Owner of a Lonely Heart by Eva Carter | Book Review

“One day you’ll meet someone who’ll change everything. So do your best to meet new people and travel to many different cities and lands. And do something daring every day. Because you never know what kind of enormous adventures are waiting for you around the next corner…”

Gemma is terrified of slowing down, because if she does, she’ll have to admit how lonely she’s felt since losing the love of her life. So she fills her days with work and taking her dog, Bear, to comfort young patients at the local hospital.

Dan is scared of anyone getting to know the real him. He’s the life and soul of every party, but he’s certain that if people find out what he’s done, everything will fall apart.

Casey is Dan’s twelve-year-old daughter – though they barely know each other. She’s starting four weeks of treatment for a benign tumour, and is scared this summer could be her last.

When Gemma, Dan and Casey meet one scorching July, the connection is instant. Yet they’re all used to protecting themselves from heartbreak by keeping their distance. Now that fate – and a small, scruffy terrier – have brought them together, can they find the courage to connect?

29. Owner of a Lonely Heart

Everyone is fighting a battle inside them. When times are hard, it takes exceptional courage to convince yourself that you will get through it.

With Dan and Casey, it revolves around parenting – a single parent caring for her sick child to the point of smothering her, and a father-daughter relationship – a new parent awkwardly finding his way after not being in his child’s life for the first twelve years. With Gemma, it is the desire to be a parent even as she grieves her husband.

Their troubled pasts make them fear the possibility of good things coming their way. Gemma, Dan, and Casey have built a hard wall around them to protect themselves from the outside world. However, inside, they are bound by their own notions with no room for escape. With Gemma and Dan, there is also the slow-burn romance simmering on the side but neither of them is able to take a step forward.

The story progresses from the point of view of the three main characters. They divulge their innermost thoughts and fears to the reader but are unable to express them to those who matter.

Eva Carter weaves an uplifting story around fertility, cancer and complicated family dynamics. Their dark secrets and a heartful romance make this a poignant and sensitive novel.

Owner of a Lonely Heart by Eva Carter. Published in July 2022 by Mantle, an imprint of Pan Macmillan. This ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Pan Macmillan.

Book 29 of 2022.

Aquamarine Flavours Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟.

Available on Amazon*.

About Photo: Set in Bristol, the book has multiple mentions of the Clifton suspension bridge and hot-air balloons.

This papercraft hot air balloon is made in two colours of 220gsm cardstock using a template by PaperMatrix.

About the Author: Eva Carter is a pseudonym for internationally bestselling nonfiction and rom-com author Kate Harrison, who worked as a BBC reporter before becoming a writer. She was inspired to write her first novel, How to Save A Life, by her own experience of giving CPR to her partner, who was successfully resuscitated, as well as her mother’s stories of work as a trauma nurse. Owner of a Lonely Heart is her second novel.

She lives in Brighton on the south coast of England and loves Grey’s Anatomy, walking her dog, and running very slowly on the seafront.

You can connect with her on Instagram and Twitter.

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