One moment can change your life forever… For Eva Carmichael, it’s the second she lays eyes on Oak Harbor’s troubled bad boy, Finn McKay. He’s bold and reckless, and leaves a trail of broken hearts in his wake. She should stay away, but she soon discovers they have more in common than she ever dreamed. They’re both living with painful secrets, and a true self they keep hidden, not letting anyone in – until she takes a leap and risks it all…Finn knows Eva is too good to be true. He’s been counting down to the day he can turn his back on Oak Harbor for good, and finally escape all the dark, painful shadows of his past. But this girl is impossible to ignore. Her smile makes him forget himself, and just one kiss could redeem it all. He’s determined not to fall, but then one night changes everything…

Two unlikely hearts. One intoxicating romance. This epic love story is only just beginning.

** Heartbeats is a novella story set before the events of Heartbreaker. Both books are written as stand-alone stories, so you can enjoy them in whichever order you like. **

The moments that change our lives arrive just like any other: stunning in their ordinariness, a second ticking on by, blink and you miss them spinning past. But they shiver through our lives like an earthquake, radiating out from that single heartbeat, shaking our very foundations, and revealing cracks and deep crevices that, in time, will fill up our lives with a future we could never dream of.

Having read and loved HEARTBREAKER by Melody Grace, I was excited to see that Melody had written HEARTBEATS, a novella that gives the backstory of Eva Carmichael and Finn McKay. Because, really, when you’re reading a sort of second-chance epic love story, who wouldn’t want a snapshot into the past to see where everything started?

I’ll be honest, there isn’t one book that Melody has written that I haven’t adored, and HEARTBEATS is no different. I fell in love with Eva and Finn in HEARTBREAKER, so I couldn’t wait to see how their story started.

Eva and Finn couldn’t have been more different. He, wildly popular, the sexy high school senior with the mysterious demeanor and sex appeal for days. She, the shy girl, happy to stay under the radar and keep to herself.

…I was just sixteen, still locked tight in a cage of my own making, moving through the world at a whisper even as my voice inside was crying out to be heard. I didn’t know what it felt like to live out loud, to leap without looking, love without fear. To feel a passion so wild and out of control it scared and thrilled me in equal measure. To have my heart broken so thoroughly, I thought I’d never piece the shattered pieces of myself back together again.

The two of them shouldn’t have worked as a couple, but opposites, as we know, attract like mad, and neither Finn nor Eva could escape each others’ pull, falling for each other against all odds. But the road to love is often filled with twists and turns, and takes a lot of effort to get to an even place, something that these two find out very quickly.

I thought that the hard part was over, that now that we’d found each other, everything else would fall into place. But sometimes, those moments that change everything take a darker turn too…I couldn’t begin to imagine the desperation that would drive us apart, heartbreak that would take years to heal. A love that would somehow find a way to bring us back to ourselves, rebuild everything we’d lost, and make us whole again…Finn was right. It was only just the beginning.

HEARTBEATS is a perfect introduction to Finn’s and Eva’s story, told with all of Melody’s usual passion and angst. It’s meant to be, and is, a snapshot into their past, and is like a delectable appetizer that leaves you wanting more. 4.5 delicious stars for Finn, Eva, and the beginning of their unbreakable bond.

***ARC generously provided for an honest review.***__

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