I read or listened to over 300 books in 2024 and “Morbidly Yours” by Ivy Fairbanks, the first book in this series, was in my top 20. That book was just 100% perfection to me. I was so excited to be approved for the ARC for Heartstrings, book two in the Love in Galway series.

This book was fine, but didn’t hit me in quite the same way. Every once in a while, I’m really struck with the fact that a single POV would have been a stronger choice and this is one of those books. Don’t get me wrong, Aidan is a dream. I love the way he cared for Lo exactly as she was and how she needed him. But because we had his POV through it all and knew how GONE he was for her, the book lacked that swoony tension that makes a romance really sing for me.

I didn’t hate this at all and will for sure without a doubt keep reading Ivy Fairbanks’ books (I cannot wait for Saoirse & Gabe!). I was just wanting a repeat of the extreme butterflies I felt with Callum and Lark and it wasn’t quite there for me.

I received this book as an Advanced Readers Copy via NetGalley. It releases on Aug 12, 2025.

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for an advance copy.

———— All thoughts are my own.

3.75 ⭐️
ARC / Releases August 12, 2025

From the first line, I was already enjoying being back in Galway.

I’d definitely recommend reading the first book, Morbidly Yours, before starting this one.

I was excited to get to this one because I went through a rockstar romance phase and I was ready to jump back into that kind of setting. This hit different than those. This was deep and also had some humor. Aiden is adorably handsome when in the presence of Cielo. A singer-songwriter who loses his muse when he gets the opportunity to pursue a music career and leaves the woman behind because she’s too scared to try after being let down time and time again by others in her life before.

I enjoyed the journey that Aidan and Cielo took for the most part, but I have to say it kind of dragged, and maybe that was a me thing. I wasn’t invested as much as I was with Callum and Lark. There were definitely some cute moments and there were some heavy moments. Maybe I would have liked to see their six months and then the heartbreak and then the reunion at the wedding. Not sure.

We get some potential crumbs for the next book, and I think that one will also be a hit.

Trigger warnings: Cancer/Leukemia; an overarching storyline for our female main character, Lo, throughout the book.

First and foremost, this was way hotter than I was expecting! I feel like the spicy scenes were extremely unique and very fun. The timeline was slightly confusing to me at the beginning but I think that’s just because it’s been a while since reading Morbidly Yours and I just needed to think back to it. I loved these characters though, they were awesome and it was really fun reading a bit more about Callum and Lark. The side characters were mostly great too, except Cielo’s mom! She was awful, I know it was intentional for the story but I had such a hard time any time they interacted. What a rough character. Aidan is a delight though. I did also get the feeling there was some set up for Saoirse to have her own story and I hope that’s the case!

LOVE when adults can actually work on their problems!
This was such a sweet and heartfelt read, I'm so glad to have had the opportunity to enjoy it through NetGalley.

There were things I loved about this book and things I didn't.
Lets start with the good:
-The Wedding: I adored getting to see so much of Lark and Callum. Larks love for her cousin was so sweet and the wedding shenanigans were so fun.
-The banter: Lo and Aidan are ex's now thrust back into each others orbits as best man and maid of honor for big wedding. I loved their banter and rivalry and the sass Lo was serving Aidan.
-The SPICE: there were some creative scenes in this one including dom/sub action but with Aidan as the sub, phone sex that included Aidan singing to Lo to give her some VIBES, and dare I say it??? There was action in a HEARSE!!!!!! That's a new one!

Now for the bad:
-Lo: I had a hard time understanding what happened between these 2 but I quickly found out that Lo dumped Aidan so HE could pursue his dream, completely ignoring his pleas to try and make the long distance work. She also manipulated him several times withholding information "to protect him" which is the type of miscommunication that I hate the most. There were so many issues that were easily avoidable if Lo had just talked about things like an adult instead of acting like a martyr the whole book. I get that she was going through a lot and she had issues but Aidan was so upfront and he didn't deserve the mistrust she had for him.

It's with a heavy heart I rate this book 3.5 stars. The spice was incredible and Aidan was a dream but Lo really dragged things down for me.

Thank you to Ivy Fairbanks, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, and Netgalley for this arc!

5 stars
3 steamy kisses

One of the best books and sequels I've read so far this year hands down! I loved the amount of anguish portrayed in the characters emotions, banter, and in Adams case, lyrics too. This sweet and angsty second chance romance brings us back to Galway and seeing the wedding of two of my favorite fictional characters as the two exes work out their issues as strangers to friends to lovers all within a short time frame because once again these two soulmates are at a crossroads in life where their love will be tested if they decide to say goodbye now or share a heartbreaking goodbye later.

