Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Firefighter Asim Bishara knows it’s time to start living again. For years he’s avoided dealing with his estrangement from his Muslim family and the loss of his first love in the 9/11 attack. Through therapy, Asim begins to heal and combat his own self-loathing. He’s ready to leave his loneliness and isolation behind and find love again.

Moving on is proving more difficult for Ángel Stanford. When Ángel’s husband Zach died, Ángel’s dreams of a home and family perished along with him. He always wanted to be a stay-at-home husband and father, but he never imagined he’d be raising Gracie alone. The closer he gets to the handsome firefighter—and the more Asim becomes a part of his and Gracie’s life—the more Ángel feels like he’s betraying Zach. Ángel has to give himself permission to be happy and realize that while nothing will ever replace the life he had before, the future for him and his daughter can be full of happiness… if he’s willing to reach out and take it.

Book Review

Both previous stories in this series have been full of drama, emotions, tough decisions, and realistic issues. But I was still not ready for the level of obstacles the two main characters in ‘Open Hearts’ face. They have a tough situation to deal with anyway – both have lost a partner – and are in dire need of starting over, but then they go and make it worse. I was ready to tear my hair out more than once!

Asim is a tormented man. He is a Muslim who denies his heritage because gay men are not accepted in his family or culture. He has never come out, but still refuses to enter into an agreed marriage waiting for him at home after he graduates, and decides to run away and becomes a firefighter. As a consequence, he loses his family. Then he loses his lover in the 9/11 attack, and the resulting emotional problems manifest in nightmares and self-doubt bordering on self-hatred for being gay. He is a complicated character and, after suffering so much, I wanted him to have a happy ending. He has to change and grow a lot before he can get there, and it takes him a very, very long time to do it. Anyone who likes flawed characters is bound to like him, but it was a close call for me.

Ángel has his own set of problems. He may be out and proud, but he too has lost the man he loved and is now left to raise Gracie, their daughter by a surrogate, on his own. While part of his struggle is around dealing with wanting to be a stay-at-home dad and people not accepting him because he is "too flamboyant", the thing that holds him back is the feeling that he will betray his deceased husband if he allows himself to fall in love with Asim. Moving on after losing a partner is never easy, but for Ángel, it seems almost impossible for the longest time. As long as he doesn’t allow himself to find happiness, there is no chance he and Asim can make it.

If you like tormented characters and lots of drama, if you think that a path to love that is full of obstacles makes it all worthwhile, and if you’re looking for a read about realistic characters with painful pasts to learn t live with before they can move on, then you might like this novel.

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook and print
Length	Novel, 260 pages/94065 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	25-November-2016
Price	$6.99 ebook, $16.99 paperback, $16.99 bundle
Buy Link	https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/open-hearts-by-logan-meredith-7808-b