This book made my theatre kid heart very happy. It's so funny and cute! I'm looking forward to reading the other books in the series.

I really really REALLY loved the 1st book.
I almost felt like I was re-reading it again.

I am truly looking forward to new works by this author.

Mare~Slitsread

I delighted in this book since I adored Death of a Bachelor by Mx. Hinkle. This story follows the twins Morgan and Gareth who change schools and meet Felix, the son of Damon (lead in Death of a Bachelor). I adored Felix in Bachelor and I adored him even more in Diamond Heart. The point of view is solely Gareth's, who is a delightful lead who made me chuckle so often. The plot focuses on Gareth's development as a boy terrified of his twin brother's panic attack and anxiety. As a result, there are a lot of mentions of Morgan's social anxiety and how it affects both the boys' lives. There is also mention of their mother's death by suicide. The majority of the plot focuses on the play Gareth join alongside Felix and his friends, where Gareth and Felix play opposite one another. I adored those scenes because they let Gareth shine as the conflicted gay teen he was. Knowledgable about dancing and falling over himself thanks to Felix's charms, I enjoyed seeing Gar's fumbling ways. I liked that this book also dealt with the twins' relationships with their distant father.

Blurb:
Gareth has a problem. He got expelled. Now he and his twin brother, Morgan, have to start over at an artsy new private school, and it’s all Gareth’s fault. Not to mention Morgan’s crippling social anxiety and Gareth’s resting jerk face aren’t making them any friends, and their father is furious with him. Gareth could live with this, but Morgan’s mad at him too, and Morgan is the only person alive who can make Gareth feel guilty.

Good thing Gareth has a plan. Cute, bubbly Felix, a student at their new school, has a crush on Morgan, and they both want to act in their school’s production of Midsummer Night’s Dream. Gareth figures it’s the perfect way to help Morgan come out of his shell and set him up with Felix. Then, maybe Morgan will forgive him, and Gareth can go back to not caring about anything or anyone.

But Gareth has another problem. He’s been cast as Oberon, and Felix is Titania. Oh, and Morgan doesn’t like Felix back. And maybe Gareth is enjoying the play and making new friends and having a good time at his new school. And maybe—just maybe—he’s got a crush on Felix. Can Gareth keep up his tough-guy act long enough to repair his relationship with Morgan, or will Felix get caught in the fallout of Gareth’s dumb schemes?

Review, spoilers!!!:
Sweeeeeeet, that is what this book is. Such a sweet read. Gareth doesn`t want to like Felix, but ends up falling for him, anyway.
First Gareth tries to help Felix to make Morgan see how much Felix likes him. But feelings change and things get confusing. In the end it all works out.
To read about all kinds of relationships was great. The writer really can write down the feelings of the H. That must have been very difficult. But she has done well!

What I liked:
This was such a sweet read. I liked how Gareth described his relationship with Morgan and their father.

What I didn`t like:
I missed reading about Felix` parents.

3.5 stars

I FLOVED the first book in this series. I had high expectations for this one also, hoping to get Felix's POV, but realized from the blurb that we'd be hearing from Gareth, brother to Felix's initial love interest Morgan.

This book runs somewhat in parallel to Death Of A Bachelor. Gareth and Morgan are new to the school that Felix attends. Morgan suffers from sometimes severe anxiety and Gareth pretends to be a foul-mouthed punk who will fight anyone that comes even close to bothering his brother. What also doesn't help is that their father, according to Gareth, is remote and disinterested yet expects Gareth and Morgan to meet his standards.

Gareth is not a reliable narrator, obviously, and this book spends a whole lot of time on teenage angst. Where the first book had snarky one-liner after snarky one-liner, this second offering veered too far into mad-at-the-world-teenager territory for it to be fully enjoyable for me. Perhaps I should have realized it from the blur.

I did like many aspects of this book, and the story-telling prowess of the author is evident. There are many scenes during which I was able to empathize with Gareth. This isn't really a romance as such, but more so an account of a teenage boy rebelling for reasons that make sense to him, pushing people away out of fear that they'll let him down anyway, and secretly pining after the kind of warmth Felix's family gives off.

The school Gareth, Morgan, and Felix attend is chockful of the entire rainbow, with many of the students being into the arts and/or music, and everyone being accepting of LGBTQ students, without a single eye being batted, which doesn't sound entirely realistic but more like wishful thinking. It'd be awesome if that sort of thing existed, and maybe a school focused on the arts, on music, and liberal arts in general is more likely to support and embrace diversity.

