I managed to read this book even though at the time the title was out of publication. I believe it's been republished. The book was enjoyable enough but I find Olivia Dade's newer books to be better to read. The MFC seemed a little flat.

Received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

That was really sweet. I wasn't sure at first - especially without knowing what Miles' issue was - but he and Mary changed my mind. I loved that his issue wasn't even an issue for Mary - she fell in love with his heart through email long before she saw him face-to-face.

These Lovestruck Librarians are really something. They're such full characters that you can't help but root for them. You hurt when they hurt and you cheer when they get their HEA.

Dade has a wonderful series on her hands.

HIDDEN HEARTS - Olivia Dade

#6 in the Lovestruck Librarians series

NICE ROMANCE - 3.5 stars

Plot - 4 stars - Mary is a sweet but old-fashioned woman who loves her work at the library. And Miles is a self-created recluse who has begun an email relationship with her. And eventually meeting in person causes some sparks.

Writing - 3.5 stars - At first, there was just something about Dade's writing that seemed a bit juvenile. However, once she started writing the sexy scenes, she was at her best. The story admittedly started slowly, but it got a lot better as she went along and built each character.

Characters - 3.5 stars - Mary is helpful and kind, and she truly cares about the library patrons. Even though she's not really naive, she seems prudish and awkward (such as when talking about the adult book room), which made her somewhat annoying. I mean, she's a grown woman, for Pete's sake. Her back story seemed a little lame, not something that would have made her so completely against any sort of risk-taking, although I do understand not wanting to put herself in the limelight and having to face internet comments/criticism. Miles has made himself a recluse after a terrible accident brings him down from the heights of fame and fortune. So he's understandably gun-shy, but his awkwardness seemed a bit overdone. Isn't there some of his former self-confidence under there somewhere? He's an actor--he ought to be able to put on an act. As we discover more about him, we realize that he's a pretty good guy underneath, just going through a tough time, certainly suffering from PTSD. I adored best friend Sara who is hilariously over-the-top dramatic.

Title - 4 stars - The title works since both characters have hidden depths that they have so far been afraid (or unconfident) about showing.

Cover - 3 stars - It's clear from the cover that this is a mixed race couple (and it's mentioned within the story), but this was a non-issue for me. The cover is fine--nothing special, nothing to really draw the eye, but certainly not bad either.

Overview - 3.5 stars - This book seemed a bit stilted at first, but once Dade got into her stride, the story moved forward much more naturally. I wasn't crazy about Mary, so that took away some of the enjoyment for me. She frustrated me more than she charmed me; her enjoyment of her job and her routine made her seem like a crusty old small-town librarian rather than a romantic heroine. I did, however, enjoy the revelations that both characters had about themselves and found their eventual self-awareness to be inspirational and satisfying. I did enjoy the plot idea and plan to go back to the beginning of this series to fill in the blanks.

Mary and Miles were spectacular. I loved this entire series and their book was a great addition to it!

I absolutely LOVE the way that Dade handles Miles and his issues. There’s a lot of understanding there for what he is going thru, has gone thru, and will face in his future. She gave me a lot to think about and I think that is always a sign of a well-done book. I also think that she gave Mary and her problems a fair shake as well. Her’s may not have been as dramatic as Miles’s but they are just as impactful and she needs to address them before she can make a life she truly enjoys.

The romance between the two is super sweet and relatively low key. There’s very little angst there, instead it is humorous and touching and expands slowly as they two get to know each other. My only complaint, and it is because I really enjoyed these two so much, is that the ending was a little abrupt. I would really have liked to have an epilogue or one more chapter just so I could have gotten a touch more of their HEA :)

Every single time I see "librarian" in the summary, I request the book!
This was a bit too much of a romance for my patrons.

Hidden Hearts is the sixth and final book in Olivia Dade's Lovestruck Librarians series. I've enjoyed this series a lot: the fun cast of characters, hilarious banter, and some pretty touching moments. Unfortunately, I didn't connect with this last book.

Mary Higgs is a shy librarian who strikes up a friendship via email with one of her library patrons. What starts as a friendly back-and-forth turns into infatuation, which eventually progresses into something romantic. The guy on the other side of the computer is Miles O'Connor, who has become a hermit in rural Maryland. But he breaks his self-imposed solitude when Mary reveals that she's got a date. Miles likes Mary a lot and decides she's worth pursuing.

