Here is my review for 'A Flawed Heart' by April Emerson! I LOVED it so much, I thought I'd try something new, by adding animated photos, so you can see how I pictured the book in my head! (If the photos are too much, let me know in the comments section below! Then I'll know not to do it again.)
*An e-ARC was provided by the author for an honest review.*
Title: A Flawed Heart
Author: April Emerson
Genre: New Adult/Erotic Romance
Pages: 194
Release Date: July 21, 2014
Publisher: Secret Cravings Publishing
Goodreads –
Amazon
Book Description -
Claire Brighton has just finished college and is abandoning her warm, southern home in favor of gritty New York City. Her search for the perfect roommate leads her to Lydia Taylor. Lydia lives a life of privilege in her father's penthouse, but like Claire, she's ready to go out into the world on her own. Claire and Lydia rent a little apartment in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, near Lydia's older brother, Jason. Claire is intrigued by Lydia's stories of Jason, who is the black sheep of the family—and a musician. The minute Claire hears him sing, she falls for him. Claire thrives in her new urban surroundings, treasuring her time with Jason and exploring her new found sexuality, but both Claire and Jason carry shadows with them. They're each fighting wounds of their past. Will they defeat their demons? Will their feelings for each other last?
Reviewer’s Thoughts -
A Flawed Heart starts out with Claire. She's just moved from Georgia to Brooklyn. (I picture Zoey Deutch, as Claire.)
She finds her new roommate, Lydia, on Craigslist. She needs a new start, some place that isn't Savannah, so she goes to Brooklyn for school.
Lydia brings Claire to her dad's penthouse, and has her sleep in her brother's old room. Claire isn't sure why, but she feels drawn to the aura there.
When Lydia and Claire get to their new place, Lydia introduces Claire to her girlfriend, Kat. Lydia, Kat, and Claire, head over to Lydia's brother's apartment.
Enter Jason Taylor. (I pictured The Neighbourhood's Jesse Rutherford, as Jason.)
Man, is he HOT! He's six foot I-don't-remember, because he's got some tattoos that I see and want to
lick check out.
Oh my...
I mean, COME ON!! Hotness overload!
Everyone in the group, (Lydia, Kat, Claire, Ben, Alana) go over to the local bar where Jason is performing. He sings a song that is a bit haunting.
He gets so worked up, he walks off alone.
Claire goes outside to smoke, and sees Jason.
Once they get to talking, they both find out that each one of them has lost a parent, and that bonds them more than they realize. This leads to a kiss!
Did I also mention that Jason is seeing someone? Don't worry, it doesn't last.
Claire goes to Jason’s apartment, to meet their group of friends for dinner, and Jason wasn't there. It gets late, so Lydia and Kat sleep in Ben’s room, since he is at his girlfriend’s, and Claire falls asleep on the couch. She wakes up to find Jason watching her sleep. She was calling out to him in her sleep. Jason asks her what she wanted, when she had said his name, and she conveys she wanted to kiss him.
Jason asks Claire to follow him and takes her to his room. She looks around and they chat for a bit, when she notices his keyboard. Jason inquires if Claire wants him to play for her, so he plays a song that he heard earlier in the day, that reminded him of her.
When the song ends, Jason makes his move and tells Claire to lie down! Then, he stalks over onto the bed, is above her and she demands him to kiss her.
They have a bit of a moment on the bed, when Jason takes her to the window where the fire escape is, and they go up on the roof to stargaze.
The next morning, Claire wakes up in Jason's arms. She kind of freaks out, because she knows that Lydia is already awake and knows she spent the night with Jason. She doesn't want to lose her roommate or her friend.
Claire leaves and goes job hunting. She finds a bookstore and goes in to apply. Claire had a run in with the guy who works there before, and he recognized her, so Tony hires her on the spot. She starts work right away.
After work, Claire meets up with Lydia, and she basically tells her to stay away from Jason. Lydia makes her promise, and she does.
On the way home, she runs into Ben, Jason's roommate, and they talk about Lydia being overprotective over Jason and vice-versa, and he tells her Jason really likes her, and to prove to Lydia that it's more than a hookup.
When Ben leaves, Tony is approaching Claire. Her co-worker, Tony, is her neighbor!
