See this review in its natural environment, Dani Reviews Things.

I received this book for free from Entangled in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I jumped at the chance to read the third book in the Creative HeArts series, as I read How Willa Got Her Groove Back a couple of months ago. This book is the first in the trio following Mariely and Cabot, characters I first met in the previous book, which means that I also got to see Willa and Finn on the side and see how they were doing.

There were things I really liked about this but also things I really didn’t. As a romance, I would give it between 3.5 and 4 stars. However, the bad knocked it down. Just as a warning, the bad is due to personal factors, but I know I’m not the only person to experience what I’ve experienced, which is why I think my thoughts are valid.

Let’s start with the good.

- Mariely and Cabot were very different, one being a Hispanic girl with a love for classic movies and a scholarship, the other being classic prep school rich kid with a talent for photography but a love for painting. I enjoyed the development of their feelings, especially how Cabot was really open and direct about things. He wasn’t brooding or arrogant, so I was totally rooting for him as a refreshing change.
- I loooved Mariely’s sense of style and habit of using classic movie star names in vain. She became such a defined character in my mind because of these things.
- The karaoke scene. Going to karaoke place in Japan was one of my favourite things to do as a teenager, and I can only imagine how much fun going with a bunch of theatrical people must be!
- There were some genuinely funny lines in here that I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at.
- I liked allll the romantic things Cabot did. Hi, perfect boyfriend.
- Oh, and hi, Finn. You are delicious, too.
- The ending was more satisfying than that of Willa and Finn's first book.

Now. The bad. I’ll start with the smaller bad, which is that I felt like the little bit of drama when Cabot goes to Mariely’s house was rather sudden and forced. That could have been developed a bit more, but I mostly got over it towards the end.

Now the Big Bad. This book features a lot of cheating, and I didn’t like how it was handled. At all. It’s weird for me to find myself identifying more with the guy, but I did. Cabot’s situation? I’m currently going through it. I HATED how Mariely reacted to Cabot’s behaviour. She belittled what is probably a really difficult situation for Cabot. Did she honestly think she could make a real judgment of the situation knowing so little about the relationship between Cabot and his dad? Does his dad deserve a doting son after what he did? I’m sorry, but have a little sensitivity.

If I were in Cabot’s shoes, I would have done the same. Hell, you try and put me in the same situation and someone will leave crying. Having the person you look up to and respect most in the world fall so far is one of the most devastating feelings, and it doesn’t just suddenly become ok after a few weeks. You would think Mariely would be a bit more understanding, given her own home life, but I honestly liked her a lot less after her snap judgement.

I also really didn’t like Jacen. At all. He was so insensitive and horrible. I don’t know who he thought he was, lecturing Mariely about pulling it together only a week after he did what he did to her. He didn’t apologise nearly enough for my liking, and not even his stunts at the end could redeem him. Also, what he did in the first place immediately put him in my bad book. So yeah, he will now and forever be a character I have zero love and respect for.



Like I said, I really liked some bits, but other factors brought the book down for me. I would have liked more sensitivity around a situation that isn’t uncommon but is still really heartbreaking: cheating. There seemed to be far too much sympathy towards them and too little towards the people they cheated on, as a whole. Please, if you’re going to include cheating in your story, think about your readers that might have been affected in one way or another and be realistic about it. Don’t make them feel bad for relating to the victims of cheating.

That being said, ignoring the adultery, this was a good book, and I’m looking forward to the continuation of Mariely and Cabot’s love story!