Tracey Garvis Graves

I was deeply moved by the story of Wren Waters, who, following personal tragedies, finds an unexpected refuge in geocaching. This activity leads her on a transformative journey in Oregon, where she crosses paths with Marshall Hendricks, a psychologist facing his sorrows; their initial pragmatic alliance for safety blossoms into a profound bond, offering both a chance at healing. The book beautifully explores themes of grief, recovery, and the healing power of nature and human connection. I show more was particularly drawn to the unique backdrop of geocaching, which metaphorically underscores the story's exploration of searching for meaning and hope amidst life's trials. It's a poignant and uplifting tale that resonates deeply. show less

Though I was curious enough about Tracey Garvis Graves to lug Covet back from BEA, I certainly felt a healthy dose of skepticism about whether her writing would really be for me. The blurb of the book only exacerbated my hesitance, because it hints at a torrid affair and melodrama. While on the surface, the blurb is true, it's also misleading. Covet does deeply examine infidelity, but it's understated and realistic, and never once angered me, despite infidelity being a huge no no for me.

The show more first thing that impressed me was Graves' writing. She really excels at writing people, full and vibrant and realistic. She focuses on Claire's family, and really captures Claire perfectly. You can feel Claire's every emotion and sense how much she cares about her family. There are myriad little details that really make the house therein seem like a home and everyone within it a believable person. Covet is very domestic and very family-oriented.

Claire loves her husband deeply, but things have not been the same between them since her husband lost his job a year ago. A golden boy, life always came easy to Chris, and he never expected to be job hunting for months. During that process, money gets tight, Claire becomes their sole earner with her freelance graphic design, and Chris has to go on antidepressants. Though Chris now finally has a new job, circumstances have not improved between them, as this job requires him to be on the road for weeks at a time. Claire and Chris barely speak and the gulf between them doesn't seem to be shrinking.

At about the same time Chris is beginning his new job, Claire meets Daniel Rush, a cop, when he pulls her over to inform her that her taillight is out. They meet again coincidentally and he helps her get a speed limit sign put in on her street to keep people from speeding. After that, he helps get her some freelance work for the police station. From this foundation, they form a friendship, mostly trying to hide their mutual attraction.

I'll tell you right now that there is no torrid affair, but everything's not necessarily innocent either. Graves really explores infidelity, what it means, and why it happens. Claire, lonely, seeks out companionship when its offered, but she doesn't immediately abandon her senses either. She's very aware of her situation and careful not to cross the line. Though my opinions on cheating are pretty well set, Graves really made me look at infidelity in a new light and from a different angle. I'm not saying I think it's okay now or anything, but I understand why Claire behaves the way she does.

There were some elements that I wish had been flushed out better. Julia's got some close female friends, and I would have liked to see a bit more of them. One has a philandering husband, another a drinking problem, and the third a husband with a gambling addiction. Their interactions are all about their men or children, and it would have been nice to see the women get to show a different side.

Covet's told from multiple perspectives, which is decently well done, but not perfect. Daniel and Chris have very short chapters, two pages or less generally, whereas Claire's are more expansive. I would have liked to see that a bit more even, but I suspect keeping the male POVs terse was a way to make them sound less like Claire. The POVs weren't especially unique, but I had no problems keeping them apart either.

Tracey Garvis Graves' portrayal of family life and investigation of a relationship on the rocks in Covet had me eager to read more. Covet's a very character-focused read with most of the drama taking place in Claire's head, rather than in a bed. show less

This is a love story - but it's unlike any love story that I've ever read. It's about love and forgiveness and second chances and most importantly, it's about a girl who is socially awkward and trying to find her place in the world.

The story is told in two timelines. In the first, Annika (rhymes with Monica) Rose is an English major at the University of Illinois. She is anxious in social situations and college is very difficult for her because she finds most people confusing. She prefers her show more life of books, animals and her joy in playing chess. She meets Jonathan at chess club and he is entranced by her quirky ways. They fall in love and make plans for the future until life pulls them apart and they go their own ways and he move to NYC to pursue his career. The second time line is 10 years later when Annika and Jonathan run into each other in a store. She still lives in Chicago and works in a library and he is visiting Chicago on business. The feeling between them is still strong and they have to decide whether they want to try again and risk the pain that they had before or take a chance and maybe find true love that will overcome their obstacles.

This characters in this book are well written but Annika is the character that I'll remember the most. Her best friend Janice helped her with social cues and ways to handle life but for someone on the autism spectrum like Annika was, life is full of confusion and difficult social interaction. The character is so well written that I found myself wanting to help her out and being upset when she was. She is aware of the fact that she is different “Most people can draw these conclusions instantaneously, without any extra analysis at all. How amazing but also heartbreaking, because I’ll never be one of them.” Annika is a character that I won't soon forget - despite her differences she is a brave and loving person. This is an uplifting and beautiful novel and one of my favorite books of the year so far.

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own. show less

Tracey Garvis-Graves writes great banter. Unfortunately that's not enough to carry an entire book. The plot of Heart-Shaped Hack is very slow and cliched. Woman falls in love with mysterious yet perfect hacker, has great sex, they get more and more involved and have more great sex, and then finally at the 70% mark, something tragic happens but it's obvious to the reader (if not to the heroine) that there's more going on than she realizes. The heroine is a perfect, selfless woman who runs a show more food pantry without any social services training, and all of her clients totally love her (seriously, has this woman ever set foot in a food pantry?).

Perhaps Garvis-Graves should try writing a screenplay for a movie whose plot has already been determined. The dialogue between Kate and Ian did make me smile a few times, but they deserved a better story and more fully developed characters. show less