Member Reviews

This is a very unique story that really drew me in. Good writing and nice story setup. Gemma, Dan and Casey. Each person struggling to make sense of their families and trying to figure out where they fit in. Great story!

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Thank you netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review. This was a great romcom read. I hoped that Casey’s tumor would get better and that Dan would admit to some truths earlier in the story. I don’t want to ruin the plot so I won’t say more. But pick up this book if you want a book that will leave you with a smile on your face!

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Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC for an exchange for an honest review.

Really good book, I enjoyed reading it.

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Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy. This was an interesting book about your past coming back around and forever changing you. I didn’t love it - it was kind of slow moving, but was an interesting concept

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OWNER OF A LONELY HEART by Eva Carter is a lovely, bittersweet novel. Although Gemma has a close-knit family and a supportive mother-in-law, she is struggling to move on from grief after her husband becomes ill and dies. Gemma has resumed her work as a commercial artist and faithfully volunteers with her therapy dog at the hospital that treated her husband. It is there that she meets Casey, a 12 year old cancer patient, and her father, Dan. The characters are so well developed and deal with many emotions throughout the story. I was thoroughly immersed in reading this novel and satisfied with the hopeful ending.

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A bit of a different spin on your typical romcom. Definitely enjoyed even though one of the characters is hard to like.

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A great, although heart-wrenching read. This book had me feeling all the feels! I loved the characters, I loved the writing. I laughed, I cried, it was great. 5 stars!

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An emotional and riveting novel from Eva Carter. I loved How to Save a Life and enjoyed this one the same. Full of hope and courage - I was fully captivated.

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Owner of a Lonely Heart by Eva Carter brings together several people with lonely hearts. It's a story of how resilient hearts can be and how they search for love.

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Owner of a Lonely Heart by Eve Carter…
Gemma, Casey, Dan. A broken heart, a lonely heart, and heartless. Gemma, widowed, brokenhearted, and lonely, and hoping to become pregnant with her saved embryos. Casey, battling a brain tumor and the loneliness and isolation that goes along with being a twelve-year-old in this horrific situation. Dan, a heartless cad. Or is he? Such a touching story of these 3 lives as they come together under the most unusual of circumstances. How they each learn how to support one another and receive strength from each other. Life is a puzzle, relationships are a puzzle. And when you find the last piece of may reveal a beautiful picture. I really enjoyed this touching, emotional, sometimes humorous, sweet story!

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I received a complimentary copy of this book "Owner of a Lonely Heart" and all opinions expressed are my own. Overall a good book. There was a lot going on in a very short time with the story. I did like the characters, especially Casey. Not crazy about Dan but he is part of the story. Heartwarming story.

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Wow what an awesome book! I haven’t read anything like this in so long and I absolutely devoured it! Once you start you won’t want to stop!

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Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC publication for an honest review.

Owner of a Lonely Heart
by Eva Carter
Pub Date: 17 Jan 2023

This book had a lot of dark undertones...Gemma's husband died from cancer and she is still grieving and trying to figure out a path for her life 3 years later. Casey (12) has a brain tumor. Dan (Casey's "deadbeat" dad who she just met) has a whole tragic backstory. Angelica (Casey's mom) struggles with deep depression as she deals with raising her daughter who is currently doing treatment for her cancer. This story centers around them crossing paths and how their lives become fully intertwined.

This book feels so real (minus the "insta-love"/connection with Dan and Gemma.) There is justifiable anger from all our main characters and the author does a good job with the emotions and situations that play out. I really appreciated how the author managed to achieve a positive redemptive arc and such growth of the characters by the end.

This book gives you a full roller-coaster ride of emotions!

4 stars

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Owner of a Lonely Heart was such a heartwarming story. It switches between 3 characters, Gemma, Casey, and Dan. Gemma lost her husband and is still grieving. She lives with her sweet therapy dog, Bear, whom she takes to the nearby hospital to spend time with children who are handling cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Casey is one of those children; a 12 year old girl who is dealing with a brain tumor and is in this hospital for a month-long experimental treatment. While in Bristol, she and her mother, Angelica, stay with her father, Dan. Casey and Dan are meeting for the first time, Casey having looked him up and asked for lodging while she undergoes treatment.

The 3 characters stories are woven together with care, each having their own complex issues to deal with. Gemma has to decide if she will go through the process - again - of trying to become pregnant with her deceased husband's child, having frozen 4 embryos while he was in remission from the cancer that took him. Casey, of course, is a girl dealing with a tumor, and all that entails, from hair loss to her paranoid mother to her burgeoning relationship with her estranged father. Then there's Dan, a seemingly shallow guy, who is dealing with the fallout from his upbringing; a mother who died giving birth to him, and a con-man father who only cared for him as far as he could use him. Ultimately, it's a story of loneliness and finding your place with others and in the world.

