I know they say you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover but when I looked at this one and read the description and I thought “hey! This could be a cute romcom” right?! Right?!?!?! Well, WRONG!!!

The story’s beginning was nice, I was having a good time…right until I wasn’t…

The portrayal of mental health issues was so off, I understand getting out of a toxic relationship is hard, that you lose perspective, that you want to help someone you love so much that you’re willing to sacrifice yourself, yes…but there’s a difference between being depressed and just being a horrible person who happens to struggle with depression and that for me, is what Dustin was.

And don’t get me started on the ending, just…😩…just, NO!

So, for me, the most important thing that needs to be said for anyone that needs to hear it - no one, and I mean NO ONE, should make you feel worthless, treat you like a punching bag or steal your light or peace…if you find yourself in that situation, talk to someone you trust and seek help. You deserve better.

I can’t recommend this one, but I do appreciate NetGalley and Alcove Press for providing an eARC of this one in exchange of an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This review was posted on my IG account @bm.bookish.girl

Told across several years, Rae is on a calculated journey to find her soulmate and get married, all by the time she turns 30. With the support of her friends, Rae starts online dating, but only seems to find duds. However when she's not looking for love, she finds Dustin, but friendship is all he's capable of right now. As Rae grows up, she struggles and stumbles all in the name of finding what she truly wants out of life.

The Heart of the Deal was a solid debut novel. I liked that Rae's life was told through several years, instead of a small snapshot of her finding "the one." Rae questions her career path, tired of the Wall Street grind, which was relatable. With passions for writing, Rae was realistic with her career timeline, yet struggled when it came to love. I didn't particularly love either love interest in the book, and was frustrated at times with how much Rae gave up of herself in order to find marriage. Without going into spoilers, I didn't love the toxicity of Rae's relationship with Dustin and the ending left me wanting more. One highlight I appreciated was the handle and care the book used to deal with depression and mental health. It was vulnerable, realistic and well done.

The Heart of the Deal by Lindsay MacMillian is an unexpected story to say the least, so I advise everyone that expects to be reading a cute rom-com novel to prepare themselves for another kind of story. While it's true that the novel still includes moments of romance involving the main character, I wouldn't go as far as to say that these moments would appease someone that enjoys reading romance books. Although the book is also categorized as women's fiction, I believe that one is spot on for the story at hand.

The story is focused on Rae, a 25-year-old investment banker, who recounts how she's getting by through her years until her thirteenth birthday, since she has a plan to get married by that age and start trying for a family with whoever ends up being her husband. So, this story tells the struggles of Rae while she experiences dating in her 20s and trying to gain ground in her workplace in order to achieve her dream of becoming a writer of poetry.

I enjoyed the book quite enough, mostly because sometimes Rae and her internal monologues were relatable. However, there were some other things that I couldn’t stand to really enjoy and I tried passing by. One example is one of Rae’s love interests, Dustin, whom I felt like was putting depression as an excuse to being an asshole, which is not good. The other example is the ending of the story, it made me honestly so mad about the progress of Rae and the story itself (making me take one star down of the rating).

I think that if the next reader goes into the story with the correct expectations they might enjoy it more than I did!

*ARC kindly provided by Alcove Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This follows Rae as she navigates life between the ages of 25 and 30, with changing goals and thoughts. She's working hard in finance (great details) and she's happy with her friends but she wants more and so, thanks to a dating app, meets Dustin. Dustin has been struggling with his mental health, a subject MacMillan handles with sensitivity. It's not the focus of the novel but rather woven into it, even as he turns away from Rae. Rae's friend Ellen is terrific, btw. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. I suspect this will resonate with many readers.

This was a DNF for me. I think maybe it just ways a timing issue. I may go back and try it again. I’m sure many will enjoy

Wow, wow, wow!!

The cover of this book doesn't do it justice. I couldn't put this book down. From the cover, I thought it was going to be a cute, but it was so much more than that. The way Lindsay writes is stunning. The ability to show growth and and different stages... I found myself relating a fair bit to our main character, Rae, more than I thought when I first started this book. It truly makes your think about your life and it's hard not to find things that you can compare, especially if you work in the same lifestyle.

