Review: Hearts on Hold

Hearts on Hold by Charish Reid
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I know I'm in the minority here, but I struggled to finish Charish Reid's "Hearts on Hold." I had high hopes for it because I liked the author's previous book so much, plus I'm a library nerd, so I was predisposed to enjoy reading a book that featured a librarian as the hero. Unfortunately, I ended up having a difficult time connecting with the female lead character, Victoria, and there was just too much going on with the plot for me to really enjoy any of it.

On the bright side, I found the main characters, John and Victoria, to be mostly likeable. John in particular seemed like a real sweetheart, and I loved how hard he tried to be a good guardian to his niece, Becca, even though he felt like he was completely out of his element with her most of the time. By contrast, Victoria came across as very rigid and uptight, and it took quite a while for me to warm up to her. However, her interactions with her BFFs, Regina and Paula, really humanized her for me, as well as the way she slowly let her guard down with John. I also enjoyed the way Victoria related to John's niece and immediately became an advocate for Becca when she needed one.

On the not-so-bright side, I wasn't crazy about the way John and Victoria's relationship developed. While I enjoyed their early banter and flirtatious text message exchanges, there was a definite insta-lust vibe between them that I did not find appealing. Their relationship seemed to be so focused on the physical side of things that the emotional connection was overshadowed for me. I was also bothered by how many of their sexcapades took place while they were at work. It didn't seem to fit with what I knew of Victoria's character, plus it seemed unnecessarily risky for her to engage in that sort of unprofessional behavior when she was already fighting so hard to be treated as an equal by her department chair. I'm certain that he would have used it against her if he (or anyone) had caught her and John together.

In addition, I found the story itself to be oddly paced. I somehow managed to get bored with it at times despite the incredible number of plot threads that kept being added. To me, there seemed to be almost too much going on by the end of the book. For example, university politics alone would have been enough for Victoria to deal with; why complicate matters by adding the problems with her mother on top of it?

Despite my problems with this book, I remain a fan of Ms. Reid's writing and still plan to check out her next book. Unfortunately, this one just wasn't for me.

*ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

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