Review: Paper Hearts by Claire Contreras

Title: Paper Hearts
Author: Claire Contreras
Series: Hearts #2
Genre: contemporary romance

I lost her.

No, I didn't lose her. I threw her away.

She was my best friend.

I was never supposed to fall in love with her.

I was careless.

She was heartbroken.

I was doing fine until she came back into my life and reminded me what love was supposed to feel like.

When it's all said and done, she may not want to stay, but this time I'm going to do everything in my power to not let her go.

Amazon US | Amazon UK

SANDY’S REVIEW

Paper Hearts by Claire Contreras
My rating: 2 of 5 stars


**2.5 stars**

Don’t read any further

-If you loved this book hard and can’t stand any criticism.
-If you are planning on reading this, It might contain spoilers!!

I know I’m in the minority with this one, it’s sad that every one of my friends loved and rec’d it to me but I couldn’t even like it. I tried I really did but it’s a wonder I didn’t dnf it at all. I read Torn hearts before reading this just to get a glimpse on their past since this book was a second chance romance! Being a sucker for that kinda story I couldn’t ignore this book for any longer. With the way Torn hearts ended leaving my heart broken, I had to find out how their story proceeds thereafter.

For better half of the story I stayed hopeful and kept flipping pages faster in the hope that there would be something substantial in the story which would evoke a strong sense connection to the story or its characters (like something dramatic, angst-filled or downright painful). However, the only emotions I harboured throughout this book were irritation, frustration, confusion, anger and disappointment!

Irritated because in any second chance romance I read I always get a glimpse of their past, of the time they fell in love or moments which bound their souls together. But this one lacked any of that pivotal backstory which, in itself, was a major let down. If I’m not wrong, it was mentioned in the blurb of Torn Hearts that this story could be read as standalone and you don’t need to read Kaleidoscope Hearts or Torn Hearts to know their story, Wrong so WRONG!. I’m so glad I read the latter which gave me a better picture of their history than this one! It most definitely looked like there was more ‘telling’ than ‘showing’ as if story started after a long time break.

Frustration because there wasn’t a lot of fighting ‘for the one’, felt like Mia gave in easily. Every time they argued they either end up kissing leaving the words hanging or she would just walk away. I can’t pinpoint the significant event after which they got back together because honestly that’s the most confusing part of all, they weren’t sure about their feelings ok, they never moved on and still harboured lot of feelings for each other but when it was clear Mia couldn’t stand Jensen and always tried to steer clear of him, you would expect her to be constantly mad, right? But NO, there were times she would be very social with him and actually blush when he flirts. I mean woman just make up your mind already, either you hate him or you forgive him don’t confuse the poor guy or me!! Her reaction towards Jensen were so unpredictable most of times, it always earned her an eye roll from me. I hated the constant push and pull going on between them and mind you that happens a lot...It just came off as inconsistent and more like being used as a filler.

Anger- oh boy, this one is so going in spoilers. His constant guilt trip like it’s all her fault that she left him! Oh, the pain he endured when his girlfriend/bbf left him when he needed her the most, say what?!! Woman up Mia, you really didn’t have anything to apologize for! Reasons I hated Jensen

[#1- you don’t get to play “we were on a break” card to get away, you never should have cheated on her to begin with, if you thought she was your soul mate! #2 Again why did you have to marry the girl you knocked up? Sorry those pages were missing from my book! #3didn’t you learn anything in your sex education class?? Dude you got TWO girls pregnant!! have you not heard of something called as a condom?!! Or was it your way of keeping Mia with you forever?!! Something to think about...]

and I didn’t like Mia either, she didn’t come out as strong independent woman but more so an immature child who cries a lot and doesn’t know what she wants.

Sorry I have a low tolerance for cheaters and people without a backbone!!

Let me not get started on the secondary characters, apparently they all were perfect human specimens!

Again disappointed because this story had a lot of potential and didn’t live up to the name of second chance romances as I failed to see the “chance” she gave him it was more like he charmed her pants off and she couldn’t resist him so they ended up together after avoiding for five long years.

However, the writing was lyrical and thoughtful. The only part I liked were the chapters of “Jensen talks” the emotions it conjured were heartfelt but sadly, it wasn’t reflected in his actions. I wish the author had given a lot of thought on developing their characters or their relationships.