Review: Heart Smart by Emma Lee Jayne

Heart Smart by Emma Lee Jayne
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was really cute. I liked the opposites attract aspect and I thought that Holly and Max really complemented each other. The author covers quite a few sensitive topics in this book divorce, miscarriage, adoption, mental health, animal rescue, social injustice, etc. It is alot to take in, but I thought all of it was handled well.

Holly works in Communications at the local university, and she has been tasked with helping gruff, awkward Max with his submission for a prestigious fellowship. Max likes to focus on his work, it is important to him and his research is important to the future of agriculture. He doesn't want to be judged for his appearance or social media presence. Unfortunately, times have changed and while he is very deserving of award and his work should speak for itself, he is going to have to play the game if he wants to win. Holly is an an expert at helping people present themselves on social media, professionally, and getting people to communicate effectively. Unfortunately is is often taken for granted and not taken seriously. Holly and Max are nothing alike, she is the chaos to his neatly ordered life, and they are both instantly attracted to each other. They annoy each other in comedic ways for a good part of the book, until they finally admit they are attracted to each other. I really loved watching Max come out of his shell as Holly calls him out on things that he doesn't understand or when he makes a mistake. The peanut butter and jelly moment was really sweet. I also loved the interactions between Max and Tavey, it really brings out a different side of Max that most people don't get to see. Tavey is hilarious and I'm hoping we get to see more of her in the future.

I would have liked to see Holly and Max work more on his interpersonal skill and lecture series. That part was kind of glossed over, she worked on a speech and cleaned up his appearance but they never actually worked on him playing nice with others. Her helping him out of his comfort zone and working with others was a crucial part of her job, but much of that happened off page. There is quite a bit of internal monologue from both characters, which I didn't mind in this case, it helps move the character development along as well as help you get to know them. That being said there was a bit too much self-depreciation in the book for my taste. Holly is often referring to her insecurity about not having a PhD, and Max is worried about being a huge person and scary. The reality is Holly is good at her job and very intelligent, and Max is not a Sasquatch. I did like that mental health was discussed and the difficulties associated with navigating life, work, and social situations. We need more of this in movies and books so that when you come across a guy like Max in real life, you realize he isn't a monster he's just a bit socially inept and hyper focused on his work.

Overall, I enjoyed this and look forward to reading more from this new to me author. This was was a really sweet story for a really unique couple.

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