- English
I try to choose my reading wisely, to avoid writing negative reviews as I value what it takes to write a book, but with this book I was wrong, I struggled to connect with the characters and the story from the beginning.

This is the story of Rae and her best friend Ellen over the course of five years, between Rae's 25th and 30th birthday and how the pressure of meeting society's expectations affects her (being married, children, maintaining friendships, following her dreams,...).

I admit that the premise of The Heart of the Deal sounded interesting and had caught my attention. I thought it was going to be fun and a bit touching with a nice love story, but it wasn't. I was a bit of a fan of the book.

I like it when books talk about mental health, it's a very interesting topic, however, using this topic as it was used in the book to escape responsibility for the characters' actions, I don't think is the most appropriate way to talk about it, or at least I didn't understand it.

I liked the author's writing, it was a quick and easy read. As for the level of English, I think it is quite simple and can be read without difficulty even if you don't have a high level of English.

Thank you Netgalley for the book

- Español
En este libro nos encontramos la historia de Rae a lo largo de 5 años, desde que tiene 25 hasta que cumple los 30. A través de los ojos de Rae veremos la presión que sienten muchas mujeres de cumplir con las expectativas de la sociedad y con todo lo que se supone que deberías haber conseguido antes de llegar a los 30 (estar casada, hijos, mantener amistades, perseguir sus sueños,...), pero en este camino no estará sola su mejor amiga Ellen la acompañará en este camino.

Reconozco que la premisa de The Heart of the Deal sonaba interesante y me había llamado mucho la atención, así que dejándome guiar por lo que dice la sinopsis pensé que iba a ser un libro divertido, un poco conmovedor y con una bonita historia de amor, pero no fue del todo así. Es cierto que es un libro de comedia, pero no fue del todo para mí.

Intento elegir bien mis lecturas, para evitar escribir reseñas negativas puesto que valoro mucho lo que cuesta escribir un libro, pero con este libro creo que me equivoqué y definitivamente no fue una lectura para mí, me costó bastante conectar con los personajes y la historia desde el principio, de hecho creo que en ningún momento llegué a hacerlo.

Me gusta que en los libros se hable y se profundice en un tema tan actual como es la salud mental, sin embargo la forma en la que se ha abordado este tema en el libro no me ha convencido del todo, siento que ha pasado muy de refilón sobre el tema en algunos momentos y que lo ha usado como excusa hacia algunos actos de los personajes. Siento que para mí no es la manera más adecuada de abordar el tema, o al menos yo no llegué a entender las justificaciones.

Es verdad que gustó la forma de escribir de la autora, fue una lectura que a pesar de no conectar con ella fue rápida y fácil. En cuanto al nivel de inglés, creo que es bastante sencillo y se puede leer sin dificultada aun no teniendo un nivel elevado, es bastante coloquial y las palabras o frases hechas las entiendes bastante bien por contexto.

Gracias Netgalley por el libro

I was really excited about this book, the plot of the story pulled me right in, but in the end, this book wasn't made for me. I couldn't relate in any way to the main character, I found her soo annoying and didn't feel that she was coherent in what she wanted and what she was doing to actually achieve it.

Instead of enjoying the story for the first part of the book, it just got me stressing about the timeline of my own life and how I envision my future, this being the result of the character constantly repeating the same idea about how women have this biological clock so that in order to achieve success we must be married by 30 and be in a relationship by 25.

Apart from her constant ranting, other traits made it impossible to connect with her, even though in some aspects of her life I could relate. Overall the plot was really interesting, the writing style very nice, but the main characters were so boring it made it a struggle to read.

Rating: 1.5 stars

I was sadly duped into thinking this book was a contemporary romance, perfect for the Valentine season. It’s not. It’s completely mis-marketed. The book is FULL of triggers without anything in the blurb to warn the reader. I personally am not easily triggered, but that doesn’t mean that I want to read a “romance” that revolves around two depressed people and their toxic relationship that they keep pushing through for the sake of, what?! Absolutely awful.

