nice, cute romance. i liked rae’s growth throughout the story, it’s one of those romance books larves with a coming of age plotline that i usually enjoy when well done and this was the case here! totally recommend

I hit a dnf on this one, didn't want to force myself to read something I wasn't enjoying. The main character struggles with depression and hat's like the plot point basically. It covers a toxic relationship which I'm not all about. I am really sad that I have to rate low for the first book that I've been given from NetGallary but let's be honest here. This book was not for me, but many have enjoyed it from the looks of it. So if you think that you'll like it, would definitely reccomend. It's a two and half stars for me.

BOOK REVIEW

BOOK: The Heart of the Deal
AUTHOR: Lindsay MacMillan
FORMAT: eBook
RATING: DNF (did not finish)

MY THOUGHTS

I started this book and found that I had a lot of difficulty connecting to the story. I did not finish it, not for lack of quality of the book but more so that I felt it was a “right book wrong time” situation where I wasn’t in the right mindset for this one at this time! Hopefully will be picking it back up in the future!

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book! The title and this beautiful cover drew me in and i was excited to read this book! I will be recommending this book to others for readers advisory.

Thank you Alcove Press and netgalley for tgis really best experience. I love when stories are not so easy and brings up so many more emotions. That is something for my heart.

DNF, I really wanted to like this book but I struggled to get through it. It just wasn't for me unfortunately

4ish stars

Although it largely centred on the protagonist’s romantic relationships, this novel was definitely not a light, fluffy romcom. My friends wouldn’t be surprised to hear that the characters’ situations and plans wildly stressed me out at some points because of how relatable they felt. At other points, though, the focus was very much on mental health, or rather, mental illness. While I understand that not everyone has firsthand experience with mental illness, it was almost unbelievable how poorly the protagonist handled her partner’s depression; he struggled (and was often not very good to her), but she kept up this internal dialogue about how one day he would “get better” so that everything would be fine for the two of them; she was treating depression like a bad flu bug that would, eventually, be cured, and it felt wildly unrealistic. The ending wasn’t unexpected, but I’m concerned about its ambiguity and what it potentially suggests for the two characters. My overall thoughts are a bit scattered right now, but even with some of the irritating pieces, I did quite enjoy the story and appreciated a lot of things in it. As a final thought from my tired brain, I’ll add in two quotations that stood out to me at different points:

“Depth just gave more space to fall, and weight reminded her of what she couldn’t lift.”

“…but what was texting, if not the most modern literary genre?”

I’m really glad I was finally able to find time for this book.

This book and story had all the right makings of a great heart wrenching novel but it fell short for me. I love when a romance story has real life situations going on and how the mc deals with the issues. Some of the analogies were a bit cheezy. And it was way too wordy.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. While I could relate to Rae, the way she approached her self worth by making a "deal" with herself to fulfill an unrealistic plan was a little disappointing. Maybe I didn't make it far enough into it, but I was struggling to see her growth.

Thanks to NetGalley for this gifted copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion
I really love rom com tropes and this seemed right up my alley. However, after a couple attempts to get through it, I sadly had to dnf. I really wanted to like it but I just wasn’t for me.

I had mixed feelings on this book. I thought that the pacing was quite slow and felt like the book dragged out a bit, but I enjoyed the storyline, liked seeing the timeline of the main character's relationships, and I felt like the story as a whole was heartfelt and well-written.

A serious rom-com type book isn't my first choice, but this was pretty okay. It was a bit depressing and I really don't have much to say about it.

This is a well-written book that's getting a low rating from me because I had trouble dealing with the main obstacle to Rae finding love.
I should have checked the subject matter more closely before picking this one up because the fact that Rae puts herself in a position to constantly be hurt by loving someone with depression hits hard. Dustin is wonderful and deserves all the love that his deep depression makes him think he's incapable of reciprocating, but reading about Rae constantly putting herself on the back burner and forgetting about her dreams to keep his demons at bay did not sit well with me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the chance to read this thought-provoking romance, sorry I couldn't bring myself to rate it higher.

First off, I love the pretty illustrated cover! This one struggled to keep my attention. I was expecting a rom-com and got something a little more serious.


Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

Not quite the light-hearted read the cover would suggest. I enjoyed the portrayal of female friendship. The exploration of mental health is a little inaccurate.

Sorry, but this book just wasn't for me. I DNF because I thought the story was about something else entirely.

This was a bit of a quagmire for me. I really wanted to love it as it seemed to have so much potential. It was refreshing to see a main character show their depression as fully as was done here. Normally it's almost glossed over and just a mention.

As far as Rae goes; she was a bit of a hard pill to swallow. Again, the potential was there but I felt like she was just so focused on her "poor me" almost 30 drama and nothing else. I guess I just couldn't find her to be relatable.

The story left me just wanting; and I'm not sure I can even put my finger on exactly what that want is. I just know that I didn't feel connected with this and I really wish I had.

If you are looking for a light, campy rom com book that will bring a little joy into your day....keep on walking. This book isn't that. This book is a heavy tome of themes that need to be addressed more in romance novels. It tells the story of a love affair that is hard, takes a toll on the main character, and then doesn't work out. And it shouldn't work out, so that's ok. It follows Rae from her 25th to her 30th birthday, when she thinks she will find the love of her life and get married and have babies. But instead, she gets stuck in a cycle of toxic mental health struggles with a boyfriend who needs her help, but isn't right for her. It takes courage to face the truth of her situation, and her friends struggle to help her see the light. This book was realistic and stunning, but a rom com it IS NOT.

This was a wonderful heartwarming story. Rae, like most women has certain standards in her relationships and her friends are making sure she keeps them, never settle! I love the modernness of the book. I like that she doesn't believe in the dating apps, but when she meets her match on there, she needs to figure out if she can deal with his issues.

I really loved the premise of the story!

This didn't give me the typical romance vibes that I was expecting. The book follows Rae- a woman moving through life as she works at a job she doesn't love and the trials of finding someone to have a family with. It covers five years of her life and during that time the somewhat toxic relationship she finds herself in with Dustin. He seems perfect for her, but struggles deeply with depression. They enter this on again off again relationship where Rae is taken advantage of - and the ending...while open-ended was frustrating.

It was labeled as Chick Lit - but it deals more so with the ups and downs of life and heavier topics. There are definitely moments in the book that could be triggering to some - so if you plan to read it I would strongly suggest looking into the warnings (ie. self harm, etc.).

I was given a copy of this story to read; but thoughts and opinions are all my own. Thank you to Netgalley and Alcove Press for the chance to read this book!