This was a pretty good read. The storyline was simple but it did keep my attention. Overall, I would recommend it to the romance reader.

YA/NA has definitely become my go-to reads lately. I've had such great experiences with reading this genre that I devour these books in hours.

Hearts and Bruises had its moments where I felt like I wanted to jump into the book and knock some sense into these teens but the drama, the suspense and the angst had me intrigued to no end. There was a constant in this book that had me pushing for more and more and the author didn't disappoint.

Granted, many people feel frustrated with the fact that the main characters could either be pushovers or be pushed around. Darrian was kind of a prick but usually rich f*cks are and since they think they rule the town they live in, they think they can also rule the girl's hearts as well.

Nora was tired of the constant moving around and when her father chose Araminta, CA to settle roots, she felt like hopefully this could finally be called home. She made friends quite fast and even though she wasn't comfortable around that specific crowd, she immediately bonded with a few of them and managed to fit in.

Her relationship or non-relationship with Darrian (as he called it), was volatile they had a strong pull that always managed to get them back together. Darrian was like a puzzle and Nora wanted to unravel that puzzle so badly.

She might have been a pushover, but she was determined to fix the boy who stole her heart, the problem was, does the boy want to be fixed??

I was transfixed with this story from beginning to end!

A.M. Brooks did a magnificent job with this story and now I can't wait for Hearts and Flowers. These cliffy's are going to be death of me, I swear ;)

I think the characters just weren't likeable enough for me on this one, the writing is good and I was able to finish the book but it was a bit meh for me.

Hearts and Bruises was such a great read this is the first book I’ve read by A.M Brooks and it definitely won’t be my last she did such a great job with this book can’t wait to read more from her.

Yeah, NO.

I do not enjoy stories like these. Too much unwanted, predictable drama. Stupid girl. Uber rich, sexy but arrogant boy. This is a disaster waiting to happen. I will make this short. She is poor, not that poor but you get it. Her father works for his father. He is rich. He is untouchable. He wants her. But he can't trust her. Because he fears that people will use him. So when he likes her, her life is good. Everyone in her school behaves well with her. But when he is pissed, which is quite often, and unwarranted, her life becomes miserable. Everyone bullies her at school. And of course, let's not forget the typical queen bitch who wants the guy and is out to get her. Blah..Blah..Blah.. And yet she keeps giving him chances, because he is just that alluring.. So dumb !! And that cliff hanger... desperate attempt to tempt us for the second installment. Won't work this time.. I'm out !

Yeah, so NO.

Hearts and Bruises by A.M. Brooks is the story of Darrian and Nora.
After Nora's mother died her father started moving them around a lot. So Nora has never had any real friends or a stable life. This latest move has put her in site of Darrian. Darrian is a rich kid who doesn't do the girlfriend / boyfriend life. But they go forward to have some hot encounters. There is more going on with Darrian that his father expects from him. Nora has taken the role of taken on others people problems which causes added things in her life. Darrian is at first a hard to like hero but he starts to getting better. This isn't your cookie cutter romance..there are some bumps in the road. I hope to read the next book in this series.

This book played with my emotions. There were tears, laughter and smiles all around. I stayed up till 4am to finish this. And it was worth it!!!!!

I voluntarily received a copy of this for an honest review!


Wow! Fans of Anna Todd beware! This is similar but has its own flare. I was in love with Darrin from the get go. And I have to say Ethan too. The girls were catty and undeserving, but isn’t that normal. I actually thought I would hate this.....but I loved it so much. I want more and more.

The cliff hanger at the end has me all “sob feels” up in here. I honestly want her to be pregnant. Like I feel like that would be a wild ride for them as well.

I feel so bad for Nora, she is slut shamed, drugged cause let’s face it...she was pressured badly, drug around and embarrassed. I felt my heart breaking right along with her. Her dad is awful making her move from town to town and she never really has friends. So I think that causes her to not understand bullying.

I really want to read more!

Please tell me there will be more soon!

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Netgalley.

trigger warning; abuse.

this is definitely NOT an easy read for victims. There were some slow moments in the book, some bullying, but overall, this book was written well. i would definitely read other books by this author.

This book contains trigger warnings for domestic and verbal abuse. And this is not a light read. 

If you love Hate to Love relationships, this book may be for you. The main love interest is not a sweet guy by any means. In fact, this relationship is not healthy at all.

We follow a girl who is already vulnerable after the death of her mother. Her father is hopping around the US and finally lands in their 12th move. And of course, this town is run by an elite family that everyone revolves around. From the moment she enters the town's limits, she is sucked into the drama, especially when it comes to the popular guy who immediately draws her in. 

Even though I hated their on and off relationship, I think the writing style was key. I felt all the emotions along with Nora, from the anger to the romance to the abuse, I was all over the place. And when I can feel all those feels, it means the author did a great job with her writing style. 

