i thought it was a nice cute read, i loved the idea of him being a musician and her being a doctor as a latina!! we love the rep!

As the title says, it tugs at your heart strings.

I have read the first book in the series, although technically they are standalones. This one’s just as equally as sweet as the first one with a little bit of spice. I truly enjoyed the story and had it’s cute moments. I’m hoping to see more in this world Ivy Fairbanks has created.

This was my first read from Ivy Fairbanks, and overall, I enjoyed it! Heartstrings is a fun, easy romance that delivered exactly what I was hoping for—a sweet and lightly spicy story with likable characters and believable chemistry.

That said, I do wish I’d read Morbidly Yours first. The books are technically standalones, but they’re set in a shared universe, and I have a feeling starting with Morbidly Yours would’ve added a little more depth to my experience. It’s definitely what I’d recommend to others picking up this world for the first time.

While the plot leaned a bit formulaic and probably won’t stick with me long term, it was still a satisfying read. The spice was well done—nothing over the top, just realistic moments that made sense for Aidan and Lo given their history and connection.

Fairbanks has a fun, approachable writing style that I’d be happy to revisit. I’m planning to go back and read Morbidly Yours soon, and I’ll likely pick up the third book when it releases.

I truly enjoyed Heart Strings. This book is filled with the trope of second chance love, mixed with a good amount of spice. Our main character, Lo has a lot of trauma that she is working through when she is thrust into a situation where she is the maid of honor in her cousins wedding while her ex, famous musician Aiden, is made the best man. We get to experience their journey as they navigate being forced to work together to plan wedding festivities as well as address the uncertainties that plagued the ending of their relationship.

Along with the wedding planning we get a look inside of Lo's personal health journey and the way that has shaped her relationships with her family, friends and even her career. Even though I did not directly relate to Lo's health status, I was able to feel a connection with her struggles with her family and her mental health. It may be easy for some people to judge and say she should have just gone to therapy but I feel as though Heart Strings really captured the reality that so many face when we believe therapy's not an option or that it's too overwhelming of an option.

This was the first book I have read from Ivy Fairbanks and I think I may have to go and read Morbidly Yours now that I've gotten a taste of her writing style. Thank you NetGalley, Ivy Fairbanks and Penguin Group Putnam for this ARC!

While I really enjoyed this book, I like book one, Morbidly Yours, more.

The plot was good, if a bit slow.

The character are well developed and have incredible depth.

I did have that immediate click like I did with book one.

This book tugged at my heart from the very first moment- pun very much intended! It comes as absolutely zero surprise to me how much warmth, thought, and heart came through in this book. Heart Strings embodied everything about the beauty of love a second time over and the realization that true love never leaves us behind.

Having met Ivy last year at a release party for Morbidly Yours, I was over the moon excited to be approved for this ARC. Aidan and Cielo had the most beautiful and compelling story. I was rooting for them all along, and their powerful chemistry only amplified that feeling for me.

I love a good musician romance, and I loved the role of music between Aidan and Cielo! The tenderness of every love song of his being written for her just had me melting. Once he’s given the opportunity, he never stops showing up for her, even in the hardest of times. It was a beautiful and meaningful example of true love and the depths of which that love empowers us.

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the opportunity to read and review this book! I received a free advance copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you to the publisher & to Netgalley for allowing me to read this!!

I loved the cover and description of this book and was excited when I got the chance to read it early! I realized that it was book two, so I read Morbidly Yours first before picking this up. I'm so glad I did! I love a series where the characters are intertwined throughout each book and knowing Lark and Callum's story and the road they walked to get to the beginning of book two obviously elevated my reading experience greatly.

Heart Strings follows Cielo and Aidan's story about two years after book one ends. Cielo is a med student studying abroad in Galway and she is determined that she can do it all, shouldering any burden alone. When she met Aidan, he was a solicitor and aspiring musician who was on the brink of making it big. The two entered a relationship, but ultimately parted ways (not on great terms) when Aidan moved to London to further his music career.