I’m grateful to NetGalley & the publisher for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley & Alcove Press publishing for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I read this in a day, and while I found the premise promising and definitely enjoyed a lot of the story, the chronic toxicity between the main couple and the way the book ended has definitely dragged down my rating here. If things were tidied up at around the 70% mark and some side characters developed more thoroughly, I think I would have rated this 4 stars.

As it stands, I’m left feeling quite conflicted about the final pages and don’t feel like the overall plot points were addressed fully or resolved. Since I still enjoyed a large chunk of this I have given it 2.5 stars, but I would be reluctant to recommend it.

This book was a DNF at about 100 pages. It started with such promise - a lady looking for love, a nice man, they shared some cute moments. And then - bam! - the author drops a bomb that effectively killed my interest. The guy has crippling depression. Ok, not a dealbreaker, but what was was the fact the female MC decided she wanted to stick with him so she could help fix him. And maybe if he is fixed (with her help of course), they could then be together. No. Vomit. Hard no.
I went into this knowing it would not be a light-hearted rom-com (cute illustrated cover aside - the publisher might want to fix that), but I was not up for an entire book about a man's mental health problems and the angel who tries to save him.

The blurb for this book is incredibly misleading, no part of this book is funny. The relationship between the two main characters is super toxic and the ending was disappointing. I just couldn't connect with this story at all.

Ever feel adrift from your peers? Rae tries over and over to help Dustin while never actually getting him to get more help for himself. Dustin consistently belittles her attempts to help and learn about his mental illness. While it may seem shocking to some readers that she stays with him for years, it is a realistic depiction of what it's like to love someone and believe that is enough to make them better. Rae should choose herself, but she's obsessed with the idea of a perfect life before 30 and as such is willing to sacrifice her own happiness for what she believes is true love. Both characters are incredibly flawed and it is an excellent depiction of love not fixing everything.

Not what I was expecting from reading the blurb. I read it but would have liked more at the end to see what actually happened next.

Unfortunately, I couldn't finish this book. The reviews are not lying, this book is very different from what it claims to be. I was expecting a cute and lighthearted read, based on the cover and the blurb, but that's not what I got.

Couldn't finish this one and unfortunately agree with the negative reviews I read- the description of this book is misleading and the relationship between the main characters is incredibly toxic.

This book is well written and keeps you going. Rae is kind of a frustrating character to read about as she sees all the red signs but still ignores them all and even her friends and family. Even when she has better options she goes back to the wrong one. A heart wants what it wants I guess.

I wasn't able to finish this. The mental health rep felt off to me...toxic, even, like it was an excuse for bad behavior. Maybe it would've been called out later? Worse though the plot felt different than what the blurb suggested and I kept being frustrated at the decisions being made. Sadly, I couldn't get into this one.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Alcove Press and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

I didn’t find myself relating to the characters. I expected something different from the book.

Honestly, I'm shocked at how different the book was from its blurb.

The writing itself was fine, but the stiry was so toxic and disjointed from what I expected that I couldnt rate it higher than a 2.5. Nothing about it was funny. I dont even remember chuckling.

Most importantly, mental health, to me, should be written about responsibly. Yes, this type of relationship exists, but it's not healthy. I wish the book focused more on Dustin and how he grew and worked through his depression. It seemed glossed over. Overall, it left me feeling not great, even though there was a happy ending.

This book did not work at all. No aspect of it was funny, and the blurb was completely misleading.

This needed better content and trigger warnings as some readers would not be okay with this.

I don’t think it hit the mark of being a good book at all. Did not finish after 65%.

This one wasn't bad, but I didn't find myself captivated by the characters. It was an okay book and I would recommend it to romance lovers.

This was one of those books that thoroughly confused me! Having spent my 20's in NYC, I always love reliving my youth through characters who are also in their 20's in NYC. And this book definitely had that, along with some great laugh out loud moments. It was imminently readable, and entertaining. But I just hated the choices the main character kept making. It was good in that it made me keep reading, but bad in that I kept wanting to yell at her! I guess because I am now older and wiser, ha!