DNF at 15%. This just didn't hold my interest. The pacing was slow, and despite the cover, there was nothing fun or cute about it. It's more women's fiction than romance, and it didn't have the feels I'm looking for. People who prefer women's fiction may enjoy it.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

The story was just okay, i guess? The characters were sort of boring and did not make me care much about the the book.

This book is about a women in her late twenties who has a goal to be married by thirty but everything changes. This book was totally not what I suspected at all! It was really good but I went into this book thinking it was a cute rom-com. This book is not technically a rom-com but deals with personal struggles like relationship and depression. The author did such an amazing job with writing this book and talking about real life struggles that even adults deal with. This book talks about how even at your late 20s, life wouldn't be perfect with a great partner and living style. I enjoyed the setting of this story and how its over the span of 5 years which I thought was really cool. The pacing was also great with the storyline and I enjoyed the writing of this book.

The main character is Rae with Dustin being the main side character/ side MC. Rae is a banker who hopes to get everything set in her life in her 20s but things don't go as she wants and starts panicking until she meets Dustin on a dating app who is dealing with depression. I enjoyed Rae's character as I could relate to her so much. She wants her dream life and tries to help Dustin with his depression. She has an amazing character development in this book and I loved how relatable her character was. Dustin on the other hand was good but not great. Not because of his depression but the way he acted at some points. The romance in this book I have to say was kind of toxic but that was the whole purpose of the book to talk about how not every relationship will be perfect from the beginning.

The ending was great and overall I really enjoyed this book. I totally did not expect the story to be the way it was and I'm not disappointed at all with it. I think many readers should read this book because you can learn from it and feel so many different emotions while you are at it. Like honestly I went from happy to sad to crying to laughing at some scenes. Macmillan just knew how to touch your heart and I just recommend reading this book because I know it will be on the best seller list.

It is an unusual love story. Of course, there is excitement, first meetings, and moment worth remembering. But there is also one issue that makes this book so special - an obstacle, a barrier. One of them is suffering from depression.

I have never read something like this before. Depression here is so authentic - not like a slogan which does not mean anything at all. In this book, it seems different. It DOES matter, it does affect them, and living with it is not easy at all.

I really appreciate the way author is presenting the story. It's not sweet, not overwhelming - there are ups and downs, like in the everyday life.

The heart of the deal is definitely one of the most important and touching books I have read lately.

I couldn't connect to th characters, it seemed like a good read. The plot was interesting and it would have been more enjoyable of the characters didn't appear so pretentious

I am *so* glad that I read the existing NetGalley reviews before reading this, because I would definitely not have been prepared for how intense this was based on the cover. This is the story of Rae, who is freshly 25 at the start of the book, works in investment banking (but is an aspiring poet), and has a very specific plan to get married and have three kids by the time she's 35. She goes hard on dating apps but realizes quickly that they're not for her, until she meets Dustin, someone she matched with months prior who reaches out after he's been away. They click and start dating immediately, and Rae falls pretty hard. The issue is that Dustin has major depression, and his lows are extremely low, and they struggle through those. They decide to just be friends until Dustin feels like he can be there for her, and they really struggle through Dustin's darkest times. This felt like a very authentic portrayal of what it would be like to love someone with major depression (and who won't stick with therapy or meds), but that authenticity made it hard to read sometimes. Rae gives so much of herself to Dustin, completely upending her whole marriage and motherhood by 35 plan for him, only to have a tumultuous, on again, off again relationship. I'm glad I read this book and got to go on Rae's journey but again, I am very glad I knew about the content. My only real qualm with this is the constant use of financial metaphors - it was a thread through the whole book and I don't mind a schtick like that, except that I had no idea what any of the terms Rae and her friends were using actually meant. Content warning for major depression, self-harm, and self-destructive relationships.

This book did not properly load onto my kindle and was then archived weeks before the publish date. I'm so sorry I am not able to leave a review.

