Review: The Darkest Corner of the Heart

I was eagerly anticipating Coney’s second novel, having been charmed (4⭐️) by her debut, 'The Brightest Light of Sunshine.' However, 'The Darkest Corner of the Heart' unfortunately fell short of my expectations.

Tropes:
· Slow-burn romance
· Age gap (10 years)
· Grumpy physical therapist MMC
· Ballerina (patient) FMC
· Forbidden romance

The book delves into sensitive themes like mental health struggles, addiction, and complex family dynamics, offering a narrative of resilience, self-discovery, and the power of love. While I'm usually drawn to emotionally rich romances, I found the repetitive nature of the characters' inner turmoil and self-doubt a bit overwhelming.

One aspect that particularly frustrated me was the limited understanding of ballet, rehabilitation, and physical therapy evident in the narrative. As someone with some knowledge in these areas, I couldn't help but notice inaccuracies and inconsistencies, such as the portrayal of Maddie's rehearsal sequence, which didn’t make sense. Additionally, the handling of Maddie's injury and treatment didn't align with professional standards, detracting from the authenticity of the storyline. While I hate to sound overly critical, these lapses in research and insight significantly impacted my immersion in the story.

Despite these shortcomings, I did find merit in the central characters and the overarching story. As the focus shifted from injury and rehabilitation to the characters' personal growth and burgeoning relationship, the story gained momentum, and the connection between Maddie and James became more palpable.

In summary, while 'The Darkest Corner of the Heart' had its flaws, it still offered a compelling storyline and engaging characters. Though the execution may not have been flawless, there were moments of genuine connection that redeemed the reading experience to some extent.

Rating: 2.5⭐️

I extend my gratitude to NetGalley, Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op, and the author for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lisina Coney manages to pull my heart strings while also making me swoon with Darkest Corner of the Heart.

After reading her debut novel, I loved the guardian trope seeing Cal step up and be that father figure for his little sister Maddie and in this book, Maddie is all grown up. She's a full grown adult at 21 years old and she's on her way to becoming a professional ballerina. I loved that we get to see Maddie grow up and see what life has been for her since everything she endured and how they can affect you later in life. My heart broke for Maddie after all she's been through but I love the relationship she has with her brother and sister in law and the way we see the found family topic and how she manages that.

My heart absolutely went out to Maddie, feeling without belonging and wanting to make yourself small to not burden anyone. I loved how relatable Maddie is. She has such a. big heart and sensing for a place to call her own and to make it on her own but when an injury forces her to step back on her ballerina dream, she meets James and he is the ultimate grump. He's big, not much for words and just trying to do his job. I love how despite how different they seem and their age difference, there is an invisible string that connects them, they have both been through alot and seeing the slow burn progression of their friendship to lovers, the push and pull of their relationship but when they do, its hot as heck, steamy and my god, James is a total book boyfriend. He's big, tall, dark hair, cat dad and so protective and caring and there for Maddie and I loved seeing them both get their happy ending. The epilogue was so sweet, my heart was so soft for them. I couldn't think of a better ending for their story.

This book was soothing for the soul. There are definitely some hard themes (check your TW) but it was refreshing to see the growth from an unhealthy, rose-colored goal into the reality into a new, healthy dream. Maddie and James definitely had an interesting start, and of course the pining while they couldn’t be together was REAL, but they did so much good for each other. Seeing Maddie so strong and grown-up from the first book was amazing and I loved getting to experience her future.
Thank you for the ARC opportunity!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️

Tropes & what to expect:
- injured ballerina x physical therapist
- grumpy x sunshine
- age gap (21/31)
- forbidden romance
- slow burn with rewarding spice
- mental health rep & healing journey

“I can’t stand the thought of you being hurt, Maddie. In any way, present or past. It makes me want to hurt whoever hurt you. Badly. Repeatedly.”

Get in losers, we’re going healing. I knew this story would be emotional but I didn’t expect to feel…this much? Maddie had my heart from the beginning and her healing journey and path to finding herself was incredibly inspiring.