I cant wait to listen this story and hold a copy in my hands soon!

I highly recommend reading this story for fans of

Celebrity romance
Second chance
Fling to forever vibes
Forced proximity
Romcom vibes
Found family
Small town
Long distance

Stop the presses I just read my favorite romance book of 2025! This book was SO cute. All the feet kicking banter. I adored it all

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam in exchange for my honest review!

Since I loved the first book in this series, "Morbidly Yours," I was super excited to hear that Lo was getting her own story. When I saw it available on NetGalley- I immediately requested it.

If I am being honest, this book was cute- but not what I was hoping for. I felt kind of let down, and that might be on me for the expectation I had for Lo's character. Her sassiness was what made me excited to keep reading, but I found it difficult to want to pick up the book at times. What usually takes me a day or two to read an ARC, this took me way longer than expected.
is.

I loved getting to see Lark and Callum more, and the progression of their story- but the best part of this book truly was truly just the callbacks to the first book.

I would rate this 3 to maybe 3.5 stars. I am very thankful to have had a chance to read it, and I do love Ivy's writing style- so that is not something that will turn me off from future work- but this will not be a re-read for me.

Thank you again to NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam, and Ivy for the chance to read this story.

I wanted to try this one as I didn’t Mike the first book but Lo drove me nuts to the point where I had to DNF. I love strong female characters but she was a nightmare. DNF at 30%

Heart Strings had some very cute and heartwarming moments, but Aidan and Lo did not have the amazing chemistry that Callum and Lark did. The microphone scene lost me quite a bit here, it just felt a little out of place for this second chance romance and felt a little like a jump scare.

I do like Fairbanks writing and am looking forward to her next book.

3.75/5 stars rounded up to 4!

Second-chance romance is not typically a trope I love to read, but Ivy Fairbanks has me more excited about this trope with this new book. This book explores Cielo and Aidan's relationship. They're reunited for a wedding after two years apart, and the book spends the majority of the time navigating their emotions and feelings for one another.

This book beautifully captured the push and pull of rekindling a romantic relationship. Fairbanks really gives readers great in-depth views of both lovers' thoughts, questions, and hopes throughout the book. The spice was also top-notch (although personally, *that one scene* was not for me, but there are different strokes for different folks). Without getting into spoilers, the last little bit of the book just sped through some stuff that felt a little fast-paced at the end without really diving into enough detail.

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam, NetGalley, and Ivy Fairbanks for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

HEART STRINGS is a well-written second chance romance that makes for a fun escape. Forced back into each other's lives for a wedding they are both in, Cielo and Aidan must confront their feelings for each other that never left in the first place. Two years ago wanting to respect Cielo, Aidan let Cielo go, thinking that's what she wanted, yet Cielo was hurt thinking Aidan didn't care enough to fight for what they had. What will it take for them to repair their relationship and will they allow things to get serious? I enjoyed the artistic, romantic side of Aidan and the believable and raw connection between Cielo and Aidan.

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

The beautiful, curvy brown FMC on the cover immediately caught my eye, and the book seemed like a light, cute read—so I decided to take a chance. I’m so glad I did!

This was a heartfelt and believable second-chance romance, with a touch of comedy, fun spice, and plenty of feels. I hadn’t read the previous book in the series, but it didn’t affect my enjoyment. That said, be aware that this one does contain some Morbidly Yours spoilers.

A wonderful read that left me smiling!

#HeartStrings #NetGalley

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

I absolutely loved this book through chapter 24 or 25. We’re immediately immersed in a future timeline with two characters that obviously cared deeply for each other, but haven’t been together in 2+ years. Some of the magic of their initial connection was lost with this setup, but their emotions were palpable.

Aidan was absolutely done for—he was so sweet and obsessed with Lo. Their dynamic was fun, hot, and a little snarky at times. It was nice seeing Aidan and Lo interact with characters from Morbidly Yours in the context of Callum and Lark’s wedding. Their tryst was meant to be “temporary” over the wedding weekend, and there was a natural conclusion to the story at this stage when they decided there was a path forward for them. I was hoping for more when the book continued past this moment, but the plot fell off a bit. The miscommunication or just utter lack of communication, and separation so quickly after that moment made the third quarter of the book drag a bit, and still somehow the ending felt a bit rushed. There were a few moments that just felt like someone had pressed the fast forward button, and suddenly someone was making a decision that I didn’t feel like had been adequately explored or discussed.

Overall, expect some really cute moments, a fair bit of spice (plus exploration of a dynamic that is not featured in mainstream romance often enough), and a little bit of angst.

