Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Book Review: Carry Her Heart

Author: Holly Jacobs
Title: Carry Her Heart
Publisher: Montlake
Publish Date: April 28, 2015
Buy: Amazon
Review Copy Provided By: NetGalley
Book Blurb: 
“Maybe we live our lives constantly becoming and rebecoming. Maybe we’re always in the process of metamorphosing into something new.”

In her journal, writer Piper George notes the change of seasons. Each entry marks the passage of time since she became a teen mother and put her baby up for adoption. Her words flow together, painting a picture of loss, hope, and enduring love for the daughter she’s never forgotten. But one autumn, a new presence appears in its pages and in her life: her neighbor, Edward “Ned” Chesterfield.

As winter thaws to spring, Piper and Ned develop a friendship that could be something more…if only Piper would open her heart. But the loss of her daughter has irrevocably shaped her life. And having given so much of herself away, she’s not sure if she can give Ned all that he deserves. But with him at her side, Piper just might learn that a heart’s love is never truly lost.


Review: Carry Her Heart is a very different kind of novel. It is a romance, but not in the most traditional form of boy meets girl and they fall in love. This is a story of a friendship that is forged by two neighbors in the wonderful Northwestern Pennsylvania city of Erie. Its women's fiction with heart.

I have always had a special closeness with Erie, PA, because my brother lived there for many years, and we made at least one trip there a year to visit him. The author, is also from the city. I always liked to describe Erie as a city with a small town feel, and Holly Jacobs brings that to life perfectly in this novel. It made me want to go there so I could see some of the places that Pip was.

Piper "Pip" George is a quirky writer of YA novels and she has a secret. She has a daughter that she gave up for adoption when she was a teenager. You see her love for her daughter through the letters she writes in her journal. They are so emotional. It is hard to read them without shedding a tear. Pip was very smart at fifteen, knowing what really was best for her child, "Amanda".

Besides the journal letters she writes to her daughter there's also her food bank/charity, "Amanda's Kitchen"

The romantic side of the book involves Piper and two of her relationships, the first with Anthony, who is an attorney with ambition and then there's her neighbor Ned Chesterfield. The opening scene with Ned will have you laughing. It is the perfect set up for their ongoing friendship.

I think that's what I liked the most about their relationship, it started out as a friendship, because Ned was dating someone else.

As for her relationship with Anthony, I admit to wishing it would have been over a lot faster. The two of them definitely did not "fit."

Even when she finally gets together with Ned, things aren't all smooth sailing. I loved their first date that was a disaster.

As for the ending, there's a HEA for Pip and even a little happy when it comes to her daughter, though I do admit to wishing that things were a little different for her.

This was probably one of the best books I've read this year. It was so full of heart.

Rating: 5 flowers


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