I really wanted to love this one. Their relationship had a lot of potential, and they were fun together.

But ultimately, the relationship is just too toxic. Her desperate hope that he is going to be "fixed" and that they'll get to be happy together soon got hard to swallow. His "I can't be what you need!" while taking up all of her time and leading her on... I understand depression fairly well, but I also don't think that it is an excuse for someone to treat you so poorly.

So, this just didn't work for me. Which makes me sad because it was so damn well written! It just was too reminiscent of real-life sad situations, and then ended the way it did (better for it to end with them apart, in my opinion! She deserved more!).

I really struggled with how to rate this book. This is some gorgeous writing - really well put together phrasing and random unexpected insights that had me highlighting more than I usually do in a fiction book. I thought the finance puns sprinkled throughout were clever and the thread of infusing business jargon into Rae’s relationships was very relatable to me. I saw myself in Rae, reflecting back on that time period of my life.

However, I was so disappointed by the end. I felt emotionally drained and didn’t really get any sort of return on that investment in the story. There was so much that I related to in this story - and I can even appreciate that this is not really a romance novel as expected. I get where the author was trying to draw out the emotional highs and lows of the main character, but it really felt like the lows outweighed the highs and I feel almost cheated to get to an ending that didn’t feel like a destination.

Thank you to NetGalley, Alcove & the author for an advance e-ARC for me to read & review.

Cute cover but it felt off.

The characters and story felt like they didn’t have any direction more of the time.
I was bored and nothing interesting was said or done. It was cute at times but that’s about it.

dnf 50%

The cover is cute, the blurb is interesting but the story feels directionless 99% of the time.

There was no:
- meet cute (they literally go on a date off-page and we’re reintroduced to Dustin at their second date)
- No chemistry (even Rae acknowledges that she didn’t have the best time with him)
- Kiss off page (again, this is something that would have helped make their attraction more believable if shown)
I don’t know what to say.
In theory, this book should have worked, but it didn’t.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Heart Of The Deal tells the story of Rae, a 20-something year old woman living her best life in New York City, with friends and a career which she loves. But something's missing. Love. Tired of being single, her friends convince her to join a dating app, and low and behold she meets Dustin. But a relationship with someone suffering from depression may seem harder than she imagined.

This book was definitely not what I expected. It has much deeper depths and themes, addressing depression and sexual assault. I loved the New York setting, Rae's friend group was everything, and her relationship with Dustin was emotional, impactful and heartbreaking. If you are into books with deeper and heavier themes, I'd definitely recommend this one.

Trigger warning, contains themes of depression and sexual assault.

I definitely was expecting something a bit more upbeat based on the cover and description, but it was pretty good overall.

This book is about Rae and her exploring the life of New York while trying to follow her dreams, the book follows Rae over a 5 year period. Rae lives with her best friend Ellen and has 2 other best friends, all 4 of them make up ‘the Scramblettes’. On her 25th birthday Rae panics as she wants to be married by the age she’s 30 and have 3 kids by 35. The Scramblettes convince her to download a dating app and that’s where she meets Dustin.

I was expecting a cute romantic book but this book is quite the opposite. We see Rae and Dustin work through their relationship as Dustin struggles with depression, Rae wants to help him and be there for him but Dustin wants her to stay his “Rae of sunshine”. Trigger warnings for depression, suicidal thoughts and self harm!

I loved the friendships between Rae and the Scramblettes, we see them grow up over the 5 years and how they were always there for each other. I really adored how Ellen was a true friend by telling the truth to Rae even when she didn’t want to hear it. Ellen was my favourite character and i’m glad she got her happy ending! Loved their idea of toilet naps, will definitely be trying it out to catch up on sleep.

Dustin and Rae’s relationship had its up and mostly downs as Dustin was toxic and wouldn’t let Rae into his life. Dustin was affecting Rae’s mental health but she kept ignoring how she was feeling, this annoyed me as she was just focused on trying to ‘fix’ Dustin. Dustin was great, loving and a good guy when he wasn’t feeling depressed but he had some issues he needed to go through before he went out with Rae. I didn’t like how he treated Rae when she just wanted to help him get the help he needed. I would’ve really liked if this book was dual pov, i’d like to know what Dustin was thinking throughout this story and during this 5 year period.

I felt like the ending was really rushed and I would’ve liked to see more with Dustin and Rae then, I wanted to know if he was going to atleast treat her right this time. So happy that Rae finally decided to quit investment banking and followed her dream of becoming a poet but I wished I got to see how it ended up for her.

Bonus: This book has chapter names!!! I loved this so much.

Thank you NetGalley, Alcove Press and Lindsay MacMillan for this arc! This book is going to be published at the start of June this year.

I received a copy of this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was really different from what I expected. The synopsis made it sound like a light, fun book and it was actually dark and sad. I had a hard time sticking with this one.

In this debut novel, The Heart of the Deal, by Lindsay MacMillan, thirty something Rae has a great career but wants romance.. Her friends encourage her to try some dating apps but Rae doesn’t like the stigma and hassle of playing the pick me game or relying on an app to find her guy. Rae finally meets Dustin and she intensely feels that he might be the one for her. Dustin who suffers from depression might seem perfect but can the two make it work?
This book was a fun read and the characters were really relatable. I was laughing, crying, and cheering them on. If you are looking for a book “with all of the feels, then this is the one for you.

The book tells the story of a woman named Rae who is dating in New York while working her way up the corporate ladder in Wall Street. Rae is pushed into dating by her group of friends (which gives a more jovial note to the book). We follow Rae on different dates until she meets Dustin, another wall street broker who suffers from depression. The story shows the ups and downs of their relationship and highlights the struggles to be in a relationship with a person that has depression.

The first few pages of the book really hooked me as I myself as a woman have had that panic moment of my biological clock ticking and have had a regressive countdown. I also related with the dating scenes and how weird app dating is. However, what started as a funny (many economics-love jokes) turned into a deep emotional book. I didn’t mind this change, but it’s not necessarily what the blurb/synopsis of the book indicated.

I have to say that I found the book to be very moving and emotionally draining so I found myself crying at some points of it, but that is maybe due to the depth of emotionally involvement, due to this investment I have mixed feelings about the ending as its not emotionally fulfilling.

I am not an expert on depression and have the fortune of not have been affected by it, so I can’t judge the accuracy of the author in describing the effects of depression. Given that caveat, I liked the way the author describes depression and shows to the reader a toxic relationship that it’s not that obvious to the main character (which I believe is something that happens more often than not in reality).

I enjoyed the book and I personally would recommend the book to anyone who likes stories that require emotional investment and are a bit dark with a hint of humor (even though I don’t think it’s the funny book that some may expect it to be after reading the synopsis).

PS: I am available for beta reader services for books in this genre.

Brief Synopsis: Rae is a 25-year-old New York City investment banker is tired of being single so she dips her toes into online dating. Eventually she swipes right on a fellow investment banker, Dustin. Dustin gets her, he understands and appreciates her love of writing poetry. As she continues her relationship with Dustin she discovers he suffers from severe depression. She navigates several years in this relationship before she questions who she has become. She returns home to the Midwest to try to regroup and refresh. Will she ever find her true love?


My Thoughts: This book was heavy, sad, and left me exhausted. If you are looking for something light and enjoyable, this is NOT the book for you. The description on the back definitely does not accurately describe what this book is about. Trigger warning for sexual assault and mental illness.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this novel.

Given the past few years, the world has been so heavy that I've enjoyed reading lighthearted novels as a break from reality. The title and description of this book seemed like the perfect match for where my reading preferences are right now. Ultimately, the description of this title is so unlike the actual pages and the more I read, the more I fell into the doldrums of the characters.

Rae, our main character, is navigating through life with her two friends in Manhattan and decided to get on a dating app to meet new people. She begins a relationship with Dustin, who suffers from depression. It's unfair for me to continue an in-depth review because I did not finish this title. I skimmed through the middle and end in hopes that something would excited me enough to dig back in, but that didn't happen.

The writing itself shows promise, but the characters simply weren't likeable enough and the plot was too depressing for a lighthearted read. If the cover and description matched the content in a more transparent way, I wouldn't have walked into this novel expecting a fun beach read and could have been more open to the heavy material.

Thank you to Alcove Press for the ARC - I voluntarily read and reviewed this book so all opinions are my own.

