It’s been a while since I read a romantic story.
Seen one? Many times, but I last read one in the late 1990s. Yup, that old.
The reason is simple: the romance genre needs gossip and friend talk. A little bit of girl chatter and sniggering. That’s what we did back in the late 90s when we had a romantic book in our midst. We talked about how the guy was written and how the girl swooned (given those were the two things happening).
But those sessions stopped once life started happening. And my interest in romantic books waned.
So when Commonplace offered the opportunity to read and review ‘Hustle Meets Heart’, it took me back down the nostalgia lane.
But what was more striking was the ‘fake-dating’ premise the book was building on. I just had to read it before anyone else did; even if I didn’t have my posse to chat with.
Page 1: The First Impression
The book starts with the frenzy of New York and introduces Amelia and Asher right off the bat. No lengthy scene-building or narration about unconnected people.
This helped me slide right into the main characters’ worlds, mostly Amelia’s. Right after that, it was Asher’s.
It also helped me see how different their worlds were. Right from the beginning, nothing matched or was even similar except the desire to succeed.
I can relate to that desire. The hunger to see themselves move forward at no one’s expense.
The Midpoint Check
By the time I approached the middle chapters, the fake-dating scene was clear. Both Amelia and Asher know their boundaries, yet they want to break their own rules too.
They don’t have a lot of enemies, except their own ambitions.
By this point, the story is moving slowly, describing in painstaking detail everything happening around the two lovers. Some of these details feel like a report; some show how their life is changing.
However, the pages seem to drag, and I skip paragraphs now to get to the main crux of the chapter.
The Moment I Knew
I formed an opinion on the book at chapter 18.
The book has detailed insights with good storytelling into the minds of ambitious individuals. They are smart yet simple. They want life to matter on their own terms.
Paige has researched her characters well. She managed to pull in details from both the musical and entrepreneurial worlds, which makes for a rich read.
However, the plot becomes repetitive and demands some twists and turns.
What Stuck With Me
I loved the Dual POV writing style by the author. Never read in this style before. The best part was that it was super easy to follow.
All in all the book is an easy read. No jargons, no fancy sentence construction and nothing that made me reach for the dictionary or Google. I enjoyed it, but did wish there was more happening in those pages.
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