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aameem's review against another edition
2.0
I realize, given the genre, that there isn’t much room for unprecedented imagination or groundbreaking creativity, but Heart On A Chain was just too predictable.
sharonsm_28's review against another edition
5.0
This book broke my heart, but also taught me how love can help people survive brutal circumstances. In the case of Kate, it was how her mother abused her that broke her, and Henry's love that saved her. I love the chemistry between Kate and Henry. I hate Kate's mom, she is a heartless character, and I am happy that Kate can finally live her life.
I love how Henry and Kate's relationship went from friends to lovers. I think this is one of those powerful books that make people understand that there needs to be more love in this world than hate. Because when you love people, there is fulfillment and purpose. That's why this is one of the awe-inspiring books series to read.
I love how Henry and Kate's relationship went from friends to lovers. I think this is one of those powerful books that make people understand that there needs to be more love in this world than hate. Because when you love people, there is fulfillment and purpose. That's why this is one of the awe-inspiring books series to read.
sandralam's review against another edition
5.0
It has been a while since a book made me cry as much as this book has. It was heart-wrenching and tear-jerking and yet I couldn't put it down.
My Thoughts:
1. What I admire most about this book is the character development and how Kate slowly reveals the truth about her life to those around her. Kate's character is very shy and wary of those around her; she has a difficult time trusting and making friends because it always seem to be part of a prank. As a reader, my heart bleeds for all the hurt Kate has gone through.
2. It was hard to read through the abuse and violent scenes. They were very intense scenes and I could feel the hurt and pain the main character goes through as if it were myself.
3. The one true form of happiness and good in this book is Henry. Oh Henry...there are just no words. I ended up falling in love with his character; he was a true and genuine hero.
4. I liked how the prologue and epilogue are both from Henry's perspective. It was also satisfying to read such a great ending.
5. Good pacing. The plot didn't feel rushed and there was enough time for the characters to develop gradually.
My Thoughts:
1. What I admire most about this book is the character development and how Kate slowly reveals the truth about her life to those around her. Kate's character is very shy and wary of those around her; she has a difficult time trusting and making friends because it always seem to be part of a prank. As a reader, my heart bleeds for all the hurt Kate has gone through.
2. It was hard to read through the abuse and violent scenes. They were very intense scenes and I could feel the hurt and pain the main character goes through as if it were myself.
3. The one true form of happiness and good in this book is Henry. Oh Henry...there are just no words. I ended up falling in love with his character; he was a true and genuine hero.
4. I liked how the prologue and epilogue are both from Henry's perspective. It was also satisfying to read such a great ending.
5. Good pacing. The plot didn't feel rushed and there was enough time for the characters to develop gradually.
heathenpenguin's review against another edition
3.0
Reading Heart on a Chain is like watching a soap opera or a family drama TV movie, only it's less irritating and not stupefying. The story has plenty of drama staples, but it managed to squeeze sympathy from me. I guess it's because the story read a bit like a fairy tale to me. It felt unreal.
There were entire chapters chock-full of fluff that made me stay away from this book for a while, but compared to the violence and family drama in the book, they managed to avoid entering into cloying territory. I got a bit shocked and disappointed when and when .
I was also expecting more from Henry. Like, I wanted him to have more depth, to have more personality. I guess that part by the end made up a little for that, but I felt short-changed. I guess it's good that but I think I wasn't convinced enough with their romance. I also think that the POV change in the last chapter was unnecessary. I dunno.
To sum up, Heart on a Chain is an okay read, especially if you're into drama, with a generous helping of fluff. It's not too wangsty for sure.
Spoiler
like: MC is abused by parents, who are both addicts; dad is an alcoholic while mum has mental problems; MC's family is very poor; the reveal that MC's ADOPTED; LI's family is practically perfect; LI himself is practically perfect; MC manages to win over LI's family with almost zero effort...like I said, a lotThere were entire chapters chock-full of fluff that made me stay away from this book for a while, but compared to the violence and family drama in the book, they managed to avoid entering into cloying territory. I got a bit shocked and disappointed when
Spoiler
Kate accidentally kills her mum before revealing she had mental problemsSpoiler
Kate's dad reveals she's freaking ADOPTED! I get the reason, but stillI was also expecting more from Henry. Like, I wanted him to have more depth, to have more personality. I guess that part by the end made up a little for that, but I felt short-changed. I guess it's good that
Spoiler
Henry mentioned that he pitied her before eventually really falling in love with herSpoiler
I really thought that they weren't ever gonna get together when they had a fallout because I almost hated Henry when he proposed to Kate, but I realized that Kate messed up the breakup and trivialized Henry's feelings and they needed to fix things up at least. But I really hoped before reading the last few pages that they'll simply move on with their lives.To sum up, Heart on a Chain is an okay read, especially if you're into drama, with a generous helping of fluff. It's not too wangsty for sure.
