5🌟 and 3🌶️ for “Heart Strings” by Ivy Fairbanks. The follow up to “Morbidly Yours” hits all the right notes! Taking place two years after we catch up with Lark’s cousin Cielo Valdez. She moved to Galway to peruse medical school 2 years prior. She had a hot and heavy romance with Aidan O’Toole but when he revived a recording contract and moved to London Cielo ended things and that was that.

Now they are all together for Lark and Callum’s wedding. It’s the first time Lo and Aidan have been around each other in 2 years. Even though every song Aidan has ever written has been about Lo, she’s adamant she does not do second chances. But will this forced proximity show Lo that it’s ok to forgive?!

Ivy Fairbanks writes her characters so beautifully. We love seeing curvy girl representation and a man who loves all of them. This book brought some wild spicy scenes! Like I didn’t know you could do THAT in a hearse or THAT on a speaker but Ivy was creative, and it paid off over and over.

What you will find in “Heart Strings”:

🎵second chance romance
🎵Dual POV
🎵Exes to Lovers
🎵Forced Procimity
🎵”Knotty” spice
🎵Best man/Maid of Honor
🎵Curvy FMC/Tatted MMC

Thank you NetGalley and Putnam for the digital eARC for my honest review. “Heart Strings” comes out in August 12th.

There was a lot that I wanted to like about this book. In the end, I didn’t like a lot of things about this book. I think if you don’t work in the medical fields or the music industry and just have a general public knowledge of both, you might this book. I don’t want the trash on it because just because I didn’t like a book doesn’t mean someone else won’t.

Ivy Fairbanks does it again for me. We return to Galway for a wedding, and we get to know the lovely Cielo and Aiden. The magic of this book is all that tension that Ivy brings between her characters. And who can resist an Irish musician.

This was so cute!! Immediately went and bought the first book from the series :)

This was truly one of the best second chance romances ever!! It was sweet and sexy and meaningful and fun all at once. The characters were complex and likeable and so adorable/perfect together! The MMC was incredible!!

A lively and upbeat second chance romance that doesn’t shy away from emotional moments. Heart Strings by Ivy Fairbanks gives you characters that will make your heart flutter. Both Cielo and Aidan are lovable and it was a thrill to see their love story unfold.

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

"Heart strings" by Ivy Fairbanks is a fun second-chance romance set in Galway. I really enjoyed the second book in this series and look forward to more.

Ivy Fairbanks, you have done it again.

What an absolutely beautiful, pain-staking emotional journeys, and SPICY second chance romance…

“Being the inspiration for a hit love song is my villain origin story”

Cielo is one of the most relatable FMC i’ve had the pleasure to read in A WHILE. Even with vastly different experiences, cultures and pressures, I saw parts of myself in her. Also we both have exes who wrote songs about us and that in itself is cathartic… although I hope my ex doesn’t pull an Aideon O’Toole. Speaking of the ginger bearded man… WHAT A MAN. He’s so down bad, half of the time he doesn’t even know what to do with himself.

I also loved getting to see Callum & Lark’s wedding along with all the other side characters from Morbidly Yours being in attendance.

This is a fantastic second book in the Love in Galaway series!!

Pub Date August 12 2025

ARC provided by Penguin Group, Putnum and NetGalley. Thank you.

review posted to NetGalley & Goodreads

Who doesn't love a sexy second chance romance? Ive Fairbanks is a storyteller of love and loss but who can add laughter into the romance. A true romcom story that will leave you believing in second chances and love.

i am going to DNF this at 33%. i don't think there is really anything wrong with the book, i just don't think that this author's writing style in this book is for me. I enjoyed Morbidly Yours, and was excited for this one but i think that having the first relationship that happened between the characters be off page makes it hard for me to connect to the story.

thank you to Putnam and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC early in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book- even way more than the first one in this series. I thought that one was super sweet, real cute, but this one was all the emotions I absolutely needed. From Cielo's health issues, family issues, her past relationship with Aidan and how they just blossom in this book- it was everything I could've asked for and more. Their emotional depth was everything. It wasn't just romance, it was healing, learning, growing, it was absolutely beautiful (and at times, delightfully steamy!!) I thought it was a fun, quick read and I genuinely enjoyed it. If there is a third book coming in this series, I absolutely cannot wait to read it! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

This was second chance romance done so right. I absolutely adored these characters. Heart Strings is a perfect name cause it’s going to pull on yours the whole time! Perfect balance of sweet and spice.

4.5 stars

Another fun and spicy read from Ivy Fairbanks! I loved her first book Morbidly Yours, and the next in the series does not disappoint. This one has a very different vibe than Morbidly Yours, but thankfully we get more of Lark and Callum from the first book.. This is a second-chance, forced proximity romance, with two characters who still carry a flame for each other. Aiden is ready to walk through fire for Cielo, but Cielo would rather grab a fire extinguisher! Nonetheless, their interactions are fiery hot! Love the Irish setting, and the Irish culture infused into the story. Cielo's mom is a piece of work, though! Yikes!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the digital ARC in return for an honest review.

If you loved Morbidly Yours, fall in love in Galway again with heart Strings. A second chance romance with the best kind of "not a real third act breakup" and a green flag MMC you'll swoon over. Another great read from Ivy Fairbanks! Can't wait for the next one!

