Review: Heartfelt Lies: Undone Series #2 by Kristy Love

SUMMARY FROM NETGALLEY.COM:

Loving Cassie was effortless.
She was a thirst I couldn’t quench.
She was everything I needed, but nothing I deserved.
I failed her more times than I could count.
I lied relentlessly.
And she always forgave me.
Until she couldn’t.
Maybe I deserved to be left behind.
* * *
Jax swept me off my feet with his disheveled hair and his easy smile.
I loved him fiercely.
He made me believe in the fairytale.
Then the walls crumbled around me.
The lies never ended.
I left him behind. I had no choice.
I mourned the loss of him.
But I moved on.
I created a new life,
Now, I was marrying someone else.
Where do we go now that he’s back?

MY TAKE:
The premise, as well as the beautiful cover, convinced me to give this book a try.

In Heartfelt Lies, it's Cassie's wedding day. Her ex Jax suddenly appears and begs for a second chance. Cassie still has feelings for him, but is their past and what Jax did too much for her to give him a second chance.

I really wanted to like this book. The premise was definitely what I was looking for when I decided to start reading it. However, after reading the story, I'd have to say that this was not for me. Perhaps you'll like it, though.

I enjoyed the narration set in the past more than the ones set in the future. I'll get to why later. I also liked seeing how Jax slowly descended into the world of drugs and alcohol. It's fascinating to watch and I think it will be familiar to people who have experience addiction before, as well as their family members who saw what was happening to them. It was also nice to see how Jax and Cassie were around her son. I have friends who are single mothers and it was interesting to see what dating must be like for them.

Now, why didn't I end up liking this novel? Cassie and Jax's first meeting was shown within the first chapters of the book. Their mutual attraction was there from the first second. Instalove/lust is a tricky thing for me. I don't automatically hate it, but for it to work, I need to care about the characters and be invested in their future. Since it happened so early on in the book, I hadn't had the time to really get to know the characters. So when they met, I was irritated at first and then settled into disinterested for the first half of the book. It was only when Jax was beginning his downward spiral and we get to know more about the both of them that I started to get interested in their past relationship. However, by then, I wasn't cheering for them anymore. I actually started agreeing with Cassie's mother. Of course, addicts can recover and people can change. The thing is, though, after seeing how their relationship ended, I don't think getting back together is a wise idea. Good for them if they can make it work until they're both old, though. I wish them all the best.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the e-ARC.

THE GOOD:

1. It shows how addiction affects both the addict and their family members.
2. It shows that people can change for the better.
3. There's a happy ending.

THE BAD:

1. I hadn't gotten to know the characters well enough before they fell in love so I wasn't as invested in their relationship as I could have been. 

READ IT IF:

1. You have a loved on who ise (or you are) a recovering alcoholic.
2. You want to read a book about second chances.
3. You like novels wherein there is an instant attraction between the main characters and they act on it right away.

RATING: