Owner of a Lonely Heart is a beautiful and emotional novel about three lonely people who find each other at just the right (or maybe the wrong) time. Gemma is a young widow who volunteers with her therapy dog, Bear, at the oncology ward. Casey is a twelve-year-old girl with a brain tumor receiving treatment at the same hospital. Dan is Casey's absent father, who met his daughter for the first time when she arrived in Bristol for treatment. Their lives are changed when fate, with Bear's help, brings them together for one hot summer month, the duration of Casey's treatment.

The book is written from alternate points of view: Gemma's, Dan's, and Casey's. I wish we also got Bear's point of view because he was a such fun character. I enjoyed reading all three POVs. Dan was the most complicated character because he had the most flaws and made the most mistakes. He is not the perfect romantic hero. At first, he comes across as very shallow, but during the course of the book, he has the most character growth. And when we learn about his childhood, his bad choices make more sense.

Owner of a Lonely Heart has many trigger warnings, including cancer, death, grief, infertility, mental health, and childhood trauma. It's not a lighthearted read but I recommend it to anyone who loves moving, emotional, and romantic stories.

There is a lot happening in Owner of a Lonely Heart. All of the main characters, Gemma and Dan, the main couple, as well as Casey, Dan’s 12 YO daughter, are dealing with fear and loneliness although all are trying to get on with their lives as best they can. In spite of this, the book was not grim or depressing, plus Gemma owns a sweet, scruffy, and wise little terrier, Bear, who is a therapy dog at the hospital and is the catalyst for bringing Gemma, Dan, and Casey together.

Gemma lost her husband unexpectedly to cancer. She is trying to deal with her grief and loneliness by trying to get pregnant through in vitro fertilization using her late husband’s sperm.

Dan was raised by a father who was always looking for the next big con. He skates through life, believing he is inadequate for normal relationships and not dependable enough to be counted on. Due to his upbringing, his tendency is to hide his true self and lie about just about everything personal. However, this all starts to change when his 12 YO daughter, Casey, whom he supports financially but has never met, tracks him down, needing a place to stay for a month while she undergoes treatment for a brain tumor. He realizes he wants to change and be a better person, but he has already started off their relationship with a lie and is too scared to admit the truth.

Casey is the third main character in the story and my favorite. Sometimes, I just wanted to hug her hard. With an absent dad, a mom prone to depression triggered more and more by Casey’s illness, and the tumor itself, whom she has nicknamed “Bob”, she’s doing her best to hide her own fear and loneliness but really has no one who is truly helping her cope.

Although there were lots of secrets and lots of “should I tell them or not” mental gymnastics, all of the characters grow and change over the course of the book and come out stronger in the end. I loved that these people were not perfect, they were human, subject to making stupid decisions, then trying to figure out how to deal with the fallout. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

Another sweet book by this author. Sweet, charming and heart pulling! It was a great book to read over the holidays.

Okay- I'll say it- we all know how this will end. But do we? And no matter what- it's a lovely ride with terrific characters and a big heart that's well worth your time. Gemma, a young widow, takes her dog Bear to help cancer patients and, on one of her trips to the hospital, she meets Dan, ,who is there for his daughter Casey. Here's the thing- Dan has just met Casey, who was born after a night of passion at Glastonbury 12 years ago. Her mom Angelique is not easy but she's agreed with Casey that the two of them should stay with Dan while Casey undergoes treatment. This is all about building relationships- between Dan and Casey, Gemma and Dan, and even, Angelique and the others. Dan's got a secret even bigger than the fact that his penthouse apartment actually belongs to his friend, a secret that's not revealed for a long time. Dan, Casey, and Gemma all have their chance to tell the story, which works well here. I found myself rooting for all of them (even Bear whose dive into a pond is, well, classic). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Carter is a terrific storyteller and I very much enjoyed this.

This is a beautiful story of a woman recovering from losing her husband, a man trying to make amends with his estranged daughter, a daughter meeting her father for the first time while receiving treatment for a tumor , and seconds chances. The interwoven story of these three characters who find love and forgiveness in each other warms your heart. I loved reading this book.

4 1/2 stars - Gemma, Dan and Casey are the main characters of this story - Gemma volunteers her dog as a therapy dog at a hospital where Casey is receiving treatment for a benign brain tumor and Dan is her biological father who hasn't been a part of her life. Gemma is a young widow who is getting ready to do IVF with the last of the embryos made before her husband started treatment for cancer. Gemma meets Casey when she and her dog Bear were volunteering. Gemma later meets Dan as he is on his way to pick Casey up from her treatment and they both feel an instant connection. This was such a good read!