Mary and Miles are both hiding secrets from their past. They each come with a lot of baggage: Miles is actually a celebrity--TV star, to be specific--who went into hiding after a horrible accident that left him disabled. Meanwhile, Mary has struggled with disordered eating and compulsive over-exercising. As Mary and Miles explore their new relationship, they must learn to trust and bare their souls to each other.

I had some issues with the chemistry between the characters. The epistolary portion of the story is quite charming--I loved the emails that they write back and forth. After they meet, though, I didn't get the connection and instant chemistry that they seem to have. It felt a bit forced to me.

Additionally, I didn't care much for Mary as a character. It's not just that she's shy; she's also wholesome, to the point where she doesn't curse and she's sexually inexperienced (though not a virgin). In the bedroom, that shyness carries over, so for me, the sex scenes fall flat. I like heroines who are in charge of and bold about their sexuality and Mary is the opposite of that.

Lastly, I had trouble liking Miles. On one hand, I understood his depression and feelings of inadequacy following his accident. But with regard to Mary and others in his life, I found Miles kind of selfish and immature.

In comparison to the other books in this series, Hidden Hearts has a much more somber tone, which is why I struggled with it so much. I loved the other books because they're fun, even while addressing emotional topics. I'm sad that this book didn't work for me, but I think it will work for many others.

This book is, by far, the best of the series! I had a very hard time putting it down!

I enjoyed Mary as a character, loved her quiet and caring nature and how she grew to love Miles. I liked that she was a relateable character because of her medical issues. She was slightly repressed as well, but that made her more realistic to me.

Miles was a bit self absorbed and wallowed too much in his loss, but I liked watching him blossom into loving Mary. The one thing I hated about him was his tendency to close Mary out on certain things, but I think it was done for realism more so than anything else.

The book was engaging and entertaining, and dealt with some tough subjects, but did so in a sensitive and respectful manner. While I didn't care for the series overall, I did enjoy this book!

Hidden Hearts by Olivia Dade is the 6th book in her Lovestruck Librarians series. The staff of a small town library system are the heroines and every story I've read to date has been a delightful tale with lots of laughs and sexy romance. This one has a more serious tone to it but is no less entertaining and I devoured it in one sitting.

Mary Higgs once had dreams of leaving Nice County and exploring the wide world but a less than positive experience while at college in L.A. had her returning home a much more serious young woman. The part time job she has at Battlefield Library is just her speed – quiet and with no risks. When a reclusive patron emails her to inquire about getting a library card, she strikes up a correspondence. But she soon discovers he's not what she'd imagined.

Miles O'Connor's heady days of TV stardom as 'The Naked Carpenter', star of a travel and carpentry series on a home and garden network, are over. A rooftop fall resulted in a horrendous injury and an amputated arm. Holing up in a cabin in Nice County, Miles is working on healing his physical and emotional wounds, but without much success on the latter. When he and Mary start to write to each other, it's a breakthrough in the shell he's built around himself. Miles knows he has to come out of seclusion if he wants a chance to be with Mary, and makes his move. Mary is definitely interested but wary – she's nothing like the women he dated before his accident. Both of them have issues to deal with, ones they share with each other as their relationship builds. But will they be willing to risk more to have a future together?

I really loved this story! Both Miles and Mary had issues to deal with themselves in order to be able to commit to a real partnership and I enjoyed how these were presented, as well as how both characters showed such growth over the story. Miles' problems are fairly predictable given his injury. He's dealing with a loss of self esteem, frustration over his new physical limitations, and he's still in denial over the injury. He's spent too much time wallowing in self pity instead of finding concrete ways to move forward, and it's only his relationship with Mary that causes him to think about the future instead of hiding from it.

Mary's issues are fairly complex too. As a young black woman, she's relished the idea of leaving home for the diverse and cultural experience of L.A. But the constant expectations of physical perfection by the women around her led to an eating disorder and exercise obsession. Her health suffered to the point where she had to move back home and seek therapy. She's okay now, but always on guard for a possible relapse. To his credit, Miles is the kind of guy who couldn't care less about physical appearances, especially with his own limitations, and he makes sure to tell Mary this and make her feel desirable. Their first real sexual encounter is a heartfelt scene, both feeling a little awkward but able to share those feelings and get past them to an amazingly emotional and physical connection. After that, sex is definitely not a problem for these two!