Heart Strings picks up right before Lark & Callum are about to tie the knot in their dreamy castle wedding, with Lo and Aidan being their maid of honor and best man. Lo spent the last two years avoiding any trace of Aidan as much as possible, whereas Aidan was spending every night rehashing their love story, and ending, on stage in front of crowds. Forced to play nice getting ready for the wedding festivities, the two reconnect and start to mend their past conversations and actions. Through tough interactions with Lo's parents, a seriously unique scene with sheep and a hearse, and a princess diaries-esque pond fiasco, Aidan and Lo realize just how much they gave up two years ago. Trying to figure out what their relationship will look like once the wedding bubble pops, Lo and Aidan are faced with many challenges in regards to living situations, work schedules, health scares, and the looming weight of Aidan's stardom.

I really loved this book! I thought it was unique and set apart from the best man / maid of honor trope (which I love regardless) in that it went well past the wedding and back into their everyday lives. I loved the contrast of their parents, and the scene of Lo going over to Aidan's house for a home cooked meal. You could feel this huge weight evaporating from her shoulders as she reconnects with a family that she once saw herself in. Although I understood where Lo's mom was coming from, especially being an ocean away from her only child, I hated the way she spoke to Lo not only about her health, but also about Aidan (it got super rude, super quick.) I was glad that she advocated for herself, her health, and her relationship with someone she entrusted her heart with. These books are so good and I think they stand out from other "cutesy cover" romance books! Thank you again for letting me read this!!!

This is the second book in the series following Cielo (Lark's cousin) and Aidan a few years after they broke up. Aidan has made it big in the music industry and Cielo doesn't do long distance relationships since that is what broke up her parents. They meet again at Lark and Callum's wedding as maid of honor and best man. Unfortunately for Cielo, her feelings are still strong for Aidan.

This was a wonderful second chance romance. Fairbanks writes well-formed characters that you root for. There are many laughs and tears throughout the book, endearing you to Cielo and Aidan's love story. I also liked how Lark and Callum were involved in this book, sometimes you read another book in the series and you barely hear from past couples. The amount of spice was perfect.

I am excited for the third book in this series dealing with Saoirse. She needs a happily ever after.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my heavens was this cute or what? I absolutely loved Morbidly yours & assumed we'd see the cameo, so I loved it! Second chance romance is hands down my favorite trope. I will say that I was cringing during the singing during phone sex.... big turn off but to each their own!!

I like this one much more than the first! Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC!

Cielo has been abandoned by her father when she was sick as a child and decided to be a doctor. While visiting her cousin in Galway, she falls for musician Aiden. He left for his music career and didn’t fight for Cielo.

Now, back for the wedding of their friends, Cielo and Aiden meet again. Aiden’s music has all been inspired by his love for Lo. He wants a future for them, but he has to prove he’s sticking around. He grovels at her feet (literally) and shows up for her. Lo and her parents are strained. Her father wants to be back in her life and mother hovers. I enjoyed seeing this relationship heal.

What starts as a week of no strings together has Aiden ready to make things permanent. Lo has some health scares to deal with while Aiden has to return to his music career. They have to make an effort to survive the distance this time!

Aiden was so sweet and he is so determined to win Lo back. Even when communication is frayed while he’s away, he continues to show up! I can’t wait for the next one from Galway!

Meet Lo: badass Latine woman who is on her path to becoming a physician & already kicked cancer’s ass. And Aidan: mandolin-playing fuckboy who is realizing maybe his dreams of touring the world aren’t all he built them up to be.
Both have traveled to the Irish countryside to watch their best friends, Lark and Callum, tie the knot. Lo and Aidan are long over, but both of them feel the residual space in their lives the other used to occupy. The forced proximity of playing maid of honor and best man creates great chemistry and unleashes years of pent up yearning. Cue the groveling and, yeah, this was a fun read.
While I did enjoy this book, it all came together a little too easily for me. It felt like we were fighting the elements of the story, but that these two only needed a gentle breeze to come back together. If you’re looking for a fairly low stakes romance with a focus on fighting (and surviving!!) cancer, this is the read for you!

Overall, 3 stars, this was a lot spicier than I expected. Usually, I adore second chance romance books, this story was good, not great, I read the book instead of feeling the book. I may need to check out the audiobook when it comes out, Aidan's accent may add half a star. The characters were good, but I wanted better character development. I'm all about a flawed main character, but Lo would've really benefited from therapy. She had some amazing qualities, she's hardworking, ambitious, loyal, but she also had so much trauma, cancer survivor, overbearing mother, absentee father, stress, etc. I wanted better conflict resolution with Lo and her dad. I liked Aidan and his commitment to supporting his family, that was so dang sweet and admirable.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC!