Maddie had a very difficult childhood, if you’ve read The Brightest Light of Sunshine (which I highly recommend you do, even though this is technically a standalone) you’ll remember her mother’s struggles with alcoholism, her absentee father, and how she was basically raised by her brother. Cal and Grace make a couple of cameos in this book and Cal as a dad is everything, by the way. All of these characters just have my whole heart 🥹🫶🏻
Fast forward 17 years — Maddie is now 21 and about to fulfill her dream of becoming a professional ballerina, when she injures herself just days before her big audition. Heartbroken and utterly devastated, she starts physical therapy. There’s only one problem: her PT James Simmons is hot as sin and as they spend more time together and get to know each other, the lines between doctor and patient slowly become more and more blurred…

"Because I see myself in her. Because the darkness in my heart recognizes hers."

Maddie’s story was powerful. I felt for her from page one and rooted for her from the very beginning because the way her trauma and mental health issues were portrayed? Incredibly realistic and meaningful. She struggled with feelings of guilt, low self esteem, negative self image and overall not feeling good enough and my heart broke for her and I wanted her to find peace so bad. She’s been dealt a shitty hand in life and when she finally met someone who made her feel seen and gave her safety and comfort, I got butterflies too. I rarely have such a visceral reaction to books but this one hit me right in the feels. The slow burn was so so good and when it finally happened and all that pent up tension snapped? 🥵 I was unwell.
James had his own demons to fight and I loved how their relationship slowly progressed but they were on individual healing journeys as well, 10/10. I loved James as an MMC, he was so grumpy yet sweet and he’s a cat dad if that works for you (I’m a dog not a cat person but if they’re good enough for Taylor Swift, they’re good enough for me I guess).
The only thing that bothered me was how insta lovey it felt and that when they finally decided to go for it, we were reminded of their 10-year age gap every couple of pages. Like ten years isn’t a big deal, I literally read 500 year age gaps without blinking an eye lol. I mean I get why it bothered him but it just seemed repetitive and could’ve been handled differently. I also felt like the beginning was rushed in some parts and then very slow in others and the pacing just seemed a little off so it took me a while to get into the book, but once I was there I was hooked!

I’ll need some time to process as this book covered some heavy topics but I can’t wait for y’all to read it and also can’t wait for book 3!

Thank you to Netgalley, Page & Vine, and Lisina Coney for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

oh my, this book!! one of my new favorite romances! So incredibly loving, soft and moving. The themes in this book are so important and Lisina treats them with utter respect and care. James and Maddie are the definition of soulmates, two broken hearts that healed each other. I literally annotated every single page.
Maddie is so strong and fierce & JAMES!!! best book boyfriend ever (yes, I just said that). He's so loving, assuring and hot (the mouth on this man)
Seeing Grace & Cal again made me so happy and I loved getting to know Lila.
The writing is so addictive, the dialogues are funny and natural & the characters and their stories more than emotional.
You have to read this series!!
(it's on KU, but the physical copies are too pretty)

The Darkest Corner of My Heart by L. Coney, published by Victoria Editing, is the second book in The Brightest Light Series. The book can be read as a stand alone. I recommend to read the books in order. The previous book is The Brightest Light.
I was giddy to get my hands on this boook and I was not disappointed.
Maddie is a 21 year old and has some issues with self esteem and anxiety.
James is a grouchy physican therapist, Maggie's therapist.
And so it begins.
An entertaining read that deals wiuth some sensitive content. A forced proximity story, a slow burn that stole my heart.
I read the book, cover to cover, in one sitting, literally unputdownable.

I loved this book. I was worried that it wouldn't live up to The Brightest Light of Sunshine, and while I still think that that one was better (and continues to be one of my favorite books), this one was also very, very good.

We first met Maddie in TBLS when she was a little kid, and the way that Lisina Coney ages her up while still keeping her personality the same was brilliant. Maddie and James were both compelling and vibrant characters, and their relationship and character development was a great read. The development of their relationship felt natural and healthy, and the spice was... definitely enjoyable.

I highly recommend this book. You can definitely read it without having read TBLS, but you would be missing out on another phenomenal read, so maybe don't? Either way, though, Coney's writing flows well and is wonderful to read, and I look forward to reading whatever comes next from her.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for sending me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!
I requested this book because I read The Brightest Light of Sunshine last year and loved it!! However this book was a little off for me? I wasn’t a fan of Maddie’s character and I found it really hard to get through the last 50% of the book but alas, I persevered.

I think maybe I was in the mood for a little lighter read and this was pretty heavy for me. As for James, well. He isnt my favorite mmc ever. I just found their love story pretty dramatic when it maybe didn’t have to be. Overall this was 3.5⭐️ for me.

