Following the recommendation of a friend, I read this book.

Hayden is a paediatrician in the ER department of an Adelaide hospital. In one fell swoop, and almost overnight, his world falls apart. After a stressful evening/night at work, he goes home to find his wife Bernadette in bed with her colleague. He retreats to the hospital where he encounters a child who has been scalded and becomes involved in a fight with the father. The outcome is that Hayden is suspended while investigations take place.

He has nowhere to go and so reverts to his parents' abandoned cottage in the Gippsland Mountains in Victoria, Australia.

He quickly meets Isabelle and her deaf daughter. Well, you can see where the story is going.

I found it easy to read but with no real pulling power. I didn’t feel the need to rush back to the book or to quickly turn pages to see what would happen next.

There were plenty of characters in this book but the one I felt most drawn to was Genevieve the deaf girl and her bonding with Hayden was written as if it really happened.

In all, I found the book disappointing but would like to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is a very human book. It deals with grief and relationships and finding yourself after losing your way. It never becomes fluffy or too overtly emotional. That is not to say I did not tear up at times…

The main scene for this tale is a small town in the mountains of Victoria, Australia, after our main character Hayden flees Adelaide after his marriage falls apart.

Although the book has a fairly dramatic, soap opera start, I started enjoying it much more once Hayden arrived in Walhalla. I liked the village’s characters and the understated romance that develops between Hayden and Isabelle. I love the fact that the author wrote Isabelle’s daughter as a deaf seven-year-old. I have not read a lot of books with disability representation. I liked the way the author wrote snippets focused on a different character, so as the reader you knew trouble was brewing. You just did not know when it would hit.

In the end I found it this a satisfying read. I liked the characters and the relationships. However, I do wish I had more sense of place whilst reading it. Although the author wrote about the plantlife and some generic mountain scenery, I wanted a little more from it. But then, I really love it when an author really goes to town on descriptions of landscape and scenery, so that is a matter of preference. .

This is not a book that blows you away, but it has quiet charm and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Another soul-destroying event beckoned – paediatrician Hayden Luschcombe was exhausted from his relentless shift but knew his wife would expect him to be there on time. Well, THAT wasn’t going to happen. The look on Bernadette’s face when he finally arrived was not a surprise to Hayden – rather it was the norm. But it was the shocking discovery after another shattering day that spurred Hayden into action. His life wasn’t his own anymore; there was nothing in Adelaide to keep him there and the home he’d known all his life in the little Victorian town of Walhalla felt like a sanctuary.

The little cottage had collected dust and started to fall apart in the three years since his father had passed, but Hayden decided to fix the house that he remembered fondly from his childhood. His mother would be sad to see the state of her beloved garden – Hayden had nothing else to do, and the work would keep his mind away from the past…

A little girl began hanging around Hayden’s cottage – it turned out that she was deaf and the daughter of Isabelle Sampi, another memory from Hayden’s past. But Genevieve was a clever, gifted child and adorable as well – Hayden became friendly with both Genevieve and her mother, who was starting up her own bakery. Her bread and other treats were divine; she was popular with the townsfolk.

But there was danger looming. What would be the outcome for the town; for both Isabelle and Hayden who both had secrets in their pasts?

The Artisan Heart by Aussie author Dean Mayes is a gentle and tenuous romance, threaded with suspense, tension and a tumultuous past. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and loved the character of Genevieve; her stubborn and determined interactions by signing with those around her and her devotion and love of her mother. Romantic suspense at its best! Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for my honest review.

We all have the genres that appeal to us and those that don’t. So I lifted this romance woman’s fiction book (the publisher's definition) as a request and armed with my sword and shield ready to repel any notion of across the room glances, that immediately saw two people falling totally, madly and eternally in love at first sight. I’m afraid the DNF flag would have gone up faster than a line of coke at a Charlie Sheen party.

I actually found The Artisan Heart really entertaining, heart-warming and engrossing. It was enjoyably clever, to observe how incidents and events affected the characters’ romantic moods, emotions and perspectives. It was refreshing to witness amorous engagements and how they are fostered and brought together sometimes in unexpected ways. The real-life balancing acts, between career and home life, between horror at a child’s suffering at the hands of an abusive parent and professional restraint (or not), and between future plans and family stubbornness from past decisions.