I received this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion and review. I was so excited to see the next book come out after I ADORED morbidly yours. I was not disappointed! This story was such a breath of fresh air and I was so excited to be apart of this world again!

I was so excited when I got the approval on Netgalley for this ARC.

I loved the second chance trope and the fact that majority of the book took place at Lark and Callum's wedding. You can tell that Aiden and Lo are meant for each other and it just takes time for them both to realize that (even tho Aiden knew we were just waiting on Lo). This was a very easy read in my opinion and I had so much fun with this story. I can't wait for book three!

Lo and Aiden’s story was so good! So many perfect elements in this second chance romance. Lo is one character who is strong yet soft. Aiden is so in love with Lo that he can’t help but put himself in her orbit. These two together are both so perfect and their love truly shines through. I was entertained from the first few pages until the very end. I loved getting to see Lark and Callum.

I’m a fan of a big fan of Ivy Fairbanks.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an early copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are solely mine.

Another great read from Ivy Fairbanks]! I stumbled upon and so enjoyed Morbidly Yours and couldn't wait to head back to Galway for more of these characters. Cielo would fit right in with my friend group and I loved her wit, intelligence, and focus - also a big fan of her ability to completely excise her ex from her life when they broke up because that is a technique I stand behind! This is a second chance story and her ex Aidan is a recently-minted famous musician who's ticket to fame was an album he wrote exclusively about their relationship. These two have lots of history and an ugly breakup to contend with and are forced together as best man/maid of honor for a wedding. Aidan gave off kind of douchey energy to me at first. I hated the whole rock star thing and the fact that he just bailed on Cielo and then showed back up with a weird cocky confidence that didn't seem very on-brand for him. He eventually grew on me when he kept showing up for Cielo and making good on his word but his initial introduction in the story still rubbed me the wrong way. I loved that there was not a single shred of miscommunication in this book - I think in a second chance romance it's always an easy crutch to lean on but the author did a great job keeping their communication real and authentic to how two adults would interact in the situations presented. The representation in this book was also fantastic but without bashing you over the head - we saw disability, we saw non-traditional gender representation, and lots of different types of romantic relationships that were all woven into the story so beautifully! I would have loved a little bit more smut (I am who I am, okay?!) but the scenes that were included were fun and well-written... Even the one involving a hearse! Overall it's a 4/5 for me and you can bet I'll be first in line to read anything Ms. Ivy comes out with in the future!

This was such a cute, heartfelt and emotional second chance romance. I absolutely adored Morbidly Yours and the way this author was able to infuse banter, angst and so much joy into her writing. While I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the first I throughly enjoyed the romance.

It had such good banter between these characters, wonderful growth I love to see in a second chance romance and two characters you can’t help but to root for. I found Lo so relatable in her prickly demeanor and how she soften for Aiden. I did love his character and how charming he was but I do wish I was able to connect with him more. I do wish there was a bit more build up to their reunion and I found myself a little disappointed with the cause of the break up in the first place. But all over the writing was beautiful, easy to follow along and I loved getting to see the side characters from past books come back.

This was a quick and easy read and I am excited to see where the author takes this series next.

Thanks so much to Ivy Fairbanks and Putnam for the eARC.

I truly love the writing style and think this is a great follow up from the first in this interconnected standalone. I think the motivations for Aidan and Cielo are really fleshed out and the second chance element meant that their dynamic and chemistry was undeniable and kept me hooked.

I love the found family aspect and how both characters had differing situations, which meant they complimented each other.

That being said, I found myself losing interest 75% through, the relationship development didn’t seem to be gradual and I found that I wasn’t reaching for the book as much as I would like.

Despite this, I can’t wait to see what this author does next.

A second chance romance, where the two exes are forced together as the best man and maid of honor? This book’s premise instantly hooked me, especially since the best man in question is an on the rise Irish folk musician (think Hozier but much more folky and also a redhead) who has written all his songs about his ex.

This book lived up to the enticing premise, and was a great quick, spicy read that immediately pulled me in and didn’t let me go. Overall, the plot was great, the romance was sizzling, and the side characters were truly fleshed out. I would happily read another book by this author.

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the Irish castle backdrop and was intrigued by the second chance romance. The first half worked for me, but the second half lost steam. Maybe reading Morbidly Yours first would’ve helped, but overall, I just didn’t vibe with this one.