Heart Trouble by Jae is a medical romance with a twist. Dr. Hope Finlay is an ER doctor who keeps herself isolated, but that changes when Laleh Samadi is brought into her emergency room with a heart issue and Hope saves her life. Soon after, Laleh has an abundance of medical knowledge she never learned and Hope can speak and understand Farsi. As they each spend time trying to figure out the phenomenon, Hope finds herself drawn into the warmth of Laleh’s life and family. Is their connection real? And what does it mean for their hearts?
The Characters
Laleh is sweet and friendly, well loved by her large Persian family, which gives her a strong sense of community. She also believes she’s straight, having never had an attraction to a woman before. Hope, on the other hand, has long known she’s a lesbian, but lives a deliberately lonely life, reluctant to trust anyone. I liked both characters, but especially appreciated watching Hope grow and learn how to be in a relationship.
It’s no secret how much I loved Jae’s books Damage Control and Just Physical, so I was delighted to see the main characters from both books again. Because Jill is Laleh’s best friend, we see her a lot more than Crash, Lauren, and Grace.
The Writing Style
Heart Trouble has an easy style that makes the pages turn quickly.
The Pros
An interesting concept and likeable, relatable characters.
The Cons
This isn’t really a con, but I don’t know where else to put it. The concept is executed well, but I’m not sure how I feel about it. I’m still thinking about Heart Trouble a few weeks after reading it, so it’s clearly not all bad.
The Conclusion
If you liked Jae’s other books, you’ll probably like this one too. If you haven’t read anything by her, this could be a good place to start. It didn’t knock Damage Control out of the top spot of my favourite Jae books, but it’s a solid romance that I can see myself rereading.
Excerpt from Heart Trouble by Jae
They sat on different ends of the couch, with more space than necessary between them.
“So,” Hope said, “you wanted to talk somewhere quieter.” She waved her hand in a so-talk gesture. If she got Laleh to go first, at least she wouldn’t embarrass herself saying something crazy out loud.
“I…” Without looking at her, Laleh picked up the pillow from the floor and held it on her lap as if taking cover behind it. Finally, her gaze flicked over to Hope. “When I was in the emergency department…”
She’d said emergency department, not emergency room, as most laypersons did. Of course, she could have picked up on that listening to the nurses talk to each other. And Hope remembered that she, herself, had also called it emergency department earlier , so maybe Laleh was mimicking her.
“Yes?” Hope prompted when Laleh hesitated.
“Did something happen?”
Get This Book On Amazon
[tweetthis]I just read this review of Heart Trouble by Jae here [/tweetthis]
Bits and Bobs
- ISBN number: 9783955337322
- Publisher: Ylva Publishing
Jae Online
Note: I received a free review copy of Heart Trouble by Jae. No money was exchanged for this review. I will always review books as honestly as possible and on occasion I refuse to review books.
