"I think I'm afraid if I do that, I'll..."
"What?"
"Start to buy into something that would make me happy. But what if it doesn't happen? What if it doesn't belong to me? Names just seem too...assumptive. Big things don't tend to happen in my life. So I'm cautious."

Hearts Like Hers is a very sweet and cliche F/F romance. The characters fall for each other quite fast and I think other readers will be bothered by that, but I was ready to read some sweet story so it was all right for me. I enjoyed reading about Kate and Autumn and they are very likable characters. I guess my main criticism here is that the subplots didn't seem to fit well at the end. I wanted more from the plot with the kids and it was just 'oh that didn't work so it's all fine'. I also believe so much more could have been done with the hot firefighter trope, but I was glad anyway to see this in an F/F book.
Still, a nice read and I'm actually looking forward to another romance from this series now.

I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review. It was my 1st book by Ms. Brayden. I liked the characters, Autumn, owner or a coffee shop and Kate a firefighter and i thought they fit good together. My only thing is I kept getting confused and lost in several parts of the book, otherwise it was a good read.

Ehhhh.

Here's the thing. I was expecting a young adult/new adult romance. This was adult. Pure adult. It deals with grown-up issues and has a lot of sexy times (not that that was a problem, but still). And I can't relate to that. I don't find it interesting. I didn't like where the story went. But that's all me! Seriously, that's just my own tastes. If you wanna read a grown-up romance about women in their thirties doing grown-up things, you might like this! But I didn't. Oh well.

Not my favorite of Melissa Brayden's books... it lacked her usual straightforward style and stellar pacing.  However, still a good read.  Perhaps this has to do with the fact that it's a second in the series, and I haven't read the first?

Anyway.  If you like lesbian romance, you can't go wrong with Melissa Brayden.  She has well-fleshed out characters and delicious tension between them.  Autumn and Kate were enjoyable characters, and I had fun learning their quirks and strengths.  I truly enjoyed the parts in this book about coffee - Melissa definitely did her research!  

The one part that bothered me was - not exactly a spoiler, but <spoiler> the part about Autumn's conception journey was strange and seemed inaccurate?  She was only 34, and had no stated conception difficulties, but her doctors seemed to put her on Clomid (references to "getting her body ready" and "trigger shots") and give her an IUI straight away?  That's not how artificial insemination works.  These seeming inaccuracies kept throwing me out of the story.  Also, I don't understand why there was so much wonderful detail about coffee roasting, but less care given to the medical details?  But perhaps that's just me </spoiler>

Overall, not Melissa Brayden's best work, but still a good read!

Melissa Brayden is one of my favorite authors, but unfortunately this is my least favorite book of hers (I’ve read them all). It kind of strayed from her usual formula which I understand authors wanting to do, but I just didn’t enjoy this story and I typically love everything she writes. The chemistry between the 2 leads felt forced and out of nowhere, and this book had a depressing vibe where her books usually have sparkling dialouge and sizzling chemistry. Obviously I will read her next book and look forward to a hopeful return to form.

Ho hum, sweet predictable love story.  I enjoyed the first half of the story, but when it moved on to getting pregnant and adoption I got bored.  The story was so predictable the epilogue was grossly unnecessary.

This was a pretty cute book. I haven't read contemporary romance in a while, and this genre actually helps me out of reading slumps.

Kate and Autumn are really realistic and cute. When a contemporary isn't bad or sappy, I have a hard time talking about it to any extent. The only hiccup I see in the book is a distance issue. Most of the book takes place near Venice Beach in California, but Kate comes from a fake town in southern Oregon. It's talked about like that's just a couple hours of driving when that might actually take closer to most of a day or at least two. 

It was a cute story, and I'm looking at the other books written by this author.

Say what you mean. Mean what you say. Those are the words I thought about as I read this story. I also enjoyed the "dating" and romance. Comments whether encouraging or challenging from friends as well as the main characters made this an engaging read. Although at different points in time, the main ladies forgot to stay true to those words. Kate Carpenter 34, looking for a place to escape and reflect. Autum Primm 32, figuring out what to do after a failed relationship. Both women have issues and need someone to lean on. Sometime when you least expect and think you are not ready, a fantastic opportunity reaches in and grabs your heart.

