Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Hopeful Hearts 
SERIES: Stealing Hearts
AUTHOR: K. Evan Coles
PUBLISHER: Wicked Fingers Press
LENGTH: 319 pages
RELEASE DATE: November 15, 2022
BLURB:
Some hearts are made to be hopeful.
Ian Byrne is done with love. Or so he’s been telling himself since his life crashed and burned. Ian got through his depression with help from friends and his career as an orthopedic nurse, as well as a big shaggy dog that’s not really his. And if most days Ian feels just all right, he thinks that’s fine.
He never expected to meet a guy on the train. Especially not a robot-building whiz kid like Tris Santos, fifteen years younger than Ian and in so many ways his opposite. But they agree that epic love is a myth and strike up an effortless friendship, the spark of attraction between them quickly igniting and burning hot over chat screens when Tris moves away.
Now, Ian can’t imagine his life without Tris. Can’t believe that what started as a fling became so much more and how deeply he feels for a man he doesn’t even see in person. Ian thinks Tris might be the right guy; that he might be ready to risk his heart one more time. But … is it too much to hope that Tris might feel the same?
Hopeful Hearts is an 85.1 K age gap sex-buddies-to-lovers novel. In it you’ll meet a grumpy nurse practitioner recovering from heartbreak, a bright-eyed robotics genius who thinks epic romance is epically dumb, a huge wily dog in need of an owner, a 400-mile LDR, and a deliciously satisfying happily ever after.
Content Advisory: This book contains a character coping with serious depression and contains references to homophobia and disownment. Happy ending absolutely guaranteed.
REVIEW:
Ian is an orthopedic nurse practitioner in Boston. He lives in the burbs though and has a horrific commute into the city – during a January that is just snow after snow after snow. One Monday he ends up with a young guy sitting next to him since the subway is not running and the guy is green around the gills – motion sickness. Ian offers the young guy – Tristan – some mints and Ginger chews to try to settle his stomach. The guy falls asleep on him, but it’s kind of adorable. They meet up again as they are waiting for the trip back and thus begins a week of commutes in and out together.
Ian keeps everyone in soothing tea. Tristan ends up bringing baked goods and everybody’s happy. Ian’s friends are of course teasing him about his taking care of Tristan. Tristan seems happy to spend time with Ian and Ian ends up sharing a lot more than he normally would – about his breakup, his move out of the city, his dog that is not his ;), etc. Tristan shares a lot about his world too. He has a lot of roommates which Ian cannot fathom. He’s got meaningful work in the robotics field that could be really useful to disabled people and he loves it. He’s not sure what his next move is.
On a particularly snowy commute one night, they end up at Tristan’s place. One thing leads to another and their chemistry is off the charts. Ian is worried that Tristan will be off on his next adventure and if he develops feelings, he’s going to end up hurt. Of course it’s really already too late.
Tristan has a huge opportunity to run a project – but he has to go to DC for it which means a 400 mile distance. They decide to keep in touch and it’s clear that this is more than friends with benefits – but neither wants to put a name to it. They call it an LDR 🙂 Ian moves to a new apartment back close to work. He’s in a good place. He doesn’t think so much about his failed relationship. He looks forward to his conversations (and more 😉 ) with Tristan.
But of course you know it couldn’t be that easy. There is a complication with Gus, Ian’s ex. And of course Tristan still has to decide if he’s going to stay with his current job or go to grad school or both. And where does this leave Ian? It’s clear that if they don’t figure things out, there is going to be plenty of hurt to go around.
Full disclosure. This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I’m really sorry I hadn’t read her work before now. This is a really well written story that touches on a few issues. The age gap of 15 years between the MCs is not insignificant. Then there are the mental health struggles that Ian has been through post his breakup with Gus. Tristan is still trying to figure out what he really wants in life. His early experience of losing his father, watching his mother deploy for her job in the military, moving around a lot first because of her career and then because of college and work have played a part in him being a little bit rootless and always moving on to the next new place. I really loved that Tristan didn’t judge Ian for dealing with his depression or did he shy away from it and or just leave. I’m hoping that this is going to be the standard for the younger generation who are so much more open to talking about mental health than my generation or certainly my parents generation who NEVER acknowledged it except in whispers and pitying looks. The long distance stuff was handled with humor and compassion and I loved watching these two try to figure out what they were really doing 😉 And I totally agree with Tristan that Ian is one of the bravest of men. Another reason to love him! This book is so heartfelt and honest and I really felt like I got to know these complicated men. I really wanted them to figure out how perfect they were for each other 😀 Beautifully done!
I will be reviewing the other books in this series which take place before this one during the next few weeks. While this is the fourth book in the series, it works as a standalone quite well. Ian’s friends are the MCs of the previous books, but it doesn’t take anything away from this story not to have read them before reading this one. If you’re in the mood for a really good age-gap story between two really good guys who have some baggage and obstacles to overcome and some decisions to make, then I think you will really like this book. Highly recommended.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
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