Heartsick - Jessie Stephens

Genre: Adult Fiction | Based on True Stories | Romance

Release Date: 3rd February 2022

Publisher: Pan Macmillan

"I'm looking for a book I'm fairly certain doesn't exist. I want something that will put into words how I'm feeling right now - a sensation I have no vocabulary for."

Heartsick isn't a story, exactly. It's a striking retelling of three true-life accounts of heartbreak and the many unspoken lows and highs that accompany it.

Claire is excited for her future with Maggie, for the life they've been making for themselves, but she can't help but feel that instead of growing old together, they're growing apart instead. Patrick is still trying to find himself while trying to find someone to love, and then he meets Caitlin - but he just can't tell if she feels the same way about him. Ana has a picture perfect life; a strong, happy marriage and three beautiful children, and while she has no logical reason to she finds herself falling in love with someone else.

Heartsick is a compelling mixture of truth and fiction, a love letter of sorts to the beauty and pain that comes with falling love. Stephens uses these three different relationships to try to piece together the impossibly confusing mystery that is love. This story won't fix your broken heart, or help you figure out why love doesn't make sense - it's simply a beautiful tale about something universal that transcends language - love.

It reads fluidly in most places, and while it lulls in places, it doesn't stop the flow rather slips into a comfortable silence - I can only compare it to a conversation; you know those kinds of talks that come easily and goes on for hours so you don't even realise the sun has gone down.

This is the type of book that will make your heart ache and maybe even inspire you to find a little joy in the darkest places.

⭐⭐⭐

I was gifted an advanced reviewers copy of this title in return for an honest review.

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