Saccharine Yet Endearing: Heart Strings by Melanie Moreland

Series: Standalone

Release Date: October 12, 2020

Format: eARC

Rating: 4.75/5 stars

Note: I received Heart Strings through Melanie Moreland’s team in exchange for an honest review.

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I have read almost every book by Melanie Moreland–I’ve even reviewed quite a few of her books on this blog (click here)–and what I love about her books is they epitomize the sweet romance, where everyday life can seem like an epic romance.

Sweet Romance Tempered by a Pushy Hero

I really enjoyed the sweet romance between the main characters, Logan and Lottie. However, their initial misstep resulted in me being slow to warm up to the Hero. The meet-cute between the couple goes as follows: Logan has been serenading Lottie at the subway as a busker for a few weeks; one night, Lottie is so emotionally exhausted from work that Logan eventually introduces himself to make sure she’s okay. However, due to how they meet, Lottie makes assumptions about Logan: he doesn’t have a job (because he’s performing for money during regular working hours) and might be homeless and/or hungry. Logan catches onto these assumptions through Lottie’s behaviour and becomes pissed–his pride is hurt since Lottie was simply trying to pay the bill after a coffee date. 

I took issue that Logan gets upset about Lottie’s assumptions but doesn’t consider his biases. Logan’s father died from a heart attack due to the corporate rat race. As a result, he projects his father’s relationship with the corporate world onto Lottie’s relationship to her corporate job (which she hates). Also, Logan kept making snide comments and assumptions about her economic standing. They were rude and also made me question why he would want to date Lottie if he thought she would act that way. I have no patience for hypocrites. Altogether it meant that Logan had much to make up for in my eyes–doubly so because Lottie was so apologetic.

While Lottie obviously should move on from her job, it’s evident that the main issue isn’t the job (like Logan assumed) but Lottie’s broken relationship with her parents. Therefore, I appreciated that the story navigated the complexity of Lottie’s emotional entanglements to the job she hates and what it means to her family. Also, despite the couple getting off on the wrong foot, I appreciated the commentary on corporate positions’ bodily and mental health dangers. I also liked how the Hero, Logan, addressed the assumptions that are commonly made about people in non-traditional jobs and homeless people.

Family Drama Interrelated with Grief

The main plot driver and hurdle to a happy relationship between the main characters was the Heroine’s fraught relationship with her parents. Grief changes people, especially when that grief arises from the loss of a child. I liked how Melanie demonstrates how grief can result in parents turning inward to heal and shows how that instinct of self-preservation can make it look like they’re spurning the surviving child.

I liked how realistic the parents’ arcs were. Just because the Heroine was becoming more vocal about her parents, ill-mannered behaviour didn’t mean that the parents suddenly saw the light. There were many moments of conflict and of personal growth–both on the couples’ part and the parents.

I think the only thing missing from Heart Strings was that I would’ve appreciated a more serious discussion of Lottie’s mental state. Her listlessness and complete lack of motivation after finishing the workday came across as Lottie bordering on depression. Instead of merely assigning Lottie’s bad days to stress and suppressed grief, having a nuanced conversation about the subtleness and normality of depression would’ve elevated the narrative.

In Conclusion

Overall, Heart Strings was super freaking sweet and quite steamy. I especially loved the epilogue and extended epilogue–Melanie Moreland has a talent for writing swoon-worthy romances. She makes me believe that epic romances are a possibility in the humdrum of everyday life.

After reading Revved to the Maxx a few weeks ago, I’m noticing (or maybe just noticing) that Moreland’s books are becoming significantly more steamy–which is by no means a bad thing. 😉

Overall, I really enjoyed Heart Strings; the Heroine’s grief and talk with her parents even made me cry! The novel isn’t a 5-star read because the Hero got on my nerves for the first 30% of the story. But, if you’re like me and find that pushy, know-it-all Hero’s annoy you, Logan definitely makes up for his initial behaviour (he actually apologizes!). It helps that I realized Logan is unaware of why Lottie stays in her job (her brother’s death). Also, there are so many scenes–including Logan serenading Lottie on multiple occasions–that reaffirm the sweet romance, including Logan standing up to Lottie’s parents (loved that scene). 

Finally, I have to mention Melanie’s talent for creating such fantastic and compelling secondary characters. I said the same thing in my Revved to the Maxx review: I now want a book dedicated to the Heroine’s best friend! Her side-romance seems like it would be such a cute read!

Buy Heart Strings

Other Books I’ve Reviewed by Melanie Moreland

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