Review: Heartless - R.C. Martin

Title: Heartless

Author: R.C. Martin

Genre: Fiction/Forbidden Romance

Release Date: December 4, 2017

He was faithful, until he wasn’t.

She was honest, until first touch…

And against all that is pure and noble, they fell in love.

Warning: This is not one of those novels where the characters’ actions are justified. It is merely a story about two people--two flawed humans--who fall in love under forbidden circumstances. It is intended for audiences 18+ years of age due to explicit sexual content.

Review

4 Stars

Michael doesn't even realize there's room available in his life, and his heart, for anything more. He's busy being a Governor, attending his wife's events, and fitting in time with his family, giving the rest to working out. Blaine is a bartender, a beautiful girl with no real direction on what she wants to do right now. Michael sees her and knows her smile isn't genuine, that something is keeping her from really being happy. It starts as a conversation and a tip, that's all it should've ever been, but it becomes something more and soon Michael is seeking a way to make Blaine's smile every day. She tries to stay honest, but something about him pulls her in and soon Blaine is wanting everything from Michael, everything he's already given to another.

"It isn't until this very moment that I realized I harbored a desire to see him again."

I have been waiting for this book for months, since R.C. Martin's last new release and the first murmurings of this book were posted online. She teased about the forbidden aspect, she posted about how much emotion and time went into it, and she posted warnings that this one may not be for everyone. Well, maybe not, but Heartless was certainly for me. I really appreciate a well done forbidden romance, because despite the fiction aspect of it, the novel is always based on a certain level of reality. Affairs and cheating happen, but we often only see one side of it and novels are one way of showing another side. R.C. Martin took on that challenge with Heartless, giving readers a glimpse into how a relationship stopped working, how another began, and how we can possibly love two flawed characters who are doing something we are told is morally wrong.

""Affair. He's having an affair. We are having an affair."

Michael and Blaine are fantastic, confident characters that independently could have had really great stories, but together have burning chemistry and a relationship that you both want and feel badly for wanting. They're interesting to read about, their relationship so intriguing, and the details about their lives together is so well fleshed out. Plus, the smut scenes between these two are HOT. Heartless is written in such a way that makes you feel sympathy for the characters, it makes you see the good in all the bad they are doing, and it makes you question your thoughts on rules and following them so rigorously. It's an emotional read with emotional characters and a significant amount of drama, but it is done so well and it really is a great read.

"How can I possibly stay? How can I possibly go?"

Okay okay, I know I am getting some looks for saying I loved this book and yet I am giving it 4 stars. I love R.C. Martin's books and it has nothing to do with her as an author. It isn't about my enjoyment of the book either, I was 100% into it, but there were some points that logistically didn't work out and that I expected a bit more from. A person in a position of political power wouldn't have gotten away with it all so easily, at least where I am from. I expected more politics in Michael's life and I expected more details into how an affair, a divorce, or even a new relationship down the line would make people react about their governor. On top of that, I wish I could've seen more of what each character was up to when separated. I feel like both characters were such strong individuals and they weren't given time apart to show those strengths as single characters, but rather only seen as strong together. Especially when Michael was dealing with his wife, I would've loved to see more about that. I do have to say I love that we get to see both characters perspectives as they work through the relationship and how they come to terms with the affair. It's nice to not see characters in negative light during and after a forbidden romance.

Heartless is a bit of a deviation from R.C. Martin's usually fare, but it also features her stunning knack for detail, her strong devotion to her belief's, and a pile of emotion and romance. It's the sort of book that you can visualize, your imagination able to picture it like a movie. It makes you feel, it makes you desire, and it makes you want to read for hours on end. R.C. Martin is the sort of author you can depend on and despite it's taboo topic, Heartless is one of those books you need to find time for.

I'm a born and bred Coloradan. While I now reside in Virginia, the land of the Rocky Mountains is where I've left a piece of my heart and where my characters come to life. I started writing love stories when I was seventeen, and I haven't been able to stop! With me, you'll find that I dabble in a few different romance genres, but my voice is one that's all about the heart. Writing is my dream; and as a dreamer, you can rest assured that there are many more novels in my head that I can hardly wait to share.