I LOVED this one. I need to read more of this series immediately - so good with characters you root for and fall in love with.

Ashiya is an independent women who strive to break free from relying on her family by starting a consignment company, Piece Together. Things change when she was named the heir to her grandmother’s estate. When she was named as sole beneficiary, she face challenges from her cousin Levi who accuse her as a gold digger like her mother. She take the challenge to show to him and her family that she can run the company but first she need someone to guide her. One of her cousin send Russell to help her. Russell agreed to help Ashiya because the cousin is considering him for CEO position and need to know she can trust him. However, she didn’t realise that both Russell and Ashiya was once before dated and fell for her hard.

This book is the 4th book in Jackson Falls series. It story plot is a fast paced with dramas and conflicts. Initially I don’t really Iike Ashiya for her mind game and emotional manipulation on Russell but as the story progress my opinion began to change. This second chance in love story is a good read and have all the strong emotions, forgiveness and passionate romance.

I featured this book as a Book of the Day spotlight and included it in my weekly roundup and monthly post of new releases on my Black Fiction Addiction platforms.

Foolish Hearts is the fourth installment in Williams' brilliant and soapy series that I've been enjoying immensely. This time it features a couple teased since the first book in the series, the second chance romance between Ashiya and Russell. Essentially, the book follows Ashiya learning that she's inherited a Fortune 500 company from the grandmother she hasn't spoken to since she was 9 or 10. Ashiya is utterly baffled by her grandmother's choice and she doesn't really want to take on this responsibility. Ashiya learned from the Robidoux family that power means games and manipulation and it's always been something she's wanted to steer away from. However, she finds herself giving in and taking on the challenge, which means she gets to meet this other side of her family and that she needs help learning how to run this company. Elena sort of manipulates Russell into helping Ashiya and Ashiya sets out to convince Russell that he needs to give her a second chance. There's also two crimes that are being investigated throughout this book and that added a fun element, even if I knew exactly who had done it from the beginning.

Ultimately, I enjoyed this book for the same reasons I've enjoyed the other books in this series. It's soapy and fun and I like the complex family dynamics and character dynamics. I also enjoyed the added suspense element here and really liked getting to know the new family members of Ashiya's. However, this book presented me with probably my least believed HEA of all of the books in this series so far because of the way Ashiya's manipulation at the beginning of the novel worked and continued to be used throughout the book until the end. I understood why it was happening, I just needed her to like... see her go to therapy to work on this issue because it seems pretty clear that she learned bad habits from her parents. That said, I really loved Russell's family and Russell in general was a good love interest. I would definitely still recommend this book to anyone interested in it!

WIlliams' Jackson Falls series is one of my favorites and this entry did not disappoint. Ashiya and Russell are a couple just want to route for. There was so much intrigue, like a true soapy story that Williams does well in this series. I normally dislike second chance romances. I feel like, IRL, parties would just move on and for good reason. But this one had me rooting for the characters.

I also listened to the audiobook and I have one gripe: the overly Southern accents. It is SC in the 2020s, not the 1950s. No one talks like that. Not overly Southern in this way and def not in SC.

BUt the book.. awesome!

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆
M/F Second-Chance Romance
Triggers: Murder

Ashiya never wanted much to do with her family's wealth and lifestyle. She loves her shop and how successful she's made it. But when her long-lost grandma leaves everything to her, Ashiya doesn't really know what to do.

Russell vowed to never let someone into this life again after Ashiya used him. He didn't ever want to feel like that again. But when he sees her struggling to figure out where to go when she's handed a company, Russell knows that his heart is more able to forgive than he thought.

As Ashiya navigates a new family's hidden secrets and agendas, Russell visits old wounds that have been left to fester. Together they will tackle each other's problems in the hopes that at the end, they'll have found exactly what they were looking for.

It's a good second-chance story with a lot of moving parts. Stealing, cheating, and lying all come fairly standard in this new company and in the mystery behind Russell's family's mystery. I enjoyed watching them fight for what they wanted and loved watching them find each other again.

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

I'm not normally a fan of second chance romance, but this one was well written.

