It’s been several months since I reviewed a book for a Novel Publicity blog tour. Brenda Gayle’s Hungry Heart proved to be worth coming back to the reviewers’ ranks.
In true romance novel fashion, Hungry Heart features a strong independent heroine, a to-die-for hero, and a happily-ever-after ending. But there was plenty of intrigue and danger between the covers to keep me turning the pages, including a twist I didn’t expect. 
Actually, I was proud of myself for figuring the twist out early in the story. But although the twist was the backstory for the plot, the unfolding of the story was not so easily apparent. Gayle released pieces of the story in just the right doses, chapter after chapter, to keep me planted in my comfy chair until the end.
The main character, child advocate Nora Cross, did make it a little difficult for me to like her. I didn’t take it personally, though, as she tended to have that affect on people. The hero, Hunter Graham, saw through Nora’s toughness to her vulnerable, and sometimes sweet, core. It was touching to watch him as he unwaveringly pursued her, determined to create a happy ending for the both of them.
At times, there was too much going on at one time for me to keep track of. There were some interesting sub-plots that were not quite fully developed and were tied up a little too quickly, and too loosely, for my taste. I would have preferred fewer side stories, with more depth to the ones that were left.
Overall, I enjoyed following along with Nora and Hunter as they discovered the best in each other, and persevered through the dangers around them to come to an ending that surprised them both .
Novel Publicity Blog Tour Notes
Wanna win a $50 gift card or an autographed copy of The Hungry Heart? Well, there are two ways to enter…
- Leave a comment on my blog. One random commenter during this tour will win a $50 gift card. For the full list of participating blogs, visit the official Hungry Heart tour page.
- Enter the Rafflecopter contest! I’ve posted the contest form below, or you can enter on the tour page linked above.
About the author:
Brenda Gayle has been a writer all her life but returned to her love of writing fiction after more than 20 years in the world of corporate communication—although some might argue there was plenty of opportunity for fiction-writing there, too. A fan of many genres, she is drawn to contemporary romance and enjoys writing deeply emotional stories with elements of mystery and suspense.Her first book, Soldier for Love, was a recommended read by a number of reviewers. Her new book, The Hungry Heart, is the first in her Heart’s Desire series, which chronicles the difficult road to finding love and family acceptance for the three Graham cousins. Brenda lives in eastern Ontario with her wonderful husband, two fabulous children, two Siberian Huskies, a rescued cat, and assorted aquatic wildlife.
Connect with Brenda on her website, Facebook, or Twitter.
Get The Hungry Heart on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
Sounds like a nicely written romance. Nice to see you back in the reviewers chair, my dear!
Thanks, Vicki. I have another one coming on Wednesday! I kind of lost my writing mojo recently, and haven’t worked on my novel for a while. I decided to do some book reviews to get it back. Seems to be working!
Good.
I’m in the same boat here… but I’m glad to see you back too.
Hungry Heart sounds like a worthy debut. Thanks for reviewing!
Pamela, you have a big reason for not writing so much lately! Moonlight and Magnolias is going to be awesome!
Thanks for such a detailed review! I love how you include lots of different aspects, including plot structure and characters
Glad you enjoyed it overall!
I’m happy that my review was helpful to you, Karielle. I hope you enjoy the book.
Thanks for coming back to the reviewer’s ranks for The Hungry Heart, Michele. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
You’re very welcome, Brenda! Good luck with your future books.
Great return to reviewing, Michele. I’m glad you enjoyed Hungry Heart. I’m looking forward to reading it myself! Thanks for joining this tour, and please take a moment to cross-post your review to Amazon and GoodReads
Em
Hi Em! It’s nice to be back. I’m a sucker for a good love story!
Thanks for the reminder about cross-posting the review, I’ll do that right away!
Sounds a nice read – maintaining a fast-paced plot with a balance of not ‘telling it all’ must be hard. It is great that you found Gayle to release the story in nice portions.
A book is really like food, you don’t want too much, or too little.
chrysrawr@yahoo.com
Christine, I love your last line–”A book is really like food, you don’t want too much, or too little.” That’s a great analogy!