In a heartbeat, everything can change, and nobody realizes that more than Connor Reeves. In a drunken outburst, he learns that words have power, and that they can’t be taken back no matter how much he wants them to be. Accidents happen, but it’s the hurt caused before the incident that leaves Lynae broken, and Connor wondering if he’ll ever get his heart back.
Make My Heart Beat continues Connor and Lynae’s story from In A Heartbeat. As Book 2 begins, the fallout from Connor’s wrathful words threatens everything good in his life. Lynae doesn’t know if she can forgive him, which causes a strain as well as an adjustment in her relationships with the other members of Shameful Regret. Connor’s lost the woman he loves…the woman he always thought was too good for him, and he doesn’t know how to win her back. He’s always felt so undeserving when it comes to love, and his demons threaten to consume him even more now that the person who grounded him is no longer there to keep them at bay. Connor allowed his anger and torment to control his actions, so he has no one to blame but himself for no longer having Lynae in his life, but as a reader, I can’t help but feel sorry for him. He has a tragic past that he’s never dealt with, and the guilt and shame he feels cannot be easily overcome because he closes himself off and refuses to move past the accident. Connor needs Lynae to breathe…to live…to let go, but it’s not an easy journey to get his heart back. But in order to fix his relationship, he needs to fix himself first, and that’s as big of a challenge as getting Lynae’s forgiveness.
Lynae finally gives her heart to someone after so many years of isolation, and he turns around and breaks it after promising he wouldn’t. I can’t blame her for being cautious. She can’t truly understand the demons Connor fights on a daily basis because he won’t share his past with her…he won’t open up. She can’t be in a relationship where she’s the only one who gives herself 100% and gets nothing in return. While she’s working through her own tragic experience, Connor’s not; the only way Connor will make any headway with Lynae is if he truly lets her see every part of him – the real him underneath the anger and darkness.
At the end of In A Heartbeat, I wanted Connor’s voice desperately. I needed to understand where he was coming from; what he feared in sharing his past; why he ran from his problems with the help of alcohol. When I saw that Make My Heart Beat was written in both Lynae and Connor’s perspective, I knew I would get my answers. Being inside Connor’s head is a heartbreaking experience. To witness his torment and anguish over what he did to Lynae is difficult but necessary. Not one time does Connor try to place the blame on someone else, which showed me early on that even though he thinks he’s no good and undeserving of love, it’s definitely not the case. I have to admit, even though I understood Lynae’s reluctance in letting Connor back in, her actions irritated me a bit. I don’t think she really saw how much he needed her in order to let go of a past that consumed him.
Connor and Lynae’s story is one of healing, forgiveness, and redemption. It’s a testament to what happens when people stop running from their problems and allow people to help open them up and destroy the demons that control them. Liz King does a fantastic job of illustrating Connor and Lynae’s growth as individuals as well as a couple with strong character development. The supporting characters also play a key role in reuniting the couple as well as keeping them apart, and each and every one of them is realistically portrayed. Make My Heart Beat is an emotional read that will tear down readers’ hearts and emotions but then slowly build them back up as the characters begin to heal. It’s the kind of read that will allow readers to experience and understand everything the characters go through because the storyline is well paced and developed. I hope to get more insights into Connor and Lynae’s life together in future books, and I can’t wait to see what happens with the other members of Shameful Regret as well as Lynae’s friends.
A copy was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
4.5 poison apples
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