Hearts of Blue

Hearts Series – Book 4

By L. H. Cosway

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She upholds the law. He breaks it.

Two blue hearts, both alike in bravery
In not-so-fair London, where we lay our scene
From gun crime to petty theft
Where family is blood and survival makes hands unclean
In this place, we find two hearts who should be foes
And yet, amidst the turmoil their love still grows
Misadventure abounds and the divide will bring them strife
But with luck, death doesn’t always mean an end to life.

Hearts of Blue is a standalone contemporary romance that tells the story of star-crossed lovers Karla Sheehan and Lee Cross, a police constable and the thief who steals her heart.

Lee didn’t answer, and instead he took a step forward, forcing me to back up if I didn’t want us to collide. The problem with this meant my back hit the wall a moment later.

“You’re so pretty, Snap,” he said, voice low, as he dropped his face to my hair and breathed in.

I wasn’t wearing a hat, and my hair was tied up in a bun. My entire body trembled when he wrapped his arms around my waist, inhaled deeply and pulled me into a hug. This was a distraction, I knew it, and yet, I let him distract me. I wanted to be distracted, and I was just glad that the blinds in his office had been pulled.

Standing in his embrace for at least a minute with silence all around us, I was unable to move. I liked having Lee close, loved the feel of him and how he could make feel so…surrounded. Despite all the warning signs, my attraction to him only grew stronger. There was just something about him that called to me.

“Lee.”

His mouth moved against my hair. “What is it, Karla?”

“Why are you hugging me?”

“You looked like you needed to be held.” His response was low, and the affectionate undertone had me swallowing deeply. At long last I summoned the willpower to break the hug. His arms fell away from me easily, my stomach churning with confusion. What the hell was I doing?

I stared at the floor when I spoke. “I have to go.”

Heading for the door, I paused when he said gently, “Hey, I needed it, too.”

Robin’s Review

It’s not your typical forbidden romance, but that’s what Hearts of Blue is. Karla Sheehan is a police constable in London, firmly established in her belief of helping other people, even individuals that she doesn’t know. Lee Cross is a thief. In order to take care of his family, he does what he sees is necessary. But in the end, both Lee and Karla are selflessly trying to help other people. Lee and Karla live on opposite sides of the law, but they do have the same belief system. Together, their situation adds up to one very compelling forbidden romance.

Hearts of Blue is the fourth novel of the Hearts series written by author L. H. Cosway. It’s considered a standalone novel, so if you find the synopsis intriguing, it’s not necessary for you to read the previous novels in this series. For those who have read Six of Hearts, Hearts of Fire, and King of Hearts, you may recognize some of the secondary characters from previous novels. From the beginning, I’ve read and reviewed each of the novels in the Hearts series, giving each contemporary romance no less than a 4.5 star rating.

After a very long day at work, I took great pleasure in picking up Hearts of Blue, and this is the biggest reason why – the interaction between Lee and Karla is full of spark and chemistry. Karla has a fiery personality. Although Lee has a kind heart, he can also be bit mischievous. The interaction and snarky banter between the two of them is definitely foreplay. It creates a strong push-pull affect between Karla and Lee, only adding to the tension which comes from them falling on opposite sides of the law.

Something else that I really appreciated about Hearts of Blue is the interaction between Lee’s brothers – Stu, Trevor and Liam Cross. Their family unit really grabbed my attention. Maybe it was their closeness or loyalty – I’m not sure. But these four brothers were fun to read about, especially with a feisty red-headed police constable in the picture. When I think about Hearts of Blue as a whole, I think I simply enjoyed the characters and their dialogue. I connected with both of the main characters, Lee and Karla, and that’s important for me. I understand why they each made the choices in life that they did, even if I didn’t always agree with those choices.

How many of you have ever heard of parkour? I know that I hadn’t – until I read Hearts of Blue. Author L. H. Cosway always seems to have an artistic component to her writing, and I consider parkour a type of urban art. Parkour is a different way to move from one place to another. Sometimes considered a sport, parkour is the process of moving rapidly through an urban area, negotiating obstacles without the assistance of equipment by running, jumping and climbing. Parkour is fast and efficient, and it’s the reason Lee Cross and his three brothers are aces at escaping law enforcement! It was fascinating to read about, but it’s even more amazing to watch in action – be sure to Google it!

Hearts of Blue has a great plot. These days, it seems like every type of forbidden romance has been thoroughly explored. The book market has been overrun with teacher/student romances, love triangles, stepbrother romances and cheating, among others, so it was nice to read a forbidden romance that is not necessarily taboo. When I consider the pacing of Hearts of Blue, I can tell you that it never felt slow to me. The interaction and energy between Karla and Lee really keep the pages turning, and both characters show growth over the arc of the novel. I know there are more novels planned for the Hearts series, but I’m pretty sure 5-star Hearts of Blue is my new series favorite!

L.H. Cosway has a BA in English Literature and Greek and Roman Civilisation, and an MA in Postcolonial Literature. She lives in Dublin city. Her inspiration to write comes from music. Her favourite things in life include writing stories, vintage clothing, dark cabaret music, food, musical comedy, and of course, books.

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♥ READ THE BOOKS ♥

Six of Hearts

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Hearts of Fire

Amazon | Smashwords | B&N | Kobo | iTunes

King of Hearts

Amazon US | Amazon UK | B&N | iTunes | Smashwords

Hearts of Blue

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