Cornish pastry chef Seb Wright dreads the summer tourist season. The cash injection to his artisan fudge pantry is more than welcome, the extra work, less so. Then one summer, a shadowy Good Samaritan catches his eye. Irish Traveller Dex is bewitching, a beautiful sullen enigma who turns Seb’s world upside down until he disappears in the night, vanishing like a mystical summer rain. Twelve months …
Twelve months later Dex is in the midst of a dark storm. A slave to his master, ‘Uncle’ Braden, he spends his days cleaning caravans and his nights working in Braden’s other businesses. His short summer with Seb seems a lifetime ago. Lost in the savage violence of the murky underworld, he doesn’t dare dream he’ll ever find his way back, until one night, a brutal crime opens the door for a chance escape. A new life beckons, old faces emerge, and immersed in the heady vibe of London’s East End, new love begins to heal his fractured heart.
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Heart is an angst-y story about a second chance at love and growing into the person you were always meant to be.
Seb and Dex meet in Cornwall one summer and form a friendship first that turns romantic for one night, but then Dex disappears without a trace. Both look back on the night like it was a dream, but can’t stop thinking about it.
Dex was a beautifully broken character. He was so sweet and wanted to see the positive in everyone even after all of the terrible things he’d been forced into. I loved reading about his growth, especially once he’d escaped from Braden to London and Rick and Bernie took him under their wing, giving him a place to flourish.
I wasn’t sure how Seb would come back into the story, but him showing up at Rick’s restaurant to work with Dex was cute, if not a little far-fetched. But I really enjoyed their interactions since there was clearly a connection between them that pulled them into each other’s orbit time and time again.
Seb took the time to teach Dex to bake in a way he’d understand since he knew he couldn’t read and his extra care was so heartwarming. And his reactions to Dex’s growth and progress were so genuine. When Dex goes missing again, I wish we could have gotten some first person POV from Seb to see exactly how he felt instead of just getting a recap along with Dex.
I think the idea to buy the farmhouse to turn it into a restaurant at the end was perfect for both of them. Seb could still do what he loved and Dex could keep horses and spend time in nature like he couldn’t in the city. I would have loved to see an epilogue with a little peek into what their life looked like after that, to see how happy they were once they were finally together and doing things they loved.
Audiobook Review
Narrator: Dan Calley
4.5 Overall
5 Narrator
4 Story
Garrett Leigh thrives at writing stories that are full of angst, tug at your heart, and have beautifully developed, and wonderfully flawed, characters. This book is a little darker than I am even used to from her. Darker, but not disturbingly so. It guts you, though, and will have you wanting to scoop Dex up, in order to protect him from everything.
This story is about Seb and Dex, but is mostly told through Dex’s POV. The bulk of the angst is his storyline, with Seb being the man who wants to love him, protect him, and show him another way for ‘normal’ to look like. They meet up at the beginning of the story, then are separated. Later on, they are surprisingly reunited by a twist of life. They pursue their second chance of being together, although things aren’t easy.
This is a well-written story, and it had my emotions feeling like they were on a rollercoaster. I was completely drawn in and rooting for Dex and Seb to find their HEA.
Dan Calley crushed it with this book. His narration skills just keep getting better! His voice, plus Leigh’s words, is a major hit. He elevates an already emotional story, by giving it a voice.
Audiobook review:
Overall – 5
Story – 5
Performance – 5
Broke my heart and put it back together by the end.
OMG this is a fantastic story! Heart really tore me up but put me back together before the end. There are some rather dark scenes in this book but I didn’t think that they were gratuitous; they were integral to the overall storyline.
I’ve not read any MM stories about Travellers before and I think Garrett Leigh handled what could be a touchy subject with a lot of care and sensitivity. Dex is a Traveller but he is forced to do things that no one should ever have to do. Seb owns and artisan fudge shop in a tourist town. This unlikely pair came together through a series of unexpected encounters.
I’m finding it really hard to put into words how this story made me feel. It had my emotions all over the place and had me reaching for tissues more than once. Heart is tied with Finding Home as the best performances I’ve listened to by Dan Calley. Each characters’ voice was very distinctive and the emotions he put into the books was perfect. Once I started listening to Heart I couldn’t turn it off and listened straight through.
This is another Garrett Leigh book/audiobook that I can’t recommend highly enough.
A complimentary copy of this audiobook was provided to me but my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author and/or narrator.
Powerful and Raw (an audio review)
Garrett Leigh has a way of making me work both while listening to the book and then after when I sit down to write a review. How do I describe a book that moved me? That was both painful and redemptive? That broke my heart and then put it back together again? That made me think and made me feel? That I never wanted to end.
Heart is such a book. Also, with Ms. Leigh’s books, there is an uneven narrative structure. I’m accustomed to alternating back and forth – one chapter per hero. In this book, Ms. Leigh chose to make Seb the point of view character for the first and last chapters, and Dex carried the bulk of the heavy lifting. As it should be. His point of view was critical to the story telling. His life was the most painful and at every turn, he had the most to lose. The breaking of the convention forced me to work harder at figuring out Seb and how he was viewing things.
The opening is Seb working at his family’s fudge shop. He meets Dex, an Irish traveller who is passing through town. They begin something special only to have it end abruptly when Dex disappears. Seb believes that’s the end and he’ll never see Dex again.
Dex is in a horrible place. He cleans caravans during the day, submits to horrific events at night, and wonders how long he can keep going. He’s starved, painfully thin, and faces terrible poverty. He’s responsible for keeping the horses alive and there’s barely enough to feed them. Knowing that kind of poverty exists is one thing, facing that deprivation is something altogether different.
Then something terrible happens and Dex finds a way to escape. He makes his way to London, but things aren’t much better there. Until he happens upon a generous restaurant owner who offers him a job. It’s a rough go at first as Dex adapts to a semi-normal life. He manages to get a roof over his head, food in his belly, and money in his pocket. It’s a small amount because he can’t work legally, but it’s better than turning tricks in the tube station.
Then Seb reappears. Now, maybe this was addressed and I missed it, but I never did understand what happened to his family shop on the seashore. Anyway, he’s hired at the restaurant to prepare desserts. He’s shocked to see Dex, but slowly, with patience, reaches out to the young man. It’s tenuous at first, but eventually Dex opens up and allows Seb to take care of some of his needs. He’s still stubbornly independent, and constantly worried he’s going to have to move on. His past is never far away both in reality and in his mind.
And, eventually, that past does come crashing down around him. There’s plenty of violence in this book and although it serves a purpose, it wasn’t any easier to swallow. I knew the book would have a happy ending, but I despaired what Dex would have to endure to get to that place.
I did get my happy ending and I was able to see Dex’s healing through Seb’s eyes for that final chapter. I loved how the book ended.
I’ll mention Dan Calley’s narration. I swear Ms. Leigh’s books are perfect for him as he brings his talent and adds that something special to what is already a powerful story. So yeah, heartbreaking, heartmending, and beautiful. The power of love in the heart.