DNF. I made it through 20%, but I could not engage with the story line or the characters.

This may connect with other readers, but it wasn't for me.

like most reviewers of this book I'm gonna start it off by pointing out how freaking toxic the relationship from this book was. it's insane. the characters just did not work well together, they were awful and manipulative with each other and they had an on and off relationship.

not to mention the trope where MC gets with the actual love interest who is toxic in the beginning but then breaks up then gets with a sweet non toxic guy then breaks up with him to get back with the love interest. it was AWFUL.

if you want to read more about why this relationship was just... insane, check other reviews because I want to dedicate the rest of mine to how absolutely horrible the main character AND the love interest were.

the main character was a stuck-up, overly mature, rigid. no fun, boring, typical woman and the love interest was a boring, stuck-up, bland, toxic, gaslighting, typical man.

even if this relationship wasn't toxic the characters in this book is what made it unbearable for me. they were all so painfully boring and stuck-up.

like...... where was the fun? the depth? crazy.

don't read this lol.

I love that romance novels are beginning to look realistically at the reckoning of what a life actually looks like, and the realities of sharing a life with another person. I really enjoyed this novel, though I wish there had been more of an in depth look into Rae's relationships outside Dustin. I thought he was a refreshing love interest, and their relationship felt fully fleshed out, and instilled with a realistic complexity. I really enjoyed it and will definitely recommend to customers.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC for an exchange for an honest review.

It was an ok story. Easy to read.

This was adorable! Loved every minute of it. And I read it super quick, you don't want to put this one down!

I really loved reading Rae's POV. This book was relatable on certain aspects with my life too and that's what made me glued to reading this book. The Heart of the Deal is written so vividly and so easy to understand. Initially the age theory really bothered me a bit. Maybe it's just me? Other than that I found this an amazing read. ❤️

I found the pace too slow for my taste. As much as I wanted to love it, I'm just not able to get into it, sorry.

I loved this book so much and found it really relatable especially Rae.
As a twenty-something it's sometimes easy to give in to the pressures of society and fixate on the one thing that ticks all your boxes and try to fix a man's problem. I felt called out lol
Overall this book was amazing and a move from the atypical girl meets boy and then they get a happily ever after. Not what i was expecting thanks to the blurb but i loved this book regardless

Thank you, NetGalley and Alcove Press, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review, but I'm really disappointed and had to DNF this book.

The blurb is probably one of the most misleading I've seen. This book delivers nothing that it promises.

It was not funny. It was not romantic.

I cannot believe that they're promoting this as a cute rom-com when this is anything but. The overarching theme of this story is depression and mental health, and there should be some form of trigger warning for the readers.

If I had the displeasure to receive this as a paperback, I would have tossed it violently into the trash bin for the stunt it tried to pull.

Lucky for my e-reader, I value it far too much to that treatment.

Let me give you an overview of the story to give my rant some context:

You, the reader, are promised a funny, cute rom-com by reading the blurb. A story between two starstruck adults trying to find love in this crazy world we live in, leaving the reader feeling warm and content, filled with some good-hearted hope.

What you end up receiving instead is a burger you ordered without a pickle, only to end up getting a burger with the damn pickle anyway. Leaving you feeling immensely disappointed and losing the last lingering faith you had in humanity.

I appreciate that depression is discussed and brought to light, but it should have been handled better.

The story is about Rae and her love interest, Dustin. After Rae's 25th birthday, she spirals into a midlife crisis because of the immense pressure from society for being single/unmarried at her age (Which I frankly find ridiculous.)

Dustin struggles deeply with depression that would swing between low valleys and high peaks and often disappear at the lowest points. I can appreciate the fact depression and mental health is discussed and brought to light, but such a heavy theme needs to be taken care of properly to avoid disastrous results.

Rae and Dustin click instantly, and Rae is quickly hopelessly in love with him. It was at this point I realised how disingenuous the blurb was, also at this point, the whole mood of the story did a total 180 and ruined any promises it held in the first chapter.

It ends up romanticising a toxic relationship where Rae is repeatedly trying to 'fix' Dustin, who in turn is repeatedly rebuffing and being mean to her.

Romanticising a toxic relationship is never ok.

This book was not what I expected and nothing like the blurb/summary.

I requested this book thinking it was going to be a fun, romantic book. It was not fun and it was not romantic.

I didn't like the characters. I didn't like the story. I didn't like how the male lead treated the female. So he has depression - so he can be mean? And the stupid girl thinks she will "fix" him?

I do think the author is a good writer - I could visualize the characters and the story and the writing. I just didn't like it..