I was excited to receive this book as the description was kind of reflecting what I was feeling regarding the whole "biological clock" ticking. The start was really well written and many can relate to the dating pool being plentiful but also scarce of potential matches. Seeing Rae's five year plan working backward was like reading my own plans from before so that was a laugh out loud moment for me. But that's where I only connected with this book - it was a struggle to finish it which is a shame because the premise of the story was quite promising.
This book does bring into light relationship struggles especially when at least one has depression and how it affects people around the couple (and each other). I might give it another re-read before the end of the year to see if I was just in a funk when I read this or it really just wasn't the book for me.

I wanted to like this book. I went into it thinking it would be a witty Rom-Com and it was anything but. I really think the blurb needs to be adjusted as it is misleading.

The book follows Rae over a 5 year period (25-30 years old) as she navigates life in Manhattan as an investment banker. She lives with her best friend Ellen and has 2 other friends that make up the Scramblettes. On Rae's 25th birthday, she starts dwelling on her biological clock, which as a woman, is relatable. Ellen talks Rae into getting a dating app to meet people and that's where Rae meets Dustin. Dustin suffers from depression and Rae really things she can "fix it" when she really needs to fix herself

Characters:
Rae is the MC. She is the most unlikeable character I've experienced in awhile. She lacks depth and seems to always be having a self pity party. The book starts with her turning 25 and really needing to find herself. That was a journey we did not see. She's incredibly pessimistic and self centered. Ellen found a wonderful boyfriend that and instead of being happy and supportive, it was woe is me. When Dustin came along, she just didn't want to be alone that basically pushed herself on him when he wanted distance due to his depression.

Ellen was my favorite. I really wish this book was from her POV. She was a friend that everyone wants in their life. She was supportive of Rae but also delivered harsh truths when she saw her friend. I'm glad she found happiness with Aaron.

I have mixed feelings about Dustin. He's fighting demons and was open about it. I think the mixed feelings I have stem more from Rae than it is really about Dustin.

Overall, I really had to power through this book. I was close to DNF at the 20% mark and it really didn't get any better. I think it really sends the wrong message to readers of that age group.

- English
I try to choose my reading wisely, to avoid writing negative reviews as I value what it takes to write a book, but with this book I was wrong, I struggled to connect with the characters and the story from the beginning.

This is the story of Rae and her best friend Ellen over the course of five years, between Rae's 25th and 30th birthday and how the pressure of meeting society's expectations affects her (being married, children, maintaining friendships, following her dreams,...).

I admit that the premise of The Heart of the Deal sounded interesting and had caught my attention. I thought it was going to be fun and a bit touching with a nice love story, but it wasn't. I was a bit of a fan of the book.

I like it when books talk about mental health, it's a very interesting topic, however, using this topic as it was used in the book to escape responsibility for the characters' actions, I don't think is the most appropriate way to talk about it, or at least I didn't understand it.

I liked the author's writing, it was a quick and easy read. As for the level of English, I think it is quite simple and can be read without difficulty even if you don't have a high level of English.

Thank you Netgalley for the book

- Español
En este libro nos encontramos la historia de Rae a lo largo de 5 años, desde que tiene 25 hasta que cumple los 30. A través de los ojos de Rae veremos la presión que sienten muchas mujeres de cumplir con las expectativas de la sociedad y con todo lo que se supone que deberías haber conseguido antes de llegar a los 30 (estar casada, hijos, mantener amistades, perseguir sus sueños,...), pero en este camino no estará sola su mejor amiga Ellen la acompañará en este camino.

Reconozco que la premisa de The Heart of the Deal sonaba interesante y me había llamado mucho la atención, así que dejándome guiar por lo que dice la sinopsis pensé que iba a ser un libro divertido, un poco conmovedor y con una bonita historia de amor, pero no fue del todo así. Es cierto que es un libro de comedia, pero no fue del todo para mí.

Intento elegir bien mis lecturas, para evitar escribir reseñas negativas puesto que valoro mucho lo que cuesta escribir un libro, pero con este libro creo que me equivoqué y definitivamente no fue una lectura para mí, me costó bastante conectar con los personajes y la historia desde el principio, de hecho creo que en ningún momento llegué a hacerlo.