What a roller coaster of emotions. Owner of a Lonely Heart by Eva Carter is full of love and heartbreak.

Gemma is getting over losing her husband when she crosses paths with Dan and his daughter Casey. Casey is receiving treatment for tumor in her head. The story follows Dan, Casey and Gemma as they over come life’s obstacles.

This story was so wonderful and will leave you crying happy tears, sad tears and laughing out loud. I absolutely loved this story.

While this is my first Eva Carter book, I will absolutely pick up her next as well!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House/Dell for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Told from three POVs, these are the intersecting stories of a grieving widow trying to conceive with embryos they had frozen before her husband passed, a tween girl traveling with her single mom to receive an experimental treatment for a brain tumor, and a father getting to know his daughter 12 years too late.

Going in I thought there was no way this *wasn’t* going to be an emotional read. And there were emotional parts, along with loads of drama.
I wish I had connected more with the characters though. I feel bad calling them unlikeable - in these situations it would be unrealistic if they *did* constantly act in a ‘likeable’ way - I think it’s really more an issue that the characters just didn’t click with me, so ymmv.

Thank you to NetGalley and RandomHouse Ballantine for the ARC

I ended up setting this one down at around 20%. I felt very taken aback at how much the beginning of this book is focused on fertility issues since it wasn't mentioned at all in the blurb. I am uninterested in reading books that feature that topic heavily. That alone was enough for me to set this one down. But I additionally didn't really care for Dan at all. His lack of honesty even in the face of his biological daughters treatment was very frustrating. I would've continued on in hopes that Dan redeemed himself later in the novel, but as previously mentioned, the fertility focus left me deciding this one wasn't for me.

Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Will Gemma and Dan open their hearts?

Gemma Boxer had her life planned out after getting married but it didn’t include being a young widow after her husband died of cancer. Gemma is trying to move on by volunteering at the pediatric cancer ward with her dog Bear while she tried to have a child with the frozen embryos from her husband.

Casey Parr is nervous about finally meeting her father Dan Lennon for the first time and staying at his place in Bristol with her mom while she receives treatment for her tumor at the pediatric cancer ward. Dan was very easy going and close to his friends but he had no idea how to be a parent until Gemma showed him that he only needed to try with Gemma and Casey’s help.

Owner of a Lonely Heart is about Gemma, Dan and Casey opening their hearts with the help of Bear plus their family and friends!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a great read and laid out from the perspective of 3 characters all with unique experiences of loss and grief. Dan the father, Casey the daughter and Gemma the young widow. We get to see how they are navigating and livinf life through their grief, cancer and second chances. Felt like a hallmark movie but in a good way.

Gemma lost her husband to cancer after a short time of being married, Dan is about to meet his 12-year-old daughter, Casey, who he has never met because she has a brain tumor, and she will be having treatment where he lives. Gemma and her dog Bear visit the hospital where Casey is going to have her treatment. The three of them meet while at the hospital and they connect. Dan hasn't been honest with Casey or her mother, because when he sent them a picture, he was at his friends, penthouse, and Casey's mom thought that was where he lived. His friend was going to be gone the month they were there, so he told Dan to stay there and have his daughter and her mother stay there too. That is what he did, and eventually they learned the truth.
They all have things to figure out, how to move forward, and come to terms with the past. They want to live again, and feel like they used to, and this is their story of taking the first steps, sometimes going backwards, and sometimes stumbling, but they do it. There is sadness, uncertainty, but they learn who they are now.
I received an ARC from Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine through NetGalley.

This one just wasn’t my cup of tee . I don’t like Hallmark or Lifetime movies and this is what it was like .
It didn’t hold my interest and was just not for me .
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review book

Gemma lost her husband Andrew within a couple of years of their marriage. She is now struggling to conceive using embryos that were frozen while Andrew was undergoing treatment for cancer. At the same time, she is continuing to process her grief. Dan is getting ready for a second chance with his 12 year old daughter Casey. He's been absent for her entire life but when Casey needs treatment at a local hospital for a brain tumor, he readily agrees to house her and her mother even though he isn't honest about where he lives. Dan and Gemma have a meet cute with her dog and experience insta-love. This is where the story lost me a little bit. The story is told from three POVs-Gemma, Dan and Casey. All three characters are experiencing turning points in their lives and also getting second chances. The story started a little slow but then picked up when they all met each other and was a quick read. Even though it was a long story, it took place over 3-4 weeks which felt fast for the plot development. There were so many good story lines but I felt like 3-4 weeks was too quick in order to wrap them up in the way that they were.
That being said, it was a very enjoyable read.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for my honest read.
3.5 stars!

