Review of ‘Two Hearts Alone’ by Harper Bliss

This is book one of the ‘Two Hearts Trilogy’ by Harper Bliss which should be read in chronological order. I have to warn readers that even though this book doesn’t end in a cliffhanger, it doesn’t conclude the story either. So if you want a happy resolution, you’d need to commit to reading books two and three. Having said that, book two ‘Two hearts together’ is being released soon or you can get the complete trilogy in a box set in a couple of months’ time.

The story is set in the fictional small town of Donovan Grove where Anna Gunn lives and works. Anna is a loner and her life is carefully planned in a strict routine which is challenged when Zoe Perez arrives from NYC to open a bookstore in town. Zoe is sociable, gorgeous and is determined to break down Anna’s carefully constructed walls. But soon she’ll discover that Anna is as appealing as complicated…

I’ve read quite a few books by Ms. Bliss and doing a cursory description, you can divide her work into lesbian erotica such as ‘Wetter’, lesbian romances with a heavy erotic content, for example, the ‘French Kissing’ series, or more introspective ones like ‘At the water’s edge’. This book tends to be more in the latter category so don’t expect much hotness here. Ms. Bliss is one of the best writers of sex scenes in lesfic and I suspect that in this trilogy she is leaving the sex for last.

This author is very good at building the characters’ personalities and ‘Two Hearts Alone’ is no exception. Anna is a complicated character with many facets that are slowly revealed to the reader. I don’t want to spoil anything to the readers but let me say that Anna seems very realistic and some readers will emphasise with her struggles a lot. Being in her headspace gave me a good insight of what people like her might feel and how tiring it might be to perceive yourself as different and socially awkward. My heart went with her every time she was put on the spot in those social demanding situations.

It’s hard to rate a book that is part of a trilogy in a way that it’s as if the story was written as a whole and then divided into three novellas, but what I’ve read so far, it’s more than promising. However, and because of this is just a part of a bigger plot that could go anywhere from this point, I’d give it the benefit of the doubt and hope that Ms. Bliss will deliver. A good start to a lesbian romance trilogy. 4 stars.

ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.