One of my favorite sub-genres of romance are books about powerful, wealthy, Dynasty-style families. Foolish Hearts by @synithiaw is book 4 in the Jackson Falls series featuring the Robidoux family. Ashiya Waters has pretty much kept clear of the corporate drama of her family and created her own lane by opening a luxury consignment shop. Her grandmother, the matriarch of another influential family (I see more books in the future), dies and leaves Ashiya the multimillion dollar company that she built. Tasked with helping her navigate this new world is her ex, Russell Gilchrist, who wants nothing to do with her (the breakup was her fault), but can use the opportunity to look into the disappearance of his older brother.

Second chance romance. Family corporate empire shenanigans. Missing persons mystery. Do you see why I was up at all hours of the night reading?

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Overall, I’ve really enjoyed this over-the-top, soapy series but I will say I had a few quibbles about this book in particular, especially because the couple in this one had been teased since book 1. This is a second chance romance between Ashiya and Russell - they had dated while Ashiya was on a break from her boyfriend and when he came crawling back, she walked away from Russell and her growing feelings for him to go back to what was familiar.

I have to say, I wasn’t crazy about the mind games and emotional manipulation that Ashiya pulled at the beginning of the book to try and hook Russell and convince him to give them a second chance. I am normally the kind of reader who immediately connects to the FMC and the MMC has to work to win me over. But this is that rare book where I was #TeamRussell almost from the start. It took a while for Ashiya to regain his trust and likewise, it took a while for her to gain mine as well.

All that aside, I liked the family intrigue, the corporate intrigue, and also there was a heartbreaking side plot about Russell’s missing brother. I liked the romance once Ashiya stopped with the emotional games and finally decided to be open and honest and vulnerable about her feelings. And I had assumed (and perhaps I’m correct in that assumption) that this is the final book in this series but this book also introduced us to several characters and I would not mind seeing books featuring them.

The chemistry and sex between the 2 MCs was hot and steamy, I loved the side characters and overall, this series has been a delight to read.

CW: off page death of family, drunkenness, corporate embezzlement, missing family;

4.5 stars rounded up

This entire series is fantastic! Foolish Hearts follows Robideaux cousin Ashaye reconnecting with Russell after she broke his heart and went back to her ex. I will say, there is a LOT happening in this book and my only complaint is there might be a tad to much in terms of plot threads.

- Ashaye unexpectedly inherits everything from her estranged grandmother and must figure out how to run a Fortune 500 company with the cousin who expected to inherit instead.
- Ashaye is also dealing with complicated family relationships and childhood trauma.
- Russell wants to become CEO of Robideaux holdings and must prove himself by helping Ashaye with that transition.
- At the new company somebody has been embezzling money. Ashaye and Russell must investigate who and why.
- And if that wasn't enough, there's also a missing persons case! This was interesting too because it gets into how typically fewer resources are directed at missing people when they're Black and just how much power and money it can take to get any answers.

So yeah, there's a ton thrown in here which some readers might not enjoy. That said, I had a good time with the twists and turns, the family drama, and the steamy second chance romance. Give it a try! I received an advance copy of this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I'm so glad that there was more in this series! I've fallen in love with Jackson Falls, and the crew there! This one didn't disappoint.
Inheriting a company as well as a second chance romance. I found this couple refreshing. Though I love the siblings, it's nice to take a step away.
Can't wait to see what comes next!

I loved this heartwarming second-chance romance!

Ashiya is the "rebel" Robidoux, the one who is trying to make her own way in the world without the influence of her powerful family. I loved her indomitable spirit, her down-to-earth values, and her delightful sense of humor. Discovering the legacy left to her by the grandmother who she thought had disowned her gave her a host of new challenges but didn't change who she was in her heart.

Russell has never gotten over Ashiya, so he treads very carefully when he finds himself in her orbit again. But this time is different in every way that matters, paving the way for the romance they should have had from the start.

I loved the intricate family dynamics at play here with both sets of families. Ashiya's maturity and confidence in light of her parents' issues was refreshing to see. Russell is intuitive and devoted, everything that Ashiya needs in a partner. Together these two conquer all the emotional hurdles in their path, leading to a beautiful, satisfying HEA.

I really enjoy this author's writing style and intensely personal characterizations. These are people that feel so real, you forget you're reading fiction. Each visit to Jackson Falls is a delightful treat, and I highly recommend both this book and the entire series. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

This marks my first sojourn into Synithia Williams' Jackson Falls series, and whoa, it was a ride! I've read and loved books by this author before, but somehow this series only just hit my radar, and I have some back-reading to do. Foolish Hearts is a second chance romance, and let me tell you, I am a massive fan of those. Rebuilding a love story on an existing foundation—one that's as solid but somehow still vulnerable as Ashiya and Russell's? Book. Crack. There's a lot going on here and it's a soapy, dramatic family saga filled delight.