I wanted to like this book. I really did. The premise seemed solid, and I was in the mood for a rom-com. But as a woman who is close to 30 than 25... Rae pissed me off from probably the second page. Beginning with the heroine having an anxiety attack over turning 25 because that puts her behind an arbitrary timeline she's set for herself to find romantic life partner just angered me. It's possible I should have been more clued up by the "biological clock ticking" line in the description, but I was hoping for more. It's a tired storyline that frankly I think should have been retired in the 90s.

Plus the depiction of mental health/how to support your partner when they're struggling/using poor mental health as an excuse for behaving badly is a mess. It's 2022. Everyone is a little mentally ill at this point, including myself and almost everyone I know ages 22-35. That doesn't mean you can escape all accountability for your actions.

This book was unexpected. Based on the cover and the blurb I was expecting a more light hearted romance but it is deep, emotional, and thought-provoking. The being said, I enjoy these sorts of books and am glad I read it! I like books that make me go through a rollercoaster of emotions and make me think. At times, I found the pacing a bit odd but overall I enjoyed this novel and will be recommending it to my friends that also enjoy this deeper set of romances. I found our female MC very relatable and related to her in many aspects, although she did also frustrate me a lot and I think she had room for more character growth and resolutions. But, it was so nice to have a male MC that wasn't just the knight in shining armor who seems utterly flawless. I know people in real life that I think could relate to Dustin and it was great to see that sort of representation in a novel. It was hard to read contentwise sometimes, and sometimes toxic in my opinion, but I also greatly appreciate that as there are real-life situations much like the ones these characters find themselves in. I do think readers should check trigger warnings before diving into this one.

I do think this book is marketed wrong and is going to attract the wrong audience, and I could see that hurting the ratings and takeaway. I think if I was someone who didn't enjoy the deeper/sad romances, I would have rated this lower.

Rae is a mid-twenties Wall Street worker stuck in a spot of life evaluation. She is determined to meet her husband by the time she turns thirty, so she hits up the dating apps. When she meets Dustin, another Wall Street worker, she is immediately drawn to his more poetic soul. Dustin isn't like the other men she has met, but he also has his own battles to fight and their path doesn't seem as easy as she was expecting. Reflecting on her life and her path she is unsure of what to do. A story of give and take, battles of the mind, and big questions, Rae will have to decide what is best for herself above all else.

3.75 Stars

This is a book that makes you think, makes you feel, and makes you evaluate your own life -- especially if you’re in your late 20s like I am.

I enjoyed this novel, but not in the way one enjoys escapism or a Romance novel, but in the way that one appreciates a beautifully written, thoughtful book that discusses tough topics, but also leaves room for characters to make mistakes, grow as humans, and tackle difficult challenges that real-life throws at you repeatedly.

I will say this is a more mature book for a mature audience. If you’re in your late-20s or older, I’d say this book will really hit home for you; or at least it did for me. I think if you’re younger than that, maybe save this for another day. I do not mean this to be condescending, but there are some books that just require good timing to make sense. This is a real-life, messy, harsh novel that forces you to reflect on harsh realities but in a beautiful and brilliant way.

I think there are a couple of key aspects here to keep in mind:

This is NOT a Romcom despite the cover, this is a Contemporary Romance that is messy and emotional and discusses some hard topics so please check Trigger Warnings (TWs).

The author takes on some tough topics such as depression, toxic relationships,the evolution of friendships, and growing as a woman both professionally and personally.

The author puts you in positions you may, or may not, have been in before. For me, having never experienced anything like this personally, it really made me think about how I would’ve approached the situation, but also appreciate Rae’s perspective as well.

The characters are messy and real. Rae and Dustin’s relationship is toxic and Rae really learns to grow and develop in her personal and professional life throughout this novel.

Dustin suffers from depression and is not the typical Romance hero we may all be used to. He is a real human being in this book, one who is fighting his own demons and also trying to figure out life as he does so.

Rae is an interesting character in her quiet strength. She is resilient and while you think her weak at first, the way you see her grow and evolve into a pillar of strength, into a woman who knows herself and knows what she wants, but also what she doesn’t know what she wants is so engaging. She learns to own who she is and I thought that was the most beautiful part of this novel.