I don't think there will ever be a Melissa Brayden book that I don't buy the moment it is available. With that said, Hearts Like Hers was okay. It wasn't as good as First Position or Waiting in the Wings but it was about as good as Heart Block. This new series feels less interesting to me than the Soho Loft series but it could be that I have less attraction to West Coast/ Hollywood settings. I think lately many of Brayden's books are missing the angst of her older stories. She is masterful at writing a happy ending and fun banter, but I need more conflict in order to truly identify with the characters. After reading the description for the next book in the  series, I have a feeling the next will be my favorite.

Hearts Like Hers is an incredibly sweet book that manages to perfectly balance the fluffy romance with the more serious topics.  With more coffee than a Gilmore Girls episode, several romantic dates and a pairing that keeps you wondering  at the same time as keeping you satisfied Hearts Like Hers is definitely the book to pick up if you're in the mood for something light.

Kate is new in town for a holiday away from her sleepy home town and more importantly the 'hero' label she has been given through an act of bravery as a firefighter whilst Autumn is a caffeine magician / barista / coffee shop owner wondering if this is really it for the rest of her life.  The two hit it off straight away with mutual feelings and a believable romance blossoming between them from their very first meeting but reality keeps hovering over their heads.  The potential outcomes to this story were numerous - will Kate decide to stay in LA? Will Autumns motherhood dream come true?  Are the two women destined to be a forever romance or is it truly just a holiday fling?  Hearts Like Hers keeps you guessing right until the very end with several cliffhanger moments along the way.

All the characters were extremely well rounded, not one felt like a cardboard cut out; even the background coffee shop employees  had their own distinct personalities.  Autumn's group of friends had a wonderfully believable dynamic as well as being individually interesting (apparently this is part of a series? Should have probably found that out before I read this book but oh well - it certainly didn't impact my understanding or enjoyment at all so more positives for this book!)  So yes, the characters are great, the relationship is realistic, I cried twice - once happy tears and once 'will you two PLEASE sort yourselves out' tears, this book is wonderfully fluffy and I'll definitely be reading more of Melissa's books!

DNF 70% or so.

Pretty a-typical. Great book for 3/4 of it. Then the break up then I didn't give a crap anymore. The author is nothing if not consistent.

No big deal really. I shifted my point of reference off of it being a romance and more towards melodrama or a Telenovela. So I didn't have any buy in whatsoever in the characters or the story line. That makes it a lot easier to take once the proverbial crap hits the fan.

I did wonder if she'd deviate from the previous formula from book 1, but no go. That's ok, I'm done with the series. No sweat, like I said, no buy in, didn't really care.

You are in for a treat with this book!

This is the second book in the Seven Shores series, but you absolutely don't have to read the first one to love and enjoy this one. The Seven Shores series follows a lovely groups of friends - Taylor, Autumn, Gia and Hadley - as they each find the love of their life. This is Autumn story. Autumn runs a local coffee shop, the Cat's Pyjamas, but all her hard work has left her little time to date and find Mrs. Right. She decides that she will bypass this minor step and decides to have a child on her own. Her perfect plan gets wrench thrown into it when firefighter Kate arrives in town and their attraction is undeniable. Is their budding relationship only temporary or will it be the one. 

Melissa Brayden's books are the sweetest escape. Sweet romance, fun, quirky characters, great dialogue, humour, and a envious setting of sunny warm California. This book is the perfect escape from freezing temperatures.

What really made this book special to me was our leading ladies were just a tad older, mid-thirties, both of them approaching the idea of becoming a mother, in slightly different ways. I thought it brought another level to the characters, that hasn't been there in other books, and that people can really relate to. 

I can't wait for Gia's story! 

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second book in the series that deals with the group of friends who live in Venice LA in the Seven Shores complex. This time, the protagonists are Autumn, the owner of Cat's Pajamas caffe, meeting point for the four friends, and Kate, a firefighter who rents an apartment in the complex trying to bring order to her life, after having suffered a traumatic event back in her hometown.

The story developed is, as usual in the books of this author, sweet, romantic and passionate. Also, as usual in this author, the characters have outer and inner beauty and are almost perfect. But, are not we in a perfect world, when we enter into the stories of this author?

Specifying in this book, the love story is as I said sweet and romantic, with the inclusion of motherhood focused from two different situations. It has parts that are really soul-touching, both in the situations themselves and in the way in which the protagonists face them.

In comparison with the previous book of the series and with others of the author, I do not believe that this is my favorite, although it is highly recommended reading.

I really enjoyed this. Brayden goes unexpectedly deep sometimes, which is weird that I never expect it, as she regularly does it.

