Heartbeats and Roses (Hartwood Holiday Romance) by Jae Dawson – Review by Angela Shirley

Heartbeats and Roses: A Small Town Valentine’s Day Romance by Jae Dawson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Rose is standing there looking into the face of her past, not only her past but he ripped out her heart 20 years ago and she still has not quite put it back together. What will she do?

Rose is the owner of the local flower shop; she loves the job she does to injection happiness in the flowers she provides. A total romantic but life has been cruel to her after the love of her life left 20 years ago without even a backward glance. Once a year she becomes cupid with her Valentine Admirer event but she did not expect a shock this year.

When Liam needs to get away for a bit and get his head together after a surgery goes wrong, instead of going to see his girlfriend he decides to go back to his hometown. After being run out of town 20 years ago will he be able to confront the anger he felt all those years ago. So he booked an Airbnb and arrived at the flower shop. He did not believe he would be looking face to face with his past.

This story is a great tale of friendship, betrayal and trust and that you feel strong emotions with both of these characters. Liam’s character shows that he needs to soul search but needs the familiarity of his best friend to help him along the way. I loved the relationship between these two characters as the frosty beginning to then you are routing for them to rekindle the chemistry they had when they were younger. This story is well written and is a great paced book which once you have started can not put down. Although this book is part of a series, I feel you can read this as a stand-alone book. This is the second book I have read by this author and would love to read more.

Reviewed by Angela Shirley