An enjoyable story told from multiple points of view: Gemma, a widow after just 2 years of marriage; Dan, a hard-working everyman with a past full of secrets; and Casey, the daughter he knew he had but never met.
There are heavy topics like grief, infertility, and betrayal plus a lot of lying by omission. However, the three main characters are so likeable because of their flaws and falters that I was rooting for them to find their footing and their common ground throughout the whole book.

Also Bear the dog stole every scene he was in.

*I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher and I am required to disclose that in my review in compliance with federal law.

Thank you for the request to read this! I hadn’t heard of this book or author before. I’m really enjoyed this book, especially Casey. Several hard topics were involved in this book in a well done way.

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

So when I started reading this the other night I had just finished reading two intense horror novels back to back, and thought I’d switch to something light for a change of pace. And yet that isn’t exactly what I got. I mean, yes it’s a romance and certainly less intense than the two horror novel I’d just finished, but it also happens to deal with some very serious real world issues. We have three main characters here. Gemma, a young woman who is still getting over the loss of her husband to cancer. Dan, a guy who doesn’t truly understand there is a void in his life. And Casey, Dan’s 12 year old daughter, who he is just meeting for the first time when she and her mother come to stay with him while she is receiving treatment for brain cancer. I know what you’re thinking…’hey, that sounds like the perfect set up for a romance’, right? (lol) And yet, honestly, it works. While it does deal with many serious issues (even beyond the few I already mentioned) and it is definitely touching, there are a number of lighthearted moments and I even found myself laughing at times. I really liked how Gemma and Dan’s meet cute ended with Gemma finding out that he is Casey’s father…who she already had preconceived negative feelings about. (That likely sounds strange, but trust me it’ll make sense when you read it…and I’m trying to avoid any real spoilers here..so just take me at my word here, lol.) Having known people in similar situations, I have to say the characters all felt real to me. If you go in understanding this isn’t a typical rom-com I have no doubt you’ll enjoy this one as much as I did. The book is listed as being 416 pages long, and it didn’t really feel like it was that long. Maybe it was because I got lost in the story, but I flew right though it and I swear it almost felt like it was over too quickly. I’d like to thank Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of Eva Carter’s Owner of a Lonely Heart.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R3L7TCN2YC21KY/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

My sincere thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read Owner of a Lonely Heart and give my unbiased opinion of it in the following review.

Owner of a Lonely Heart by Eva Carter is told from three different perspectives. Gemma is a young widow who is preparing for IVF with embryos she and her husband had frozen before he got sick and died of cancer. She also volunteers along with her dog Bear at a children's hospital that works with young cancer patients. It is near the hospital that she meets Dan who is on the way to meet his 12-year-old daughter Casey for the first time as she undergoes treatment for a brain tumor. Casey is determined to meet her father, spunky, and deals daily with her germ obsessed mother. If these characters don't sound complicated enough, throw in an instant attraction between Gemma and Dan along with them not telling some important truths to each other. Dan has quite a few things he is hiding from both Gemma and Casey that we learn about in snippets.

While I found parts of this book a little slow going, I was drawn into it by the characters. I wanted to see them come out on the other side stronger and walking together into a happier future. My favorite part of the book was watching Dad and Casey building their relationship. The writing was very good, and we are given a deep look into each of the three narrators thought processes as they cope with their unique situations. I couldn't help but keep reading. 4 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Seaside setting in the UK? Yes, please. Gemma is the female main character, she's still grieving the loss of her husband from cancer. Dan is a happy go lucky perpetually single man, not looking for commitment, but finds out his "long lost" daughter has a tumor and needs treatment in his town. Can she stay with him for four weeks? Of course she can.

Of course, there's a dog, which only makes the entire book better, obviously.

Gemma and Dan both have demons that they're fighting, but they accidentally meet, friendship ensues, and will they, should they, can they be together?

Supporting characters are all great, lots of interwoven stories here, but in the most perfect of ways.

The cover is so beautiful…as is the story on the pages within. Gemma, Dan, and Casey are so well developed that I feel as if I know them. Love the way the three of them tell their own stories, and the inclusion of Andrew’s telling his story was so very touching. The puzzling twist at the end was so very clever. Bear stole my heart as well. So appreciated his role as a therapy dog…wishing there were more available to help those who need to feel the power of a dog’s love.
The emotional pull of loss, attraction, wishes and dreams, family expectations, and secrets from the past meld so seamlessly together to create this beautiful heartwarming story. The power of Eva Carter’s words created a movie in my head that made the story come alive for me. Clearly this would make an excellent movie.
Eva Carter, thank you sincerely for inviting me into your beautiful story, Dell for publishing this gem, and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read an arc of this just published book. This is a Hallmark movie in the form of a book…ready to be enjoyed. Three and a half stars!