Hayden is a paediatrician, married to Bernadette, a driven entrepreneur who is starting to make things happen in her business. As Bernadette’s clients become more elite and influential, the more pressure that’s put on Hayden to be the supportive husband, even though being a doctor is not a job you can walk out the door in the evening, and pick up again in the morning. I suppose I couldn’t understand why being a doctor wasn’t an acceptable explanation for Bernadette to use for her husband’s absence. Something was going to give and this is handled in a careful and convincing way. When a particular situation develops Hayden once again misses an event due to a medical emergency. The medical problem that kept Hayden late has blown up as Hayden confronts an abusive father that has caused serious burns damage to his daughter. The confrontation gets physical and as a consequence, Hayden is suspended pending an investigation. Hayden returns home unexpectedly, to find his wife ass deep in problems of her own making. The sense of betrayal and emotional turmoil for Hayden seeing his wife with another man was very well delivered and it gave it a real sense of perfidiousness to the story.

Hayden leaves his marital home and travels back to his family home in Walhalla. The only place left to run, although it’s been vacant following the death of his mother and father. The story progresses in a very engrossing style as Hayden navigates old family connections, refurbishing activities on the dilapidated home, meeting new people, and getting his life back on track. Hayden meets a young deaf girl, Genevieve, that he can communicate with using sign language and then her single mother, Isabelle. While no prizes are available for guessing what will happen in a romance story, it is very well developed and thankfully taken in a real and therefore much more compelling manner.
“There was something undeniably attractive about Hayden. It wasn’t immediate, not overwhelmingly masculine, but the longer she spent with him, the more she wanted to be around him.”

Along with Max and Annette, his parents’ old friends, the story tells of how a community supports each other, how relationships develop and how decisions and actions from the past have such an impact in our future happiness and peace.

I was a little disappointed that Hayden became a superman figure taking away the real-life mood, as he was a genius doctor, a sign language expert, a carpenter, a DIY expert, a mechanic, a community facilitator, and someone that can track down a violent criminal and beat him. He delivered Isabelle’s bakery produce faster than – well I’ll leave Charlie Sheen out of this one. There was just no end to his abilities - ridiculous, there's only room for one of us.

I really enjoyed reading this entertaining novel and I would hope that similar stories wouldn’t be classed as women’s fiction to alienate men. I would like to thank Central Avenue Publishers and NetGalley, for an ARC version of The Artisan Heart in return for an honest review.

A cute little book set in an Australian small town where the two leads certainly have their demons. I felt the chemistry between them and really enjoyed the small town feel.

Thank you to net galley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

You might be able to guess how things will go for Hayden, Isabelle and Genevieve, but Mayes has a soft touch and has put a good heart into this tale of two adults and one child who find one another when no one expected it. Hayden has left Adelaide after a blowup with his wife Berni and moved to a small town, where things seem much different and better. Isabelle is trying to get her business going and helping her daughter navigate her deafness. There are some twists as these people come together but they are handled well. Thanks to net galley for the ARC. This was a good debut by Mayes and I'm looking forward to more from him.

Two people seeking solace in the small mountain town from their youth. This story is sweet and endearing. It is slow paced however I didn’t mind as it allowed time for the two main characters to process their own pitfalls of life before finding a second chance of happiness with each other.

Initially I wasn’t sure this would be for me. It is described as the Australian answer to Nicholas Sparks. Okay, there are only so many tears I have to give each day. I don’t want my books to cause dehydration so I don’t typically go for Mr. Sparks-esque novels. Rest assured, the comparison lies in the sweet and natural way the love story unfolds minus uncontrollable sobbing. 😉 Outside of a romantic relationship, this book tells the story of an isolated community that supports and embraces one another.

I read this as I push myself out of my frequent genres of gruesome murder and historical romance occasionally to see what the rest of the world is reading. 😂 I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Out of five I rate this is a 3.5.

