Three different stories, all connected by one family experiencing the type of love that continues on long after we’re gone.A Heart of Time“Time of death…” the doctor said. I won’t forget that moment I looked over at the woman I had been with since we were five years old. My wife. My best friend…and the mother to our newborn baby girl.You promised me we would be together forever, I wanted to … together forever, I wanted to tell her. She gave me her forever, I told myself. Her forever just ended at twenty-five.
Ellie never told me another woman would carry on with her beating heart. Somehow, she knew. And she could have told me….
A Missing Heart
I’ve made mistakes, ones that have ruined lives. Including my own.
Because of this, my past is something I have chosen to keep to myself, and when I found a woman who wanted her past to remain hidden, as well, it felt like the universe was pushing us together.
Except, the universe has nothing to do with the unfolding of my life.
My wife is not who I think she is, living with a past I should have known about.
Now, both of our pasts have come into the spotlight, and they have collided head-on.
A Change of Heart
I was born with a bad heart, one that would not keep me alive through adulthood.
Then, the one day every person on a transplant list waits for, came for me. A new heart with my name on it would give me more time, second chances, and a new life.
A new life with the donor’s widowed husband.
A new life where I tell the perfect man I can never be his.
A new life where I cause heartache instead of feeling it.
My happily ever after doesn’t end with a kiss or a promise.
It ends with gratitude and a goodbye.
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Shari J. Ryan’s prose in A Heart of Time is beautiful and witty with characters who will make you laugh and cry and want to shake them because you are so frustrated. Olive is unbelievably adorable and incredibly smart for her age. Even with Olive’s adorableness, AJ was my favorite. His sense of humor and jokes towards Hunter kept me laughing throughout the story and were a great way to bring light-hearted moments to a story centered around a heavy topic.
A Heart of Time is going to have Nicholas Sparks clapping his hands and welcoming Shari J. Ryan into the fold of timeless and talented romance authors.
Once again I have fallen in love with Shari J Ryan’s work. One of the first things I noticed when reading A Heart of Time is how beautiful Ryan’s prose is and reading A Missing Heart reminded me of this, because the story is unbelievably eloquent and captivating.
Once I started reading A Missing Heart, I was reading every little moment I could throughout the day. AJ was my favorite character in A Heart of Time, so I was thrilled to find out more about him.What drew me to AJ the most in A Heart of Time was his sense of humor, which was understandably missing during most of his story. Seeing AJ’s personality in a teenage girl made me laugh. Especially in their little moments of banter.
Now that I have read about both Hunter and Cole, I am curious to know more about Tori and her recovery. If Shari J Ryan were to write about another character from the series, Tori would be my number one choice.
I have absolutely loved all three stories. They are beautifully written.
4.5 Captures Your Heart Stars!
***A Heart of Time (BK #1)***
This book jumps right in and captures your heart, and never lets go! We are introduced to Hunter and Ellie experiencing what is supposed to be one of the most joyous events new parents can have. Unfortunately tragedy strikes and Hunter is left heartbroken and alone to raise his newborn daughter, Olive. Ms. Ryan skillfully channeled the struggle Hunter warred with, being both grief-stricken by the loss of his wife and the joy and love he felt for the piece of her left behind in their daughter, allowing us to experience those emotions in earnest.
The story then picks up 5 years later as Hunter and Olive prepare for her first day of kindergarten. Olive is a sweet and precocious little girl who will steal your heart. Hunter is a wonderful father but is still mourning the loss of the woman he was supposed to spend the rest of his life with. The pain of her death has been kept fresh for the past 5 yrs every time he receives an anonymous letter of thanks from the recipient of her heart through the organ donor program. Hunter has a great support system from his brother and parents but he has lost his will to be happy. Hunter finally meets a woman who catches his attention and gives him a glimmer of hope and joy. But as secrets begin to surface and are slowly revealed he becomes even more angry and confused. This story is a heartbreaking yet hopeful journey of love and healing. All the characters are authentic and organic and their actions are honest and believable. This story is so beautiful, raw and poignant, it will have you laughing, crying, and every emotion in between.
***A Missing Heart (Bk #2)***
This emotional story follows AJ Cole, Hunters carefree and funny brother who we first met in A Heart of Time. It begins 12 years previously showing a young AJ excited to make life plans with his girlfriend, Cammy, the love of his life. When plans don’t go as he’d hoped, he is devastated and heartbroken. He tries to move on with his life and it has never been easy. Fast forward to the present and he is struggling to take care of his young son and current wife, Tori. After one failed marriage, Aj is determined to make this one work. AJ is not himself, he never jokes around anymore, barely sleeps and is frustrated with Tori as she becomes more disconnected from him and their son. She never wanted children and is very secretive about why and about her past. But AJ has his own secrets he wants to keep buried, which makes it hard to confront Tori about hers. When AJ’s secrets come to light, he has a second chance to reconnect with those he thought he lost forever. But how can he make everyone happy, including himself when he feels so much guilt over his mistakes? The issues Ms Ryan tackled have no easy answers or solutions. She did a fabulous job showing empathy for each character and their struggles. This story is a heartbreaking yet hopeful journey of love and healing. All the characters are authentic and organic and their actions are honest and believable even if you don’t agree with them. I loved how Ms Ryan told this story going back and forth from past events to present. It allowed us to really connect and care for AJ and Cammy and understand their connection and decisions. This story is so raw, poignant, and heartbreakingly beautiful. I highly recommend this book!
