If Ivy Fairbanks writes it, I will read it. I don’t know how she has me giggling and kicking my feet while reading about removing a leech but here we are.

I loved Morbidly Yours more than anything else I read last year, and I was so excited to get this arc. Morbidly Yours still holds the title of my favorite, but I wasn’t even a little disappointed with Heart Strings. It feels really rare for me to find a romance book I not only love, but that has a captivating story AND good writing. I’m worried this is going to put me into a reading slump while trying to find another book that measures up

Heart Strings by Ivy Fairbanks is a fun romance about second chances. Cielo “Lo” Valdez originally from Texas, now a medical student in Galway fell in love with Aidan O'Toole a rising musician. When he leaves for London to record an album they break up. Two years later they are involved in the same friends' wedding and sparks begin to fly. Both are facing issues and problems. The characters are appealing and the settings are well done. There is a lot of angst and drama and hot steamy sex. This would make a great beach read.

4.5 stars
Another heartwrenchingly beautiful book from Ivy Fairbanks! I loved Cielo and Aidan soso much. This book sees these exes reunited as maid of honor and best man at their friends’ wedding and it brings back all the feelings. The chemsitry between these two was everything. Time and distance only made the heart grow fonder for these two despite their best intentions. I loved seeing Lo and Aiden reconnect and grow to fit both their dreams. I think my only detraction was there a bit more tell than show and I think if we’d gotten a bit more of their past relationship as scenes it would’ve helped connect even more to the characters. But otherwise, definitely enjoyed this and can’t for more in the series!

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam for this advance copy! I sincerely appreciate it.

Heart Strings follows Cielo "Lo" Valdez and Aidan O'Toole. who we briefly learn about in the first book in the series, Morbidly Yours. Lo is an ultra independent med student, working constantly to pursue her dream of becoming a doctor. Aidan is a rising star musician, trying to make a name for himself. They briefly dated for 6 months and the relationship crashed and burned when Aidan announced he was moving to London to pursue his career. There's lots of resentment toward Aidan on Lo's part, lots of yearning on Aidan's, and lots of unresolved tension between the two of them. They are forced back together as maid of honor and best man in Cal and Lark's (from the first book) wedding, which leads to butting heads a little and forced proximity.

I appreciated Lo's independent personality and desire to work hard for what she wants. She is working in the intense world of medicine, while trying to prove herself to her family. She overcame cancer and wants to prove to her mother that she is capable of doing it all. Aidan was very sweet and likeable, and I found myself wondering if he was inspired by Hozier. Every reference to his music and image made me think this lol. I didn't connect with him quite as much as I did with Lo.

Their relationship was fun throughout the book, but I found myself wanting more. I really felt the connection between Lark and Callum in book 1 and I was hoping to find something like that here, but I didn't. I did appreciate seeing them working through and overcoming communication issues, that felt pretty realistic. I think they got together maybe a little too early on, but the pacing worked out well enough in the end!

I loved the setting and side characters once again! I think Ivy Fairbanks is good at making you care about side characters and feel things with them. I was frustrated with Lo at her mom for her unrealistic expectations, loved the friendship with Saoirse, appreciated Lark's meddling! Aidan's family was very sweet as well, I loved the details of his mom knitting personalized sweaters and his sister's creepy ventriloquist puppets.

Overall, I enjoyed the book! It was a fun and quick read, and was great to get back to Galway with these characters. :) It wasn't perfect, but it's cute!

This second chance romance had me swooning! Full of angst and tension, this story was hard to put down! With a wedding as the backdrop, our two main characters never stood a chance at denying the magnetic pull between them. Would absolutely recommend!

Glad to have gotten an early copy of this!

I liked being back in this world and looking forward to the next one!

Enjoyed Cielo and Aiden but felt their story was a bit rushed. It took me a little bit to get into their story and then I just felt like their journey back happened quickly.

I enjoyed getting glimpses of Callum and Lark and am still looking forward to forward to Saorise’s book but this one didn’t quite hit the same for me.

This book is the kind of angsty, emotional, utterly swoon-worthy romance that makes your heart ache in the best way. Lo and Aidan’s chemistry is undeniable, crackling with past hurt, unfinished business, and the kind of longing that makes every interaction feel like a slow burn in real time. The Irish castle setting adds a layer of magic to their second chance, while Aidan’s love-soaked lyrics and Lo’s fierce resistance make for a delicious push and pull. It’s messy, heartfelt, and brimming with passion, and I absolutely loved reading it.