I loved this book. It was heartwarming and realistic. The characters were well written and the storyline flowed so smoothly. It was a story of healing and it was good for my soul. This was my first book to read of Dean Mayes but I will definitely bread more. Thanks to Central Avenue Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

It's been ages since I read romantic suspense and I must say that this was a very pleasurable one.

Bernadette is a high-flying events planner, completely focussed on her own job with scant regard to her husband's career. As a paediatrician, Hayden hardly has a nine-to-five routine, but Bernie insists he be at her side during the parties she organises. When things reach crisis point on all fronts, Hayden leaves abruptly and heads into the Australian mountains and the place where he grew up.

Isabelle hasn't had things easy; she has retreated to her grandparents old bakery in the same small country town with her daughter, Genevieve, who is profoundly deaf. It's only a matter of time before she and Hayden are re-acquainted, bringing back unwelcome memories of their childhood. This is the tale of a small town, the people in it, and the community spirit which fosters strongly through the years.

A really good read, this was more complex than I expected it to be. The characters are - mostly - delightful; the author has skilfully created differing personalities, all well-rounded and with a history. Genevieve, in particular, is very charasmatic and a prime example of someone whose incapacity won't hold her back in life. A well-planned and excellently written story, and an entertaining one. The pace of the story changes with events and no matter what's going on, I found it kept my attention throughout. And, for those who know me well, it finished with all questions answered - my favourite type of novel!

My thanks to the author for alerting me to his work and to publishers Central Avenue for my copy via NetGalley. This is my honest, original and unbiased review.

Artisan Heart by author Dean Mayes is a stand out read from start to finish! Hayden’s character is the type of character that you could read about forever and never tire of his antics. Full of heart, a complete sweetheart portrayal. Isabelle in all her initial prickliness warms the heart and Genie is a complete scene stealer. A small town read with a big heart feel. A read that puts a smile on your face. Five fab stars reading.
Review copy received from Central Avenue Publishing via Netgalley

3.5 stars

This was one of those comfortable reads in which the formula is predictable but that's okay because it's exactly what I was looking for at the moment. Dr. Hayden Luschcombe flees to his childhood home in Walhalla with his career and marriage in shambles. Isabelle Sampi is struggling to get her bakery off and running and trying to raise her young deaf daughter all by herself. When the two of them meet they realize they share a past but the question is, do they share a future?

So yes, you can definitely see what direction the book is going a mile away but it still manages to be a satisfying read. It features main characters who are easy to like but are going through some rough times and you feel invested enough to want to make sure they get on that path leading to happiness. I love how the story featured a deaf child and how sign language was used to communicate with her. Overall, this was an enjoyable read and the Australian mountain setting was a good backdrop to the story.

SLOW SLOW SLOW SLOW

If you want to read an incredibly slow book to help you fall asleep at night, this one is for you. I just couldn't get into this book. I wanted to slap Hayden a million times and tell him to friggin man up already. He let his wife walk all over him and then is devastated when he comes up and finds her in bed with another man. She treated him like crap!

5* Second Chance Love Stars

The Artisan Heart is a standalone second chance romance. I absolutely loved this heart-warming story and the characters were so colorful and easy to love except for Bernadette, who is the wife of Hayden as she was selfish and extremely self-centered.

Hayden is an Emergency Pediatrician in an Adelaide Hospital. He is a gentle soul who is very dedicated to his profession. Unfortunately his marriage and career take a turn for the worse and he escapes to the town where he grew up.

In the small quaint town of Wahalla Hayden is embraced and supported by the townsfolk and this is where he meets up with Isabelle, the local baker and her daughter Genevieve.

The story is about two broken people who have met before in their youth and come together when they least expect it. They learn to heal and support each other.

This emotionally uplifting story has the right blend of romance, drama and angst to it. It was a well written and the story flowed well. The cover of the book is gorgeous too.

I really enjoyed the story of Hayden and Isabelle and highly recommend this wonderful read by Dean Mayes. I look forward to reading more from this talented author.

Many thanks to Central Avenue Publishing and NetGalley for my ARC to read and review.