I DNFd this at almost 30%. I couldn’t get into it and it felt pretentious. I was bored by the characters, the relationships, the inner monologue of the MC. It was also filled with corporate/financial industry references which I didn’t find particularly funny or relatable. A lot of pages (of the first 30% anyway) were dedicated to Rae’s mind numbing Wall Street job, descriptions of New York, and her sad dating life. I had a hard time sticking with it. It just wasn’t for me. The writing was okay but the story wasn’t what I was looking for.

I enjoyed the feminist viewpoint and how often the author would make a point to talk about all the ways sexism is still so prevalent, and the strong friendship between Rae and Ellen was nice. Unfortunately nothing grabbed me and made me want to keep turning pages. I tried and tried. I also didn’t find the book to be terribly diverse. It’s mostly populated with privileged white cishet characters. (There was one token lesbian in the friend group who got very little page time.) It felt a little SATC. Yawn.

I actually cannot believe that this is the debut book of this author--this was actually an unusual romantic novel. Not just those typical cheesy romantic novels you feel like watching from Hallmark movies. This is a bit different type of romantic novel. Basically, it's more realistic and will teach people like us how to live your life.

Raelynn known as Rae is an investment banker working in a Wall Street Bnak. She is going through a dating recession, and makes a plan of herself to go on a date and then maybe settle down when she becomes thirty. She gets into a dating app and while meeting weird guys, she eventually meets Dustin. Dustin might be a typical hero of the story but this actually deals with depression, Dustin is going through.

First of all, I actually enjoyed author's writing. Despite the fact that it's a work of fiction, the author has done a good job of drawing the reader into the story and making the reader feel like a part of the story. Rae's character reminded a bit about myself, four years ago, when like Rae, I used to work in a bank, and then decided to quit to live a life. I do like her optimism, how she allows Dustin to deal with his depression by breaking off things with him and then her friendship with Ellen and all the others who like Rae is working grueling hours at the work. Reading about working in the bank, reminded me of my days as a banker when I literally didn't really have a life.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. For anyone looking for a realistic romantic novel, this one is for you. Worth four stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

This was a sweet love story. I really connected with the main character's career struggles and that overall feeling of not being quite where you want to be in terms of your life plan. I thought the friend group was really relatable and I enjoyed reading about their New York life together.

I struggled with this book, The cover art and even the blurb suggest that this will be a light-hearted romantic comedy but the reality of the book is very different.
Unfortunately, I just couldn't get into this at all - the plot and the characters were both lacking and it wasn't for me.

The cover make this look like a light romance. Don’t be fooled. The blurb is more accurate and I should have paid more attention to which authors were compared with this debut novel. Rae is turning 25 at the beginning of the book. She shares a small apartment with her college roommate and works on Wall Street in investment banking. She has a life plan to be married and have three kids by mid thirties which means counting backwards she should be meeting the one in the two years. After some dating apps burnout she meets Dustin. He is handsome, also works on Wall Street and shares her love of poetry. He also battles depression. It follows through the next five years as she is on and off in a relationship with Dustin and making choices about her work and interactions with friends and family.

Rae does have to learn that she can’t fix Dustin’s mental health issues. But Dustin is almost unlikable as he is written. He doesn’t like how pills make him feel but he can’t sustain therapy or any other coping skills so cuts people off including Rae. And yet she is continually drawn back to him after friends and family warn her again and again. To me it was not a healthy relationship and Rae literally gives up everyone of her goals except writing by the end of the book. It’s not a message I want to support. And the ending is frustratingly abrupt and vague. It is correctly labeled women's fiction with a romance as the Rae is the focus of the story.

This isn’t badly written but I can’t imagine suggesting it to any of my friends to read. Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars!

This book is a journey through your mid 20s to your 30s. It's life and friendship and love. The thing is I felt that Rae sometimes didn't have opinions of her own or the choices she was sure of then suddenly fell flat for the sake of the plot.

I liked where it was going but I felt that the characters were all over the place sometimes.

Overall, this is a fast read at times and a slow read at others. Romance isn't the main point of the story, so if that's what you were looking for then I'm not sure you may like this one. Also, there are portrayals of depression and mentions of suicide so please keep this in mind.

I am definitely going to be buying this book and re reading it! I was so enthralled by the story with the deeper look into emotions. I love how it depicts how friendships are to vital to our character and functionality through love, live and careers.