THE HEART OF IT
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Novella
Author: Molly O’Keefe
Release Date: February 29, 2016
On the outside rich and successful Gabe Paterson has everything.
No one would guess the ghosts from his past are tearing him apart.
Desperate, he reaches out to Elena – a resilient call girl, with her own childhood scars – for help.
In their moments of honesty, the two forge the most surprising relationship of their lives.
But will they be brave enough to make it into something more?
He was a bag of lies and half-truths and she was without counterfeit. There could have been a hundred women sitting at this bar and he would have only seen her and the brilliant truth of her.
Can you write a heartfelt and poignant story full of steam and emotion in under 70 pages? If you’re Molly O’Keefe not only can you, but you do it effortlessly. The Heart of It is a must read for any fans of this author. It’s captivating and erotic; full of feeling and emotion. It’s short but satisfying and yet still left me craving more; not because it was lacking, but because I just didn’t want it to end. I don’t believe I’ve ever rated a novella so highly in all my reading experience. Not only am I rating it for the wonderful story, but the mere fact that the author managed to pack in as much development and emotion as she did in these few short pages.
The characters are so well developed they practically leap from the pages. Considering the subject matter it touches on, I was blown away at just how much this author accomplished with just 67 pages. It’s a beautiful story of healing. A story of meeting that one person that finally changes everything. Elena and Gabe couldn’t be more different. Heck, they practically live on opposite ends of the world for all the differences between them. A high class escort and a successful author of children’s books that’s haunted by the demons of his past share an experience together that irrevocably changes them both.
Miss O’Keefe does an incredible job laying the foundation of a truly broken man for the readers. Gabe is no perfect in any means even while he may live the picture perfect life on the outside. He’s a man with a past that won’t let go of his present. He’s a man that hopes to find some solace in the arms of a beautiful escort if only for one night. I loved how endearing his imperfections came across. You can’t help but fall for him and want to heal all his emotional scars. He was this gentle giant that was just perfectly imperfect. Elena has scars of her own from the past, but she’s a heroine I connected with right away. She’s strong in an understated way. She doesn’t flaunt herself, but she owns her sexuality. Both of these characters were simply refreshing in their originality.
What a wonderful treat the author has written for her fans. I only wish it was longer.
If you haven’t read anything by Molly O’Keefe yet, but enjoy novellas by Cara McKenna and Anne Calhoun, this is an author you’ll want to check out. Trust me on that.