I am already a fan of Dean Mayes and am impressed with his ability to write in diverse genres while at the same time maintaining consistent quality. This book is a wonderful read, filled with incredible characters that jump off the page. I love how the characters play off each other so well. My favourite being Genevieve, a seven-year-old deaf child with spunk. I just wanted to hug her so many times. And then there is the wonderful setting of Walhalla, a cozy Australian mountain village, which is actually the main character for me. While reading this book, I felt myself walking the streets, smelling the freshly baked bread, smiling at the residents, listening to the birds and admiring the gardens. This is a place people come to get away from it all and discover who they are meant to be. A feel-good book with some tense moments, full of emotion and real people. I highly recommend this book. One I would read again.

I mean, I love books, but you're a doctor! Move your butt.

He's a hostage in his own home.

I would have beat that guy up, too.

Shoot, that's my bedtime, not work time.

Cute child. Don't be the grumpy neighbor, man.

Why is the Frenchman with Mitch?

I requested this despite knowing it would not really be my kind of book, because I do occasionally need to read something sweet and fluffy, like having a piece of cake after the regular meat & potatoes of my usual crime thrillers. The fact that it's about a doctor and set in small town Australia also appealed.
So, having overdosed somewhat on murder and mayhem recently, and given this was next in my NetGalley queue, I gave it a go. I confess I almost gave up within the first two pages, when the hero was described as chiselled and then tousled. Can I really stomach this, cried my inner curmudgeon?

Hayden is a handsome dedicated but somewhat aloof emergency paediatrician working in Adelaide. His wife is a glamorous event planner and they have nothing in common. Finding her in flagrante, and suspended from work due to an altercation with a patient's aggressive father, he runs to the small mountain village where he grew up, taking over the cottage left to him by his deceased parents. He meets Isabelle, a grumpy baker, and her cute daughter Genevieve, deaf from infancy due to an injury caused by her convict father. From there the plot is entirely predictable, and completely reinforced my prejudice against romance novels.

This is however a well written, feel good story about second chances, with a village that sounds like an idyllic place to visit (but like a lot of small places, one where you would only be welcomed if your family came from there.) There's not a single non-White non-hetero character, which does not reflect modern Australia, although Genevieve's disability is nicely handled. The career wife gets her just deserts, in favour of the cute but previously bitchy baker - do leopards really change their spots? The final line also rankled - as a former GP, and knowing the training and experience required to do it properly, the idea that a paediatrician can just set up shop as a family doctor, with no extra training, is pretty insulting and frankly preposterous. (Maybe this is years later and he's been away doing adult medicine, obstetrics, psychiatry, ENT, dermatology etc etc? Didn't sound like it.)

My thanks to Central Avenue Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Artisan Heart
By Dean Mayes
Cover design by Michelle Halket and Lucy Mayes
Published by Central Avenue Publishing

Very eloquent writing. Refreshing. The author has a brilliant ability to describe settings and characters making you feel as though you are there smelling the bread, or standing in the “storybook” garden unlike any writings I’ve read in a long time.
The main characters; Hayden coming from a recently destroyed marriage and Isabelle from a troubled past, come back home to heal their wounds. They are beautifully broken characters that need to rediscover and love themselves. As they go through the healing process their friendship builds. The catalyst for their connection is Isabelle’s daughter, Genevieve. She is a breath of fresh air. Her disability doesn’t stop her from her independence, nor from invading Hayden’s life, despite her mother’s ‘stay away’ warnings. The relationship between Hayden and Genevieve is heart melting.
I quickly grew fond of the town’s characters. There was a sense of community instilled by the writing. I enjoyed how the town’s people had an acceptance for each other’s faults and looked out for each other despite the faults. I liked how the author took the time to develop all of the side characters. There were parts of the story that were predictable. But the beauty of the story itself and my fondness for the characters overshadowed any predictable parts.
The relationship Hayden and Isabelle develop is a slow building romance. But this story is more about the friendship that builds and binds. The strength behind that is one that is ever lasting. It was beautiful journey to witness.
“A smile formed on his lips and suddenly, desperately, she wanted him to kiss her. Their laughter had dropped away and in its place was something powerful. An attraction she hadn’t felt in years. Her breath hitched.”

