“𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚. 𝙄𝙩 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡 𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡.” If there was ever a book that embodied the quote, “love conquers all” it’s this one. Helena Hunting delivers another compelling and angsty installment in the Lies, Hearts and Truth series! Bitter Sweet Heart was a reverse age gap student teacher romance but at the same time, it was so much more. It had this incredible depth that just stole my breath. “𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲.” “𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙙𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣?” “𝗬𝗼𝘂’𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲.” I never could’ve imagined all that laid within the charming, happy go lucky playboy that was Maverick Waters. He was matured beyond his twenty one years. Seeing inside in his mind, seeing the pain and guilt he harbored was heartbreaking. He carried a heavy burden on his shoulders that stemmed from traumatic events at a young age. Protective and devoted, he was selfless to the point of self sacrifice. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for the people he loved. His journey to self-forgiveness was a hard fought one. This is Maverick at both his most vulnerable and strongest and it was a truly beautiful thing. “𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪.” “𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁?” “𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚. 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄’𝙢 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠. 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚.” “𝗜 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳.” “𝘽𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙬.” Clover Sweet, her name says it all because she had the most caring spirit. She was full of compassion and a hidden strength. Something in her soul just understood Mav’s and from there, their connection was indisputable. She was the love, acceptance and salve that he needed. His safe place to land. She wanted nothing but the best for Maverick. His wholeness and happiness meant everything to her. Even with the odds seemingly stacked against them, I admired the determination they shared to have the love they both deserved. A love that surpassed any and all constraints including those of age and societal opinions. “𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙤, 𝙈𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙠. 𝙐𝙣𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙘𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙡𝙮, 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙘𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙡𝙮, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪. 𝙒𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪?” This story explored the effects of trauma, the way it not only shapes a person’s present and future but their whole mindset and the choices they make whether consciously or subconsciously. With Maverick, we see the effects of trauma not only on the person directly affected but those close to them. Helena did a genuinely flawless job with how this subject was written. This book had it all, steam, heart, passion, angst and emotion in spades. Just an absolute phenomenal read.