I was a little scared to read this. I loved Morbidly Yours and while I know this is only Ivy Fairbanks second book I was worried it woudn’t live up to the hype that I was growing it to be in my head. I am happy to say I loved it. Maybe not as much as Morbidly Yours but I really loved the story for Cielo and Adrian. This is a second chance romance and I am always a sucker for those. I love a good story where the main characters already have a past between them and they have something they need to get over. Now I will say for myself personally while I knew why Cielo was moving to Galway in the first place, to go to medical school, I don’t remember if the first book stated her previous illness. I WAS NOT READY! These types of books are always harder or me and I tend to shy away. I usually end up DNFing them becuase I have a hard time with it. But I loved the story enough that I just had to keep going and am happy I did in the end! I really am excited that there is going to be another book in this series and I can’t wait to see what is next for Saiorse.
Thank you to Random House Putnam for the complimentary copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Ivy Fairbanks has done it again with Heart Strings, the captivating second book in her Love in Galway series! While it stands perfectly well on its own, having read Morbidly Yours first definitely enhances the experience. This exes-to-lovers, second-chance romance was everything I hoped for and more, delivering a fantastic blend of emotion and sizzling chemistry.

Cielo "Lo" Valdez is an American medical student in Ireland, navigating life after a tough battle with cancer. Aidan O'Toole, a talented singer/songwriter from Galway, is her ex – and his hit songs, written about her, are constantly playing on the radio, making him impossible to forget. Fate, however, has a mischievous plan: Lo and Aidan are thrust back into each other's orbit as maid of honor and best man at a mutual friend's wedding.

From the very beginning, the tension between Lo and Aidan is palpable. Lo's guarded heart, still aching from their past, clashes wonderfully with Aidan's determination to win her back. The dynamic between them is incredibly engaging – she's in control, but he's possessive, creating a delicious push and pull. And yes, for those who love a good spice, this book delivers with five open-door scenes and a tantalizing binding kink.

Beyond the romance, I loved the subtle side plot involving Lo and her parents, adding another layer of depth to her character. Aidan's journey to reconcile with his past actions while simultaneously winning Lo back is beautifully portrayed. This book truly shines as a second-chance story, proving that some mistakes are indeed worth forgiving.

What truly elevated Heart Strings for me was the incredible character work and the undeniable connection between Lo and Aidan. While it took me a moment to fully immerse myself, the last 70% of the book absolutely soared, pulling me in completely. It's a fun, heartfelt read that I genuinely enjoyed even more than the first book in the series!

What to expect:

He wrote an entire album about her 🎶
Cancer survivor who is going to medical school 🩺
Exes to lovers ❤️‍🩹
She's in control but he's possessive 💪
Binding kink 🔗
Dual first-person POV 🗣️

Firstly, thank you so much to Ivy Fairbanks and Penguin Random House for allowing me an eARC of this story! This was a 4.3 star read for me! It was cozy, sweet, and so heart warming. I am a sucker for second chance romances. This story executed the trope wonderfully. I really enjoyed that the story picks up and still follows the ending of Morbidly Yours. A few years have passed and we start the story getting ready for Lark and Callum's wedding. This book is a dual point of view and I love getting to see the inner thoughts and feelings of both characters. Especially in the beginning since they very much have different strategies on how to approach being around each other for the festivities. Cielo and Aidan are fun and engaging characters. I love that they get thrust together in the little moments and that helps them become closer again. Even after their time apart they are still know each other deeply and are what they want and need. The support and trust that they have and give to each other melts my heart. Aidan O'Toole the man that you are. Writing love songs and wanting to prove himself to Lo after how things ended tugged on my heart strings. I don't think a sweeter man could be written. Lo, the woman you are becoming. I loved the character development with her. It may be subtle, but the impact of her learning to lean on people for support and to stand up for herself had impact. The story line flows so nicely. There is never a moment where I was lost or confused to what was going on. The details and the development of the story all connected to create a wonderful plot. The only thing that left me feeling rushed was towards the end of the story. I wish a little more time had been spent on the climax and situation that Lo and Aidan were facing. While I am glad the hardship did not last long, I would have liked to see a little more conflict to it all. Overall the story was beautiful and made me gasp and awe multiple times. I am very grateful for having a chance to read this. I'm hoping the story universe will continue as it seems to be hinted at in the book.

My first DNF of 2025 and this one is heartbreaking. I adore, absolutely adore, Morbidly Yours so I was eager to read Ivy's followup. Sadly, I just wasn't feeling it. I liked Lo well enough but felt zero interest in Aiden. He's just kind of there. Gave up at 40% after I started skimming around 30%.

