Review: I see where she's headed...it's a bumpy road to HEA!  ;)
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 07 1, 2014
Throbbing Hearts...filled with pain.  I couldn't do my usual "review as I write" with this book because I discovered it contained a prequel.  I started writing one way, set to follow one path, but realized it had little to do with the bigger picture.  While the events and consequences led to a "new" Brendan, lead male character, there was a bigger story ahead.  Confused?  Not for long.  My friends, let's welcome back Sabrina Lacey, author of the I Love My Healed Heart series (available here).  Throbbing Hearts navigates through the waters of self-discovery from dual POVs in a gritty, unapologetic manner.  I cringed, a lot, from such raw insight and perspective, but it supports the theory that we live and learn.He's my new role model.  Following his lead will rip away the last remaining sentimentality I have for the fairer sex once and for all.Old Brendan, new Brendan.  Dumped unceremoniously after 4 years by his college girlfriend, Brendan is tired of being the nice guy.  The day after his relationship crumbles, Brendan escapes to Mendocino for a good soul-cleansing.  When he's caught up in an unexpected salacious opportunity, he acquires a new skin - the indifference necessary to keep his heart safe (though simultaneously battering the feelings of a woman caught in the crux of her own transformation, but I digress).Brendan is trying to adopt the "bad boy" image set and mastered by a guy friend he secretly idolizes.  Trouble is, he's failing epically at it!  I really hope I'm getting this right.  Sabrina Lacey is letting Brendan indulge, revel in one-night stands, but allowing us to see inside the veneer.  Underneath this new, douchey exterior is the ever-present good guy, Brendan, who is clearly uncomfortable with the comfort of momentary, no-strings-attached gratification.  Oh, he goes for it...he's no saint.When Brendan meets Annie, a 23 year old college junior (who's completely in love with him), his road to debauchery smacks her right in the face (with the help of her BFF?!)  In the middle of her own self-esteem issues (she's stuck, hiding in a goth phase), their disastrous encounter becomes the impetus for her own crossroad.First impressions are not always accurate and can be forgiven (if we're lucky).  There's no way I can tell you more.  Read the inner workings of troubled, dissatisfied minds.  I describe it as a hopeful restlessness.  Ms. Lacey always supplies steamy scenes, but while they're here, they don't necessarily involve our H/H.  You gotta read to understand!  :DContinue Sabrina Lacey's Hearts Series for the next installment titled Reaching Hearts.  It seems to imply a distance to overcome.  Are Brendan and Annie ready to reach out?Did I mention I happen to love second chances??