Title: Flawed Heart
Author: Bella Jewel
Series: House of Obsidian #1
Genre: contemporary romance, second chance
Release Date: June 22, 2015
This isn’t the man I married. The man I married was strong, beautiful and pure. The man I married cherished our lives together. The man I married loved me.
This…this isn’t that man. One night. One accident. It changes everything.
I wish I could tell you the exact moment he fell out of love with me. I wish I could tell you there was hope. That I hung on. That I fought. I wish I could tell you that we fixed it. That happily ever after was just out of our grips.
It wasn’t. I ran. In the dead of the night, I packed my things and I left him. Now I’m back. He’s still the same man. A deadly underground fighter for the House of Obsidian. He’s still dangerous. He’s still broken. I still love him.
This is the part where I’m supposed to turn back around and run… But I don’t.
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My Review
Teaser
2.5 STARS
*sigh*
I don't even know what to say about this book.
It had good intentions and the premise is my all time favourite romance trope, but even a second chance love story can't save my enjoyment of a read when the writing and the consistency of the story is mediocre at best. I really tried and since this is an ARC I finished reading the whole book, but it's just not good.
Here is my list of problematic and spoilerish things:
1. The connection between Max and Belle albeit cute was far too rushed and superficial.
2. The back and forth between past and present took away the mystery. From the start you know pretty much everything that had happened and where you end up. And the divide between then and now gets really weird at the end. It feels funny to read how they split up at the same time as they are back together. It's a very uncomfortable timing.
3. Max is an complete ass. There are so many examples I could bring here, but let's go with one:
His initial reasons not to pursue Belle back in college were...it would ruin his reputation as football god and most popular guy in school. So, he fucks some useless popular b*tch instead. He is a real winner. It's completely senseless. Nothing about Belle would be a problem for his good reputation, she is a good student, pretty and other than that absolutely unremarkable.
Also, he is really mean and brutal at times.
Belle on the other hand is a complete pushover.
4. I don't really understand anyone's actions in this book. The reasoning for certain reactions (running away, pushing each other away, keeping secrets etc.) is suspicious at best, but mostly stupid and immature. It all makes for a very shaky plot and simply a rushed story that had a tiny bit of potential at some point in the distant past.
5. In addition to not understanding the characters, I had a major case of whiplash from the constant back and forth of blame. One second Max was the bad guy and the next Belle is the one being sorry for being a bad wife. And then they turn the tables again. I understand that nothing is black and white and they both did things wrong, but that was just too much.
Flawed Heart is a fast read and if you are a Bella Jewel fan you might actually like this. I read her Sinners MC series a long time ago and I had high hopes that with time there would be more attention to detail and consistency, but no such luck. The only redeeming quality I found were the sex scenes. Pretty hot to be honest, but unfortunately I couldn't shut up my brain long enough to really enjoy the story.
**ARC very kindly provided for the Blog Tour in exchange for an honest review.
Teaser
About the Author
Bella Jewel is a self published, USA Today bestselling author. She’s been publishing since 2013. Her first release was a contemporary romance, Hell’s Knights which topped the charts upon release. Since that time, she has published over five novels, gaining a bestseller status on numerous platforms. She lives in North Queensland and is currently studying editing and proofreading to further expand her career. Bella has been writing since she was just shy of fifteen years old. In Summer 2013 she was offered an ebook deal through Montlake Romance for her bestselling modern day pirate series, Enslaved By The Ocean. She plans to expand her writing career, planning many new releases for the future.
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