Review | Forever Hearts by C.J. Martin --> 4 Stars
TITLE: Forever Hearts AUTHOR: C.J. Martin
GENRE: New Adult
RELEASE DATE: August 3rd, 2017
Best friends aren’t meant to fall in love with each other… From the time I was five, Jesse Collins was my world. He was my partner in crime. My best friend. My confidant. We were inseparable. Soul mates. Forever hearts. But all that changed when he took on a new role. Lover. He told me to trust. To have faith. To believe in our love. And I did. But we all eat lies when the heart is hungry. And mine was damn hungry for Jesse Collins. I couldn't stop myself from falling for him, even if I wanted to. This is our story. The good. The bad. The heartbreaking. But in the end, will the thread that binds us together be strong enough to weather the storm? I used to think so, but now I’m not quite as sure… **Forever Hearts is a standalone friends to lovers new adult romance. If you like sexy and sweet, hot and handsome, mixed with a whole lot of spice, then you’ll love this steamy romance by best-selling author CJ Martín.**
Forever Hearts wasn’t the easiest book to read in the way that it’s a story that is as beautiful as it is heartbreaking. I loved Riley and Jesse’s relationship evolution from friend to lovers and felt they were just so perfect together. But all the heartache they suffer through the years made it also hard to read without getting my heart broken a little. Friends to lovers books are one of my favorite trope. All the anticipation before the hero and heroine get together and the tension building is incredible. In Forever Hearts we get all this intricate amalgam of emotions. I appreciated that both characters have their flaws, but try to grow from them. Jesse always feels he’s not good enough for Riley and tries to better himself for her resulting in a web of events that keeps taking them further away from each other. Their love and connection are undeniable and I found myself hoping for their reunion. While Jesse’s feelings for Riley are clear as day, Riley has some difficulty admitting to herself that she sees more in him than her best friend. I appreciated her evolution through all this process. The only downside to the story I found and mostly the reason I didn’t rate it higher was the way the paragraphs and short chapters switched rapidly through time. I felt it was more difficult to stay as connected to Riley and Jesse’s story. But still, all their interactions are always heartfelt and I couldn’t help but smile, laugh or even shed some tears over their poignant love story. C.J. Martin penned a friends to lovers books that will play at your heartstrings that’s for sure with Forever Hearts. Through friendship, love, desire, fear and heartache, you’ll fall in love with Riley and Jesse.
**ARC received in exchange for an honest review **
C.J. MARTIN
CJ Martín lives in Pennsylvania with her wonderful husband and her adorable (sometimes infuriating) dog, Albert. She is an avid reader and has been known to spend her days ignoring her responsibilities while engrossed in a good book. She enjoys traveling and yoga. Snowbound is her first book.
