Review: The Heart of Things by J.L. Campbell
The Heart of Things by J.L. Campbell Published by Garden Avenue Press on March 14, 2019
Genres: Romance
Pages: 240
Format: eBook
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After a year-long, Jamaica-Miami romance, Douglas Blythe succeeds in putting a ring on Khalila Skyers's finger. Though gun-shy, Khalila is willing to marry Douglas, under one condition. She wants a baby.
Doug can't go back on his promise to give her anything she wants, but sees trouble on the horizon with two teenage girls, a hectic business schedule, a devious ex-wife, plus a household turned upside down by a baby he doesn't want.
Their commitment to each other is unquestionable, but will this couple's differences bind them together...or force them apart?
I liked The Thick of Things and thought it had a nice ending so I wasn’t expecting this follow up. However, I was pleasantly surprised and excited to read it.
Khalila and Doug are a year into their romance and while things are progressing, Doug thinks its time for more. He proposes to her and is initially willing to give her anything she wants as long as she says yes to becoming his wife, that is until she says what it is she really wants.
Khalila wants a baby and Doug, with two teenaged daughters, is not in the least bit interested in any more children. They’re clearly on opposite ends of the fence with this one. While they are both trying to figure out how to get the other to see their point of view, they have a lot more to contend with as it pertains to Doug’s ex-wife and his children. His ex-wife is not happy about his new relationship and one of his daughters is adamant about making Khalila’s life miserable.
The writing was solid and I loved that we were able to visit Jamaica and Antigua in this book. You know I am always in support of any novel that takes place, primarily, in the Caribbean.
However, I must admit the way Doug and Khalila handled potentially adding a baby didn’t sit well with me. These two got married despite such a huge looming topic lingering unresolved between them initially. Khalila tried to force his hand which I didn’t agree with and Doug just thought that he could take her mind off of her deepest desires and push it to the side which annoyed me.
While it wasn’t my favorite book, fans of Doug and Khalila will appreciate reading this newest installment and seeing how they once again have to move past quite a bit of heartbreak and outside forces trying to stop them on their quest for happily ever after.
Natalya is the author of All The Things I Never Said, a soul-stirring collection of short stories, prose and love letters for the soulful wanderers, the brokenhearted and the hopeless romantics.
You can follow her rantings and occasional sparks of brilliance on Twitter @NatalyaMuncuff.
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