Reviewed by Carissa
TITLE: Healed Hearts
AUTHOR: Logan Meredith
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 200 pages
BLURB:
Even men afraid of donuts deserve a happy ending.
Second-grade teacher Seth Ray has experienced more than his fair share of heartbreak. On his own since his mother’s death, Seth remains burdened by frequent anxiety, which he manages by steadfastly avoiding anything that might set it off—including men whose names start with the letter J and donuts. Unfortunately, after a night with Jude Murphy, he encounters both and flees into the street.
Jude’s not your typical twenty-something-year-old gay man. The youngest of six boys, he desperately wants to start a family of his own. The puzzling morning-after with Seth reminds him why he doesn’t sleep around.
When Seth discovers the man he brushed off is the uncle of one his students, he’s compelled to smooth things over to save face, but Jude lays it on the line—he wants Seth, but he doesn’t do casual. The allure of the sexy redhead compels Seth to face an entire family of J names for a chance at happiness.
REVIEW:
Seth does not like doughnuts. Seth does not like names that start with the letter “J”. So when his one night stand (named Jude) drops a bag (of doughnuts) on his kitchen counter, you can imagine Seth’s reaction would not be all that favorable. And to Jude’s confusion and hurt, Seth does the predictable thing and beats a hasty retreat. Jude, just coming out of a bad relationship, is hurt, but figures he is never going to see the guy again. Which is probably for the best. Then some time later, Jude opens a door and Seth is there. Back in his life…and back in his heart. Not that Jude is all that sure that is a good thing.
Despite the fact that I found Seth’s hate of doughnuts (yummy, yummy, doughnuts) really weird, I found him to be an interesting character. The dude has some issues (so many issues), but I liked the uniqueness of his quirks. And Jude’s family, while confusing with so many J-names running around, was great. Though the whole name thing, even when it wasn’t confusing the heck out of me, felt like it was just done to screw with Seth…and that just annoyed me because I was the one trying to figure out who was who in the confusing mass of Js.
In fact, the largest part of my issues with this book is that almost all the ‘problems’ that plague Seth and Jude, felt extremely forced. I know authors kinda have to fuck with the characters in order to make the story interesting, but sometimes it just felt too artificial. Did Asim really need to be an issues? Did Jude really need to have that whole icky story scene with his ex? It felt like too much. Everything would be find for a chapter and then the book would go into crises mode. It was like 0-60 ever 15 pages. It got a bit trying. And while it certainly works in some places, at others it was just annoying. It was like I was constantly having to think, “well…her we go again!”
With so much of the story relying on interpersonal relationship issues, instead of some outside influence, sometimes I just got tired of Seth’s doughnut problems and Jude’s smothering tendencies.
Still, the characters were interesting, and I loved the varying secondary characters. They really made the story worth reading. And I’d love to hear more about Asim…just not when he is nothing more than a source of jealousy for Jude.
RATING:
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