Redheaded Reviews: Lucky Hearts by Kiva Hart

Fiona is getting married in three days, and she has everything planned down to the last second, including when to smile a certain way, when to tilt her head, and all the itty-bitty details of the wedding and rehearsal dinner. Fiona is a Deputy Mayor's assistant. Her job is to control the chaos of public events, like the St Patrick's Day parade coming up. Fiona is having an Irish-themed wedding. Her fiancé hasn't replied to her text from last night, and the rehearsal dinner is starting soon. She has no idea where he is. Then she gets a text that says he needs to go away and think.

Dex, her fiancé Owen's best friend, is a video blogger and is recording a behind-the-scenes look at the whole wedding. He figures out that something is wrong, and she tells him about the text and how she wants to go look for him in his usual haunts. Owen wasn't there, and when they went to his and Fiona's apartment, they found his clothes and suitcases were missing. A note that just says "Sorry" is all that is left of him. Fiona tells her best friend that Owen has food poisoning.

Meanwhile, Dex is recording the whole thing. Dex has long been in love with Fiona, which is why he kept trying to break them up. Now he feels guilty that it might have worked. Not knowing what to do until she can find Owen and figure out what is going on, Fiona and Dex come up with a cover story of Owen, a doctor, who has been sent to Africa on an emergency humanitarian trip. Soon, the entire town of Whispering Falls, Arkansas, is behind a movement to raise money and supplies for his work. Fiona quickly gets in touch with a real charity in Africa to donate to, and keeps her from charges of fraud.

As they go about hunting down Owen, Fiona and Dex begin to feel sparks between each other. How can something so wrong be so right? I did not think this would be much of a novella (clocking in at 140 pages), which cost only $2.99. It is also available for free with Kindle Unlimited. This novella is a sweet romance, which means nothing more than a few kisses. There is also no language. But the story and the spectacular descriptions that put you at the scene keep you on your seat. As you can see, I really enjoyed the imagery in many quotes, though there are perhaps too many metaphors. I cannot recommend this book enough. It's perfect for this coming St. Patrick's Day.

Quotes

Some people manifest. I bullet point.

Kiva Hart (Lucky Hearts p 7)

He panned across my Post-it-covered wall. “Wow. You're like if NASA planned nuptials. Do we have a launch code?”

Kiva Hart (Lucky Hearts p 8)

Improvisation is for jazz musicians and unmedicated free spirits. Nor for buttercream.

Kiva Hart (Lucky Hearts p 10)

Her glare could have ended my bloodline.

Kiva Hart (Lucky Hearts p 20)

The thing about uploading a video is that it feels small at first. Click. Progress bar. Thumbnail that lies between its perfect little tech. You toss your message in a bottle into the internet ocean and pretend you did not sign a bloodline with the algorithm.

Kiva Hart (Lucky Hearts P 37)

Prepared is what people say when they're terrified of wanting things.

Kiva Hart (Lucky Hearts P 50)

That's what I did when my world went off-script. I alphabetized the apocalypse.

Kiva Hart (Lucky Hearts P 51)

Chaos keeps me awake.

Kiva Hart (Lucky Hearts P 52)

The cursor kept spinning like a dancer with a head injury.

Kiva Hart (Lucky Hearts P 59)

Sabrina said with a smile that should be submitted to a museum of war crimes.

Kiva Hart (Lucky Hearts P 60)

“Television implies that I am getting paid. What is it called when you're exploited for free?”