Gemma's husband died of cancer two years ago and she is still grieving. On top of that, she is taking fertility drugs hoping she will be able to become pregnant with the embryos she and her late husband harvested before he died. Casey, a twelve year-old, has a benign brain tumor she has named Bob. She lives with her mom, Angelica, who is somewhat mentally unstable, and very much a helicopter parent. Casey has just found her biological father, Dan, and they are moving in with him for a month while Casey has treatments in the hospital near where he lives. Dan has commitment issues, among other things, all stemming from his horrible childhood. He has no idea how to be a father to Casey, though he wants to. Fate brings Gemma, Casey and Dan together and forges a bond that will get them through the darkest days ahead, and into a much brighter future together.

This book will make you laugh and cry. You will want to hug Casey, shake some sense into Dan, throttle Angelica and send her packing,, and be best friends with Gemma. This is one of those books that is perfect for book clubs, because there is so much to discuss, and this is the kind of book you want to talk about after you finish it, because it is so good. I highly recommend it!

The plot consists of two main storylines. Gemma is a widow who has been undergoing fertility treatments with embryos created before her husband died. Dan is getting to meet and get to know his teenage daughter, Casey, for the first time while she is going through medical treatments for a tumor. The storylines converge when Gemma and Dan meet at the hospital. Gemma has brought her dog to spend time with the children who are having treatments. Dan is nervous about going with Casey to her appointment and Gemma helps him find his way there. The three strike up an unusual friendship under unusual circumstances.

Owner of a Lonely Heart is a thoughtful and deeply emotional contemporary romance. It is told from three points of view - Gemma (FMC), Dan (MMC, and Casey (Dan’s daughter). The addition of Casey’s point of view is unique but welcome in this type of fiction.

This is the first book that I have read from this author but I look forward to reading more of her work in the future.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballentine (Dell)!

This was an entertaining, well-written book. It was sweet, charming, fun and I wanted to find out what was going to happen. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others.

Thank you to Netgalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and Eva Carter for allowing me to read an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of Owner of a Lonely Heart for an honest review.

Meet the characters: Casey, a 12 year old girl who is battling brain cancer. Bob, Casey’s brain tumor. Her mother, Angelica, a germ freak that has lost all reality about what is acceptable in regards to Casey’s care and enjoyment in life. Dan, Casey’s biological father who she has never met. Gemma, a volunteer at the hospital school who is recently widowed. Bear, a therapy dog belonging to Gemma.

Casey reaches out to her father for the first time in her life asking if she and her mother can live with him while she is receiving treatment from a hospital that is local to his city. Dan is equally excited and terrified by this opportunity and reluctantly says yes. Dan lives in an apartment that is too small to provide comfort to Casey and Angelica. In turn, he works out a deal with friend, Veejay, and borrows his penthouse suite in the nicest area of town.

Casey quickly falls in love with her dad and his music “celebrity” lifestyle but is self conscious at first. She wants Dan to love and accept her in a perfect state. She wears a wig to cover up the imperfections of her hair and scalp. She covers her skin in makeup. Meanwhile, Angelica harbors a resentment toward Dan because of his absence through the years.

Casey is forced to be a mature adult at an early age. She has a large heart and a lot to teach the world as she takes on her new treatment and surroundings. She knows exactly how to bring out the best in everyone.

As a result: Can Angelica start trusting Dan and accept the truth behind his absence? Can Dan handle the responsibility of being a father? Can he muster the courage to tell the truth about his past and his apartment? Can he change his player ways and shake his title of “Dan the Man” to fall in love and honor commitment? Can Casey deal with the stress and anxiety of her treatment, as well as her parents first attempt at co-parenting? Can she become comfortable without hiding behind her wig and makeup? Can Gemma open her heart and embrace new opportunities after the death of her husband, Andrew? Can they all come clean with their lies to reveal the truths they’ve been harboring?