At its heart, this book is about growing up, dealing with grief and anger and feeling misunderstood, which we often see in YA fare. I would recommend this book for older teenagers and young adults.


** I received a free copy of this book from its publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. **

I didn’t read book one, so I think it’s safe to say this can be read and enjoyed as a standalone. This is the first book I’ve read by the author and I was surprised by how much I liked the way the author handled such heavy subjects. There were times my heart hurt for a couple of these kids, but the book isn’t the typical hurt/comfort read I’m used to reading. The writing is good…very different than what I’m used to; very lyrical and at times the snark is so subtle or hidden it took me a minute to catch it.

I usually don’t read ‘romance’ books with such young characters but there really is very little romance and no sex (thankfully). This is more of a coming-of-age, self-discovery story. The typical high school hijinks and immaturity were missing, perhaps because these are arts students who are serious about the arts or because they’ve all be through some serious issues in their short lives. Also missing was the normal teenage angst I would have expected but again, that probably was due to the heavy issues the main characters were already managing.

I honestly loved Gareth’s snark and sass, but even better was his hidden sweetness and compassion. He wanted the world – including his father (and I use that term loosely until the end of this book) and his twin – to see his persona, ‘the devil may care, I’m only here to protect my brother at all costs bad arse’. But there is definitely more than meets that one-dimensional eye and his awkward vulnerability when people (mainly Felix) uncover the real Gareth made me melt for him just a little bit. I also hurt for him when he put all his feelings aside to care for and protect Morgan. That he had to hide in the bathroom to ‘feel’ after Morgan had an episode was just heartbreaking.

I loved watching Morgan’s growth and strength while soul searching. He learned to lean less and less on Gareth for support and protection but picked up a bit of Gareth’s snark along the way. I’d love to see a future book about him as he continues to figure out what he wants in life.

Felix is so dang adorable. He is a bit of a mess as well and doesn’t really know how to handle what’s going on inside. I love how he reacts and responds to Gareth even though it takes him a long minute to finally see what’s right in front of him. Gareth and Felix balance each other well and as they mature and grow I bet they will become an unstoppable pair. I’d also love another book about them in the future…maybe college or beyond as I think they have serious staying power.

Even if you don’t typically read YA with little romance and no sex, I definitely recommend this book as it’s a great story that is well written with complex, intriguing characters and should be on your radar for future books.

Good book. I loved the characters and storyline. I cannot wait to see what the author writes next. I will be suggesting this book to friends,

*~~*ARC kindly provided to me for an honest review *~~*

- Review to come

Review originally posted on my blog with added content on Mikku-chan / A world full of words

MA Hinkle writes great books. This is the second part of Death of a Bachelor. Morgan and Gareth are twins but they are totally different from one another. It's a sweet coming of age story and I loved it. Gareth is so sweet and truly looks out for his brother and Felix is perfect for him.

I fell in love with the writing from the start. It's quirky and funny without losing any substance or cheapening the more mature moments. It might not be for everyone but I truly enjoyed myself.

Gareth is a strong character who has his strengths and flaws. I just loved how drama-free is is when it comes to interacting with people, he really doesn't mince his words. I loved how well his character was shown through his POV and his actions. And his relationship with his brother Morgan was just so fierce and interesting and layered. You can actually tell they've spent together. The relationship to his father is more strained ever since their mother died.
And Felix is just adorable. You can immediately tell that he is a people-pleaser and a general sweetheart without missing out to explore other sides of his character. He is also the bridge for the other side characters to be included in the book without making it weird and it was well handled.

While this is a very cute and at times hilarious story I do want to mention that there are more mature subject matters that I felt were dealt with well. I do wish the book had been longer to dive more deeply into them.

Also, diversity! There is, of course, the main story but alongside you have many queer side characters, a love interest who is dyslexic, more than one skin tone and just overall a wide variety of people. And it did not feel strange or only there to check off boxes.

Overall, this was a near-perfect book for me. I would have liked more content overall to explore more of the background and emotional development and maybe a stronger ending, but my enjoyment and pure happiness just reading this more than made up for it.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series : death of a bachelor and I was so happy to find out that this one would focus on Gareth and Felix’s storyline. Their sub lot in the first one captivated me so it was great to learn more about them and Morgan.
The inclusivity in this book is well represented and doesn’t seem forced as it can be in some novels and it’s nice that some of the characters don’t know who they are and are in that figuring it out stage, it makes it real and sends and important message to everyone that you don’t need all the answers straight away and you can take time to figure things out.
I really enjoy Hinkle’s writing style, it’s easy to follow and get wrapped up in and it’s nice that she also uses a wider vocabulary as well which is in fitting with the characters and how they speak.
Overall I would stay this is a very heart warming book with lessons to be learnt and comfort to be given and I throughly enjoyed it.