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam and NetGalley for this ARC of Heartstrings in exchange for my honest review!

Heartstrings is the second book in the Love in Galway interconnected series. I ADORED Morbidly Yours, and I was THRILLED to be selected for this ARC! Heartstrings takes place 2 years after Morbidly Yours during wedding festivities for Callum and Lark. Aidan and Cielo have been broken up for the past 2 years and now they have to work together as best man and maid of honor for their closest friends.

I absolutely loved getting to know Cielo and Aidan. The comedic timing of their attempts to avoid each other had me cracking up. And once they temporarily gave in to the long buried feelings they had for each other I was kicking my feet and swooning! Their chemistry was palpable and Aidan was so besotted that we get lines like "some days, all I look forward to is climbing into bed because there's a chance I might dream of you" I mean, come on! SWOON!

The representation of how complex family dynamics are was very true to life. Ivy Fairbanks does not shy away from real stakes, emotional and physical. I'm always impressed with how well the author incorporates representation, whether it's physical disabilities, illness, body positivity, queerness or cultural differences while avoiding tokenism.

Overall, I find it hard to believe this is only Ivy Fairbanks' second novel! Her writing is poignant, full of humor, and romantic as hell. There are romance scenes that were completely unique in my reading experience and I loved almost every minute of this book.

My only hang up is the willful miscommunication between Aidan and Cielo, typically that trope is a no go for me, but somehow the author made this believable from both characters POV and ultimately made their love story unfold in the most beautiful way. I highly recommend this book for any romance readers who won't shy away from realistic stakes.

This was one of the best rom-coms I’ve ready in quote a while. The thing that stood out the most to me was how incredibly good the main conflict was. It was a truly difficult set of circumstances to navigate and it made it feel like the stakes were much higher than a lot of rom-coms I’ve read. I will be going to back to read the first book in this series and I’m sad that I’m going to have to wait so long for book 3!

So sweet and cute! I’ve been enjoying second chance stories lately, so I finished this in about a day and really enjoyed it. This is a second chance lovers to strangers to lovers again between a now famous musician and a doctor in residency. There’s health scares and a lot of baggage, abandonment, and control issues. I loveeed how Lo’s character was more of a top, and I’m glad we got a couple scenes of that. I wish there was more, lowkey. But I’m happy she also gave up the reins a couple times too! Aidan was a sweetheart lover boy and I do love that so much. I can see the resemblance to Hozier a bit which of COURSE sucked me in. Hope to read more from Ivy! Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I didn't like this as much as "Morbidly Yours." It does have some of the same qualities, though, including the careful use of rich detail to describe settings and occupations, and the thoughtful, realistic depiction of illnesses and family tension.

What an absolutely beautiful read. Ivy really infuses real life into her books, there's no unrealistic drama everything feels authentic. There is definitely a rollercoaster but she somehow makes it a smooth ride for readers despite the very serious topics characters are facing. I love both Cielo and Aiden equally their love for each other is so powerful and deep. It was amazing to see Lark and Callums wedding with this story ontop of it. I have zero notes this book is flawless, beautiful, timeless and something everyone should read.

Heart Strings hits some emotional high notes with its second-chance, exes-to-lovers premise, but doesn’t quite sustain the rhythm all the way through. Ivy Fairbanks paints a vivid picture of love, loss, and lingering regret against a romantic Irish backdrop, and while the setup promises sparks, the execution sometimes falls flat.

Cielo “Lo” Valdez is a fierce and resilient heroine, shaped by heartbreak and a cancer diagnosis that redefined her priorities. Her guardedness is understandable, and her chemistry with Aidan—a tattooed, mandolin-playing lawyer turned singer-songwriter—is palpable in early flashbacks. The reunion setup at an Irish castle wedding should have been a recipe for swoony tension, but the pacing and emotional payoff don’t always land.

Where the book shines is in its moments of vulnerability and its exploration of forgiveness and self-worth. But the push-pull dynamic between Lo and Aidan feels repetitive at times, and some of the dialogue strays into melodrama. Readers who loved Morbidly Yours may still find plenty to enjoy here, especially if they’re drawn to emotionally charged second-chance stories with a musical twist.

Ultimately, Heart Strings is a mixed melody—occasionally moving, occasionally meandering. A solid choice for fans of angsty romance, but it may not hit all the right chords for everyone.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
🌶️🌶️.5

Don’t talk to me 😭

This is only Ivy’s second book but you’d think she has a backlist of 100+ books with the way she writes and the way I’m OBSESSED with her.

Truly, when I was sent this book, I screamed. I loved Morbidly Yours so much and getting the chance to read Cielo’s story made me so fucking excited!!!