***A Change of Heart (Bk #3)***
This is Ari’s emotional story that runs parallel with Hunter’s story in A Heart of Time. Ari lives with guilt and sorrow over the hand she was dealt and the consequences of a gift she never expected. She tries to pay back for the time she was given and learns to focus on others pain and healing which brings her a measure of peace when she makes those connections. This is a short and emotional story that is a great addition to this series.
Ms Ryan makes us feel deeply for these characters, caring about what is happening in their lives, and wanting the very best for them. It doesn’t always have the outcome we want, which isn’t a bad thing, but it is honest and totally satisfying. If you want to really feel every emotion from joy to sorrow and everything in between, then you will definitely love this series!
Breaking my heart and putting it back together. Such an ugly cry it’s beautiful
A Heart Of Time
Hunter and Ellie met on their first day of kindergarten. They grew up best friends, fell in love, and got married. So excited for the birth of their first child, a daughter. Hunter never saw his life changing in the blink of an eye. Ellie was hiding secrets. Huge secrets that she didn’t share with Hunter. She’s gone now and someone else is carrying her heart because that’s what Ellie wanted.
A Heart Of Time is not just a book, it’s an experience. An experience that is equal parts sorrow and joy. I am not going into much detail about the story at all. I hadn’t even read the synopsis when I was asked to read A Heart Of Time. I went in pretty much blind but knew I was in for an emotional rollercoaster after the first chapter. This book is filled with such strong characters all with different experiences and at different points in their lives. Their a great support system to Hunter and Olive. I found Olive to be the sweetest wisest little girl. I fell in love with so many people in this book. It’s a book you just simply know is going to stick win you for years to come. I’m sure it will affect each reader differently. It’s a beautiful journey of self discovery, recovery, life throwing you the worst hand possible, and love.
Change Of Heart
In a Change of Heart you get Ari’s story. If you have read her book A Heart Of Time, you know exact. Shari Ryan has written this story so well that those of us who fell in love with Ari or even if you have no idea who Ari is you will be able to follow along with no problem. This story is absolutely amazing and had me in tears even though I was well aware of what was going to be coming my way.
A Missing Heart
AJ has made mistakes in his life. He keeps his past to himself and found a woman who wanted to keep hers hidden too. It was like the universe was putting them together. Turns out thought the universe had nothing to do with it at all. She has a past AJ should have known about from the very beginning. He keeps trying to save her but his wife is self-destructive. She clearly has a plan that AJ should never have been a part of. But now their pasts have come into the spotlight causing the present to change me crashing down on top of them. Will either of them be able to walk away in one piece?
If you have read A Heart Of Time you know that AJ Cole is Hunter’s brother. You do not however have have read A Heart Of Time to read A Missing Heart. When I started this book the first chapter already had me an emotional mess and ready to just slap the crap out of Cammy who you will learn is AJ’s high school girlfriend. He had a plan. He was willing to put aside everything for her and their situation. She totally blew that up and in the process I feel broke both of their hearts in ways it would be impossible to recover from. With that said I knew I was in for it. That emotional kind of read that pulls you so deeply into a book you eat sleep and breathe it. Fast forward some years and your in the present with AJ and his wife Tori and their newborn son. I love how Shari Ryan took us on the journey of AJ through alternating chapters of the past and present. Your actually getting two stories in one book. I’m a firm believer in our past shapes us into the people we become in the future and Shari Ryan has done an amazing job of illustrating this point.
Tori and AJ are not without their problems. She’s hiding a serious mental disorder from him. She never planned on getting pregnant with their son when she did. Just like she didn’t deal with a past that left her damaged and now a danger to not only herself but her son. AJ, all the while, is trying his hardest to help her but not fulling knowing what is really going on. He loves his son so much and I loved seeing him as a father. He’s a playboy and so carefree it seemed in A Heart Of Time that this side of AJ just made me fall more in love with him. Im not so much a Tori fan but you too will see why. A Missing Heart has all the pieces of a great contemporary romance read. Your getting no more out of me of the plot or twists and turns in this book. You’ll have to experience it for yourself.
Shari Ryan never fails to suck me in and wring out every single emotion I have while I am reading her books. She never fails to surprise me either. One thing I know for certain is Shari Ryan always creates these worlds and characters your don’t want to leave. They stick with you. Their like coming home to old friends once you know their stories. This is why I love to read Shari Ryan’s books.
I loved this book. Loved the characters. It was a great, sometimes romantic, sometimes tragic, trilogy. Was also an easy read. Love Shari J. Ryan’s work!