First of all, thanks to NetGalley and NineStar Press for approving my request and sending me an eARC in exchange for a honest review.
You have to know English isn’t my first language, so feel free to correct me if I make some mistakes while writing this review.


When I requested this book I had no idea it was the second one in a series.
Still, it hasn't been difficult at all to follow these characters and what happens to them - but let me be clear about it: I absolutely intend to also read the previous one, "Death of a Bachelor".

I was smitten with these characters and I found something in common with them straight away,
Morgan's social anxiety.
Felix's pretending everything was fine and his reluctance to even confide in his friends.
Gareth's denial of his feeling and his being sarcastic about it.

I loved how Morgan tries to overcome his anxiety once he realizes he found people that don't make a fuss about it.
I loved how much love Gareth feels for his brother and how he's always trying to protect him and to act as a buffer between him and the rest of the world. I basically fell in love with Gareth, with his "tough guy" behavior that doesn't stand a chance when cute, adorable. puppy Felix talks to him.
I loved how Gareth's walls fell apart the more time he spent with Felix - even if his intention was to set him up with his brother.
I loved how Felix saw beyond Gareth's act, even if he was intimidated by him at first and still, he found himself gravitating towards Gareth telling him everything he was bottling up.

I was smitten with all the kinds of love held inside these pages: romantic, familial, friendly.
Every relationship felt natural and this book includes diverse characters, from ethnicity to sexual orientation and it's all extremely normal - as well as it should be.
It's a safe book, when all different topics from coming to age to mental health to self-discovery are treated with sensitivity and respect.

This book is cute and adorable and even more adorable are Gareth and Felix - I read the book in one sitting because I needed to know how it was gonna end. You know when slow burn is slowly killing you and that little bit of angst is tying your stomach up in knots and making your heart beat a little bit faster?
Yes, I was a squealing mess at the end of book - I'm not even ashamed to say it out loud.

I hope to see Gareth and Felix again in the future because I want to see them a little bit older - in the meantime I need a physical copy of this book so, so bad because I feel the need to cuddle it.

Sweet, heart string tugging romance. I haven't read the first one so will need to remedy that. I'm hoping there is more to come as it sets the scene for several interesting characters. Gar and Morgan were both complex and loveable, dealing with their emotional baggage and finding their place in the world. Really enjoyed it.

Aww, I’m happy Felix got his story, but I was hoping it would go further into the future then it did. This book’s timeline is parallel with Death of a Bachelor, so we don’t get to see older Felix, which I’m sad about. This was another good story by the author, fingers crossed that we do get a book with older Felix and Gareth, because those two are adorable together. Gareth is all kinds of snark and sarcasm and I just loved him, he’s a good match for Felix.

I really loved how completely adorable this book was, and how it dealt with so many issues, and all the sexual diversity among the characters (the line about how SOMEONE in the story had to be heterosexual low key destroyed me).

I loved Gareth and Felix and how they found their way to one another without realizing it was always each other that they were meant to be with. I loved Morgan and how he came out of his shell and was discovering himself. I loved the LGBT Whatevers and how they took in and welcomed Gareth and Morgan.

I really loved the school and all the artsy kids and how great they all were, how they made Gareth and Morgan feel at home in a way they never had before.

Well, I did read the first book of this series, "Death of a Bachelor" in preparation for this one, and yes, it did give me insight on some of the characters, mainly Felix, but for the most part, this could be read as a standalone novel. Reason being is that it is told during the same time frame, but in Gareth's perspective, a character that isn't mentioned much nor does he make many appearances in the previous novel.

Although the first book was good, I will say that I enjoyed this one more. Perhaps it's because my favorite character Felix plays a much larger role in this book, but also because Gareth is such an interesting character. In the first book, he was only ever known as the mean twin. Even though he tries to maintain a tough exterior, we all know that he is just a big softie at heart, which has been pointed out a couple times through the course of the novel. I also like how it was pointed out by his father that Gareth is trying to be tough while using his brother as an excuse for his actions. While the first book dealt with grief with Damon and Cathal, we don't get much insight with Felix and how he is dealing with his grief, which this novel did. I'm glad Gareth was there to lend his ear and shoulder for Felix because we all know this little puppy needed one.

