Purple Hearts

Tess Wakefield

  

   

April 25th 2017

 

 

 

 

When a soldier with a troubled past and a struggling songwriter agree to a marriage of convenience for the military benefits, neither expects much after saying “I do.” Then tragedy strikes, and the line between what’s real and what’s pretend begins to blur in this smart and surprising romance perfect for fans of Nicholas Sparks and Jojo Moyes.

Cassie Salazar and Luke Morrow couldn’t be more different. Sharp-witted Cassie works nights at a bar in Austin, Texas to make ends meet while pursuing her dream of becoming a singer/songwriter. Luke is an Army trainee, about to ship out for duty, who finds comfort in the unswerving discipline of service. But a chance encounter at Cassie’s bar changes the course of both their lives

Cassie is drowning in medical bills after being diagnosed with diabetes.

When she runs into her old friend Frankie, now enlisted in the Army, she proposes a deal: she’ll marry him in exchange for better medical insurance and they can split the increased paycheck that comes with having a “family.” When Frankie declines, his attractive but frustratingly intense friend Luke volunteers to marry Cassie instead.

What she doesn’t know is that he has desperate reasons of his own to get married. In this unforgettable love story, Cassie and Luke must set aside their differences to make it look like a real marriage…unless, somewhere along the way, it becomes one…

 

Purple Hearts by Tess Wakefield wasn’t a bad story – no – not at all, but I am afraid that its aim was to high or in the wrong direction. The Blurb praises this book as perfect for fans of Nicholas Sparks or Jojo Moyes, yet having read both authors I am afraid that I can not agree with that statement.

I could not feel the intensity that is very prominent in both of the above mention authors’ books. It is indeed dangerous to compare books like that as every experience is different.

From my very personal experience sofar 100% books that mentioned such a comparison in their Blurb faild to fulfill that promise. On the other hand I could agree with maybe about 80% of the comparisons I read in reviews.

The difference I think is that when you read that comparison in a Blurb it is what the author and publisher were “aiming” for. But when you read it in a review it is what a reader really felt as a result after / during reading.

Luke and Cassie were strangers when they met and to me they remaind that until the very end. I liked their story and I could relate to their struggels but the most important thing was missing when I read.

And that was the feeling.

To me it was just a relationship of convenience until almost the very end when it at least became a little more concrete. But still it was not enough for me to live up to the expectations that blurb raised in me.

There was no gut-wrenching or heartbreaking inside of me during reading so – even though it was not a bad story by all means – my expectations were not met.

I can not say for sure if my rating would be different if the blurb had left out that author comparison, because as it is I read it and I can not change the expectations it evoked in me.

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