mhuang's review against another edition
3.0
Rating: 3 stars
I think I'm quite biased, I started reading this book after I had read a very negative review about it. Because of that, I couldn't help but see all the bad sides of the story.
I agree, it was very cliche, Kate was the 'damsel in mistress' and Henrey her 'saviour'.
I do not agree about Henrey 'immediately making Kate fall in love with him though', they were already 'in love' as children, but that's a small detail I guess.
However, 2 things did annoy me very much
*SPOILERS BELOW!*
||1) When Henrey asked Kate to marry him, like dude?! You're 17 year olds! And then Kate (predictably I must add!) being all like she wasn't good enough. Okay I understand that you have a bad image (I'm probably saying this incorrectly?) of yourself but please! This was too cliche for me and
2) What the hell was that with Jessica? She apologised and that's that? Like geez, she beat you up and then she apologises and you become FRIENDS? I could totally live with it if she forgave her, but becoming friends? And LIVING with her?? No, that was over the top for me.||
*SPOILERS ^*
I'm giving this 3 stars because despite my rant above (oops, sorry about that? XD) I still enjoyed reading it.
I think I'm quite biased, I started reading this book after I had read a very negative review about it. Because of that, I couldn't help but see all the bad sides of the story.
I agree, it was very cliche, Kate was the 'damsel in mistress' and Henrey her 'saviour'.
I do not agree about Henrey 'immediately making Kate fall in love with him though', they were already 'in love' as children, but that's a small detail I guess.
However, 2 things did annoy me very much
*SPOILERS BELOW!*
||1) When Henrey asked Kate to marry him, like dude?! You're 17 year olds! And then Kate (predictably I must add!) being all like she wasn't good enough. Okay I understand that you have a bad image (I'm probably saying this incorrectly?) of yourself but please! This was too cliche for me and
2) What the hell was that with Jessica? She apologised and that's that? Like geez, she beat you up and then she apologises and you become FRIENDS? I could totally live with it if she forgave her, but becoming friends? And LIVING with her?? No, that was over the top for me.||
*SPOILERS ^*
I'm giving this 3 stars because despite my rant above (oops, sorry about that? XD) I still enjoyed reading it.
beemma1's review against another edition
4.0
Synopsis
17-year-old Kate has lived her whole life in abject poverty, with an alcoholic father and drug-addicted mother, who severely abuses Kate. At school, her second-hand clothing marks her as a target. Her refusal to stand up for herself makes her the recipient of her classmates taunts and bullying. That is, until Henry returns.
Henry Jamison moved away six years earlier, just as he and Kate had begun to develop feelings for one another. He returns to find the bright, funny, outgoing girl he had known now timidly hiding in corners, barely speaking to anyone around her, suspicious of even him. Kate can't figure out what game Henry is playing with her - for surely it is a game. What else would the gorgeous, popular boy from her past want with her?
Kate finally decides to trust Henry's intentions, opening her heart to him. Just when it seems he might be genuine in his friendship, tragedy strikes, threatening everything Kate has worked so hard to gain. Can Henry help her to overcome this new devastation, or will it tear them apart forever?
This was the first YA Indie Fiction I had read. Let me point out that I first read this book when it first came out, which was a while ago. This book was a little out of my usual type of reading but I thought I would give it ago because it had great reviews on Amazon.
I wish I could say this novel was over the top but unfortunately, these situations are not few and far between. Told in first person, Kate grew up in an abusive home. Kate is scared at home and at school, having no safe haven to go to. She doesn't trust anyone-with good reason. She has the thoughts and feelings that anybody who has gone through any form of abuse has.
I can't tell you how many times I had teared up, yelled at my poor Kindle and the characters but I also laughed, smiled and fell in love. I hadn't expected to stay up half the night reading this story, but I COULDN'T put it down. Yeah, one of those stories...
