This book is so cute and fun! Heart Strings had me kicking my feet and giddy the whole book. The MMC is to die for!😍 He is the sweetest ever.

If you are into second chance romances, you definitely need to read this book!! There is a lot of back and forth banter between the FMC and MMC. I laughed out loud so many times.

I don’t want to give too much away in my review so not to spoil it for others but I will definitely be talking about this book more once it comes out! 🖤

Heart Strings is a Second Chance Romance between and up and coming songwriter and overworked med student. A mutual friends wedding in rural Ireland leads to re-sparking their feelings for one another. I loved this premise but unfortunately the story fell a bit flat for me. The writing is good and the plot was solid but I didn't feel connection with the characters and their type of romance (the whole fem-dom aspect) just didn't connect for me. Now this is no means a bad book it just wasn't the book for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC! My review is my own.

I really enjoyed Morbidly Yours, so I was excited to get Heart Strings.
However, after 7 chapters, I elected not to finish it.
The books is moving towards a second-chance, celebrity themed romance, but the pace is too slow, and I haven't gotten invested enough in the characters to wait it out.

Cielo and Aidan had a whirlwind romance that ended when Aidan moved to London to chase his dream of becoming a musician. Years later, fate brings them back together for Callum and Lark’s wedding, forcing them to face the heartbreak that still lingers. Time and distance didn’t erase their feelings—it only made them stronger.

Both Lo and Aidan had their reasons for walking away, but now they must decide if love is worth the risk one more time.

Lo was incredibly relatable—a fiercely independent woman who avoids relying on others, convinced she can handle everything on her own. She’s built walls around her heart, but underneath it all, she’s fragile. Watching her step out of her comfort zone and embrace life, despite the fear of the unknown, was so rewarding. Her strength and resilience made her journey especially moving.

Aidan, on the other hand, is determined to break down those walls and fight for the woman he never stopped loving. Seeing these two grow, change, and learn from their past mistakes made their love story so satisfying.

It was effortless to root for Lo and Aidan. Their romance unfolds like a bittersweet melody—one that I’ll return to again and again.

My only critique is that the story leaned more into telling rather than showing, and I think more flashbacks of their past relationship would’ve deepened the emotional connection. I also wished for a stronger resolution between Lo and her dad.

I loved Aidan’s devotion to supporting his family and thought it was so heartwarming. His kindness and loyalty made him such an admirable love interest.

If you haven’t picked up Ivy’s debut, *Morbidly Yours*, it’s a must-read. She has a gift for handling tough topics with grace, and *Heart Strings* is no exception. Both books deserve high praise!

Heart Strings by Ivy Fairbanks follows characters briefly introduced in the first Love in Galway book. It follows, Lo, a med student with a fiercely independent attitude and her ex boyfriend Aiden who is a songwriter and musician meeting again at the wedding of Callum and Lark— their prospective best friends.

Morbidly Yours instantly captured me with its charm and depth as a story. I found that Heart Strings was a bit slow at time. Aiden was a sweetheart. The story was simple and easy to read, but overall I enjoyed the first more. I would give it 3.5-4 stars. It is a cute read that focuses on the fact that we need others and we need to trust them and lean on them, specifically those we love. Fairbanks writing style is easy to read and enjoyable, and I will certainly continue reading for the next in the series!

Thank you to Ivy Fairbanks, NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam, and Putnam’s Sons Romance for this free Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review. 📚

sometimes you gotta just keep chipping away at the independent woman that’s always done it on her own. I appreciate Aiden for committing to the challenge! Loved getting to read about Callum and Lark’s wedding too, it was perfect!

Heart Strings is a second chance romance that follows our FMC Cielo, a med student who moved to Galway to work in her clinicals closer to her best friend/cousin Lark. Our MMC is Aidan, best friend of Callum and an up and coming singer songwriter who cannot get Cielo out of his head two years later.

Aiden and Cielo are stuck in a forced proximity setting for Lark and Callum’s wedding because they are the Maid of Honor and Best Man. Seeing each other again brings up old feelings that never really went away and things start to heat up.

I want to preface this by saying that I do not like second chance romances at all. They are typically not my bread and butter and I was so excited to read another Ivy Fairbanks book that I failed to note that when I requested this ARC. I still read and finished this book in its entirety and worked very hard to write an honest review on the writing itself instead of focusing on the storyline. With that being said I did not hate the writing. I think Ivy did a really great job bringing the story together. I do feel like the ending of this was a tad rushed but overall it was a solid read.