Read if you like:
- fmc is a ballet dancer/ mmc is a PT
- cat daddy!!
- age gap (10 years)
- grumpy/ sunshine
- protective mmc

TW: parental neglect (off page), death of a parent, mentions of substance abuse

-Release date Feb 20

I finished this book in one day. It has been a while since I have done this and if that is not reason to pick this book up, then I don’t know what is. When I first found out Maddie was getting a book, I needed it immediately in my hands. This was a little bit of a slow burn which is understandable since James was her therapist, but it was so rewarding once they both got together. I can’t wait for the 3rd book in the trilogy and I am anticipating who it could be about. I highly recommend to pick this book if you need a quick easy steamy novel to get you out a reading slump.

If you read The Brightest Light of Sunshine and fell in love with 4 year old Maddie, get ready to jump ahead 17 years in the future to see this little ballerina all grown up.

Thank you to Netgalley and Victory Editing for an ARC of this book 💕

Thoughts💭
I'll admit that I was hesitant to read about Maddie as an adult since I had just read about her being a child, but after reading the author's note at the end about wanting to tell her story of how her childhood shaped her adulthood I was sold.

Both Maddie and James were such loveable yet flawed characters. James was definitely grumpy and broody but Maddie wasn't your typical sunshine either. I really loved watching their relationship develop as they both healed from their trauma.

There were some great themes to take away from this story as well about letting go of things that hurt you. It was a message I didn't realize I needed. And as a bonus, I was also obsessed with seeing Sammy/Cal as a mid-forties Daddy 😂

The only thing that made me put this down a star was the heavy focus on the age gap. It seemed to be the main point of drama, and it just felt unnecessary since these two clearly cared for one another.

This one comes out on February 20th so you'll get to read it soon!!

Read if you love…
🩰Grumpy MMCs
🩰Age Gap
🩰"My girl"
🩰Trauma/Healing
🩰Touch her and die

4🌟
🌶️🌶️🌶️

Receiving this ARC was perfect timing because I just finished "The Brightest Light of Sunshine" and was struggling to figure out what book to read next! When I got the approval alert, I started this with no hesitation!

Going into this book, I was unsure if I was really going to love the story because age gap is typically not a trope I seek out and this one is fairly significant. I thought I would be able to ignore it but it was so constantly brought up, I felt a bit "uncomfy" at times. It was unfortunately a bit of a miss for me. But I did enjoy getting to see Maddie overcome her past and see Cal and Grace appearances! I have a special love for Cal and Grace!! <3

I loved Maddie and James individually but I wasn't entirely convinced with their chemistry together as a couple. I felt it was a bit more physical and kinda them just trauma bonding? I didn't really see the connection between them compared to Cal and Grace. But they did have their great moments where I found myself smiling at my phone!

Overall, this was a book a little out of my comfort zone but I was glad to read it. I definitely liked it quite a bit more than I expected to. Lisina's writing is one of my favs and I read her books so fast! I can't wait to read book 3!

3.5 stars for this sophomore title from Lisinia Coney. I read and enjoyed her first book, so was excited for the opportunity to get back to the universe of characters she created previously. There’s a 17 year time leap from book 1 to book 2, and the female main character, Maddie, is the young sister of Cal from book 1. At the outset of the book, she’s had an accident that derails her professional ballet career and starts seeing a physical therapist, James, who she’s attracted to.

Honestly it took me a while to get past the fact that I’d met this character as a toddler and now was reading about her getting railed, but I got over it. The bigger challenge was that I found both characters to be somewhat flat and wasn’t getting a lot of chemistry from them. It felt like the author wanted to hit certain notes or micro tropes even when they didn’t fit (“good girl”, “who did this to you?” for example). There was also some backstory with both characters that wasn’t fully fleshed out to be the big deal it was.

Content flags: parental death and abandonment; drug use and alcohol abuse off page in the past

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Loved the romance between Maddie and Jason. There was tension and angst and a slow burn with explosive o’s. The mental health storyline with Maddie was good but it could have gone a little deeper, I felt it was a bit surface level.

I did not read the first book in this series and I don't think you need to in order to read/follow/enjoy Darkest Corner of the Heart. This story has likable characters, touches on trauma and mental health challenges, and includes a lot of slow-burn romance.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for access to this eARC.