Mary has some wonderful co-workers and friends at the library and there are some fun scenes with the girls, as well as with her and Miles as a couple as he becomes friends with her friends. When the external conflict comes into play, I wondered how it could possibly work out to a happy ending for this couple. Fortunately it does, and there is a very satisfying conclusion to their romance. Hidden Hearts is an emotional and sexy romance with characters who will steal your heart too.

This review has been featured at Straight Shootin' Book Reviews and feedback updated with the link. An abbreviated review will be posted at sale sites during release week.

Hidden Hearts is genuinely nothing like I expected! Like the previous installments of Olivia Dade's Lovestruck Librarians series, it was funny and filled with jocular innuendos (after all, the (heroes and) heroines from previous books returned as supporting characters here. Yet, there's an added humongous issue involving Mary and Miles which involved mental-related subject. Even so, the author still managed to spin humorous and lighthearted tale; Olivia Dade is fast becoming another favorite author of mine!

I noticed Battlefield library's recluse customer and The Naked Carpenter mentioned on Driven to Distraction, the previous entry to the series. However, at that time I didn't realize they were one and the same! Miles O'Connor ran from California to Maryland and be a hermit after a freak accident that changed his life. He (virtually) met and got to know Mary when applied for library membership. The comfort they felt toward one another slowly built up from friendship to more, until something from Miles's old life caught up with them.

Now, I wouldn't expect it from a recluse but Miles was one charming guy. Still wary from the burden he kept inside, but he's funny, not afraid to shed a few tears from watching tear-jerker movies (blame Mary, he just followed along), and very considerate to her feeling. He's a perfect boyfriend material! Yet his inner struggle, resentment and guilt-ridden was real and heartbreaking. Understandably so. Those feelings were so transparent it gutted me to read the whole thing.

Mary was having similar issue with self-confidence. In a way, I could relate to her fear and struggle, as the issue was something that - in various levels - easily found in real life. It might look shallow and trivial; but this matter is real and exist in present's world. I loved that the author brought up this issue and laid it bare without seemingly preached about it.

The pairing of (physically) imperfect characters - as in not having flawless and model bods - was a plus for me. That they went through process to figure out their course in life, not rushing with the whole "I love you so of course we will be together," anted up another point. And in the usual Olivia Dade's fashion, I was entertained in a very attractive way: the witty back and forth, the dirty and hilarious innuendos... Heck. Even the steamy scenes got their fair share of bantering jokes! It's also great that the author introduced another interracial pairing in the series not in an in-your-face manner.

In short, Hidden Hearts delivered touching subjects in the story with subtle and lighthearted tone, with a couple of imperfect hero and heroine at the helm. It's a story any readers could easily relate to!

Advanced copy of the book is kindly provided by the author/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What started out as a mere email question from a library patron slowly turns into so much more in Hidden Hearts.



Mary works admin at the Nice County library. When the book opens, she’s answering an email from an unknown patron who wishes to borrow the library’s ebooks but is unable to come into the library to get a card. Assuming that the man is elderly or otherwise homebound, Mary helps him out, bending the rules about requiring him to come in and provide ID. After a few email exchanges focusing only on getting him set up and answering a few questions about how to get the ebooks from the site, their conversation slowly turns a bit more friendly-personal and less librarian-patron (they then switch to her private email). Their interactions continuing for weeks, a friendly back-and-forth as they discuss everything and anything. Their friendship comes to mean a lot to both, but what Mary doesn’t know is that Miles wants desperately to see her – preferably as more than just friends -- but can’t, not yet.



Miles is hiding out in the small Maryland town, avoiding the life he left behind in California. He’s the star and host of a very popular TV series, Naked Carpenter. But after an unfortunate accident that resulted in amputating his one arm, he fled the spotlight to quietly lick his wounds and recover, to figure out what his life will be now with just the one arm. He’s not only anxious about the thought of someone recognizing him, but also uncomfortable with his body’s changes: the loss of his arm, of course, and how it affects him and his daily life, but also a bit of weight he put on in the recovery time. Because of all that, he keeps everyone at bay – his old friends and family – and doesn’t wish to reach out to anyone new, either. Except the lovely Mary, whose emails brighten his day. He wants to be with her, and it’s not until she mentions an upcoming date that he finally pushes himself to go see her. And so it begins!



Mary and Miles’s relationship is a slow burn. I’m a sucker for message exchanges in romancelandia, so that part made me quite happy. Even after they finally meet in person, things still move slowly, building gradually. They soon start having these cute date nights where she comes over to have dinner with him, they watch a movie (mostly drama tear-jerkers, her favorite – and he gets into them, too), and he gives her a mostly chaste kiss or two before sending her home with plans for their next date. It’s sweet and I liked seeing them get to know each other like this.



