Name: This Heart of Mine
ISBN: 9780778316725

Brenda Novak

After serving time for a crime she did not commit, Phoenix Fuller returns to Whiskey Creek where she hopes to get to know her son, but meets resistance from her son's father, Riley Stinson, who doesn't trust her or want her in their son's life.

This Heart of Mine

Angela Guilherme

*I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Riley e Phoenix's story has already been mentioned in previous books of the series, but only from Riley's point of view. Now, with Phoenix's release, it's finally time to learn her point of view.

The story begins after Phoenix's release from jail, when she's meeting her son Jacob for the first time since he was a baby. Her expectations are very low, the only thing that Phoenix wants is to get to know her son, but the first encounter ends up going a lot better than she ever imagined it would. Jacob not only wants to get to know her better and to develop a relationship with her, he's also interested in her version of the event that landed her in jail for sixteen years.

Riley never doubted Phoenix's guilt. After all, she was the driver of the car that hit and killed the girl he was dating in high school. And it's not like Phoenix didn't have a motive, since he had broken up with her and she was left alone and pregnant... But now he's starting to wonder if that's really what happened...

And the longer he spends with Phoenix, the more Riley starts to question if he didn't commit the biggest mistake of his life when he gave in to his parents' pressure to date a girl of his social status instead of Phoenix who lived in a trailer, was poor and whose mother has obvious psychological problems.

But, as his friend Kyle makes a point of noticing, Phoenix has a natural class and elegance that have nothing to do with her birth. And everything that attracted Riley in the past has seemed to only magnify with time...

I really liked Riley and Phoenix's story. Having read some of the previous books in the series, Phoenix has always been presented as an insane killer and a problem Riley will have to eventually deal with. And it was very interesting to realize that couldn't be farther from the truth...

Phoenix is a fantastic protagonist. Even though she's been wrongly convicted for a crime she didn't commit, she holds no grudges and only wants to enjoy life from now on. She has no expectations, she just tries not to disturb anyone's lives, take care of her mother and enjoy the opportunity to have a relationship with her son. But she doesn't allow anyone to demean her, she's proud, determined and hardworking. All qualities that don't go unnoticed to Riley...

I also liked Riley a lot, and he has some hilarious scenes, not only when he's jealous because he thinks Kyle is interested in Phoenix, but also when he decides to go with Kyle shopping for her... And when he finally decides what he wants, he defends it fiercely.