I would still recommend this book to anyone that loves second chance romances. There was a lot of push and pull from the characters and Ivy writes really strong FMCs which I love. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

I want to thank NetGalley and Ivy Fairbanks for the chance to read this eARC. I really appreciate the opportunity.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really enjoyed this return to Galway. We first met Cielo and Aidan in Morbidly Yours and it really was a treat to read their story. We meet them after they have broken up with Aidan now in London pursuing his music career and Cielo doing her residency. I really enjoyed this characters. Cielo is complex, strong, fiercely independent and a lot of her choices make sense given what she went through in her youth. Aidan was sweet and caring. The reason for their break up (this is not spoiler since it’s a second chance romance) is understandable and their reasons are understandable, like these two felt like real people. The stress and anxiety of illness and learning to lean on others is so real and I really felt for Cielo. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and cannot wait for Saoirse’s story. Thank you Penguin and NetGalley for the ARC

Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read a copy of this book in advance. I was excited to read this because I recently read the first book, “Morbidly Yours.” For whatever reason, I had a hard time getting through this book.
It was nice to have crossover in the character stories from the first book. This is a second chance love story. It is fairly spicy so something to keep in mind, depending if that’s your thing or not. For some reason, I found Lo, the main character, a bit annoying.
I would give this author a try again, since I did like the first book, but this just didn’t strike a chord with the me. I’m giving a 3 star ranking, I do think some readers will love this, and there were some fun shenanigans that happen during the wedding. I like bringing The Cure into the story, especially since I’ve been on a kick lately of listening to them.

This is the second book in the Love in Galway series and it’s a five star read. Cielo and Aiden are former lovers with a complicated past. This is a second chance romance that takes place around Lark and Callum’s wedding. I loved getting to read about their wedding, Ivy did a great job brining the reader into the wedding without losing focus on Cielo and Aiden.

⭐️ 2/5

Thank you to Penguin for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved Morbidly Yours and was so excited to get this ARC on NetGalley. I just couldn’t get into Lo and Aidan’s story. I didn’t feel the chemistry; I felt like I missed so much between MY and HS, so I couldn’t buy the tension because I hadn’t experienced their love story. I also just didn’t like Lo nearly as much as Lark (and Callum).

I had high expectations after being so surprised by how much I liked Morbidly Yours. Sadly this one did not measure up. A second chance romance where neither character really wanted to break up and they get back together almost instantly may be great for the characters but I was bored. There was no real tension or connection between them and the focus ended up being on other pot lines, some of which never got resolved. Not the book for me but I will still try the author’s next book.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ivy Fairbanks really knows how to write angst, longing, and second chances. As soon as I finished Morbidly Yours, I was excited to read what came next. Cielo and Aiden have my heart. It was so wonderful to see their relationship in time-jumps. The premise of maid of honor and best man is always a recipe for fun, and this book did not disappoint.

There is so much to love about this book and I don't think readers will be disappointed.

This book was on my must-read list for 2025 and it certainly did not disappoint! I adored Morbidly Yours when I read it last year, and Ivy Fairbanks has done it again with Cielo and Aidan. Just as she had with the first book in the series, serious topics were tastefully addressed within a rom-com setting. She artfully wove a tale that had me laughing out loud in one moment, swooning in the next and crying soon after. Please give this book a read when it releases!

Unfortunately this just… isn’t working for me. But I am also acknowledging that it may at least in SOME part be because I haven’t yet read the first book.

This is a second chance romance, but it started off very poorly for me because the reason for the original breakup just… feels flimsy. Because of this, it was also really, really hard to believe this deep connection and tension the author is trying to portray with these two ( it wasn’t succeeding at, for me). I just didn’t find myself wanting to pick this up at all, and I didn’t find the humor all that funny, nor did I care much about their connection. I’ll probably still read book 1 someday because of all the good things I’ve heard, but this wasn’t it unfortunately. Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for this eArc regardless!

I really loved the first book in this series and this second book was just as good! I really love the fact that it is about rekindled love and finding your way back to the person you love.

Set in Galway, Ireland, medical student Cielo (Lo) hasn't seen her ex Aidan in two years, ever since he left to pursue his music career. Now they both will be in the wedding party for their best friends' wedding. As they prepare for the wedding, the two find their physical chemistry stronger than ever. But will they be able to sustain a relationship after the weekend?

I loved the setting and seeing the characters from the first book getting married! There's also the possibility for a third book that I'm excited to see (Saoirse).

The third act saved this for me. I felt disconnected and struggled through the first half. Once they left the wedding, I was invested what happened next.

🎸 Second chance romance
👩‍⚕️ Med Student FMC
🎸 Musician MMC
👩‍⚕️ Cancer
🎸 No third act breakup
👩‍⚕️ Complex family relationships
🎸 Second in series

Open door / spicy!! (includes BDSM)

3.5 / 5 stars (rounded up)

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for this eARC!

Such an amazing new voice in romance. Sexy with great humor and heart. Loved every bit of it! One of my new "automatic buy" authors!

*ARC Review*

Okay.. be warned, this book made me feel SO MANY FEELINGS and I cannot physically condense it into a review of reasonable length. Additionally, I talk about Cielo & Aidan's relationship and the growth they have, but in my opinion, I'm not really mentioning anything that can't be assumed based on the blurb of the book!

