Reviews

A Heart Worth Finding by Amanda Chaperon

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bookblurbs13's review against another edition

4.0

I’ve been on such a hockey kick lately and I’m not hating it! This was such a sweet and steamy hockey romance!

Thoughts:
-I loved the dual timelines of Jack and Jessica’s relationship and think it helped show the ease they felt with each other
-The past scenes were of Jack and Jessica meeting on vacation and I loved that the past was such a fun vacation romance, I would have read a whole book on every detail of the past. The idea of having this whirlwind vacation romance and then never speaking again always fascinated me
-I’ve been a sucker for second-chance romances lately and this one was just so sweet. You could feel the love Jack had for her
-Jack is such a cinnamon roll book boyfriend character
-I loved their chemistry and how trusting they were of each other
-Jessica’s family was so fun to read and even though we got a lot of them, I still wish we got more!!
-I loved the idea of fate intervening with Jessica and Jack multiple times throughout the book
-My two reservations were 1) I think at certain points things were a little slow, but not enough that I wanted to stop and 2) I didn’t connect with how fast Jessica and Jack became obsessed with each other. I’m not an insta-love girlie and this felt very insta-love

All in all, this was a super enjoyable read! If you love hockey romances, give this one a try!

Thank you Amanda Chaperon and Netgalley for a #gifted copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

marycbookshelf's review

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5.0

Thank you Netgalley and Amanda Chaperon for the copy A Heart WorthFinding and giving me the chance to read and review this book!

This was my first read by Amanda Chaperon
But it was not the first in this book in the series.
I was able to read this book as a stand alone but look forward to reading her other books as well!

A Heart Worth Finding had all my favorite things
Spice, second chance, and a sports romance!

Jessica and Jack met their senior year of high school on spring break trip, their connection and attraction was instant!!

The two start a fling over their vacation and agree to part ways when spring break is over.
As fate would have it, the two run into each other again almost 4 years later and realize they’re attending the same college… They’re also both also in relationships.
I don’t want to give out any spoilers so you’ll have to read to find out what happens next…

But I will say I adored these characters and love how this story was so well written!!

zoklazobrie's review

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lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Thank you to Netgalley and Victory Editing for allowing me to read this ARC.🏒

"Yesterday, today, tomorrow, always and forever..."

This book was almost a DNF but when I hit 23% I HAD TO finish it next day so if we have the same reading styles/moods, push through, this was such a cute one. I didn't realize this was a stand alone related to previous books and I think the bits I was lacking, probably wouldn't be if I read the previous books. I also hugely struggle reading time jumps and this flips from April 2020 (not real 2020 which is a separate gripe) to "Today" 2024, which again is a me specific issue, It's very clear in the book. If time jumps don't bother you, then you should be fine.

Let's start with a quick critique, and then we'll jump into the bits I enjoyed.

In the beginning I was a bit offput by keeping the timeline starting in 2020, but now that I know there's quite a few previous related books, I suspect the timeline couldn't change. Threw me for a loop to read someone getting black out drunk in Mexico at a club full of people in April 2020 when I was having sourdough struggles in my kitchen, but I digress. Another bit I struggled with was I could not understand the behavior on the Mexico trip. Their mothers brought their maybe 18yo daughters for April vacation to Mexico to *checks notes* run rampant with 4 other boys including going clubbing off resort (not even initially with the boys, with 2 other men strangers) and not even meeting the boys' chaperone till mid trip? I get that they're technically adults but something about the whole trip was just so strange to me. And/or I'm too old lol. And last but not major point, the beginning is so Mexico/Then heavy I struggled to get through it, I was wanting to skip to Michighan/Now. When I got a bit more current then I found balance. Totally a me issue though, the author did great with the time jumps I think.

Ok the good stuff (see spoilers)!