I enjoyed reading this story. If you are looking for a story about second chance romance and enjoy eloquent writing then this is a must read.

I received an advanced copy of this book. My review was done voluntarily.

Very slow to get in to . I had to set it down a few times and come back to it. Interesting setting but maybe with some editing, the flow may have moved the story along faster? I would try a book by this author again, just to see if there is improvement.

I received a digital ARC of this book from Central Avenue Publishing via NetGalley for reviewing. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

‘The Artisan Heart’ is a heartwarming story about two people with quite some bagage who want nothing more but to find comfort with each other in the peace and quiet of Walhalla, a tiny town in Australia’s southern mountains. If you’re looking for an easy summer read with steady characters, a great setting and a storyline that keeps you intrigued: look no further. Dean Mayes has done a great job with this novel, he’s written a touching story with a romantic feel.

I really loved the premise of the story, and I love the way it was set up. We start out with Hayden and his fast paced life down in Adelaide. We meet his wife, Bernadette, an ambitious event planner who doesn’t seem to be a big fan of Hayden’s hectic work schedule and his irregular hours. It doesn’t take long before you realize that Bernadette – or Berni, as Hayden calls her – only needs him as her trophy husband. So when he shows up late to her events (or doesn’t show up at all, due to work), she retaliates and hurts him in the worst way possible. Having no friends or family of his own in Adelaide, Hayden doesn’t have any other choice than to flee back to his hometown. Walhalla. Once he’s there, he reconnects with his old friends Max and Nette and he’s forced to face his strained relationship with his father. He also meets Genevieve, a deaf girl who doesn’t seem too keen on having him around at first, but warms up to him pretty quickly. It was hard to put the book down at times, I really wanted to know how the story went, especially when I found out there were some dark and gritty secrets that weren’t going to stay buried for long.

Mayes is a great writer, I’ll give him that. He does a superb job describing the surroundings, it felt like I was actually in Walhalla myself. As if I was there, every step of the way. His characters on the other hand, were just a bit too bland for my taste. Yes, I’m fully aware that I’ve called them ‘steady’, but I never actually connected to them. I wanted too, but it was difficult because he kept changing the POV from Hayden to Isabelle to Genevieve to Max to Annette to Bernadette to Mitchell to Amanda to even Gregor the police officer. Sometimes it was a bit difficult to keep track of whose thoughts I was actually reading. As the story progressed, it got easier to distinguish the difference between the various voices, but I still found it a little distracting.

Our main character, Hayden, is a kind and giving man who deserves the world – but is a bit of a Gary Stue at the same time. He’s a fantastic doctor, but he’s also really good with cars, he knows how to cook, he fixes the roof of his cottage, he’s an excellent driver and even though he seems to be a bit socially awkward – he manages to fix the townproblems in less than one evening. I did my best to love him unconditionally, but I failed miserably. Maybe if Mayes had made him a bit more flawed, I would’ve liked him a little bit better. I did love his interactions with Genevieve, though. Those conversations – in sign language – were definitely a highlight.

Isabelle is a great character, though. She’s sweet and lovely, yet determind and tenacious at the same time. A single mom and determined to make her bakery work while raising her daughter all by herself. As a reader, you know there are some dark secrets she’s trying to keep buried, especially from Hayden and Genevieve. It was lovely to see Belle and Hayden grow, both individually as well as towards one another… Even though I did think it was a little bit too fast for Hayden to fall in love with her when his marriage to Bernadette only ended a month prior to it. Fair enough, he states multiple times that there was no saving his marriage, but it still felt a bit rushed to me.

Nevertheless, I think ‘The Artisan Heart’ was a great story, told by a fantastic storyteller. Mayes is definitely a great writer and I’ll make sure to keep an eye out for his next book.

This is a beautifully written memorable book. Hayden is a likeable character. The whole story is heart warming. I was gripped from the start. The descriptions are brilliant. I could imagine the scenery and the people. I was sad to get to the end of the book. I wanted to keep reading about these characters.