An emotional, romantic follow-up to Morbidly Yours. Fairbanks pulls on the heart strings of her audience (hence the title) in this beautiful second-chance love story. I don’t typically shed tears while reading, but I needed tissues for this one. My mother is a cancer survivor, just like the fmc Cielo. While mainstream media often focuses on fighting cancer or finding a cure, it rarely sheds light on what it’s like to be able to decide what comes next. With Heart Strings, Fairbanks gives the audiences a front row seat into life after surviving a traumatic illness and provides a happy ending.

Book 22 of 2025 - ✅! Thank you to NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons & Ivy Fairbanks for an ARC of Heart Strings by Ivy Fairbanks, in exchange for my honest review.

Heart Strings, book 2 of A Love in Galway Novel Series, was one of my most anticipated reads of this year. Morbidly Yours (the 1st book in the series), was one of my top reads last year and is a favorite of mine in the rom-com space.

Cielo “Lo” Valdez, the FMC, is Lark Thompson’s (the FMC from Morbidly Yours) cousin in Ireland, finishing med school. Lo and the MMC, Aidan O’Toole, singer/songwriter and Callum Flannery’s friend (MMC from Morbidly Yours) find themselves in a second-chance romance situation when Lo and Aidan are the Maid of Honor and Best Man to Lark and Callum, respectively. After having dated for about 6 months, and with over year since their last communication, being each other’s counterparts during the wedding weekend make for a fun forced-prolixity story. Bonus points for diversity with a plus-sized FMC who’s also Latina. Lo is also a cancer survivor, which is portrayed with care. Fairbanks brought back the dual-POV, which worked well for this book.

While I enjoyed Heart Strings, I still feel Morbidly Yours is the stronger of the 2 and would rank that a bit higher. Some might say that Heart Strings is more steamy Morbidly Yours, though I would disagree there - perhaps I’m due to re-read Morbidly Yours. Heart Strings comes out on August 12, 2025 - be sure to check it out!

3.5/5 ⭐️ s (rounding up to 4 at this juncture) overall & 2.5/5 🌶️ . #NetGalley #HeartStrings 🩺🎤🇮🇪

Heart Strings is everything I want in a second-chance romance: full of heart, longing, tension, and the kind of love that feels both impossible and inevitable.

Lo and Aidan’s story hit me right in the chest. It’s tender and angsty, with the kind of slow-burn chemistry that simmers just beneath the surface until it absolutely erupts. I loved how Ivy Fairbanks gave us a plus-size, Latina heroine who is layered and real. Strong, soft, guarded, brilliant. Lo felt so human in all the best ways. And Aidan? Quiet, steady, aching for her in every song lyric? Fully obsessed.

The Irish castle wedding setting was charming and romantic, and I loved the callbacks to Morbidly Yours. There’s depth here too. Grief, chronic illness, cultural identity, complicated family dynamics. And yet it never loses sight of joy, hope, or the promise of love that chooses you again.

Fair warning: it’s steamier than Book 1, and the pacing in the second half moves fast. But for me, it worked. It felt like Lo and Aidan had already done the falling in love part years ago. Now it was about whether they could finally be brave enough to hold onto it.

If you love second chances, plus-size heroines who take up space unapologetically, and emotionally grounded romances that still bring the swoon, Heart Strings deserves a spot on your shelf.

Tropes: Second chance romance, forced proximity, grumpy/sunshine vibes, musician hero, plus-size heroine, wedding setting, pining, dual POV, only one bed, small town Ireland

I love this world Ivy Fairbanks has built with these characters. I love Morbidly Yours, especially the themes of grief and love mixed together but Heart Strings takes it a step further and the depth the characters have beyond their romance is fantastic.

I zipped through this one in about a day and it was definitely heavier than the first but I loved it all the same. :) I really appreciated the trigger and contents warnings since it does handle a lot of medical content but it was balanced well with humor and heart.

I really loved Ivy Fairbanks debut book, Morbidly Yours, so I was stoked to be gifted an ARC of Heart Strings. It was a bit of a letdown for me though, when comparing the two. I really disliked the main character in this one as some of the decisions and ideas she made in the book were wild to me. I wanted to love this love story more but it was all just a little too... Hallmark for me. Writing was good though.

Wow! Ivy Fairbanks has done it again with another unputdownable novel! I was completely hooked on the chemistry and dynamic between Cielo and Aidan. Cielo made such an intriguing FMC: smart, complex, and so real. The way her medical issues surfaced in the second half of the story added a depth to their romance that made it feel authentic, not just a steamy fling.
And Aidan? He felt like a beefy Irish Ed Sheeran… aka my dream man! Their connection was electric, and let me tell you, this one was SPICY. I had to pause more than once to fan myself. This was an absolutely fantastic read, and I’m already counting down the days until Ivy Fairbanks releases her next book!

I absolutely adored Morbidly Yours and had high hopes for this one (gimme a music man any day), but everything falls flat. It doesn't help that the initial relationship happens off-page, before the story starts, so all of the animosity feels out of place and underdeveloped. The reasoning behind said anomisity also feels weak--it seems like someone REALLY wanted to continue this as a series and said, "Do an enemies to lovers one." I adored both characters and their growth, but it feels like many scenes skip, leaving us without important, worthwhile detail and dense moments.