Rating: 4 / 5
I was initially stumped when I first saw Popsugar’s prompt asking for a book by a blogger, vlogger or other online personality. Then I realized that this was the perfect time to pick up a book produced by a bookstagrammer! CRIMSON HEARTS by Nicole Reeves has been on my list since it came out so it was the perfect time to download it to my kindle!
CRIMSON HEARTS follows Hattie, a young woman just starting her senior year of high school. She and her twin brother Danny share an incredibly close bond and she is already thinking ahead to following him off to college. She has a fantastic best friend and an impossible crush (which could be more) on her brother’s best friend and it is starting off to be an exciting year! In an unexpected sudden turn of events, tragedy strikes and the world around Hattie crumbles.
I was warned, more than once, that this is a book that requires tissues and that warning is absolutely warranted! This book touches heavily on trauma and grief and both are so well portrayed! I loved that the author spent time letting the reader bond with Hattie and get to see her world before the heartache that is to come. We get to know the people she loves, her family dynamics and her daily life. I think that allowed Hattie’s feelings and struggles to come through even stronger as we see the before, the during and the after!
This is a book that will break your heart, but also one that shows the power in friendships family and community in a way that is uplifting as well. This is a powerful debut and I can’t wait to see what Nicole Reeves brings us in the future!
Reading Challenges:
#PopsugarReadingChallenge – a book by a blogger, vlogger, YouTube video creator, or other online personality
DG Reads 