Review: Heartfelt Lies by Kristy Love

Loving Cassie was effortless.
She was a thirst I couldn’t quench. 

She was everything I needed, but nothing I deserved.
I failed her more times than I could count.

I lied relentlessly.
And she always forgave me.

Until she couldn’t.

Maybe I deserved to be left behind.

* * * 

Jax swept me off my feet with his disheveled hair and his easy smile. 
I loved him fiercely. 
He made me believe in the fairytale. 

Then the walls crumbled around me.
The lies never ended.
I left him behind. I had no choice.
I mourned the loss of him.

But I moved on.
I created a new life,
Now, I was marrying someone else.

Where do we go now that he’s back?



4 Star Review by Jen Skewes

Heartfelt Lies is book 2 in the Undone series and Jax’s story. When I first read The Fragile Fall I fell in love with Jax and could not wait for his story.  In reading the blurb I knew that this was going to be a second chance love story, which I love.  But I still had no idea what direction this love story would take.  And what I was not prepared for was how real and emotional it would be.   You do not have to read The Fragile Fall first but I recommend that you do because it will help you understand Jax and the relationship he has with his sister and Will.  As well as his need to help his mother and keep her in his life. 

This story had me from the prologue.  All we know is that at one time Cassie and Jax loved each other, but something happened that broke that love.  It’s now five years later and Cassie is about to marry someone else.  Jax is back and wanting a second chance with the only woman he has ever loved.  Cassie has had his heart from the beginning and he hopes that she will give him a second chance.  From the moment I read the prologue I was sucked in.  I needed to know what happened between the two of them to break up and most importantly what was going to happen now?  Would Jax get his second chance?

Kristy Love then takes you back to the past where Cassie and Jax met and we see these two connect and fall in love.  Cassie is a single mom to an adorable two-year old boy named Ben.  She is working hard just trying to make ends meet.  She has no time for a man in her life or romance.  But meeting Jax changes all that for her. 

From the moment he first saw Cassie he was completely taken back by her beauty.  He could not stop thinking about her and needed to see her again.  The more time they spend together the harder they both fall.  Jax loves Ben and loves spending time with him and Cassie.  But Jax also has a lot on his plate at the moment.  He has been living with his mother who he recently reconnected with.  She is a recovering drug addict and trying to stay sober.  Jax has this need to help and protect his mother and to keep her in his life.  He will do whatever it takes to help her out, even if that means lying to the people around him.  But the more he gets caught up in his own lies the more he starts to break.   And if he didn’t have enough going on something happens that causes him to completely spiral out of control.   He copes in a way that makes it all go away but at the same time causes the ones that he loves to slowly drift away. When Jax finally hits rock bottom will his family still be there to pick up the pieces?  Or will the one person he loves the most walk away?

This story goes back and forth from the present to the past.  We slowly get to see how Cassie and Jax met, how they fell in love and how it all fell apart.  And what I loved about the way this book was written was the suspense of it all.  Piece by piece we learn about the past and see what happened to Cassie and Jax.  Just as we get closer to the truth of their past we are brought back to the present.   We are left wondering what happened next. 

This is a story about love, forgiveness, redemption and second chances.  But this story also deals with a very delicate topic, one that I think Kristy Love did an amazing job with.  She made me feel the emotions, the hurt and the pain.  I loved Jax and my heart broke for him and what he went through.  If anyone deserved a second chance it was him.  He loved Cassie but he let his pain and guilt get in the way of it all.  But in the end he grew so much as a person and I loved the man that he became.  I became so connected with his character that I myself felt so proud of how far he had come.  Cassie was such a sweet and beautiful person.  She had her struggles with being a single mother, not seeing her family and just trying to make it all work.  She loved Jax so much but her son had to be her priority.  I admired her for the woman that she had become despite all the obstacles she had to face.   

What I loved about this book is that it is told in both Cassie and Jax’s point of view.  So we get to not only see how Jax’s decisions affected him but how it affected those around him.  We see how hurt Jax is and the reasons for his self destruction.  But you also get to see the other side of it.   We see how much Cassie wanted to help and fix it all but just didn’t know how.  But you also get to see her hurt as well and his addition affected her as well.  You see both sides of addiction and I think Ms. Love did a wonderful job portraying the feelings of both sides.   Heartfelt Lies is an emotional journey but one that will leave you smiling in the end and well worth the ride.  Another amazing job by Kristy Love.