Title: The Heart of It
Series: Standalone
Genre(s): Contemporary, Short Story
On the outside rich and successful Gabe Paterson has everything.
No one would guess the ghosts from his past are tearing him apart.
Desperate, he reaches out to Elena – a resilient call girl, with her own childhood scars – for help.
In their moments of honesty, the two forge the most surprising relationship of their lives.
But will they be brave enough to make it into something more?
“The fuck, Elena? Get out of the way and let the poor man go.
But she couldn’t. Her feet were nailed to the floor by the scent of his fear, the power of his desperation.
And because it had been four damn weeks of this. All this bravery and all this fear.
He’s a fucked up person in a world of fucked up people. Do not get all hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold over this.
But he was just so damn sweet. And sad.
“Please,” he breathed. “Let’s just forget this.”
Oh, fat chance, buddy.”
With my short career as a reader of Molly's, I'm so impressed by her style of storytelling. She writes damaged characters so well. She has the ability to bring forth the beauty in her protagonists, who have lived through ugly experiences. Not only does this highlight their strength of character, but also makes what could be a depressing topic, one the reader wants to journey through with them.
Gabe is a successful children's author, from the outset his vulnerability was his most noticeable and endearing characteristic. Although a seemingly well adjusted adult, the repercussions of his childhood see Gabe look to Elena as some form of therapy.
It quickly becomes apparent their liaison goes beyond that of escort and client. Elena is an astute character, she knows Gabe's intentions go beyond the physical. She was patient and honest with him and I really liked her for that. In some ways Gabe & Elena are kindred spirits. Like him, Elena has also been let down by an important figure growing up and she can relate to him in more ways than he can appreciate.
Although a short novella, The Heart of It tells a vivid and through story. That said, I would welcome any decision made to expand on their story.
Molly is a writer who has the capability of ensnaring readers into her stories from the first few pages. Everything I Left Unsaid and The Truth About Him are proof of this, once again Molly further compounds this fact with, The Heart of It.
Molly O’Keefe has always known she wanted to be a writer (except when she wanted to be a florist or a chef and the brief period of time when she considered being a cowgirl). And once she got her hands on some romances, she knew exactly what she wanted to write.
She published her first Harlequin romance at age 25 and hasn’t looked back. She loves exploring every character’s road towards happily ever after.
Originally from a small town outside of Chicago, she went to university in St. Louis where she met and fell in love with the editor of her school newspaper. They followed each other around the world for several years and finally got married and settled down in Toronto, Ontario. They welcomed their son into their family in 2006, and their daughter in 2008. When she’s not at the park or cleaning up the toy room, Molly is working hard on her next novel, trying to exercise, stalking Tina Fey on the internet and dreaming of the day she can finish a cup of coffee without interruption.
Dishing It Out, her last Harlequin Flipside won the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice award for best Flipside in 2005.
Her Superromance Baby Makes Three won the RT Reviewer’s Choice for best Superromance in 2006. L-length Her novella, “The Christmas Eve Promise” in The Night Before Christmas won the RITA in 2009. And her full length contemporary romance CRAZY THING CALLED LOVE won the RITA in 2013.
FOLLOW SMOKIN HOT BOOK BLOG ON:
View all my reviews