I tried so very hard to like this book, but I just didn’t. I continually rolled my eyes at the main character, Rae, and the lack of backbone, personal strength, and self talk she had. I also found the whole dating, marriage, and family age timeline ridiculous especially in today’s world. If I were reading a physical copy of this, I would have thrown it at the wall or in the garbage, but I read an ebook of it and prefer to keep my phone in working order.

One other positive point I will make about this book was some of the representation of a person with depression. Rae’s love interest, Dustin, has depression that swings between pretty low lows and higher highs and would often ‘go dark’ in the lowest times. As someone with a similar i mental health situation, I appreciated how parts of the book explained his extremes and why he acted the way he did sat times.

That being said, I still wouldn’t want to re-read this, but the advanced copy from NetGalley and the publisher is appreciated.

The heart of the deal follows Rae, a 25 year old investment banker who decides to seriously look for love after she turns 25, so she can settle according to her timeline. In order to do this, she decides to give dating apps a try and ends up meeting Dustin. Despite hitting it off, they face various problems due to his depression. The book explores mental health issues, love and friendship in an interesting way, and shows how Rae goes on a journey and how a timeline isn't everything.

This book has the potential to be a 5-star read. For me, unfortunately, it is not. What I liked about this book were the topics the author mentioned. The two leads of the book dealt with depression, feeling the pressure of society, and what you need to accomplish by certain ages. Raelynn thought she needed to be married and have kids by a certain period, so when she came across Dustin she instantly pictured a future and a life with him and worked towards that goal. She soon-ish found out about his depression and wanted to help him through it so he could fall head over heels in love with her. That is not how you deal with depression or help someone with their depression. Another thing I disliked about this book was how Dustin treated Raelynn and blamed his depression on why he acted and treated her the way he did. And lastly, I felt this book was a bit repetitive.

I liked this book! I think it was funny and definitely remember my 25 birthday and drinking with my friends. I love that Rae is hardworking and focuses on her career when she meets Dustin. I love the relationship these two had and I definitely think there were very funny moments.

I will say as a woman in her 30s, it's difficult to really buy into the 25 and my life is over because I'm single thing. That was the only part I would say was kinda lame to give into that stereotype. Women are having kids in their 40s and a lot of people aren't meeting their spouses till later as they are able to take their 20s to figure out who they are and what they want.

Otherwise would definitely recommend it to women who like fun romcoms :)

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy of this novel,

For a debut novel The Heart Of The Deal is pretty good. However the relationship between the two main characters was frustrating at best, destructive at worse. The writing itself was good but there was a lot of time jumping which threw the pace off for me.

Overall not bad but not great.

This book was not my favorite. It wasn't quite as light hearted as I expected it to be and dealt with some heavier topics (like depression, etc). The timeline for this book was also a little long. Not something that I found as a plus. And then the ending was...less than what I was hoping for. All in all, I wouldn't choose to read this one again, but that's a personal preference.

First off, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me early access to The Heart of the Deal!

Overall I liked Lindsay MacMillan's debut novel. Rae is a mid-twenties New York City girl originally from the Midwest. She as dreams and deadlines for love life and career that she expects to meet by certain ages. Her relationship with Dustin turns almost too toxic for me that I had to root against their relationship if he wasn't willing to try himself. I didn't like the person Rae became with Dustin. Being from the Midwest myself, I was rooting for her relationship with Stu.

I wish the book didn't jump from weeks to months so suddenly in the middle of a chapter. I also wish I got to see more of the romantic parts of Dustin and Rae's relationship to make me like Dustin more as a character. I also wish there were some steamy scenes to draw out the depressed scenes.

I did like how Lindsay MacMillan showed sexism in a male-dominated workplace. Women in the their twenties (and all ages) struggle with this every day. In the end, I'm glad Rae did what was best for Rae.

The Heart of the Deal follows 25-year-old poet-turned-investement-banker Raelynn through the ups and downs of mid- to late-twenties life in New York City. As Rae turns 25, she decides she has just enough time to meet someone, fall in love, live together, get engaged, get married, and have three children all before she turns 35. Will "swiping right" prove to be the answer to her dilemma, or will a childhood sweetheart help Rae realize her plan's successful completion? A story of friendship, love, and heartbreak -- a successful debut by author Lindsay MacMillan. Will Rae find her happily-ever-after and close the deal?

First off thank you NetGally for an ARC of The Heart of the Deal by Lindsay MacMillan.

I went in think this was a roncom light hearted book. No definitely this book deals with depression. If it is a trigger I would not suggest this book. I needed up not finishing it.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an e-book ARC of this book!

I thought this would be a cute rom-com kind of book because of the title and cover, but it was advertised as different than what the book actually was. The pacing was a bit slow for me, and it was a bit difficult to relate to the characters. Rae and her relationships were also toxic, especially with Dustin struggling with depression and how she wanted to be the one to save him.