Like any book that focused on twins, there is quite the contrast between Gareth and Morgan. Gareth is the protective tough guy, while Morgan is timid and battles with severe social anxiety. Although it's a battle that Morgan tries to fight, it is clear that Gareth also struggles to help Morgan conquer it as he can only do so much. Even though the book was not too plot heavy, nor were the events in the book new to the reader (if you read the prequel), the main focus was on the characters (Gareth, Morgan, and Felix) and the relationships (friendships, romances, and familial reconciliations), which I believe are its strengths.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read. If you are interested in a book that does not contain a complex plot and interesting characters, then this might be for you.

I want to thank Netgalley for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I really enjoyed this book. I found it to be really refreshing because instead of focusing on romance like most YA books I felt it centred around friendships. Although there was some references to anxiety and suicide. Gareth is our narrator and the story starts with him being expelled from school do he and his twin brother look forward to a new start at a new school. Once there they become friends with a group of people and Gareth is cast in the school play alongside the fabulous felix who is probably my favourite character. Overall this was an amazing read. I absolutely fell in love with Gareth’s character he is so sweet and caring in this book it made me want to hug him. If you love sweet YA reads then you will love this book. I gave it 4 stars.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

After one too many fights to defend his anxiety-ridden twin brother, Morgan, Gareth is expelled from their private high school. The two brothers, along with their seemingly apathetic father, agree it's time for a change. Gareth and Morgan decide to enroll at a local arts high school, Gareth hoping to break his brother out of his shell. Soon the two brothers meet the vibrant, sunshine-personified Felix Eglamore. Felix introduces the brothers to his friends and bandmates, thus integrating the brothers into their small circle. Despite his initial starry-eyed crush on Morgan, Felix and Gareth slowly become closer after being cast as a married couple in their school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Diamond Heart takes place simultaneously as the first book, Death of a Bachelor, but instead follows the adventures of teenage miscreant, Gareth. Gareth appeared in the first book as the gruff twin brother of Felix's crush, but wasn't featured more than a few brief scenes. In this book, it is quickly established that despite his prickly, sarcastic temperament, Gareth is actually an incredibly caring and sensitive individual. His character was well-developed and oh-so complicated, and I really appreciate that the author chose to write this novel in first person through his point of view.

While, yes, there is romance between Gareth and Felix, the main focus of this novel were the relationships Gareth shares with his twin brother, his father, and his new group of friends, the LGBT Whatevers. For the most part, this novel is pretty low-angst, but often touches upon topics such as anxiety, substance abuse, and suicide.

Overall, I absolutely loved Gareth's character, and found this novel to be almost as wonderful as book one. I would highly recommend this novel to anyone who read book one, as well as anyone looking for a sweet YA read, as it could possibly be read as a standalone. I truly hope the author writes more books in this series (maybe about the mysterious Sebastian??), but look forward to reading pretty much anything Hinkle releases in the future!

4.5/5

Gosh! I really enjoyed this.

<u>Diamond Heart</u> is a YA companion to <U>Death of a Bachelor</u> and takes place at the same time, but told through Gareth’s perspective. We see Gareth getting kicked out of his old school and coming to an arts school because his twin, Morgan, is interested in it. There, they make friends with Felix, Alex, Sarah, and Zach, and learn to grow outside their boxes and into themselves.

This book has a romantic plot, but I feel it largely focuses on friendship. Morgan and Gareth are close, still shading a bedroom at seventeen, and Gareth sees himself a protector. I especially loved the friendship between the LGBT Whatevers and how much they worked to support one anther. The best part was definitely watching Gareth soften towards Felix and their friendship developing, them getting closer and more open with each other.

I think Gareth being the narrator was definitely a good choice because he comes off as very mean and standoffish, but he’s honestly so soft and caring. He works very hard to protect his twin and be there for him when Morgan has anxiety. He’s also really good at listening when Felix needs someone on the outside to talk to.

This was really such a lovely story. I’d been looking forward to it since <U>Death of a Bachelor</u> because I loved Felix and couldn’t wait to see him navigating his first crush, and this definitely did not disappoint. I do wish there had been a little more to the ending beyond Gareth and Felix confessing their feelings, but again, this really was more about friendship than it was a romance.

Definitely a recommend for something soft and low-angst. There are definitely some scenes and elements that are heavy (such as Gareth’s mom dying by suicide and Morgan’s anxiety), but overall this was a sweet read with a very calm, gentle ending.