If you would like to continue reading, visit my blog: http://abibliomaniacs.blogspot.com/2016/03/book-review-heart-on-chain-cindy-bennett.html
17-year-old Kate has lived her whole life in abject poverty, with an alcoholic father and drug-addicted mother, who severely abuses Kate. At school, her second-hand clothing marks her as a target. Her refusal to stand up for herself makes her the recipient of her classmates taunts and bullying. That is, until Henry returns.
Henry Jamison moved away six years earlier, just as he and Kate had begun to develop feelings for one another. He returns to find the bright, funny, outgoing girl he had known now timidly hiding in corners, barely speaking to anyone around her, suspicious of even him. Kate can't figure out what game Henry is playing with her - for surely it is a game. What else would the gorgeous, popular boy from her past want with her?
Kate finally decides to trust Henry's intentions, opening her heart to him. Just when it seems he might be genuine in his friendship, tragedy strikes, threatening everything Kate has worked so hard to gain. Can Henry help her to overcome this new devastation, or will it tear them apart forever?
This was the first YA Indie Fiction I had read. Let me point out that I first read this book when it first came out, which was a while ago. This book was a little out of my usual type of reading but I thought I would give it ago because it had great reviews on Amazon.
I wish I could say this novel was over the top but unfortunately, these situations are not few and far between. Told in first person, Kate grew up in an abusive home. Kate is scared at home and at school, having no safe haven to go to. She doesn't trust anyone-with good reason. She has the thoughts and feelings that anybody who has gone through any form of abuse has.
I can't tell you how many times I had teared up, yelled at my poor Kindle and the characters but I also laughed, smiled and fell in love. I hadn't expected to stay up half the night reading this story, but I COULDN'T put it down. Yeah, one of those stories...
If you would like to continue reading, visit my blog: http://abibliomaniacs.blogspot.com/2016/03/book-review-heart-on-chain-cindy-bennett.html
gingatazar's review against another edition
4.0
What an amazing book.
Heart on a Chain is a book about a girl who was ignored and abused by her parents and bullied by her schoolmates. The only thing that kept her going is her best friend Henry. Henry Jamison moved away six years earlier but came back during their senior year in HS. Kate can't tell if Henry is genuinely being friendly with her or just playing with her feelings. See how Kate struggles in life and fight those who wanted to hurt her physically and emotionally. How can Henry help and protect her against them? How can they discover their feelings for each other?
I was caught up just by reading the first few chapters of the book. Kate is those type of character you'll fall in love/ attach with easily. She is nice, humble, poor and pretty with even trying. Henry is the same way: Handsome, rich, gentleman, popular and nice.
I fell in love with them and with the story. I was hooked easily. It will make you realize to understand people, consider others, appreciate your family and learn to trust.
Plus the fact that the ending is really good. I can see and feel the love between them specially when I read the epilogue. Seriously. Definitely one of my favorites!
Heart on a Chain is a book about a girl who was ignored and abused by her parents and bullied by her schoolmates. The only thing that kept her going is her best friend Henry. Henry Jamison moved away six years earlier but came back during their senior year in HS. Kate can't tell if Henry is genuinely being friendly with her or just playing with her feelings. See how Kate struggles in life and fight those who wanted to hurt her physically and emotionally. How can Henry help and protect her against them? How can they discover their feelings for each other?
I was caught up just by reading the first few chapters of the book. Kate is those type of character you'll fall in love/ attach with easily. She is nice, humble, poor and pretty with even trying. Henry is the same way: Handsome, rich, gentleman, popular and nice.
I fell in love with them and with the story. I was hooked easily. It will make you realize to understand people, consider others, appreciate your family and learn to trust.
Plus the fact that the ending is really good. I can see and feel the love between them specially when I read the epilogue. Seriously. Definitely one of my favorites!
belladonna187's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
lotsoflove3's review against another edition
4.0
Really well written! But I found some of the bullying out of place and over dramatic. Henry was great but in some ways I wanted Kate to offer him more, give him more of a reason to fall in love that weren’t childhood memories. I loved Henry’s family though!! If I could rate in halves it would be 3.5 but I have to bump it up a half 4
b00knrd's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book. I could not put it down! I would definitely recommend this book!!