I absolutely loved this book!! I was so excited for this book after I finished the first one and it did not disappoint. I loved how the trauma was discussed and explained and just the relationship in general between both of them!!

This book was so cute! When I found out that little Maddie was getting her own book I was so excited. She was such a highlight of the first one and I love how her story worked out.
One of my favourite things about this book is that all of the things that happened to Maddie in the first one were carried through into her adult personality. I was anxious that it would be brushed under the rug and she’d just ‘moved on’. As we know, childhood trauma isn’t really like that so it was refreshing to see a more realistic approach to it.
James, James, James. What a man. I’m not sure what more to say about him than that. James and Maddie have such similar issues that you’d be worried that things would go so horribly wrong but they’re such a healthy couple, they learn from each other and inspire each other to heal their hearts. This book is an amazing example of how to include a fairly large age gap (10 years) but not have doubts about the appropriateness of the pairing. Maddie and James never shy away from discussing the gap and whether it’s something that could negatively impact their relationship.
Cal and grace are back and are the most amazing parents/guardians to their girls! Ugh, Cal is the ultimate DILF in this book, and although they’re not heavily featured (this is 100% Madrid’s story) they make an amazing support system for Maddie and we see lovely glimpses of them and Lila.
I’m hoping that book 3 is going to be Lola’s story, I think she has a lot to say. So fingers crossed!

I thought this was a very good book. The author discusses mental health really well. The tension between James & Maddie is unbelievable & it showed in the spicy parts. If you liked the first book, you’ll def like the 2nd one! Thanks NetGalley & Lisina Coney for the advanced copy!

A continuation of the characters from the Brightest Light of Sunshine. This book follows Maddie as she maneuvers an injury and meets James, her physical therapist. They can’t deny their attraction, but they try. Maddie is still dealing with the trauma of her mom and dad, leaving her to be raised by her older brother. James is dealing with his own family issues. Together, they find strength and support from each other to build a strong, loving relationship.

A story about romance, character growth, and fulfilling your dreams with the support of those who love you. Maddie’s negative self-talk sabotaged her recovery and relationships. I loved that Maddie found her strength, and through that, James found his voice to deal with his family issues.

I would recommend this book. Thank you to the NetGalley, Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op, and the author for an advance copy of the e-book.

Order your copy today. The book comes out on February 20th.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Lisina Coney's writing only gets better and this book is testimony to that. I enjoyed this story so much, I am so glad that Maddie got her story and her journey to happiness was fulfilled. I loved how raw and open this story felt. The emotional rollercoaster this book took me on had me crying and smiling along the way.

Maddie was such a beautiful character. To see her go from a four-year old to a strong twenty-one year old with so much heart and perseverance was just absolutely beautiful. One incident changed her whole life and her determination to not only not give up, but to do more with the cards she was dealt, really made this story so heartfelt.

James was such a great character, I found myself loving him very quickly. The journey of two people dealing with past struggles and forming a strong bond filled with love and strength made this such a perfect read. They found themselves in each other and were able to become even stronger people. I loved every second of this book and I cannot wait to see what is next!

oh wow. lisina does it yet again. i have been waiting eagerly and impatiently for this book to come and i can't believe i have finally read it (,: very emotional.

maddie oh maddie. a ballerina whose life goal just got cut short after an injury, leaving her questioning her entire career and life. maddie has owned my heart from the absolute start. to see her in the brightest light of sunshine to now in the darkest corner of the heart is so surreal. she is such a complex and beautiful character and i enjoyed every second of her on my page. she expresses real and valid emotions/reactions and i think her panic attacks were written of most accuracy to the actual thing. i found myself wanting to give her the biggest hug ever.

i think james was such a sweetie. he's the typical grouchy but soft mmc. his love for maddie and the need to protect her was beautiful. he always kept maddie's best interest in heart, even when he was struggling with his own personal issues. and can we talk about how he called his two cats his babies????? immediate green flag x100000!!!!!!

to see these two together was just pure perfection. they were two half's of a whole and just understood each other through their shared experiences. it was just so beautiful watching them be friends to then fall in love.

i overall just enjoyed the wholeheartedness and love that this book radiated, and i definitely recommend this to everyone!!!! (,:

thank you netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review!!!