Me gusta que en los libros se hable y se profundice en un tema tan actual como es la salud mental, sin embargo la forma en la que se ha abordado este tema en el libro no me ha convencido del todo, siento que ha pasado muy de refilón sobre el tema en algunos momentos y que lo ha usado como excusa hacia algunos actos de los personajes. Siento que para mí no es la manera más adecuada de abordar el tema, o al menos yo no llegué a entender las justificaciones.

Es verdad que gustó la forma de escribir de la autora, fue una lectura que a pesar de no conectar con ella fue rápida y fácil. En cuanto al nivel de inglés, creo que es bastante sencillo y se puede leer sin dificultada aun no teniendo un nivel elevado, es bastante coloquial y las palabras o frases hechas las entiendes bastante bien por contexto.

Gracias Netgalley por el libro

I was really excited about this book, the plot of the story pulled me right in, but in the end, this book wasn't made for me. I couldn't relate in any way to the main character, I found her soo annoying and didn't feel that she was coherent in what she wanted and what she was doing to actually achieve it.

Instead of enjoying the story for the first part of the book, it just got me stressing about the timeline of my own life and how I envision my future, this being the result of the character constantly repeating the same idea about how women have this biological clock so that in order to achieve success we must be married by 30 and be in a relationship by 25.

Apart from her constant ranting, other traits made it impossible to connect with her, even though in some aspects of her life I could relate. Overall the plot was really interesting, the writing style very nice, but the main characters were so boring it made it a struggle to read.

Rating: 1.5 stars

I was sadly duped into thinking this book was a contemporary romance, perfect for the Valentine season. It’s not. It’s completely mis-marketed. The book is FULL of triggers without anything in the blurb to warn the reader. I personally am not easily triggered, but that doesn’t mean that I want to read a “romance” that revolves around two depressed people and their toxic relationship that they keep pushing through for the sake of, what?! Absolutely awful.

I’m grateful to NetGalley & the publisher for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley & Alcove Press publishing for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I read this in a day, and while I found the premise promising and definitely enjoyed a lot of the story, the chronic toxicity between the main couple and the way the book ended has definitely dragged down my rating here. If things were tidied up at around the 70% mark and some side characters developed more thoroughly, I think I would have rated this 4 stars.

As it stands, I’m left feeling quite conflicted about the final pages and don’t feel like the overall plot points were addressed fully or resolved. Since I still enjoyed a large chunk of this I have given it 2.5 stars, but I would be reluctant to recommend it.

Okay, I really wanted to LOVE this book. The blurb super interested me, but I just felt the actual story didn’t live up to the blurb.
Rae, a 25 year old investment banker, has decided it’s time to enter the New York dating scene via dating apps to outrun her biological clock and find her happily ever after by age 30.
Rae goes on a few dates and ultimately ends up pursuing a relationship with Dustin, a swoony investment backer who really understands her and suffers with depression. Andddd that’s where it starts to fall flat. I appreciate the author tackling the topic and depicting what a relationship can look like with someone battling depression, BUT this relationship really bordered on toxic. PTL for friends like Ellen who tell it like it is even if you don’t always listen or want to hear it! I would have much more enjoyed the book without the back and forth with her old high school love Stu, only to end up right back on that dern rooftop with Dustin…. And with no resolve?!?!?
A BIG positive for this book is the Scramblettes!!! I LOVED the depiction of real adult friendships while finding careers and growing families.
Another aspect of this book I really enjoyed was the professional growth Rae encountered. To watch her work her way up the ladder with integrity and character was so sweet to read.
Overall, I think the blurb is misleading but the book is good. The cover is super cute and eye catching BUT also misleading. Both of these scream cure, funny rom-com, and I would describe this book as such at all.

This book was a DNF at about 100 pages. It started with such promise - a lady looking for love, a nice man, they shared some cute moments. And then - bam! - the author drops a bomb that effectively killed my interest. The guy has crippling depression. Ok, not a dealbreaker, but what was was the fact the female MC decided she wanted to stick with him so she could help fix him. And maybe if he is fixed (with her help of course), they could then be together. No. Vomit. Hard no.
I went into this knowing it would not be a light-hearted rom-com (cute illustrated cover aside - the publisher might want to fix that), but I was not up for an entire book about a man's mental health problems and the angel who tries to save him.