“Families can be a puzzle, but they don’t have to rely on blood, or genes. They’re formed by trust and truth and love. And once you’ve found yours, it will always carry you home.”

I highly recommend this read. Be sure to check out the acknowledgements at the end. Owner of a Lonely Heart is based on the authors first hand experience with their very own therapy dog, a border terrier, that visits patients and staff on the cardiac ward of the local hospital, as well as university students affected by homesickness and exam stress. 💕

Three broken people....

Well, wounded, and trying to survive life.
Gemma married the love of her life, only to loose him shortly after.
Casey is 12 and meeting her father, Dan for the first time, when she comes to Bristol to receive treatment for a brain tumor.
Dan is a smokescreen and knows it. He's charming and fun for five minutes, but nothing lingers or lasts with him. He's shallow and he knows it, using his friends place as his own to let Casey and her mother stay there for a month.
Gemma's assistant dog Bear sort of brings these three people together. Very engaging even while dealing with serious issues.
Recommend.

First we have Gemma, a young widow struggling to move on yet desperate to become pregnant using embryos created with her late husband. Gemma thinks this will make her finally happy. Then we have a young girl, Casey, fighting the tumor in her brain and undergoing new therapy where Gemma visits with her therapy dog. Last, we have Casey’s father, or sperm donor as he’s never met Casey until now. Gemma also is the catalyst to forge a friendship between Dan and his daughter Casey. Why he decides to meet her and house her during her treatment in the big city now after 12 years is a mystery. But he is an unlikeable character, selfish and immature dealing from a childhood trauma. He doesn’t believe that he is worthy of anyone’s love and can’t sustain a relationship. But there is a strong connection between Gemma and Dan that is hard for them to deny. While Gemma appears to bring the best out of him and believe in happiness for others, she doesn’t see it for herself. The question is, can they move on from their pasts and find love with each other? I found this story just okay. You feel empathy for Gemma and also Casey who both are dealing with tough issues. Pretty predictable as it the story is wrapped up in a neat little bow. Told from these three character’s point of view, I found it not as captivating as I would have liked. However, it was a story of hope in the face of loss, and possibilities for new beginnings that you can move on from the past. I give it a 3.5 / 5.

Many thanks to #netgalley #ownerofalonelyheart # evacarter for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Gemma is still reeling from the death of her husband. She is lonely and wondering if she should start a family on her own. She and her dog, Bear got to the children's oncology department at the hospital.

Casey is a twelve-year-old girl with a tumor and is undergoing therapy for her brain tumor at the hospital. She just met her father and she and her mother will be living with him while she receives treatment at a local hospital.


Dan is Casey's father. On the surface, he appears to be happy and social, but he is lonely as well. Dan recently met Casey for the first time and now goes with his daughter to the hospital for her treatments.

The hospital is where they all meet....

All the characters are dealing with their own complex issues. The author handles their issues with grace and care. This book reminds readers that what you see on the outside is not necessarily what is going on inside.


This was an emotional book which had me singing "Owner of a lonely heart" by Yes repeatedly while reading it. I enjoyed how things unfolded and how the owners learned to open up to each other. Plus, Bear the dog was a scene stealer!

Grief is one of the most universal experiences in the world. Eva Carter's novel Owner of a Lonely Heart proves every story can show grief from a different angle, offering readers a new perspective on something we've all experienced in our own way.

Told from multiple perspectives with each character carrying a different hardship, each new chapter presents a unique way of thinking about loss, uncertainty, and regret. Gemma is a young widow struggling to move on from losing the love of her life. Casey has a brain tumor, and having to visit a new city for treatment is only making things worse. And Dan is about to reunite with a daughter he's never met -- and her mother, who has never forgiven him for leaving them behind.

When each character/s storylines begin to merge together, the book begins to weave together a complex, heartbreaking web of truths. As Casey's fears surface, Gemma's grip on her former life loosens, and the truth about Dan's past slowly unravels, the people at the center of the story, instead of fighting each other to survive, grow closer.

It's refreshing to read a story about grief that's more hopeful than it is tragic. Tragedy is at the book's center of course, but it serves to drive the story toward an uplifting ending despite where it begins. We're all living with grief in some capacity, and it's not always easy to escape into a story about grief that doesn't pull you further down into despair.