I LOVE that Jess holds to her dreams and doesn't drop everything when Jack reenters the picture. I love the awareness that she's young but that she's worked so hard to be a teacher and doesn't drop her dream. I love the lines, it's the time to be selfish, because it's so true! I also loved that Jess didn't love hockey. Not everyone does, I get it, so her character was supportive but didn't just automatically pick it up like some other hockey books do with their FMC. That detail, explains why there's not a lot of hockey in the beginning too. Also appreciated that Jack ends up playing in a different league. I know the dream is to play NHL, but the reality is most play in OHL/AHL, even lower, sometimes, that's the end of their hockey career at all. Not everyone gets to the big leagues immediately or ever, and it was nice to see a hockey player character accept something other than the NHL path. I also loved that the Silas/Sofie bits were amicable. Not every ending has to end in drama to advance our characters growth, and I loved how the author ended their relationships in such a modern adult way.

I appreciate the authors hockey knowledge too, as someone who actually follows hockey, the incorrect details can pull me out of a story, but this author knows what she's talking about, and I didn't have this issue at all in her story. I also love that Jack is a goalie, I feel like most hockey romances are about forwards and centers, but what about our defense man and goalies?! They need some love too haha. I also really loved the family dynamic, so I'm very excited to go back and start from the beginning of the timeline to see this dynamic form.

Again, knowing there's previous books, I will absolutely be going back to read ALL OF THEM. Did I struggle a bit? Yes. But this author is well written, and I ultimately really liked her modern takes on current life experiences, so she's definitely one I'll be following for future works too.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
Tropes
• HEA
• Second Chance
• TW: Side Character has pregnancy/delivery complications, no death

stuck123's review

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4.0

What a CUTE read. I love sports romance, add in hockey and I’m there. I’m not huge on second chance romance books mainly because I don’t believe in right person, wrong time. With that said I thought this book did the trope well!!

Pros: Jack was IN LOVE from the get go and he gives off I think it’s called cinnamon boy vibes! I liked that both of them wanted to follow their dreams instead of giving up their dreams for each other, but still managed to make it work! I also liked the other story lines (friends, siblings, etc). I think I’m going to pick up Brent and Jessica’s sisters book!!

Cons: It took me like 25-30% of the book to get into it. The dual timelines/stories kind of bothered me. I would have liked maybe the first part of the book to be about their past then to have left it at that. I also disliked that they had been at the same college for years but nothing happened until senior year. Lastly, I felt like there was some miscommunication at times and they both had some maturing to do. They ultimately worked it out but I think if they had just talked things through in the first place instead of avoiding feelings they would have had all of college together.

Still such a cute read and I would read other books by this author!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

imbsmiley's review

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funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

CHEF FUC*ING KISS 🤌🤌🤌

myreadsjournal's review

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3.0

"We have a deal, remember?"
"Yesterday, today, tomorrow, always and forever."

Jack and Jess meet in Cancun while on vacation and hit it off practically from the very beginning. For the remainder of the vacation they decide to spend all their time together, getting to know each other and having fun.
In order to focus on their future, their goals and their future plans, they decide to keep the relationship in Mexico and let each other go. They will keep all the beautiful memories they've made with each other during these few days, and if by any chance they were meant to be, the future will find its way to bring them back together.

What they didn't expect nor dream about was finding each other at Michigan State. And all would've been perfect and romantic if not the fact that Jessica is and has been in a long-term relationship with her boyfriend, and Jack started seeing someone he cares about deeply quite recently. Not the "future will find its way to bring them back together" they expected, huh? 🥺

You can definitely feel their chemistry from the moment they first meet, their connection is very evident and they cannot keep their hands off each other.
Even though I personally couldn't connect very much with these characters, specially Jess, it was still a fun journey. And in the end what matters is that I was rooting for them to figure things out and just keep going strong together.

Read this book if you love:
☀️ dual timelines
☀️ dual POV
☀️ second chance romance
☀️ right person, wrong time
☀️ no third act break-up
☀️ great side characters

Thank you so much NetGalley, Victory Editing and Amanda Chaperon for the ARC of this book! 💖