"Dorothy F. Shaw's "Jaded Heart" is a passionate and emotionally charged romance that explores themes of healing and second chances. The story follows two characters who have been scarred by their pasts but find solace and love in each other. Shaw's writing is heartfelt and infused with raw emotions, creating a compelling and steamy read. With its complex characters and tender romance, "Jaded Heart" is a book that will warm the hearts of romance readers.

4 STARS FOR JADED HEART by Dorothy Shaw

The cover and book blurb got my attention. I also liked that it is an age gap romance.

Great characters in Angela and Garrett. At times you are not sure their relationship is going to work but the author I feel writes an engaging storyline that kept my attention throughout.
She is a music reviewer and he was a Rock Star until his life somewhat imploded …

Jaded Heart pulls the reader in emotionally ! Good read !

I received a copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving a review !

Thanks to NetGalley this was a free read for me. I quickly powered through this book. The relationship or non-relationship between Garrett and Angie kept me interested. I read this as a stand alone book, but now I would like to go back and read the previous books of this series.

Jaded Heart is an age gap romance between Angie and Garrett. They meet each other, sparks fly, and now they have to work to their HEA.

The things that worked for me here was her family- their love for each other and their acceptance of the relationship and how the the author touched on alcoholism.

The things that didn't work however were the sadly the rest of the book. I am not a fan of insta-luv but I don't mind it much if a good relationship is subsequently built from it. I saw none of that in this book. The only place these 2 worked for the entire length was in bed. That does not a good relationship make. Garrett annoyed me by being a really terrible communicator who didn't change despite repeated talks. He showed no growth in virtually any area until the end when they had the big reunion. I mean it's bad when 80% in a book, the hero is still expressing the SAME DOUBTS he had been expressing since about 15%!!! And OMG Angie was even more annoying. She showed a lack of self respect that was infuriating! She was also incredibly pushy. TBH none of the leads endeared me and I simply didn't care for their HEA.

Thanks to the Publishers and NetGalley for the ARC.

The dialogue in this book is hot and smart and expresses just how much chemistry there is between Angie and Garrett. I love how the author shows the pursuit and development of their relationship.

Both characters are independent and have great support structures that definitely help in bringing this story to life. The interaction between family members and the lovers felt real and normal.

The sexual interactions are spicy and leads these two to want more though there are misgivings and moments of mistrust and hesitancy that put strain on the relationship. I do love that the miscommunication trope is somewhat challenged here, but one of our characters does tend to not want to delve too deeply into why they are avoiding the big confrontation that may make or break their relationship.

The depiction of alcoholism and its effects on not only the individual but those closest to them was appreciated. I also love that the author went as far as giving us the differences in approaches to dealing with and overcoming an addiction.

Jaded Heart by Dorothy F. Shaw is the fourth book in her series about the Donnelly family. The characters in this story are unwisely portrayed . Dorothy Shaw takes the time to build the relationship between Angie and Garrett, despite their seemingly quick fall into bed. The sparks flew between them upon their first face-to-face meeting, despite their age difference, they hold a familiar connection to one another. Dorothy F. Shaw writes with a clean style, allowing the reader to easily drop into the story and absorb it all. She certainly doesn't hold back on intimate details. It is clear from the beginning that this story's going to have a lot of adult material. I haven't read anything by this author before so writing a review sounded challenging, so I decided to give it a try.

Angela Donnelly was on her vacation when she met Garrett James. He was older than Angie and currently ran a small concert venue in Phoenix. Angie was no longer interested in any man after her eyes met with Garrett's. Her feelings for Garrett were genuine and she was not after his money or fame. Garrett, on the other hand, thought her too young for him and that she deserved someone younger than him. Angie was twenty-nine and she had a future ahead of her.She had some kind of career goals of joining a magazine like Rolling Stone, but she also wanted to make him happy. Both of them were very attracted to each other, so it was surprising for Angie when Garrett tried his best to stay away. Angie thought they should have to take a risk on their relationship. Garrett thought of himself as absolutely the wrong man for her who had nothing to offer, no marriage nor kids, while she had a long life ahead of her.Garrett had been portrayed as a bottled up and closed off hero. According to Garrett's friend, he was crossing off his feelings. He had some issues in his past, so his guilt and regret were as thick as they were years ago.After the death of his ex-wife Amenda, he had become a tornado of guilt and self-destruction .They remained married for seven years and then got divorced. It was a toxic relationship in which both of them always tried to hurt each other as much as they could. Now it's been over seventeen years since he left alcohol and drugs because of his daughter, who is as old as Angie. Garrett thinks his daughter is a normal person and not emotionally messed up like both her parents.
I don't think there is a good story buried among the rubble of words that are sexually explicit and a lot of verbal foreplay in the whole book. Sorry, but great chemistry in bed does not make for a good relationship. The hero of the story lacks good communication that would have resolved many problems, while the heroine had a kind of arguing, pushing and demanding nature. Many people might find this book very interesting, but surely this book is not so compelling for me.

Another highly addictive book in this series. I can't get enough I don't want to put it down and I keep going back for more. This book delivered everything I was hoping for. A wonderful, although somewhat dark and troublesome story.