I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars. There were a few drier moments, but I feel like the rest of the book made up for it. The characters were not in the right mindset for me to really enjoy the book as there is so much vulnerability and bullying. 

Overall, I wasn't a huge fan of the book, but I think it provides a different scenario to read from. There are tons of trigger warnings to look out for, so if you are in any way sensitive to darker, abusive stories, this may not be the right fit for you.

I gave this read a 4/5 star rating because romance is not my favourite genre and it hasn't quite made it into my top favourites of the year, but that could still change depending on the next book. I don't usually read "romance" or "new adult books" because I find them much of a muchness - in other words, I think they are all the same. However, on the first page of this book I realized it was very different from what I had anticipated and immediately I loved the story and fell in love with the characters.
This story is about a girl and her father moving to California after 11 other moves since her mother has died. Everytime she moves, she is determined that she will not get attached with people and basically stay incognito, but the first evening she is invited to a party and all her plans are thrown into the water when she meets Darrian King.
This book was really fast paced, it was very gripping, I felt what Nora was feeling, my heart broke when her's did and mine soared when her's did. I think this was extremely well executed and I love how the story differs from many others I have read and hated. This is absolutely great and I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE SEQUEL TO COME OUT, I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS !! Also, it raises a lot of relevant questions for young people of our generation!
I can't find anything bad to say about this book, apart from the fact that I wished it was longer ahaha!

I thought it was a pretty good debut novel. Emotional and kept me interested. A little more fine tuning and depth would’ve made it better for me. Overall I liked it.

This book had so much potential but to me it feel short. It was predictable and by the end of the book I was beyond annoyed. I truly felt for Nora even though she never seemed to learn her lesson. Darrian was a straight d-bag! The cliffhanger completely ruined it for me. I was not expecting that and I am beyond freaking mad over it! Grrrr now to wait for the next book in this series.

Thanks to the publisher for an ARC to read and give my honest opinion.

Fool me once, shame on you....Fool me twice, shame on me. Nora is a messed up girl with no mother, and no roots. Stuck with a father who is constantly running from his demons they arrive in a town where the Kings own everything. Thinking maybe things would be different here Nora heads to a party with Ethan only to fall for Darrian. Darrian seems to be Nora's Achilles as the two go through a tumultuous relationship that seems doomed to fail.

What did I like? I try to keep things positive when I read a new author but this book was like picking daisy petals... he loves me... he loves me not... he loves me... he loves me not. I wasn't really sure why she kept taking Darrian back. Once that rubber snapped onto his dick for someone else....SEE YA. Technically they weren't dating because Mr. Prick said he doesn't do the boyfriend girlfriend thing. That's usually a hard stop for me because it derives unwanted drama. I get why Nora was Nora but why put all her eggs in one basket.

Would I buy this book? No, sadly the drama and back and forth between Nora and the Kings just did not sit well with me. How do you take back a guy who has on numerous occasions bullied you? That's abuse. Teenagers will read this and glorify the violence. Nora is a strong character though but we need to know why she is willing to take such abuse from such a guy.

Thoughts for the author? Execution of this story should be made on a premise and not a merry go round. Fool me once was great but fool me twice I almost put the book down....after that its simply a merry go round of abuse. She gave him too many chances. We can't feel empathy for Nora if she is just going to get abused over and over. I hope in the next book she takes control.

Two lonely stars for entertainment. I like abusive books but only as they are labeled for intentional purposes.

I would like to be considered for the next part.

I love high school romance books but this one just didn’t sit right with me. I think it had to do with Darren sadly.

Darren is the star of the basket ball team and hoping to get drafted when school ends. His parents aren’t to keen on the idea.

Nora and her father have moved so many times that she just wants to be able to stay on one place. Due to that she hasn’t made any friends because she knew she would have to move again.

I had some problems with connecting with this book. I would be completely invested at some points, others it just fell flat and some where I just wanted to dive into the the book and slap Darren because he was such an asshole to Nora, then the next he was was sweet. I definitely had a love hate relationship with him.

This book does end on a cliffhanger which some may not enjoy.

5 EMOTIONAL Stars!!

Holy..Shhh... WOW- First of all- THIS WAS A DEBUT!! and I am SHOOK.

I hate that I loved this book so much. I hate the way I feel about toxic characters and the love I have for redemption. Many times I will start to read a character and automatically want to judge them- and then I have to put myself in their shoes- I try really hard to imagine what they have gone through or been through in order for them to have turned into whatever they have become. If I am being completely honest, its way easier to do this with fictional characters than it is to do in real life. Clearly that shouldn't be the case- :P But I usually try to find the good, as little as it may be in the beginning, in every character. Its just something about seeing character growth in someone and seeing how far they have come that just makes me happy!!

