Troubled Hearts

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Synopsis

After four years of marriage, Julia and Richard have become distant from one another. Believing that Richard no longer loves her and that he would be happier with someone else, Julia decides to leave him. With the help of her life-long friend, Aiden, Julia steals away in the night, never expecting that Richard still cares enough to come after her.

Review

Troubled Hearts is a sweet little e-book novella about a husband and wife who have drifted apart and become estranged due to a tragedy in their lives, but whose love for one another prevails to bring them back together. As with most short stories like this I couldn't help wanting to know more. How did Julia and Richard meet and fall in love? What were their lives like up until the event that put distance between them? I also found myself curious about Julia's life-long friendship with Aiden, and why she fell for Richard instead of him.Generally though, questions like this are pretty par for the course when the e-book is only 16 pages long, so I tend to evaluate these novellas a little differently than longer stories.

I'm usually not a big fan of misunderstandings or miscommunication being the primary conflict in a romance like it was here. Although I felt that Julia should have been a bit more proactive in attempting to discuss her feelings and concerns with Richard before taking such drastic actions, I was able on some level to understand how they could have come to this point in their marriage, because both were under a great deal of stress. If nothing else it all led to a very sweet, tender reunion, and I did like that they each trusted the other enough not to question one another's fidelity. Overall, Troubled Hearts was a well-written story that was another good read from Donna Hatch.

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Donna Hatch

Themes

G/PG-Rated Romance