Hearts & Bruises (Hearts #1) by A.M. Brooks

Hearts & Bruises by A.M. Brooks is a YA Contemporary story of love, pain, and darkness.

“With love comes pain.
And with pain comes scars.

Believe me, I have had my share of it all.
After my mother’s death, my father couldn’t deal.
So once again, we’re moving.
To a town full of lies, darkness, and corruption.
All masked in sunshine and money.

But then I meet him…
My biggest mistake.
My biggest temptation.
A royal pain-in-the-ass.

And Darrian King is no prince.
He’s controlling, aggressive, and downright wrong for me.
But what he dishes out,
I give right back.
After all, love hurts.
And so do we.”

This book contains trigger warnings for domestic and verbal abuse. And this is not a light read.

If you love Hate to Love relationships, this book may be for you. The main love interest is not a sweet guy by any means. In fact, this relationship is not healthy at all.

We follow a girl who is already vulnerable after the death of her mother. Her father is hopping around the US and finally lands in their 12th move. And of course, this town is run by an elite family that everyone revolves around. From the moment she enters the town’s limits, she is sucked into the drama, especially when it comes to the popular guy who immediately draws her in.

Even though I hated their on and off relationship, I think the writing style was key. I felt all the emotions along with Nora, from the anger to the romance to the abuse, I was all over the place. And when I can feel all those feels, it means the author did a great job with her writing style.

I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars. There were a few drier moments, but I feel like the rest of the book made up for it. The characters were not in the right mindset for me to really enjoy the book as there is so much vulnerability and bullying.

Overall, I wasn’t a huge fan of the book, but I think it provides a different scenario to read from. There are tons of trigger warnings to look out for, so if you are in any way sensitive to darker, abusive stories, this may not be the right fit for you.

Published: 8 March 2019

Publisher: Self-Published

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary / Romance

Pages: 319

How I Read It: eARC from NetGalley

*Disclaimer: I requested a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All of my reviews contain my honest opinions only and are not influenced in any way.*

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