Review: The Fearful Heart by Cherry Christensen

Print Length: 175 pages

Publisher: EsKape Press (November 26, 2014)

From Goodreads.com: The heart must be protected at all costs… but will Cassidy be able to afford the price?

Cassidy has distanced herself from childhood friend, Tristan. She’s moved on from their days of best friend-hood and is attending college. And dating one of the most eligible males on campus. Life ccouldn't be better. Really.

Tristan has devoted himself to Cassidy since they were children together. But no matter what he did, she’s never treated him like more than her best friend. He knows they can have something deeper. If only he can find the key to unlocking her fearful heart.

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My Rating: 2 stars out of 5

This was one of those stories that I really wanted to like. There was so much promise in the synopsis, and it started off so well. Plus - to be honest - there was nothing really wrong with the author's writing style. 

The main problems that I had with this novel are as follows; to start with - the characters were very juvenile sounding and not very well developed. In fact, the majority of the time I found myself thinking they sounded more like high school students than college students. It was very unrealistic for the age group. For example, Cassidy and her roommate spend 98% of the book calling someone else a "shedevil", and the interactions not only between them, but between other characters as well just did not make sense to the story. 

I also found the relationships to be really skewed, the author spent a lot of time on relationships that in the end, really didn't matter to the plot at all. I would have LOVED to have seen more of the relationship between Cassidy and Tristian. Yes, I understand they have a deep history of being childhood friends, but not only do we not get to see a whole lot of that, but we get a very limited glimpse into their lives as "adults" as well. The entire time I was reading this, I kept waiting for more. More depth, more of a plot-line, but sadly I was left wanting. 

Overall, I'm sure there is an audience for this novel - those that like quick and sweet (lots of kissing, but no sex) novels. It just wasn't for me. 

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own. 

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 The Fearful Heart  is available from Amazon.com