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A review by markalkman
The Artisan Heart by Dean Mayes
3.0
I received a digital ARC of this book for reviewing from Central Avenue Publishing via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
‘The Artisan Heart’ is a heartwarming story about two people with quite some bagage who want nothing more but to find comfort with each other in the peace and quiet of Walhalla, a tiny town in Australia’s southern mountains. If you’re looking for an easy summer read with steady characters, a great setting and a storyline that keeps you intrigued: look no further. Dean Mayes has done a great job with this novel, he’s written a touching story with a romantic feel.
I really loved the concept of the story, and I loved the way it was set up. We start out with Hayden and his fast paced life down in Adelaide. We meet his wife, Bernadette, an ambitious event planner who doesn’t seem to be a big fan of Hayden’s hectic work schedule and his irregular hours. It doesn’t take long before you realize that Bernadette – or Berni, as Hayden calls her – only needs him as her trophy husband. So when he shows up late to her events (or doesn’t show up at all, due to work), she retaliates and hurts him in the worst way possible. Having no friends or family of his own in Adelaide, Hayden doesn’t have any other choice than to flee back to his hometown. Walhalla. Once he’s there, he reconnects with his old friends Max and Nette and he’s forced to face his strained relationship with his father. He also meets Genevieve, a deaf girl who doesn’t seem too keen on having him around at first, but warms up to him pretty quickly. It was hard to put the book down at times, I really wanted to know how the story went, especially when I found out there were some dark and gritty secrets that weren’t going to stay buried for long.
Mayes is a great writer, I’ll give him that. He does a superb job describing the surroundings, it felt like I was actually in Walhalla myself. As if I was there, every step of the way. His characters on the other hand, were just a bit too bland for my taste. Yes, I’m fully aware that I’ve called them ‘steady’, but I never actually connected to them. I wanted too, but it was difficult because he kept changing the POV from Hayden to Isabelle to Genevieve to Max to Annette to Bernadette to Mitchell to Amanda to even Gregor the police officer. Sometimes it was a bit difficult to keep track of whose thoughts I was actually reading. As the story progressed, it got easier to distinguish the difference between the various voices, but I still found it a little distracting.
Our main character, Hayden, is a kind and giving man who deserves the world – but is a bit of a Gary Stue at the same time. He’s a fantastic doctor, but he’s also really good with cars, he knows how to cook, he fixes the roof of his cottage, he’s an excellent driver and even though he seems to be a bit socially awkward – he manages to fix the townproblems in less than one evening. I did my best to love him unconditionally, but I failed miserably. Maybe if Mayes had made him a bit more flawed, I would’ve liked him a little bit better. I did love his interactions with Genevieve, though. Those conversations – in sign language – were definitely a highlight.
Isabelle is a great character, though. She’s sweet and lovely, yet determind and tenacious at the same time. A single mom and determined to make her bakery work while raising her daughter all by herself. As a reader, you know there are some dark secrets she’s trying to keep buried, especially from Hayden and Genevieve. It was lovely to see Belle and Hayden grow, both individually as well as towards one another… Even though I did think it was a little bit too fast for Hayden to fall in love with her when his marriage to Bernadette only ended a month prior to it. Fair enough, he states multiple times that there was no saving his marriage, but it still felt a bit rushed to me.
Nevertheless, I think ‘The Artisan Heart’ was a great story, told by a fantastic storyteller. Mayes is definitely a great writer and I’ll make sure to keep an eye out for his next book.
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
‘The Artisan Heart’ is a heartwarming story about two people with quite some bagage who want nothing more but to find comfort with each other in the peace and quiet of Walhalla, a tiny town in Australia’s southern mountains. If you’re looking for an easy summer read with steady characters, a great setting and a storyline that keeps you intrigued: look no further. Dean Mayes has done a great job with this novel, he’s written a touching story with a romantic feel.
I really loved the concept of the story, and I loved the way it was set up. We start out with Hayden and his fast paced life down in Adelaide. We meet his wife, Bernadette, an ambitious event planner who doesn’t seem to be a big fan of Hayden’s hectic work schedule and his irregular hours. It doesn’t take long before you realize that Bernadette – or Berni, as Hayden calls her – only needs him as her trophy husband. So when he shows up late to her events (or doesn’t show up at all, due to work), she retaliates and hurts him in the worst way possible. Having no friends or family of his own in Adelaide, Hayden doesn’t have any other choice than to flee back to his hometown. Walhalla. Once he’s there, he reconnects with his old friends Max and Nette and he’s forced to face his strained relationship with his father. He also meets Genevieve, a deaf girl who doesn’t seem too keen on having him around at first, but warms up to him pretty quickly. It was hard to put the book down at times, I really wanted to know how the story went, especially when I found out there were some dark and gritty secrets that weren’t going to stay buried for long.
Mayes is a great writer, I’ll give him that. He does a superb job describing the surroundings, it felt like I was actually in Walhalla myself. As if I was there, every step of the way. His characters on the other hand, were just a bit too bland for my taste. Yes, I’m fully aware that I’ve called them ‘steady’, but I never actually connected to them. I wanted too, but it was difficult because he kept changing the POV from Hayden to Isabelle to Genevieve to Max to Annette to Bernadette to Mitchell to Amanda to even Gregor the police officer. Sometimes it was a bit difficult to keep track of whose thoughts I was actually reading. As the story progressed, it got easier to distinguish the difference between the various voices, but I still found it a little distracting.
Our main character, Hayden, is a kind and giving man who deserves the world – but is a bit of a Gary Stue at the same time. He’s a fantastic doctor, but he’s also really good with cars, he knows how to cook, he fixes the roof of his cottage, he’s an excellent driver and even though he seems to be a bit socially awkward – he manages to fix the townproblems in less than one evening. I did my best to love him unconditionally, but I failed miserably. Maybe if Mayes had made him a bit more flawed, I would’ve liked him a little bit better. I did love his interactions with Genevieve, though. Those conversations – in sign language – were definitely a highlight.
Isabelle is a great character, though. She’s sweet and lovely, yet determind and tenacious at the same time. A single mom and determined to make her bakery work while raising her daughter all by herself. As a reader, you know there are some dark secrets she’s trying to keep buried, especially from Hayden and Genevieve. It was lovely to see Belle and Hayden grow, both individually as well as towards one another… Even though I did think it was a little bit too fast for Hayden to fall in love with her when his marriage to Bernadette only ended a month prior to it. Fair enough, he states multiple times that there was no saving his marriage, but it still felt a bit rushed to me.
Nevertheless, I think ‘The Artisan Heart’ was a great story, told by a fantastic storyteller. Mayes is definitely a great writer and I’ll make sure to keep an eye out for his next book.