Another win for Carter's book, for me, was the story's focus on featuring "good men." Dan has landed himself in bad situations in the past, but he's done the work to shape himself into a truly decent human being despite elements of his past catching up to him. Gemma's late husband remains a wholly good person the whole time -- the only thing he ever had to hide was a surprise for his wife to find after he was gone.

Some readers roll their eyes at happy endings, but by the time you get to the final chapter you're desperate for things to turn out the way these characters deserve. The story exists to remind its readers that no matter how many bad things might happen, it's often in our lowest seasons when we meet the people meant to lead us into brighter days.

This was a book I needed right now. It has its sad moments, but it's worth the heartbreak to get to the joy. Eva Carter has written a beautiful story everyone can likely relate to in some capacity. Also, there's a dog in it, and he's a very good boy.

Owner of a Lonely Heart is on sale now wherever you get your books.

Told from three points of view: Gemma, Dan and Casey. I found Gemma likable, Dan’s backstory was unknown for most of the book so it was hard to connect with him and I hate to say it, but I wasn’t a fan of Casey. She was too much - a bull in a China shop type of personality and I found her annoying. 2.5 stars rounded up.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

Owner of a Lonely Heart is a character-driven story of three vulnerable people and their journey towards love and acceptance. It deftly covers several sensitive issues, including death, cancer, mental illness, abandonment, and childhood trauma.

The novel is told through the point of view of three characters - Gemma, Dan, and Casey. Gemma is a young, grieving widow who volunteers her dog at the local hospital as a therapy dog. Dan is, at first glance, a charmer. Underneath it all, he is a bit broken after a difficult childhood. Casey is Dan's 12-year-old daughter who is undergoing treatment for a brain tumor while also trying to cope with her mentally ill mother and building a relationship with the father she just met. I liked the dynamic between the three main characters and appreciated their journey to figure out a how to forge a new life after past pain and difficulties.

The pacing was a bit slow and it took a few chapters to get into the story. After the slow start, I became invested and would recommend it for someone who likes complex, character-driven stories.

Thank you to Net Galley and Random House Publishing for an advanced copy of this book.

I found this to be charming and it had more depth than most romances. I appreciated the complicated pasts of Dan and Gemma and the way everything was slowly revealed. My only complaint would be the way Gemma is constantly describing how attractive Dan is and that her hormones are crazy. I dilated anted more exploration of her feelings in finding love after being widowed. Overall it was an enjoyable read.

Cute, enjoyable, quick read. Received this as an advance copy. 3.5 stars rounded to 4

3 main characters- Gemma, a recent widow ( not meant to be a spoiler but you find out on the first page), very likable, kind person who has a dog named Bear & she visits an oncology children's hospital once per week with Bear. She is dealing with own issues which will be told in the story, aside from being a widow.

She meets the 2nd main character- Casey, 12 year old precocious child who is an outpatient at the hospital & dealing with her own issues.

And 3rd character is Dan, Gemma meets him at the hospital also, but he is not a patient- there is an almost immediate connection between Gemma & Dan!

Each of the adults has a back story & it will all come to a head for better or worse. I struggled with Dan who I initially liked, then didn't like but then liked again. Many of us have bad history in our lives & at some point you can't be the victim & you must pull up your panties & make the wrongs into a right & I guess that was Dan's story to work out.

There was a small part of the story that I felt was a very sweet way to tie Gemma's late husband into the entire story.

Overall, I enjoyed it.

Owner of a Lonely Heart by Eva Carter is one of those books. The books that start out as normal but by the time they finish you realize that there has been a lot of emotions and redemption between the covers. The story is not about an ordinary boy and girl who meet and fall in love.

Gemma’s beloved husband died and she has been in mourning for a couple of years. She has decided to hopefully become pregnant. This was always their dream, a family. Meanwhile, she continues to go to the hospital and help others with her therapy dog, Bear.

Dan knew he was a father, but didn’t know his daughter at all until she searched him out. Casey needs a place to stay while she is getting treatment! Dan wanted only the best for Casey and borrowed a great place for them to stay.

The problems, because you know, there has to be at least one problem, are many. Truth, suspicions, struggles and years of holding truths back. Dan’s past and the ugly truth really held him back. Gemma wanting her old life and not being willing to move on held her back. Maybe Casey can help them move forward.

Owner of a Lonely Heart is a book that holds a space in your heart even when you have finished reading it. Eva Carter’s writing makes the story so unforgettable. Owner of a Lonely Heart by Eva Carter is a good read!!