The yearning in this is chefs kiss. I think the characters were kind of stuck in a loop of Will they? Won’t they? In the first 50%
The tension was great and what you expect in a second chance romance. I love the setting. I loved seeing all the fun side characters.
Lo and Aiden are wonderful.
Lo was very relatable. From family issues to feelings of insecurities and confidence all the same. Finding it hard to express herself and trust after being hurt.

Heart Strings has me EMOTIONAL. I adore Cielo and Aidan’s story so much. The YEARNING in this book… YES. MORE YEARNING.

I’m a sucker for a book about Irish musicians, and this scratched that itch! Aidan playing his songs in a pub in Galway just makes my heart so happy.
The author showed the down and dirty hard parts of living with cancer in a real and important way, that sometimes people feel like a burden to their loved ones. Also showing the flip side to that, that the people closest to you will always show up when you’re in need.

I really enjoyed this! Cielo and Aiden both surprised me. I think they both showed great character development throughout the story. The overall plot was very entertaining and engaging. I can’t wait to read Saoirses book!

I KNEW I was going to love this after reading Morbidly Yours last year. This was another fun and unique love story. I love Lo and Aidan, I love the setting, their back stories. There was pining, yearning, some emotional trauma. But it's a HEA that I am after and I saw it here! I cannot wait to see what Ivy writes next. You may love this if you like:
* Second chance romance
* Music artist / Medical professions
* "Can't stop thinking of you"
* Funny banter
Thank you Ivy, Putnam, and Netgalley for the chance to read this early! It was a pleasure.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This was a cute read. I didn’t realize it was the second in an interconnected stand alone series before reading, and I wished I did. I feel like I might have been able to connect with the characters more if I had read the first book.
I am very in the middle about how I feel. The pacing of the story was a bit off for me and I felt like I wasn’t invested in the characters much which made it hard to connect with what was happening.
Though it was still a lighthearted read that touched on real life topics. The themes and love between Cielo and Aiden were touching.
It wasn’t a home run for me, but it still was a cute read.
And every Irish MMC ends up being Niall Horan in my head no matter how they are described in the book

This is the first time I read a novel by Ivy Fairbanks. This novel is the second in the "A Love in Galway" series. This novel can be read as a standalone as I did not read the first novel, but was able to follow the storyline.

Cielo "Lo" Valdez and Aidan O'Toole were hot and heavy two years ago, and then Aidan got an offer he couldn't refuse. Lo has not forgiven him for leaving her and spilling their love out for the entire world to hear. However, Aidan isn't done with fulfilling all of his dreams, which include Lo. Will Lo give love and Aidan a second chance?

This novel is the definition of a "rom-com." It is sweet, lovely, funny, and adventurous. Aidan and Lo are brought back together after their breakup to help their respective friends with their wedding. Lo is the maid of honor for her cousin Lark, the bride. And Aidan is the best man for his best friend, the groom, Callum. As Lo and Aidan navigate Callum and Lark's fairytale wedding, overprotective family, ventriloquist dolls, handmade jumpers, and their feelings are played out in songs and a tattoo. I found myself laughing at some of the ridiculous moments, especially one that involved a hearse. The love story of Lo and Aidan pulled at my heartstrings (excuse the pun) and made me believe in real love. The patience and persistence of Aidan, mixed with the willingness to learn and determination of Lo, made them both relatable.

The love scenes get 🌶️🌶️🌶️for spiciness for me. They were adventurous, but not as spicy as I like. The pace was also a little slow for me. I often found myself looking to see how much more I had to go. This novel is for people who enjoy rom-com movies and novels. Overall, a good rom-com read.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you Net Galley for an ARC of Heart Strings. I was very excited to read the second installment from the A Love in Galway series! Having loved Morbidly Yours, I was really looking forward to Cielo's story.

Cielo came to Galway to get her medical degree and become a doctor. As a perfectionist and cancer survivor, she has the strength to tackle it. When she moved to Ireland, she met Aidan, a cousin of Callum's, and fell in love. But sometimes love isn't enough, in her experience. As they are falling in love, Aidan's singing career finally takes off. Fast forward two years since they broke up, and they see each other again at Lark and Callum's wedding. Both are at different points of their lives but the moment they see each other, it's almost like their feelings pick up right where they left them.

Lo's story if a second chance romance, protective and loving MMC. There is slight rope play in this book. No crazy second or third break up act.

Overall, I gave it a 4 star. I felt like the character development of Lo and Aidan were like they were stepping into their true selves, together.

I was so excited to be approved for the ARC of Heart Strings, especially having read Morbidly Yours! I love that we've returned to Galway in the same friend group, but nothing about this story felt repetitive or redundant next to Morbidly Yours. Some interconnected stories can start to feel like the same thing told in different fonts, over and over. But Lo and Aiden are so very different than Lark and Callum that this book very much has it's own identity.