The slow burn continues for quite a while, with nothing beyond those PG kisses showing up until nearly 60%. Even then, while the two sex scenes in this book are hot (more on this in a moment) they were a bit more . . . tame, I suppose? Which isn’t me complaining, by the way, just an observation. However, this low (but still hot!) burn fit these two, in particular the reserved Mary, so I’m not upset by this. Even though I love my books as dirty as they come, I will always prefer that the sex feels natural and fitting to the couple rather than just forced in, whether it’s a good match for the characters or not, just to increase the heat level.



Let’s back track for a moment and go over how their relationship moves from the friendship-turned-cute-dates to something more serious. This change comes about when he finally opens up to her about his accident, his feelings post-accident, and his worries about his future, about his very self-identity. That scene gave me a nice case of feels. Because YAY FOR MEN WHO DON’T RUN AWAY FROM THEIR FEELINGS FOREVER AND ACTUALLY SHARE THEIR EMOTIONS WITH THEIR PARTNER. Yes, even when those emotions lead to crying. No, no, ESPECIALLY when that happens. Gimme a hero who is not “too manly” to show his feelings, please!



This release of emotions is then followed by some pretty heavy intimacy, which moves their relationship forward. It all starts with him showing her his amputation. To make him feel more comfortable, she opens up to him as well by removing her shirt and bra, and allowing him to look and touch. This helps to distract him from his discomfort of having her see and explore his arm (because hello, BOOBS! Ha), but more importantly it also shows him that she’s trying to share her own insecurities with him (body insecurities – she had, and still struggles with, an eating disorder). Those moments were both hot and also feels worthy.


And then the sex itself? Hot. She’s never had oral, is shy and a bit uncomfortable about it, but he gives her his all and the rest is history. 😉 He’s worried about fumbling and not being “enough” with just his one arm, but they make it work and it’s hot as hell, satisfying both of them -- and then some! So it’s not that the sex isn’t hot; it is! There’s just less of it, at least compared to some of Dade’s other books. I was still quite happy with what we did get here, don’t worry.



I have to admit, while I can understand why Mary had her doubts, at times it got a bit annoying how focused she was on believing that he was going to run back to Hollywood at the drop of a hat and leave her. Related to all of that, I would have liked to see these two settling into their new lives in their HEA before the book ended (trying to be vague to avoid spoiling anything). They compromised on things in order to be a couple, and while I don’t question those compromises, or their HEA, I did want to see their compromises in action, if you will, to see how it was actually going to work out – and make sure it was going to make them both happy. (Not that they couldn’t have had some bumps along the way, like any relationship, mind you; I just wanted to see that those changes were going to work for them.)



Oh, and this is such a minor thing, but I wish he had grown out his beard again. He mentions it at one point (when he was all shaggy and unkempt but wanted to clean up for her) and I kept waiting for him to grow it out again, this time keeping it trimmed and neat, but sadly he stays clean-shaven through the rest of the book.




Hidden Hearts wraps up Dade’s Lovestruck Librarians series, and is a cute, sometimes a bit angsty, romance. I liked these two together. You can read this as a standalone; I’ve read the two previous books, but not the first 3 (yet). The heroines of each book are all friends, working and living in the same town, and they definitely make appearances in one another’s books, but if you were to jump in here, you wouldn’t be lost or anything. One thing I love about this series is the decent amount of diversity we get, both of body sizes and POC heroines. Of the ones I’ve read, book 5 (Driven to Distraction) is still my favorite, but Miles and Mary’s story was still quite enjoyable. After all, who could resist a wounded and stubborn hero and a shy, reserved heroine, each needing the other to help come out of their shell and take control of their life again? Sign me up!



4 STARS!

Mary is such a sweet person with a helpful heart. Her willingness to help people is what leads to her getting to know Miles. But then it is also Miles need of solidarity that finally leads him to get over his pity party to finally meet Mary. Have hour tissues handy. This book made me cry several times.

Decided not to review. A note has been left for the publisher. Despite the fact that I've chosen not to dubmit a review, I can say that the premise started out good...

I so enjoyed this latest offering from Olivia Dade! Mary is everything a good girl should be and Connor is everything any girl could ever ask for, especially once Mary helps him overcome his demons. In each other they find love, friendship and the courage to face every fear. That’s my kind of HEA!

