Book Review | How To Mend A Broken Heart

A compelling, heartbreaking tale that will make you laugh, cry and believe in the kindness of strangers. Perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes, Lucy Dillon and Miranda Dickinson.

Life is good for nurse Kat. That is until the man she intended to marry legs it, she’s unexpectedly promoted to a position with too much responsibility, and a patient arrives on her ward under strange circumstances.

Susan is a mystery. She refuses to speak or interact with anyone, she’s obsessed with a book of fairy tales, and the only name in her diary is that of Rhys – a plumber she barely knows.

Down-to-earth Rhys is trying to get his life back on track after the death of his beloved brother. His mum is his priority, and she needs him as much as he needs her. Or at least she did, until she starts disappearing, leaving him to find comfort in the form of his brother’s girlfriend.

Complicated is an understatement.

As the lives of these three lost strangers intertwine, will they find a way to lay ghosts past, present and future to rest? And when the chance comes to mend their broken hearts, will they be brave enough to take it?

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There’s a carriage clock on the mantelpiece. Its pendulum swings the seconds clockwise, then anti; a mirror reflects our faces. On noticing each other, we look away.

“How broken is someone who’d do this?” she whispers.

How broken are any of us, I think. And that’s when I have to close my eyes.

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This book is quite deceptive; the cover looks like something you would find on a light-hearted romance novel and the blurb made me think that it would have a comedic element to it. All I can say is I have never been so happy to be deceived. This is a very deep and emotional read that deals with tough subjects, and I was so glad that it turned out to be something much better and more substantial that I was expecting.

The story is told from all three perspectives, which I thought was brilliant because it helped to piece things together better. I liked that we didn’t hear as much from Susan though as it added to the mystery surrounding her but gave you enough glimpses into her thoughts so that you still felt connected to her. It was also nice that each character was explored separately as well being part of the main storyline, I feel that added a real depth to the characters, and at points I wished I could find out even more about them.

The characters were wonderful, and I enjoyed the way their stories weaved in together, how they manage to help each other and have an impact in each other’s lives in both small and big ways. I found myself getting upset for them, rooting for them, and hoping that they would manage to get to better places. The only little problem I had was that I thought Rhys acted somewhat childishly at points and I forgot that he was supposed to be the age that he was.

I was really invested in the story, it was a little slow at points, but I found that I couldn’t tear myself away because I wanted to know how each of the characters got on.

How To Mend A Broken Heart is an amazing but emotional book, with characters that you can’t help but love, I would highly recommend it.

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Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for the review copy of this book.

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