A bittersweet read and reminder that what things appear to be on the surface is not always what they are. This is an enjoyable read.

I finished reading this book on the 31st of December. When I started reading it after Christmas, I was thinking that it was not the best book to read before the year ends because of Gemma who lost his husband to cancer and Dan who has a daughter undergoing treatment for cancer. And I was like, I don't think the timing is right. But I wanted to continue reading and so I did...

I ended up liking the story of this book. It was told in Gemma, Dan and Casey's side of the story. Sometimes, I hated Angelica, Casey's mom, for being mega protective but understandable. I like Casey. She's matured for her age and she's bubbly.

The story is filled with so much hope and proves that people can change for the better, if we give them the chance and if we believe in them, they will start to believe in themselves, too. The ending is predictable, but I like how things ended.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell for providing me an eARC in exchange of an honest review.

This story is very emotional and a fulfilling read. Gemma lost her husband to cancer a
couple of years ago. Dan has a daughter he has never met who has cancer. Casey,
Dan’s daughter, finds him online and lets him know she will be in his town for treatment and would like to stay with him. She also comments on the pictures she has seen of his lovely place, which is his friend’s place but he doesn’t tell her this. His friend will be out of town for the month that Casey and her Mom, Angelica will be in town so he agrees to let them all stay there. Angelica worries about everything from where Casey goes to what she eats and is very distrustful of Dan. She and Dan do not get along well. Casey meets Gemma when he is picking up Casey after a treatment as Gemma and her dog volunteer at the hospital. Everyone seems to be hiding some secret and by the end of the month they will all be coming out. Will there be a way any of these relationships can survive?
I enjoyed reading this book. Each character has some personal pain in their lives to deal
with. I give this book a 5 of 5 stars; it is well written and the characters pain and
emotions are so real.
I received an advance copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest
review.

Gemma is recovering from losing her husband to cancer when she meets Dan and Casey. Dan is hosting Casey and her mother while Casey is receiving treatment for a tumor. Dan has not been present in Casey's life and is trying to make up for it the best he can now, but he is expecting his life to return to how it was once her treatment is over. He and Gemma feel an instant connection. These three, along with Gemma's dog (who she volunteers with at the hospital) spend time together and grow closer).

I stopped halfway through the book. Not because I didn't enjoy it, but because I was afraid of what would happen to Casey. I was apprehensive as a mom about reading a book with a sick child, but dove in anyway. I sympathized with Casey's mom but felt that as a mom, she needed to get help so that she could be there for her daughter. I liked where the story was going with Gemma and Dan. Casey was building a good support system. Both Gemma and Dan were keeping secrets, however, and that needed to be resolved.

From what I read, this was a good read, I just could not finish, That was a personal choice and not based on the book quality.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this ARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.5 complex stars

This one is not your typical meet-cute romantic comedy. There are complex issues at play, including grief, a sick child, childhood trauma, and parental abuse. What nicely ties it all together is a sweet therapy dog called Bear.

Casey is the sick child, undergoing treatment to shrink a brain tumor. She’s been recently reunited with her birth father, and both are hoping that this month of treatment will be a fresh start for them and a chance to get to know each other.

Gemma has the therapy dog and meets Casey at the hospital along with her father. Gemma has recently lost her husband and is grieving and wants the promise of her old life back.

Dan is Casey’s dad, and he comes with a lot of childhood baggage. He’s doing his best to be there for Casey now, but he’s keeping some big secrets.

I grew to care for all of these characters, but they had a lot to work through before any happiness could truly work for them. I rooted for a romance between Gemma and Dan although there were a lot of secrets to uncover first. And of course, I wanted a good health outcome for Casey.

Overall, a good emotional read and I look forward to more from this author.

4.5 stars

Wow, I really fell in love with this book! The characters were so likable and the different pasts and circumstances that brought them together just worked. Casey was definitely my favorite, I love that the author gave her a spotlight and we got to read her view of things. I just kept rooting for her throughout the whole story. And Gemma, she was such a good person who I wanted all the good things to happen to! Dan took a bit to get used to, but I love the growth he showed throughout the span of the story. He definitely won me over by the end.

Overall Owner do a Lonely Heart was just a beautifully written book, I really can’t say a bad thing about it at all!!