers on Rae, a woman in her mid-twenties working in the all-consuming world of Wall Street finance but who dreams of one day becoming a published poet. The book follows her from her 25th birthday as she attempts to hold on to her very structured timeline for the future while navigating love and relationships as a young adult.
I agree with other reviews that while this feels like it would be a rom-com of sorts, it absolutely isn’t. There are charming moments, but it’s a more serious take on love in your twenties. I enjoyed and related to her struggles to take the jump and dive into her dream career when she had the stability, however draining and soul-crushing, of her Wall Street job.
I wanted to like this book. I think if I was younger and not weeks from turning 30, I may have had more empathy and understanding for Rae’s fears of being unwed at 30. It feels like a very immature view on love, but maybe that was a very conscious choice on the part of the author. I also struggled with the way depression was handled in this book. It sometimes seemed to be somewhat romanticized and at other times trivialized or completely misunderstood. Again, I’m unsure if this was a purposeful choice by the author to show Rae’s naïveté about the subject, so I can’t fault the book for the parts that didn’t connect with me. It could very well be a case of me being the wrong audience for The Heart of the Deal.
I agree with other reviews that while this feels like it would be a rom-com of sorts, it absolutely isn’t. There are charming moments, but it’s a more serious take on love in your twenties. I enjoyed and related to her struggles to take the jump and dive into her dream career when she had the stability, however draining and soul-crushing, of her Wall Street job.
I wanted to like this book. I think if I was younger and not weeks from turning 30, I may have had more empathy and understanding for Rae’s fears of being unwed at 30. It feels like a very immature view on love, but maybe that was a very conscious choice on the part of the author. I also struggled with the way depression was handled in this book. It sometimes seemed to be somewhat romanticized and at other times trivialized or completely misunderstood. Again, I’m unsure if this was a purposeful choice by the author to show Rae’s naïveté about the subject, so I can’t fault the book for the parts that didn’t connect with me. It could very well be a case of me being the wrong audience for The Heart of the Deal.