This book broke my heart. I cant explain my feelings about it really well. It messed me up pretty good. MY EMOTIONS were all over the place. All that sounds terrible right? Yeah- but look, when I read, I want to feel, I want to be consumed, entertained and transported. Ya feel me? Well this one did it from the very start!


The name of this book is Hearts and Bruises. If you are going to read this -

Clue #1 is in the title, this book wont be easy, or pretty all the time. Then read the synopsis. The author gives us a heads up- Like hey, this book may leave a mark because "with love comes pain and with pain comes scars". YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. But omgsh its so worth it.

We follow Nora, who is in high school and ever since she lost her mom, she has been moving from place to place with her dad. They are on move #12 when they reach CA. Nora never expects to make friends so fast, or to meet Darrian King. The name King says it all!! Nora was everything - I wanted to shake her so much but I did love her!! Darrian well- You HATE to LOVE him. The writing was so amazing for being a debut Im still shook about that! It flowed effortlessly and consumed me!



You will get mad, you will get sad and prepare to have your heart broke. If you are an easily triggered person this book may not be for you. You'll also probably will want to throw your kindle across the room... like I did :P But seriously- I was running right back to it and picking it right back up. This qualifies as book crack for me. I did not want to put it down and read it in one sitting. So if you are a fan of the following books:

After Series by Anna Todd
Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire
Fallen Crest Series by Tijan
Bully by Penelope Douglas
Nero (Made Men Series) by Sarah Brianne
The Royals Series by Erin Watt

I am pretty sure you will have a hard time putting this one down as well!! I am not comparing this book to those- this one totally holds its own. But I know that if you liked those, and they wrecked your heart like they did mine, then - Hearts and Bruises is for YOU!! If you read it, please come back LETS TALK ABOUT IT!! Happy Reading!!

Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

I recieved and ARC in exchange for an honest review. This was a good sorry but there are points of it that I wanted to pull my hair out and slap the characters. It ends in a cliffhanger also which I don't particularly like. The story line was good and keep be intrigued. I just didn't like Darrian or the bullying. I will definitely have to rad the second one to see what happens.

(Source: I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to The Next Step PR and A.M. Brooks.)

A boy who selfishly never cared to question anyone else around him except for me. No matter how much I loved him or wanted to fix him, I realized it’s better to accept that the King’s crown was jagged and tilted on his privileged head.

I am so disappointed in this book. It is not what the blurb suggests it is going to be. Nora was such a push over, he treated her like trash and she forgave him even when he did not apologize. He threw her away three-four times, and she was always there waiting for him ready to call her back, and she did so with a smile on her face, and threw herself on him within seconds. He NEVER said he was sorry, she never felt the need to ask for his apology as well. And whatever had was not even love, so I do not know what the author was aiming for, but she failed, miserably.

I was disgusted to be honest. I do not know how I managed to finish this book but I did. The storyline and the events were repetitive, there was no purpose or progress what so ever. Grammar-wise writing was nice, but plot-wise the author really needs to work on this. This is not how you write a book and especially in these days with this type of female character. This was a disaster.

Debut stories are always some of my favorite reads because you get a "fresh voice," you get a style of writing that's like nothing you've ever read before. A.M. Brooks captured my full-on attention with the blurb, and I quickly realized after the first couple chapters, Hearts and Bruises wasn't one of those sugar-coated stories. Hearts and Bruises, was, in fact, a real and honest portrayal of what high school drama is really like.

I bounced back and forth with Nora and Darrian. Sometimes I liked them, then there were times that I wanted to shake them. But I learned a long time ago you don't have to "love" the characters to appreciate the story. Characters can sometimes be fragile, as was the case with Nora, and sometimes they can be jerks. Darrian bounced back and forth a few times--sometimes I loved him and other times I hated him--but these guys are young and it was fitting for the story.

Overall, I enjoyed Hearts and Bruises because there was so much I didn't expect to happen. The author kept me guessing, but most of all, she kept me in-tune to what was transpiring. There were a few things I felt could use a little work, but for a debut story, I think Brooks did an outstanding job pouring her heart into Nora and Darrian. I totally wasn't expecting there to be a second part so I'm really excited to see how it's all going to end.

Wow I sooo love this book! Im blown away that this is the author’s first book because it’s that amazing! It kinda has a 90210 feel to it but more. Nora is the new girl just hoping to fit in. Nora never expected to meet Darrian King and other wealthy kids. Angst and drama will make you scream out loud and make you throw your kindle while reading this book. Darrian is a prick and many times you will hate him but I have a love hate for him. Nora I love her character because in many ways I felt I was her. Nora doesn’t even realize how strong she truly is. High school romance books are tough and the author didn’t sugar coat nothing and made this book real. I can’t wait till summer to find out what happens next! Definitely in my top reads of 2019! 5/5 star