Small world, right?
Lydia had invited Claire to a party, so she in return invites Tony, who was already planning on going. As she invites Tony over to pre-game before the party, Jason walks up and is JEALOUS!
Claire mentions to Jason that Lydia does not want them seeing each other, and Jason is mad. He tells Claire it doesn't matter, that he wants her. She says she wants him too.
Jason leaves to meet with Lydia, and reminds her she can't tell him or Claire they can't see each other. Lydia believes he'll dump Claire and break her heart. He replies he won't do that, and she informs Jason she'll believe it when she sees it.
Jason goes to the bar before to the party, and there was a drunk guy hitting on some girls. Jason gets in an altercation with the guy, and gets banged up a bit.
Once at the party, Jason sees Tony with Claire and gets mad again. He clearly has anger issues. But getting to the root of why, is what will ultimately help Jason.
A few girls request for Jason to sing and Claire gets so wrapped up in his singing, she walks over to him and begins singing with him.
Claire can sing!
Who knew?
Jason and Claire kiss and everyone sees. Lydia wipes a tear and she's smiling, so Jason and Claire leave hand-in-hand.
Jason takes Claire to a deserted lot and they talk. Claire wants to know why he and his ex broke up. He explains he feels like he’s just been going through the motions, since his mom died.
Soon, a little bit of this goes on...
Then, next thing you know, this happens right above them!
It scares the crap out of Claire and she has to take a panic attack pill.
They both have past issues that they need to completely lay out on the line, in order for their relationship to work. They still have so much to learn about each other.
Once back at Jason's apartment, they finally make love! Not have sex... Jason makes love to Claire.
April Emerson hits the sex scenes perfectly!
They both have past issues that they need to completely reveal to each other in order for their relationship to work.
Claire returns to Jason’s apartment and they have their first sexual encounter. April Emerson’s writing is exceptional in this area. It’s like being a fly on the wall and watching as everything unfolds.
A few days later, Claire goes to Jason’s rehearsal space. She talks to this guy, looking for directions to Jason’s space. Adian is all kinds of smarmy. Creepy even.
Once in Jason’s space, they both play twenty questions, to learn more about each other. They talk more about how they lost their respective parent.
After some piano loving, Jason asks Claire to be his girlfriend!
The group of friends to the bar and Jason takes Claire into a back room where the alcohol is.
After Claire does her thing, guess who walks in on them? The creepy guy, Aidan! So, of course he and Jason get into an altercation and Jason gets arrested.
Claire needs some time to think about if this is really what she wants, and takes some time to herself for the next few days.
Bad timing, yes, but she really needs to think about things. Jason has a lot of misdirected grief and he needs to get a handle on that.
Claire goes to Jason's space with Lydia, to meet their friends. She apologizes to Jason for being away. He understands.
The next day, they wake up and Jason wishes Claire a happy birthday. They have plans to go into the city together to mini-celebrate. There is a reason why she doesn’t like to celebrate.
Over the course of the evening, Jason tries several times to tell Claire that he loves her. He just can't seem to find the right moment.
There was a misunderstanding that night, so they get into a little argument, but when Jason finally does tell Claire he loves her, it's sweet!
And their kiss goes from this...
To this...
Once home, they have another misunderstanding, and Claire is crushed. I understand her reaction, but she took it the wrong way. Jason was quick to clarify himself, and then we get more makeup sex!
Jason invites Claire to perform with him, Lydia and Ben for a showcase for agents and music industry people, and while at the showcase, Jason finally has a breakthrough of sorts.
I won't give away the end, but I really loved this book!
A Flawed Heart is so much more than sex. It's about loss, grief, communication, overcoming woebegoneness, and finding love.
April Emerson is such a fantastic writer, and I give A Flawed Heart 6-stars!
= For those books that were extra special for me. Sometimes they moved me emotionally or made me think deeply about a topic. Sometimes they were beautiful stories. Most of the time they were the books that I need to own and will reread over and over again because I love the characters and story.
A Flawed Heart releases TODAY, so go grab yourself a copy now!!
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S.L. Scott is a former high-tech account manager with a journalism degree pursuing her passion for telling stories. She spends her days escaping into her characters and letting them lead her on their adventures.