A couple of the previous books in this series were a bit underwhelming, but this offering shows Ms. Dade regaining her stride.

I received an ARC of this book, via Net Galley, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Hidden harts was good interesting read. It was so different from the previous books because this one was not so funny and witty. And I really missed that the story has more serious plot and more serious characters. Both Miles and Mary are great developed and they are both interesting and both are in place of finding themselves. Interesting read about finding yourself again and having the right person by your side that support you.
I volunteered to review an ARC of this book for Netgelly

I can't think of any other word to describe this book except cute. Or maybe sweet. Ok, so it is both. But it is also pretty funny as well. Alright, that is three words. But it is true. This is cute, sweet and nicely humorous.

Even though the two main characters deal with their share of angst -- Miles, the hero, is in hiding and throwing a bit of a pity party because he is learning to cope with a loss and Mary, the heroine, has repressed a lot of herself because of a terrible living experience she had while younger is also hiding in a way -- they manage to be charming and funny with each other so they aren't wallowing. Which I love cuz I can't with super angst. There is good angst-to-normal behavior balance in this.

The romance itself if fairly low conflict, but even as the characters spend time together and get to know each other, the author manages to keep a level of suspense & anticipation in the romance as we get layers of reveal about who these two people are and what might be holding them back from fully committing. Even though the overall romantic conflict is not too high, there is a believable barrier to their HEA that they both need to overcome. I also really liked that both characters are rather dynamic, by that I mean the couple we meet at the beginning of the book have transformed believably to two people who feel much stronger by the end of the book.

And finally, there is this scene where the heroine is at the Smithsonian looking at a portrait. She describes it and uses it as a metaphor for herself. For some reason her description of the picture and her reaction to it made me want to see it for myself. So I googled it. And yeah, seeing the picture for myself made that scene really pop for me.

Fun book that was an easy read.

**This review is from an ARC received via Netgalley **

enjoyed this book

A wonderful read and an excellent take on the wounded hero trope – it’s rare to find a story where the hero’s new condition and reality are so thoughtfully woven into the plot (the difficulties, the new body, the grief, the adaptations… and the awakening to the new possibilities of a different life (“That didn’t mean he couldn’t use his new body and test his limits. For work, for fun, and for pleasure”, quote from ARC).
I really loved the hero, Miles O’Connor. He starts like a reclusive bear with a wounded paw, emotionally and physically damaged, and slowly – with the heroine’s help, of course – regains his self-confidence and optimism. And he is such a charming, caring and kind man who, besides that, has an interesting job, a fascinating mixture of manual skills and glamour (I loved how Olivia Dade developed “The Naked Carpenter” concept).
I also liked the heroine, Mary Higgs, a librarian, also dealing with insecurities. Their romance is a slow-build, just as I like,
I must say that the beginning of the story seemed trivial and I disliked how quickly the heroine gave the hero her personal email address and hugged him when they met for the first time – but really, those were mere hitches and I loved the depth Olivia Dade infused in the story and the character’s complexity.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

... although when I requested it, I was confusing this series with a different one about librarians by Sarah Title. Anyway, in this novel, Mary is a vaguely dissatisfied librarian in a small town in Maryland, who receives an email from Miles requesting a membership so that he can access ebooks online. Miles is, for undeclared reasons, unwilling to come to the library to show his ID, and Mary bends the rules for him. Soon (in a manner which seems out of character with everything else we know about her), Mary is giving Miles her personal email address and they are emailing away merrily together.

At the same time one of Mary's many friends, most of whom I suspect are in the novel as they appeared in previous books in this series and therefore need to pop up again here, persuades her to try online dating. When Mary tells Miles she is about to go on a date with an online contact, Miles overcomes his reluctance and comes to the library to meet her.

Initially I found this book pretty humourless and hard work (lines and lines were devoted the the addresses and time stamps of the many emails that were exchanged, for example), but it grew on me to an extent. I enjoyed Mary's love of tear-jerker movies and the hockey-obsessed Natasha. On the other hand, the constant obsession with physical appearance and weight was unpleasant and off-putting. While there were lots of heavy-handed comments about how this was a bad thing, most characters were constantly described in terms like their "compact body" (Mary), the need Miles felt to lose his "pizza baby" before even approaching Mary, her sorrow at the loss of his "hint of pudge" which she felt had made him more likely to stay, and so on and so on.

The ending was sweet, although perhaps a little abrupt - an epilogue might have been nice.