Gemma and Dan had an instant connection, though Gemma worried that it was due to the hormones she was taking to prepare her body for a baby. They are also connected in that they both care for Casey. Will they all be able to find happiness with themselves and each other, in spite of their differences and secrets?

I really felt for the characters. The author does a good job of making them complex and sympathetic, showing how they feel and how those feelings affect them and their interactions with each other. I laughed at parts, cried at others, and rooted for each of the characters to break free from their loneliness and find each other. It was a sweet, emotional read, and I would definitely recommend it.

*I received a digital ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

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The reason I wanted to read Owner Of A Lonely Heart is tte balloon cover. I had to read this story! I don't read a lot of romance novels but the cover told me there was A Story I needed to experience. The first chapter was so sad and threw me off but as the story continued I understood it was about Genna. So it confused me when the story switched to Dan, a kind of drifter guy living in someone else's condo working different jobs snd and playing with a band. He was married to a shwew of a wife he met at Glastonbury
and divorced and had a 12 yer old daughter he never met until she can to stay with him while she underwent treatment for a tumor.. At the center Dan meets Gemma who was helping Casy with her treatments and they begina friendly relationship that becomes a romantic relationship.

I had.mixrd feeling about the book, mainly because the story took place over such a short period of time. Gemma was trying to have a baby from her dead husband's sperm (kind
of weird) and Dan didn't really seem ready to settle down but in two weeks these two decide they are madly in love? Not realistic to me. And Casey was just a little over the top cute but the dog eas a nice touch. A cute animal is always welcome. I also have to admit I didn't feel the setting. much.. It was set im Bristol UK but it didn't feel much like it to.me. The characters didn't feel true to me in that respect. . I have a number of British friends and that is the source of my observation.
On the whole I liked the story but it had its flaws that didn't completely satisfy me.
Thank you to author Eva Carter and
Net Galley for the chance to read a
free copy of Owner Of A Lonely Heart and my opinion us.my my own.

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This was a sweet book about two people who aren't sure if they are ready for love or even deserve it.

Gemma is still dealing with the loss of her young husband. She's trying to regain her footing and figure out what life without him looks like. Meanwhile, she meets a young father, Dan who is just having to opportunity to spend time with his twelve-year-old daughter who is suffering from a brain tumor. Things are definitely complicated for both of them. Yet they have a spark. Can it flame into something more or will it be snuffed out by all the overwhelming difficulties life is throwing at them?

There were moments the storyline moved a bit slowly for me, but I still really enjoyed it. It's definitely worth a read.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

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This novel is told from 3 points of view. Gemma is a young widow in her early 30s, still grieving the loss of her husband. Dan is about to meet the daughter whose life he has never been involved in. And Casey is Nick’s 12 year old daughter, about to come stay with him for treatment for a brain tumor. And all their paths cross because Gemma brings her dog to the hospital weekly as a therapy dog, where she quickly forms a connection with both Dan and Casey.

But it’s all written with a light, rom com kind of touch despite all the sadness. Speaking of which, is melancholy British chick lit a new trend? This is my third book of that type in as many months.

Anyway, as you can see from my summary, all the characters have problems of their own - plus even more problems and secrets then my brief summary reveals! Perhaps a little too much, to be honest. The romance between Dan and Gemma is very sweet and I liked all the characters, but there is just so much craziness going on in the back half that felt a bit much. I did enjoy it and would try another book by the author, just wouldn’t say it was a must read.

3.5 stars

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Just a meh read for me. The whole dynamic was messy and the vibe was tragic drama. Tugging for heartstrings over every little thing, not comfortable. The reader should have been given more of Dan’s background. Lots of things were left out and it felt incomplete but at the same time overdone. Very strange.

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I enjoyed this book about a widow who meets a father and his teenage daughter. They all have issues to overcome and I loved how the book ended. Highly recommend to anyone who needs a happy ending in their life. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Many thanks to Net Galley and Random House Publishing/Dell/Ballantine for gifting me a digital copy of the new book by Eva Carter - 4.5 stars rounded up!

Gemma thought her life was totally on track until her beloved husband died. Since then, she's been floundering. Her rescue dog, Bear, and her volunteer work at the hospital have kept her moving along with still-hopeful plans of fulfilling one of their dreams. Dan is a confirmed commitment-phone forced to become a dad when his estranged daughter, Casey, comes back into his life after 12 years. Casey has a brain tumor and needs to have treatment at a local hospital. But fate brings this trio together - can they get beyond their pasts to move forward?

Okay, it may be predictable but as in Casey's words, it gave me all the feels. This is definitely a sweet story of second chances all around and moving forward from trauma and grief. Told from the POV of all three of these characters, you got a chance to see what each one was thinking as these relationships come together. I especially loved Casey, so excited to finally meet her dad, trying to still take care of her mom, and yet become her own person in the shadow of illness. I was a big fan of Carter's first book and loved this one too!

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