Heart Strings by Ivy Fairbanks
ARC Review: 4.5/5 Stars
*A huge thank you to Putnam, Netgalley, and Ivy oh so very much*

Tropes:
🪕Dual POV
🩺Musician X Med Student
🪕Meddling best friends
🩺Miscommunication
🪕Absent Father
🩺Cancer treatment (past)
🪕A perfectly placed flock 🐏 😉
🩺 Rope/Bondage play
🪕Power play
🩺HEA

To be honest I very much liked Morbidly Yours a lot more but I would still totally say that this was a great and fantastic read of 2025 and a wonderful second half to the Galway Series!! ☘️Love sometimes has a way of coming back around if you let it. This story was a perfect example of opening your heart to the possibility for a second chance. ☘️

Okay, now going back on pace with this review, I do very much enjoy the fact that this is a TRUE slow burn romance between Lo and Aidan!!! And to add to the mix of things it kinda brings you back to the moment when they meet at the ending of Morbidly Yours which makes me a bit happy due to the fact that the storyline does pick up from there a bit… But to stop me from getting ahead of myself, this book really does show you the aspects of how to be patient and that good things do really blossom with time. I felt that the dual view was brilliant and interesting because we got to understand their feelings both separately and combined because you don’t really see that too often. I loved how open they were. Their passion was pure fire. They knew what they were missing and they both wanted that back.

I personally don’t even know what else to say about this read because it was super emotional and my heart literally pulls at the strings when thinking back to the weeks ago that I had read this, but as to not spoil anything because I swear if I have to write anything else about this fantastic read.. I might just end up saying too much and I wouldn't want that for you wonderful readers. So with that being said, I will stop this review here and just tell you that when you get your hands on this, read it while curled up with your favorite blanket. #book #booklover #bookaddict #bookworms #bookreview #arcreview #netgalley #hearstriings

Heart Strings was SO good. Lo was super relatable with being so independent and I loved how Aiden helped her see it okay to accept help and let others take on your burden with you. I also loved how Aiden learned from his past mistakes and made changes to make things work with Lo the second time around.
The deep & sensitive topics were handled with great care, and I appreciate the author including these themes.
This was a fabulous book and it was fun to have a little more of Lark and Callum, too!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC!

I received an digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own

I really enjoyed my time with this book! As a fan of Morbidly Yours, I was very excited to return to Galway for Cielo and Aiden's story.

A couple of years have passed from where we left off in Morbidly Yours and we quickly learn that Cielo and Aiden's relationship ended when he moved to London for his music career. Cielo promptly blocked him (and his family) from social media and did her best to shut the door emotionally. Meanwhile, Aiden has spent the last two years writing, recording, and touring songs about Cielo.

Cielo's plain to ignore him has one big problem, she is the maid of honor and he is the best man in Lark and Callum's wedding. They're stuck together for a whole long weekend at a romantic castle.

This is a truly lovely second chance romance! It had a lot of emotional depth, with characters working through family trauma, facing a potentially serious health scare, allowing space for vulnerability, and the pitfalls of long distance relationships.

4.5/5 stars

I fell in love with Morbidly Yours the moment I started reading it. When I saw it was time for Lo and Aidan's story to come out, I was REALLY excited - and I definitely wasn't let down. Heart Strings takes place in Galway around the weekend of Callum and Lark's wedding and is a second-chance romance between Cielo (Lo), Lark's cousin, and her former flame Aidan, Callum's friend and former lawyer-turned-musician. After two years, the two are thrust back together as Lark and Callums' maid of honor and best man, and they find that perhaps the fire between them never truly went out.

As an Austinite, it made me so happy to see Lo representing! Something I enjoy about Ivy Fairbanks' writing in particular is that her characters are no stranger to real life complications, which she addresses both thoroughly and with a lot of sensitivity. Part of Lo's backstory is her battle with leukemia as a teenager, which influenced her approach to life in many ways, including her feelings around relationships and vulnerability. Cancer or no, I think anyone who has ever had to wait for stressful bloodwork or test results to come back could sympathize with her character (and in fact, if cancer, illness, or health trauma are triggers for you, you might want to approach this story with caution - it's ultimately a happy story, but those themes are present).