I had to fight in the beginning against the onslaught of too much Braydeness of the characters, but that lessened a bit as the book continued.

Still, my enjoyment outweighed my grumbles by far.

Let me start by saying, I love Melissa Brayden. I’ve anticipated this series and it’s well worth every single read. Can I just say yes and yes to Kate the hero and the love she made with Autumn? I felt so many emotions from sadness from them being so hesitant to joy and this emotional rollercoaster was well on worth it into this 2AM read. Started slow, I was milking it but then I went to who needs sleep because YES. Definitely recommend this book.

Autumn Primm, owner of The Cat’s Pyjamas coffee shop in Venice Beach, is flying solo, yet again. Her focus has been on working hard and building up her business, so she’s had little time for her personal life. Now thinking about her future, she wonders if that spark of connection with another woman will pass her by. Finding a stunning woman sitting on the back of a pickup truck outside her shop one day is a bonus; being completely captivated by her is a whole other thing for Autumn. 

Kate Carpenter is a firefighter in a small town. Having saved two local children from a blaze that had got away, she is being hailed as a hero. It’s all too much; she doesn’t feel like a hero. Escaping to Venice Beach for a long holiday, she moves next door to a fabulous coffee shop, the Cat’s Pajamas. Finding the feisty Autumn is the icing on her holiday cake. 

Neither Autumn nor Kate are looking for something permanent, but they keep coming back to each other. Will they find a way to overcome their need to keep it light, and how will they deal with the distance?

Hearts Like Hers is the second book in the Seven Shores series. The first was Eyes Like Those.

Brayden is a master at the lesbian romance. She often creates a group of women and one by one, book by book, we get to see each of them find their match. It can be a lovely way of having a regular group of secondary characters that help to push the plot along. Often, the different characters offer Brayden a chance to lighten up the romance, and add some joy to the heat she often generates between the two main characters. 

Brayden sets the stories in a block of apartments next door to the café, which offers her lots of opportunities of engaging the various characters. Each member of the group can then bring out different aspects of the main characters.  It’s a great plot device. Of course, having an AirBNB-style sublet operating in the building is a great way of introducing new characters too. 

The first book, Eyes Like Those, focused on the witty and erudite Isabel, a scriptwriter. It was a sharp and witty book, and a joy to read. Hearts like Hers is less fun. Autumn is a workaholic, and it is harder to engage with her. She is described as a firecracker, but I have to say, she doesn’t strike me as this in the book. Red hair does not automatically a firecracker make. 

Kate is also not drawn as well as she could be. She is a firefighter, but I don’t feel that Brayden really understood her in any real way, and it was harder to get a sense of her in the story. Yes, she’s the hero archetype who doesn’t realise it, but there wasn’t much more to her than that. The connection between the two also wasn’t as potent as some of the other pairings by Brayden, and they lacked the heat found in some of her previous books.

So the story felt a little flat to me. It must be really hard writing under the name of Melissa Brayden though. She has written so many excellent romances that keeping up the magic must be very tough. I suspect that part of the problem is the Autumn character really didn’t inspire. 

I think the next two books in the series will be better; Hadley the quirky fashion consultant already offers a more complex person, and the athlete Gia is closer to the characters Brayden wrote so well in First Position, which was so good. I think this is a well-written romance, just not a great one. 

Advanced reading copy provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

This is definitely one of the sweetest romances I have ever read. The two characters were the nicest people ever which made you just want the best for them both. Their interactions were just so sweet and honest. I loved that even as we had moments of angst both characters continue to act with respect for one another and like normal realistic adults.

Its funny because when I read the blurb I wasn't excited about the romance but as a rule I always read Brayden's books and I did enjoy the first book in the series. The idea just didn't grab me however I loved every minute of this read and found myself completely engrossed into the story. It is my fav of this series and am looking forward to the next book.

Melissa Brayden does it again! 

This is a great book! The two characters, Kate and Autumn are wonderful! They both have been through different trauma's, but both remain honest and loyal. They have wonderful chemistry and Autumn has a great sense of humor. 

I don't want to give too much away, but the way the books portrays relationships and children is one of the best I've ever read.  

I highly recommend this book.

4.5 stars.  I enjoyed this Seven Shores installment much more than the first.  For me, this was a true romance.  The other characters are there but definitely in the background.  It was sweet and slow with just enough heat.  Really enjoyed it!!

I received an ARC from the publisher vi NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.