TITLE: Beat of My Heart
AUTHOR: Avery Maxwell
SERIES: The Westbrooks: Broken Hearts
SERIES ORDER: 2
AVAILABLE IN KU: Yes
PUBLISHED: 09/15/2020
GENRE: Small Town Romance
RATING: 5/5
BLURB:
One week. No strings. Sexy stranger. What could go wrong?
My name is Julia McDowell. I’m not the pretty girl next door, I’m the boss at work who solves all your problems. I’m an awkward genius with the worst taste in boyfriends; the last one left me with a 6-figure debt to prove it.
So, when the most swoon-worthy man alive saves me from a psychotic tree, who am I to say no to a drink? He’s sweet yet powerful with a darkness I can’t place. I should be terrified of him, but I find myself drawn to him in ways I’ve never experienced. He says I’m his guiding light, that our hearts beat to the same melody. But I’m not looking for forever, and he has his own demons to slay.
We agreed to one week, no strings. It will have to be enough. It’s definitely enough, more than enough, until it’s not.
I’m ready to throw our one-week rules out the window when tragedy pulls us apart. It would take a miracle to find our way back to each other, and life is no fairytale. With no happily ever after in sight, will our hearts learn a new rhythm? Or will heartache become our new theme song?
Click the BUY NOW button to enter the Westbrook World and find out!
The Beat of My Heart is a standalone HEA in the interconnecting series, The Westbrooks: Broken Hearts. While it can be read alone, Avery strongly encourages you to read book 1, Cross My Heart, first. Now available in KindleUnlimited.
**Trigger Warning-Sensitive subjects such as domestic violence, abduction, and worries of an eating disorder are all briefly discussed. If you have questions about this, the author encourages you to reach out to her for further explanation.
“Even in the darkness, you’re still my guiding light.”
MY REVIEW:
I found myself this week diving back into the world of Avery’s Westbrooks series, Broken Hearts, with Beat of My Heart, Julia and Trevor’s story. While the majority of the book takes place before the events of Cross My Heart (book 1 in the series), I really enjoyed how Avery had some of the storyline run parallel with Cross My Heart, but from Julia and Trevor’s perspective.
I’ve bounced around between Avery’s two series set in this world, but I think Beat of My Heart is my favorite (so far) in the Broken Hearts series and ties with One Little Kiss, my favorite in the Family Ties series.
Julia and Trevor meet at a conference in Boston. While there’s an instant attraction between the two, both have stuff going on in their personal lives that they don’t want to bring the other into; so they agree to a one-night stand. One night ends up turning into a full week affair because they’re both falling for each other and want to spend any chance they can with each other.
I loved watching their relationship and feelings develop during their time together. Julia was a riot, with her inner-turned-outward monologues and coming up with her own lyrics, and I loved how Trevor understood her and calmed her chaos. Trevor broke my heart in this. He really was between a rock and a hard place with everything he was dealing with and I loved how Julia was able to bring light into his darkness.
Having read Cross My Heart, I knew where their affair was headed, but it was still hard to read about their separation. Like I said, I loved how this part of the story ran parallel with the events of Cross My Heart while being from Julia and Trevor’s perspective. Since we already got Lanie and Dex’s story, Julia and Trevor’s story only highlighted parts of that story while also providing some more scenes between just the two of them (like when they’re texting and sending each other GIFS )
I thought their reunion and the ending of their story was perfect, while also leaving me in some suspense about what is in store for the other characters (particularly Loki, Preston, Lexi and Ashton) and I can’t wait to read their stories! Out of the four, Ashton’s is the only one that doesn’t have his story written yet but Avery’s planning on releasing it later this year!
GG was, once again, a hoot and I loved reuniting with Lanie, Dex and the rest of the Westbrooks that I did not mention earlier.
I definitely recommend this book/series to anyone who enjoys a steamy small town romance with a hint of suspense. While this book is second in the series and the books are interconnected, it can be read as a standalone. I do think you might benefit though from reading Cross My Heart first (or after this one) because, again, Lanie and Dex’s story runs parallel with Trevor and Julia’s and you’ll get a better understanding of all the characters and some of the events that take place.