TLDR; Cielo is a complicated, strong, and independent woman who has built walls around herself so high that she can't even accept love from her family, let alone a man she's been in love with for years. Aidan is a talented, witty romantic who loves his family and is going through the motions of the life he thought he wanted, not fighting for anything more because he feels like he should be happy. Neither one has ever truly recovered from how their relationship ended, but they both have a lot of growing to do before they're ready to give it another chance. This book is an emotional, powerful story of Cielo learning to open her heart to others who want to prove themselves worthy of her, and Aidan learning to fight for what he's wanted this whole time. It's a beautiful depiction of the give-and-take in a relationship: learning to let go of control over every minute aspect of your life and be vulnerable, while seizing control of your own life and going after what you want. I laughed, I cried, and I blushed throughout the entire book (umm.. those spicy scenes? Talk about creativity!) and I know I'll be thinking about Lo & Aidan's story for the foreseeable future.

Now, for the in-depth dissertation on why I loved this freaking book so much.

Morbidly Yours was a book I instantly knew would become a favorite of mine. It was emotional and lighthearted, sweet and sarcastic all in one. I immediately purchased the audiobook after finishing the ebook and it's become one of my comfort-listens. But I was not prepared for the impact Cielo & Aidan would have on me. Not at all.

Don't get me wrong, Callum & Lark's story had a lot of elements that felt so raw and relatable (the way the characters dealt with social anxiety was incredible to see represented in a book), but the actual plot of the book was not something that I personally related to. While one character dealt with grieving after the loss of a spouse, the other was trying to find a bride in order to inherit his family business. I felt the raw emotion of Callum & Lark based on the writing itself and the depth of their characters, but I didn't really see myself reflected in the story.

Cielo, though? The amount of tears I shed while reading this book should likely be cause for concern. There were so many moments where it wasn't even an "important" scene, but I felt so seen that it just broke me. Cielo is such a complicated character who craves the comfort of those she loves yet is so stubbornly independent, she refuses to ever ask for help (or to even accept it when it's offered). She has adjusted her expectations of the world so ruthlessly that she never gives anyone in her life the chance to prove themselves. She's a romantic and a cynic at the same time, craving affection but refusing to show anything that she deems a weakness. She's incredibly strong, yet there are moments that make her realize she can't do everything alone, nor does she want to.

Lo's medical history kind of taught her how fickle people can be (at least in her own mind) and she's forced herself to build these walls around her heart as a way to cope with how much it affected her life. As someone who has dealt with chronic illness since I was 12, it was heartbreaking to see the butterfly effect that trauma caused on her life and empowering to see how she deals with it and grows throughout the story. Lo's relationship with each of her parents is eerily similar to my own, down to their personalities and the way they deal with their own emotions. While I'm not a badass med student and I didn't move across the world and fall in love with an Irish musician... I saw myself reflected in Cielo's story throughout the story and it was incredible to see her character grow, all the while still making mistakes and allowing herself to be more open with her heart.

Now, Aidan? A sarcastic, witty, tattooed, Irish musician who only has eyes for Lo and also has a good relationship with his family? Count me in. While Aidan's character doesn't necessarily face the same level of struggle Cielo's character does, it never feels unbalanced or ingenuine. Aidan has known what he wanted since the beginning, but basically just accepted his fate and went through the motions on autopilot instead of fighting for what he wants. He realizes his mistakes and does his absolute best to understand Lo's complexities and what she needs, even when she doesn't realize it herself. Even if there are times when it seems he's being asked to sacrifice more or put more effort into the relationship, he knows that Lo is ultimately what he wants, and that the life he's built without her is lacking in all the ways that matter.

Lastly, the spicy scenes were (in my opinion) at the perfect level. There's tension (oooh boy is there) and some situations the characters are found in that they make the most of (insert wink emoji here). These scenes and the tension are believable in a way that is fun and fresh without being unrealistic or over-the-top. I want to make a witty joke here about a certain electronic device but I don't want to give anything away..

I love these characters even more than I did in the first book, but I absolutely adore Callum & Lark and I'm so happy we got to see more of them. I love Saoirse's personality and I can't wait to get to know her more as she puts a certain arrogant man (cough Gabe cough) in his place. I also hope to see more of Fionn's goofy shenanigans in the future. Brb I'm booking a flight to Galway.

I received an advanced copy of this book via Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving this review. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

✨ Thank you to the publisher for the ARC of this magical second-chance romance!

This was such a fun follow-up to Morbidly Yours, and I loved it just as much as the first! The setting, the tropes, the emotional stakes—it all worked so well for me. Lo and Aidan have such great chemistry, and I really appreciated how the author tackled big topics like cancer survivorship and forgiveness with heart and humor.

Aidan is a rock star done right—sensitive, swoony, and genuinely kind. I usually struggle with celebrity heroes in romance, but he had so much depth and wasn’t the typical brooding musician. And while Lo could be frustrating at times, I also found her incredibly relatable (especially when she avoided making her doctor’s appointments—felt very called out!). Her emotional growth throughout the story was so satisfying to watch unfold.

Ireland was painted with such magic and charm, and the castle wedding added the perfect backdrop for some serious romantic tension. I also loved seeing familiar faces from the first book and catching the little hints dropped about what might come next.

A bold, warm, and heartfelt story about second chances, stubbornness, and finding your way back to the love you never forgot. I can’t wait for the next in the series! 💫