I thoroughly enjoyed the fourth installment of the Jackson Falls series and I so hope there is more to come. I was immediately all the way in-
What is UP with Ashiyas cousin, Levi?
What happened to Russell's brother?
Will Ashiya have to give up her new role in the company?
The intrigue! The interpersonal relationships! The romance!
IT BANGS, as they say.
This series has been such an enjoyable one because it's more than romance. I find I need an external plot and I need more than vibes and relations to keep the pages turning. Ashiya's relationship with her parents, her new role in the company she's inherited, her past relationship with Russell- and HIS search for his missing brother plus the feelings for Ashiya that he's been nursing for years make this an incredibly well-rounded novel that hinges on great writing and not steamy scenes.
Absolutely enjoyable installment in this series.

Foolish Hearts is the 4th in the Jackson Falls series, it’s loosely tied to the previous books but it can stand alone without any issues. I’ve loved this series because it’s just been incredibly soapy with messy characters and complex family drama. I love that Synithia Williams has allowed her characters to be dramatic or troubled or overly angry because those kinds of characters feel more realistic to me. I don’t love perfect characters because I can’t understand them at all.

Ashiya is the cousin of the Robidoux family that had been featured in the first 3 books. She inherits a multimillion-dollar company when her grandmother dies and is in a bit over her head as she’d only run a small thrift store before. Her ex, Russell, is sent to help her out, and while Ashiya is delighted at this, he is…not. They had not ended things on great terms as Ashiya went back to her ex.

The chemistry these two have is off the charts. Russell tries to resist as he’s not interested in rekindling things, and one of the things I love about Williams’ writing is that she develops both characters so well. Because we get to see and understand both of their reasonings about the relationship so completely. He was extremely hurt before when Ashiya went back to her ex and does not want to repeat that experience. And Ashiya regrets what had happened before, that we get to understand those regrets and behavior is really a testament to the writing.

The soapy aspect to this book is that there is also family and corporate drama playing out with Ashiya’s extended family as she tries to understand those dynamics. We get corporate drama with some embezzlement. And to top it off there’s a complicated mystery in Russell’s past that he’s trying to solve about the disappearance of his brother from 15 years before.

All of these different threads come together and are woven throughout the book. It’s fast-paced and steamy, exactly the type of book I want. This whole series is just not one to miss.

Included as a top pick in bimonthly August New Releases post, which highlights and promotes upcoming releases of the month (link attached)

This series has truly become one of my favorites. I love how both leading characters are well developed and how we get to see their families in the mix. As crazy as the Robidoux family can be it's nice to see their relationships with each other. In this story we step outside of the siblings to their cousins Ashiya who has made brief appearances in other books.

Ashiya likes to keep herself out of the family business and drama. So she's not happy to discover she's inherited The Legacy Group from her late grandmother. Unlike her cousin Elaina she's not interested in corporations and is rather happy with her thrift store business. But she's not one to turn down a challenge so when her cousin Levi says she's unfit to run the company she needs to prove him wrong. Plus she is interested in getting to know her father's side of the family.

Russell is determined to move up the corporate ladder and he's now one step closer to becoming CEO. He believes the CEO title will give him the power he needs to get answers in the case of the disappearance of his older brother. He agrees to help Ashiya as a consultant while she gets settled into her new role. He and Ashiya used to date a few years ago and she ended breaking his heart by going back to her ex boyfriend.

Working together and staying at the same house brings up old feelings that neither can deny. But will their second chance at love work this time?

Fast paced, plenty of drama and conflict, and some steamy sex scenes Foolish Hearts isn't one to miss.

I received an arc from Harlequin in exchange for an honest review.

Ashiya and Russell have the kind of second-chance romance you root for right from the beginning. I had all the feels throughout this book. The story and side stories were interesting, and I really need the Waters cousins to get stories, especially Levi (with the right person)! Just LOVED it!

When I think of romance, I think of books just like this one, that gives all the feels and satisfies every romance junkies' heart. This is a perfect books to snuggle up with on any day. This one took by surprise!