Another thing I appreciated about the story is the writing of Lo's body and identity. Cielo is Mexican-American, and one of the first scenes in the book is her connecting with a dementia patient who only speaks Spanish and being able to help put her at ease by being able to bridge the language gap. Also mentioned are the stoicism from her dad's side of the family. Finally, Lo lives in a bigger body and Aidan finds it hot, but it's never fetishized or a novelty - which to me was refreshing!

The writing and editing in this book were solid. Every character felt fully developed, and every plot point intentional. There were a few times when the story felt particularly long, but that may be a function of having read some other books where time jumps around more - it felt long, but not slow. Morbidly Yours was a lot to live up to for me. Heart Strings is a different type of story, and I'm mostly iffy on second-chance romances, but this one was done very well and overall I'm so happy with this book. I'm rooting for Lo and Aidan, and will definitely recommend this!

I was so excited to read Heartstrings after falling in love Morbidly Yours!

This story was so cute! Imagine being the maid of honor in your cousins wedding, and the ex who broke your heart is the best man whom you haven’t spoken to in a couple years, knowing you’ll be within close proximity and having to work together to make their wedding a success…this is exactly what happened for Cielo and Aidan.

I loved the setting of the wedding and so much involvement with Lark and Callum! I enjoyed the early tension between Lo and Aidan when they first started interacting again, but it didn’t take but a minute for things to fall back into place and the feelings to start feeling again. Some of the story was predictable, but it was done in a way that kept you engaged and flipping pages.

I enjoyed reading this story and look forward to the third story in the Love in Galway series.

Thank you Ivy Fairbanks and Putnam books for allowing me to read Heartstrings. 💜🧡

All opinions are my own.

This was such a wonderful surprise. Very cute and the love these two have for each other is inspiring. I had a great time reading Cielo and Aidan!

OBSESSED. This book absolutely shattered me in the best possible way. The connection between Lo and Aidan is undeniable—filled with years of longing, heartache, and a love so profound it feels inevitable. The tension between them is intense, from subtle glances to lingering touches, and the lyrics Aidan sings carry a depth only Lo can fully grasp. Their relationship is complicated, raw, and incredibly authentic.

What I loved most about Lo was her strength and her refusal to accept anything less than what she truly deserves. And Aidan—oh, Aidan. He’s the type of man who stumbles, but he’s willing to grow and prove himself. He’s not just trying to win Lo back; he’s determined to rebuild her trust, earn her love, and prove he’s worthy of her forever.

I loved Morbidly Yours so I was so excited for this book. I’m usually not a fan of second chance romance but I loved this book so much. The chemistry between Lo and Aiden was amazing and I cried so many times. Cannot wait to read her next book!

What a wonderful story. Aidan and Cielo made a lovely couple. The romance was nice and spicy, and their love for each other evident. Nice to have a HEA. Well done. I wish the author good health.

I truly enjoyed Morbidly Yours so I was excited to see that we were getting a second book. The over all writing from book 1 to book 2 was an improvement and made the story than much more enjoyable. I absolutely swooned for the love story between Lo and Aidan.

Lo deserves the world and so does Aiden I will not be taking any questions at this time.

I find the whole “burn all the bridges, you are dead to me” thing very relatable, and I loved that Aiden was like “respectfully: bet”. He was supportive and kind to her without being pushy (except for the kabob thing which tbh I would have stabbed him with the kabob stick lol).

Watching them reconnect was SO sweet and getting to see Callum and Lark living their dream in the background (and a potential setup for book 3? 👀) was lovely. Also, absolute chaos, but in a good way.

Lo’s tumultuous relationship with her mom and lack of relationship with her dad was constructed so well, and made it clear why she set the boundaries she did with everyone in her life. Aiden being receptive to that and not holding it against her was exactly the reassurance she needed. His dynamic with his family was such a sharp contrast and they welcomed her in without hesitation even after all the time that had passed.

Heart Strings is an adorable follow up to Morbidly Yours. I loved that this story could be a standalone book, but the characters were all featured in morbidly yours, and it was a wonderful continuation of that storyline. I found myself rooting for both Lo and Aiden. I love the character development, and this book was unexpectedly spicy, which I was not mad about. This whole series is cute and I cannot wait for the third one to come out!

So happy to be back in Galway! I enjoyed this one so much more than Morbidly Yours. Lo’s story pulled me in from the jump and I could see so much of myself in her. Loved Aiden’s family - they reminded me of the Weasley! Looking forward to seeing whose story we get next!