I’m really, really hoping for a Saoirse enemies to lovers situation next.

PS - I am typically a second chance romance hater, but neither of these two did anything awful to cause the breakup. Their main problem was being afraid and failing to fight for the love that they had after such a short relationship.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC.

As always a huge thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for this arc. Much like Morbidly Yours, I absolutely loved this book. The appearances of past characters was a super fun addition to the story, and I enjoyed the premise. Two people who used to have a romantic history being forced to work together for their friends romantic event? Sounds soooo good, and it was! Not to mention the cover on this one is yet again adorable and definitely makes you want to pick it up! You should definitely check this one out!

I absolutely loved the first book "Morbidly Yours", so naturally when I had realized that there was going to be a second book; I was ecstatic. So, I want to thank Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for giving me an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

That being said, this book kind of left me disappointed. I absolutely loved getting to see Lark and Callum get married, that I think was probably my favorite part about this book, sorry.

It did disappoint me that we didn't get to see Lo and Aiden fall in love with each other the first time, but I think overall the idea of them getting a second chance made the story more intriguing, hence why I was really looking forward to it. But on the note of this book being a second chance romance (this is where it kind of fell apart for me and where I didn't really click with it); the story initially starts out of course post-breakup and from Lo's perspective she's still hurt and a little bitter about it and she talks about how she's going to have to bear through seeing Aiden again. And then after the little "snarky" (I'm not sure what other word to describe it) moment between Aiden and Lo when they first see each other again, I was expecting there to be some kind of tension or back and forth banter between the two during the events leading up to and during the wedding weekend (you know, two exes who are obviously still in love with each other but have some animosity over the breakup); but, there wasn't any, the pair seemed to get along well and sort of "fell back in to old habits". So that was pretty disappointing, because maybe it's just me, but I like banter and a bit of drama. Now don't get me wrong this book was cute and I had my laugh out loud moments, but I also couldn't help but feel that there were moments that were slightly predictable and there were certain romantic scenes or scenarios that felt out of place or forced. I hate to single anything out and maybe I'm the only one who felt this way but the scene with the bird attack felt out of place and totally random, maybe it was set up to be kind of bizarre on purpose, but I felt that the circumstance in that scene could have been a little bit different.

All that being said, this book was cute and had its moments but for me it fell a little short.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Group, and Ivy Fairbanks for the ARC in return for my honest review.

I did not read the first book, Morbidly Yours, and this worked for me as a standalone. I really liked the tropes, the wedding shenanigans, *the car/sheep scene*, the struggles(emotionally with family dynamics and burnout). The ending was a little generic for me, but it was still very sweet.

I would love to see a book for Saoirse. She deserves her own love story!

This is my first book by this author and it was a rather enjoyable, emotional and very fun read!

Lo and Aidan have a very complicated history and though they have avoided each other for 2 years they finally come face to face and Lo hates that all the feelings come rushing back. She’s sass and fire trying to show Aidan she doesn’t need him or love him anymore but she can’t fight forever!!

This was a very beautiful story but as sassy as Lo is I wish we would’ve seen her use it more when necessary. So many great characters in the book and I love how strong and sure Aidan is about them and that he shows Lo that sometimes you can have it all!

While I enjoyed Morbidly Yours and felt very set up for these two having a romance, I had a hard time feeling invested in Cielo + Aidans story here! Second chance romances aren’t really my cup of tea, and some of the spice in this wasn’t either 😅 I loved returning to Galloway and imagining the accents, just wish I had felt more connected to both the love story and side plots!

Ever grateful for NetGalley + G P Putnam’s Sons for the chance to enjoy this ARC and review honestly.

sigh, this was one of my most anticipated reads since i found out about it after absolutely loving morbidly yours and unfortunately i did not love it.

what started of promising died a very fast death around the 80% mark which i should have seen coming as “i love yous” were exchanged 76% in. as this was a second chance romance i tried not to think too hard into it, hoping that maybe wed just get fluff for the rest but i knew as soon as i read the end of 29 exactly what was coming lol.

what followed after was honestly my last straw with lo. i tried to keep pushing my feelings about her to the side, you know shes been through a lot but at what point are we going to call it what it is that she just simply isnt likeable. letting people rule your life the way she does is just insane at her grown age. she is everything that is wrong with the miscommunication trope. she lets nobody give their side of things before assuming the worst and shutting down. in all honesty aidan deserves better plain and simple.

i enjoyed this book for the most part, i loved getting to see cal and larks wedding shenanigans, i loved all things aidan but at the end of the day lo kind of spoiled it all for me. i had no interest in finishing the book after her thousandth melt down over easily avoidable things.