Lo has gone through a lot of shit in her life. From childhood cancer to an overbearing mother to an absent father to losing the love of her life for his career, I felt for her. But she came out on top. She not only beat cancer, she became a fucking doctor. A DOCTOR!!!!! She moved to the other side of the world and away from everyone and everything she knew to study medicine in Ireland and I’m so proud of her. She still has a lot of walls up, but who wouldn’t?

Aidan isn’t just an Irish musician. He’s a lawyer, a great son, a great friend, and the sweetest man to ever exist. You’re telling me this man wrote an entire album for Lo???? Telling the story of their love?????? Get out of here. I love him. He’s a strong man who isn’t afraid to bow down and kiss the road that Lo walks on and we love him for that.

Their relationship was not only a second chance at love, but a second chance at life. They went through it all together and came out better than before. It was so beautiful to watch Lo’s walls come down for Aidan and let him back in. To trust him not only with her heart, but with her body (and those ribbons 👀).

I fear I will never get over them.

Thank you SO SO SO much to Putnam for this ARC!!!! I need Saoirse’s book ASAP.

After really enjoying the first in this series, I was really excited to read this. The characters are really likable, especially Aidan. I felt like we missed the initial connection complexities and were thrown into the story part of the way through.

I received this book as an ARC - so thank you to the publisher!

While this book was cute it fell short. I didn’t really love any of the characters. I think from 0-75% it was good, after 50% it got slower and then the end felt disconnected and disappointing. I will say I’m not a huge second chance romance person to begin with.

The cover tho! I think it’s adorable! I’d still totally recommend this book - it wasn’t wrong just more not for me.

While I loved 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬, I don’t know if I needed 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬. Overall I thought it was just okay. It’s a short read with an HEA.

There’s a big willful miscommunication trope that runs throughout the book. I cannot stand when two adults cannot just sit down and talk. It stems from both of the characters not being emotionally mature enough to have the tough conversations, which is realistic(ish) for real life but annoying nonetheless. Thankfully both characters do have a bit of character growth as the book progresses and FINALLY start to talk.

I really did like the characters, but I didn’t really see the initial passion and chemistry between them because the book picks up 2 years after they meet. You do get to see how well they work together as the book progresses. The overall plot was cute if very predictable.

The author does a great job of being inclusive in her writing. Cielo being a cancer survivor gave her independent and kind of standoffish attitude an undertone of truth. However, IMO she’s kinda annoying and we’re inundated with the fact that she’s “strong/independent/hard working/etc” but she came off as emotionally stunted to me. She also expects all of these things from Aiden but doesn’t reciprocate at all. It always seemed like she thought Aiden should be the one putting in all of the work..

I really enjoyed this! 4/5 stars. Normally, musician romances are not my thing, but I didn't hate this.

This is the second book in the Love in Galway series. I definitely recommend reading Morbidly Yours first. This is a fun second-chance romance with lots of yearning and some enjoyable spice. Aidan is a songwriter who writes all his songs for her (swoon!).

At times, the story feels a bit disjointed, and her mom is a particularly frustrating character. But overall, I really enjoyed it!

This was such a charming sophomore work by Ms. Fairbanks. Morbidly Yours was my favorite read of 2023, so I was so thrilled when I received this arc. Ms. Fairbanks is such a master storyteller. She writes fantastic scenes of romances that are multidimensional. She has such a natural gift that really gets the reader emotionally tied to the characters. A fantastic story, that was emotional, funny, passionate, and heartfelt.

*2.75
After loving Fairbanks' debut, I was let down by this installment. You can tell that this second novel wasn't necessarily conceptualized when the first was released because we had no prior knowledge of this relationship. The characters were difficult for me to connect with and I unfortunately just saw lust between them. I wanted more groveling, more tension, less tell and more show. I also felt like the plot was being pulled in so many directions that it took away from the romance.

Still excited to see what Fairbanks does next, this one just wasn't for me!

Thank you to Penguin and Netgalley for the ARC!

Thanks to Netgally and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I loved this book! Cielo is amazing and I really like her personality. Aidan is basically the perfect man lol i mean, he's an accomplished musician writing songs about the love of his life *swoon* and he's also a very decent person in general. The book is spicy but also deals with real issues in a way that makes the story amazing (Abby Jimenez vibes for sure!)
If you like romance novels that make you laugh out loud but are also a little on the spicy side this one is for you! Read Morbidly Yours first though! It's also pretty great!

the beginning of this book started a bit slow but once it got going it was there! anything ivy writes will be amazing! i stand by that statement forever and so forth!