This Heart of Mine

This Heart of Mine
2 Stars

Molly Somerville has always tried to live up to expectations, but something invariably goes wrong. And so, when she encounters the Chicago Stars gorgeous quarterback at her family's vacation home, Molly vows to forget her unrequited crush on a man who doesn't even know her name. Unfortunately, her best-laid plans go awry again, and Molly finds herself dragging Kevin along for the ride.

Although well-written with a promising premise, This Heart of Mine fails to completely resonate as none of the characters is particularly likable. Kevin, who was actually quite appealing in Nobody's Baby But Mine, is presented as a self-absorbed jerk incapable of making any emotional commitment, and Molly, the snarky teenager from show more It Had to Be You, has turned into a whiny adult not above lies and trickery to get her own way. Other side characters are just as annoying, and it is difficult to care about anyone's HEA.

Now to the most troubling issue . . . the opening sequence, which is far too similar to Nobody's Baby, lays a problematic foundation for Kevin and Molly's romance. It is impossible to get past the fact that Molly basically, rapes Keven, and her atrocious actions are easily glossed over.

On a final and happier note, the adorable little tidbits interspersed throughout the narrative about Daphne the Bunny and Benny the Badger are, in fact, the best parts of the book.

All in all, not one of SEP's best efforts. show less

Audiobook

There are parts to this story I really enjoyed and parts where I just went "Really? Do I have to listen (read) to this?". This is why I deducted a star.

In the end, SEP portrays a beautifully matched couple. At times Molly is just a complete fruit-loop; at other times, she's a bundle of fun. But I loved that Kevin loved both the fruit-loop and the funny girl. So it worked, despite some rather strange decision-making and self-justification by Molly. (I also really enjoyed Bennie and Daphne - they were adorable!)

Narration: Anna Fields did a terrific job. I would have been fairly uncomfortable (as a narrator) reading a couple of sections where Molly really is a silly-nitwit, but she pulled it off... I think that much of my show more enjoyment of the story was due to how well Anna narrator and imbued life into the characters. show less

So this was a reread for me and I think I liked it slightly less the second time around. As others have mentioned the heroine's actions especially at the beginning are pretty darn questionable. I'm going to drop it from a 5 to 4 star rating. It still remains a strong book on the basis of the dialog. And I've got to say I really loved the quotes from the children's books. Having led story time for too many years I could picture it and I think I would have enjoyed reading them out loud.

My god, this woman's good. So far, SEP hasn't missed. I do believe I have most of her books in my TBR pile at this point, but I've no urge to read them all right this minute--books this good need to be spread out over time and savored. It's not surprising that SEP & Jenny Crusie are friends--very similar style. Fabulous heroine--a 'good girl' who has a history of periodically 'pulling a fire alarm'--once, literally. And the hero is the only one who sees who she really is. Wonderfully dense love story.

This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.

Book Evaluation:
Plot: 🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️
World Building:🌎🌎🌎🌎
Cover:📔📔📔📔
Hero: 🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻
Heroine:🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️
Intimacy Level: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Relationship Building: 💒💒💒
Heart & Feels:💞💞💞💞
Witty/Banter/Reaction of Laughter: 😂😂😂😂😂
Page Turner Level:📖📖📖📖
Narration:🎧🎧🎧🎧
Ending:🧧🧧🧧🧧
Overall View: ✨✨✨✨

First Impressions
This Heart of Mine is the fifth installment in the "Chicago Stars" series. And this one is Molly's book. Who is the sister of the heroine from the first book "If I Had You" and this is show more where we have a unique set up. I will be honest if I hadn't gone into this one blindly, I might have DNF'd it, but I am glad that I kept up with it even thought its my least favorite from this author so far. There were some toxic elements in the heroine in this book and while I get where the author was coming from writing this type of heroine, she wasn't easy to read but the narration really kept me in with this story and wanting to see it through.

First Line
The Day Kevin Tucker nearly killed her, Molly Somerville swore off unrequited love forever.

Summary
Molly Somerville has always had a thing for Kevin Tucker who is an infamous player for the Chicago Stars. But when they are forced in a situation to share a house together, chemistry flies between them. Molly gets it in her head, to get creative with Kevin when he is asleep and he wakes to find them having sex and is furious with Molly for taking advantage of him. What neither of them expected though was for Molly to be pregnant and she finds herself married to a man who hates her. But when disaster strikes, Kevin is there for Molly and takes her to his property that was left for him and as they work on repairing the camping grounds, a relationship forms between them.

What I Loved
There were aspects that I really loved about this story. The first being our hero. He is such a alpha male and it was delicious.. I love that he stands up for himself and how he should be treated. He doesn't just let Molly get away with what she does to him. I also loved how fierce he is, he has such a delectable personality. He can be a bit emotionally constipated but I found that to be a redeeming quality. I also enjoyed the setting of the camping grounds, it was very atmospheric in how the author wrote these. I really enjoyed their building chemistry and seeing their relationship form from enemies to lovers to something more endearing and likable. And the hero definitely knows how to win his girl.

What I Struggled With
The heroine is so toxic especially in the beginning and I just didn't feel like her character was redeemed enough. She basically assaults the hero and then tries to hide his baby from him. Her reasons for it I get but at the same time was very manipulative too. I really wanted to love her but she proved to be difficult and she never even really apologized even so I wish that there had been some groveling on her end.

Narration
Anna Fields just does a perfect job with these books. She really brings out the humor just right and in this one especially, she kept me fascinated with the story even though I had some issues with the heroine and her actions.

Overall View
This Heart of Mine while not a perfect read, was a redeeming romance that delivered the humor and feels.

Book Details (also in my shelves)
Sub Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense
Character Types: Writer, Athlete
Themes: Groveling hero, Football, Property Renovation, Slow Burn
Tropes: Marriage of Convenience, Enemies to Lovers, Secret Baby

Book Perspective
3rd Pov

Relationship Conflict vs Plot Conflict
Relationship Conflict

Recommendation For Reading Order
You can read as standalones if needed

Steam/Spice Explanations

Warmin' by the fire- a medium level of sexual tension, a balance of sexual and emotional intimacy, lighter on the details in the sexual moments.

Narrators:
Anna Fields show less

Susan Elizabeth Phillips knocks another one out of the park. This book was moving, hilarious, and tons of fun. I didn't want to put it down. Molly was just a teenager in It Had To Be You, but now she's all grown up. She has a tendency towards the impulsive when life gets a little boring and it really gets her into trouble with Kevin Tucker, the Chicago Stars Quarterback. The bulk of this story unfolds at Wind Lake, a campground owned by Kevin Tucker. One of my favorite scenes in the book took place at the campground. It was the softball game that broke out in the commons. It's hilarious and I loved it. I would highly recommend this book!!

Such a sweet and cute story to two people who deserved to get their spotlight. I loved how incredibly strong and certain of herself Molly turned out to be after everything she went through. And then there was the boneheaded Kevin who swoop Molly and me off of our feet with his awesome goodlooks and his character. Another incredible book to an amazing series.