Thirty-six-year-old Grace McAllister never longed for children. But when she meets Victor Hansen, a handsome, charismatic divorced restaurateur who is father to Max and Ava, Grace decides that, for the right man, she could learn to be an excellent part-time stepmom. After all, the kids live with their mother, Kelli. How hard could it be?
At thirteen, Ava Hansen is mature beyond her years. Since her parents’ divorce, she has been taking care of her emotionally unstable mother and her little brother—she pays the bills, does the laundry, and never complains because she loves her mama more than anyone. And while her father’s new girlfriend is nice enough, Ava still holds out hope that her parents will get back together and that they’ll be a family again. But only days after Victor and Grace get engaged, Kelli dies suddenly under mysterious circumstances—and soon, Grace and Ava discover that there was much more to Kelli’s life than either ever knew.
Narrated by Grace and Ava in the present with flashbacks into Kelli’s troubled past, Heart Like Mine is a poignant, hopeful portrait of womanhood, love, and the challenges and joys of family life.
Oh Amy Hatvany, you don’t disappoint!
Last year, I read and review Amy Hatvany’s release Outside the Lines. It was a new step for me in reading choice and I ended up loving it. It was a touching and heart breaking story all at once.
This year, the fine folks at Simon & Schuster contacted me again to see if I wanted to review her new title Heart Like Mine. I instantly jumped at the opportunity, remembering how much I loved her writing style. I am glad I accepted the review request because I ended up loving it just as much as Outside the Lines!
Heart Like Mine was every bit as good!
This story is kind of a painful one to read. It has a lot of raw emotion and shows the effects of someone’s actions on all those around them. Kelli is not in a good state of mind after she and her husband split and her daughter basically has to step into the mom shoes because Kelli was so broken.
This book touched home a bit for me and not even 10% into the book, I was all teary. Amy Hatvany has a way of writing highly emotional situations and making them just feel so real. It was raw and really quite painful to read at times. Amy Hatvany’s ability to really make you feel the impact of what is going on in the story is just staggering.
If you are into women’s lit, Heart Like Mine will be one that you are not able to put down. It is not normally my type of read and I loved it. Amy Hatvany is a wonderful author and I can’t wait for her next release.
Heart Like Mine gets a solid 4 stars! It’s packed full of hard-hitting emotion from the entire spectrum. The story moves along quickly but nothing is rushed. Pacing is perfect. My rating comes with a big warning: BRING TISSUES!
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