I want to start off by saying that I absolutely adore Lo as an FMC. We got a little taste of her in Morbidly Yours, but I still wasn't too sure what to expect. She absolutely exceeded my expectations and is such a strong and empowering lead. Her incredibly moving backstory behind why she wants to be a doctor really catapulted the book into unexpected territory in the best way.

Aiden is less of a pop-star type than I anticipated and more heart-sick puppy folk singer. This was actually a HUGE relief because I was worried he wasn't going to be down to earth and likeable as someone with a celebrity status, but this couldn't be farther from the truth. He is DOWN SO BAD for Lo and I LIVE for it.

I thoroughly enjoyed Heart Strings and am VERY excited to eventually live in a world where a third book in this universe may exist, because my heart longs for Saoirse's story, too!

This is book two in the Love in Galway series, focusing on Lo, a med student, and Aiden, who has recently left law to pursue a music career. Their relationship ended a few years before the start of the book.

The two of them are abruptly brought back together at the wedding of Cal and Lark (from the first book) as they are maid of honor and best man. As they begin to spend more time together planning the wedding, the bad place their relationship had been towards the end of it begins to repair itself.

The remainder of the book focuses on the returning relationship between Lo and Aiden, as well as their respective careers and personal and family hardships they face.

If you liked Morbidly Yours, you will really enjoy Heart Strings!

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for a review.

Absolutely LOVED this story. It was an addicting read and I couldn’t put it down! The characters were so fun and lovable

Thank you so much to Ivy Fairbanks and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons for the eARC. I absolutely love Ivy's writing! This book is one i've been so excited to read after reading Morbidly Yours. If you loved that one you will absolutely love this one! Ivy is definitely an auto read author added to my list!!

Loved the continuation of Aidan and Cielo's story in Galway. The settings are beautifully described and made me feel immersed in the castles and pubs. Makes me want to pack up and to go Ireland. Cieolo and Aiden are layered characters that have a deep devotion to eachother and their families. They both have generous hearts. I appreciated the maturity and communication even when facing scary and challenging life circumstances. Sweet, romantic, funny, and enjoyable. Another great book from Ivy!

This was an easy to digest quick read. I’d consider it a decent vacation book. It had its cute moments & even though I didn’t realize this is the 2nd book of an interconnected series, I still enjoyed the parts surrounding Lark & Callum’s wedding more than the story of Lo & Aidan. (Note to self to check out the 1st book) I couldn’t quite connect with either main character and found the constant situations they were put in to be a little juvenile and too much for one book. There was a conflict at the end that felt forced and out of character for those involved, all to just end up being a non issue that left me asking why?? I liked the representation and again there were some cute moments, but this second chance romance was not a love for me.

Thank you NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Heart Strings is a great second book to Morbidly Yours. We get to follow Cielo (Lo) and Aiden rekindle their relationship.

This is a second chance romance that does deal with familial trauma, cancer, and trust issues. I think Ivy Fairbanks did a great job at creating tension surrounding the trauma of the characters without it feeling forced or ruining the story. You do not need to read Morbidly Yours to understand and enjoy this book but it adds to it. Plus Morbidly Yours was so good, it is worth the read.

I loved how independent and strong Lo was but I did want to yell at her about seeing a therapist quite a few times in the book 😂 Overall though, a fantastic book and I am super looking forward to the next book!

I loved this one!! The characters, the story, the writing! So good and happy I got to read it.

Thank you NetGalley and Ivy Fairbanks!

def liked this one more than the first!! there were tears and there was yearning and there were laughs and there were wholesome moments. basically, this did everything i could ever want a second chance romance to do. the characters are so so easy to root for while also feeling very realistic, the romance felt genuine, it was just all so amazing. my one complaint would be with the ending – felt a tiny bit rushed + left a little to be desired – but overall i had such a great time!

thank you to penguin & netgalley for the arc! all opinions are my own <3

I’ve never read a book by this author before but after a few chapters I was an immediate fan! Such a perfect cozy read!

They fell hard and fast but when Aiden was granted the opportunity to kickstart his career they broke up. Two years have gone by, Aiden’s first album was a huge success but he can’t stop writing about Cielo. Now they’re forced to get along during her cousins romantic wedding weekend.

Heart strings is a sweet and spicy second chance romance novel with a gorgeous setting.

Cielo aka Lo is an incredible fmc, she’s my favorite part of this novel hands down. She’s been thru a lot. Battling cancer, dealing with her family and a rough breakup. You can’t help but root for her

The ending leaves more to be desired, it’s a little rushed and I still have questions. Other than that I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more of Ivy Fairbanks books in the future.

Read this if you like
🧡Second chance romance
🎶Singer songwriter x med student
🔥Spice
💫Forced proximity

**Thank you Netgalley for the arc**

3.75 rounded up

I enjoyed this book. The characters had good chemistry.
I love the plus size representation with Lo and Aidan was a great mmc who is just so in love.

The beginning was a little slow for me but the middle and end really picked up.

THIS WAS SOOOO CUTE!!!! I honestly loved this! The only part i didn’t love was reading the song lyrics but everything else was perfection