Cross My Heart
A Hearts Novella (#5.75)

by L.H. Cosway

Get the first four books in L.H. Cosway’s HEARTS series, plus the BRAND NEW bonus novella, Cross My Heart.

The Hearts Boxset Bundle includes:

Six of Hearts (#1) – Review
Hearts of Fire (#2) – Review
King of Hearts (#3) – Review
Hearts of Blue (#4) – Review
Cross My Heart (bonus novella #5.75)

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Cross My Heart is published separately on iBooks

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Blurb

Iris Garrigan has nothing.

Well, that’s not entirely true. She has her trusty Doc Martin boots. She has her Bowie obsession. And she has the stray cat that sneaks into her bed and keeps her company at night – it’s a quid pro quo relationship. The cat gets a warm body and she gets something alive beside her when she would otherwise be alone.
She also has a job. Sure, washing dishes hardly has her rolling in dough, but with no permanent abode it’s the best she can do. She knows her new boss only lets her work in his restaurant out of pity, but she isn’t above cashing in on a little human compassion if it means she can survive to live another day.

Everything is going fine until Liam Cross starts to take notice of her, poking his newly minted police badge where it doesn’t belong. And if he doesn’t quit soon her not so legal living situation could find her in hot waters. Little does she know, Liam isn’t just being nosy, he’s trying to help. Iris has no idea that he’s been watching her for months, and that he’s completely enamoured with her strange and peculiar ways.

When Liam discovers her secret Iris has two options: stay and face the music or run for the hills.

***Cross My Heart is a contemporary romance novella and tells the story of the youngest Cross brother, Liam Cross.***

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Review

4.5 stars!!

“Your life is just about to begin, Iris.”

One of the reasons I love L.H. Cosway is because no matter the length of her stories, each and every one of them is packed with emotion. The feels in the novella rival those of full length novels and it’s no surprise that she continues to impress.

Cross My Heart features twenty-four year old Liam, the youngest of the Cross brothers. He had a hard childhood and was forced into a life of crime. However, with the support of his family, he turned his life around and now works as a police constable.

Iris is twenty years old, living on the streets, and just trying to get by. She works at The Grub Hut for Lee Cross (from Hearts of Blue). She is lucky for the warmth and meals she receives during the day at work but the nights are long, lonely, and cold.

Liam stops by The Grub Hut all the time and always tries to get Iris to open up. Whether she likes it or not, he has become somewhat of a constant in her life since she started working for his brother. Then, Lee offers her an opportunity that she can’t pass up.  She and Liam end up becoming friends, comforting each other, and eventually becoming something more, something beautiful.

I devoured Cross My Heart. I really wish it was a full-length novel because I. WANT. MORE!! It was a super quick read but still delivered an amazing and complete story and I couldn’t read it fast enough. The feels were gorgeous and the plot entertaining and believable. Like all of the other Cosway books I have read, this one is well-written, entertaining, and beautifully imagined.

The characters are well-developed and fascinating. The immense description and emotion put into both Iris and Liam’s characters made me feel like I knew them on a personal level. I loved how their relationship progressed; it was believable, exciting, and beautiful. There was obvious chemistry between Liam and Iris but she was out of her element and I could feel how reserved she was. I felt their connection and the sexual tension that was building the more time they spent together. There was a nice amount of banter and I loved that Liam was stubborn and didn’t take no for an answer.

“Um, where are we going?”
“To my house.”
“But—”
“I swear to God, Iris, if you lie to me one more time I’ll arrest you.”
“You can’t arrest me. I haven’t broken any laws,” I protested.
“I’ll think of something.”
“But then you’d be breaking the law.”
He shot me a dark look, and even though it was supposed to be threatening, it was kinda sexy. “I’ve done it before. I can do it again.”

I was so excited when I heard Liam was getting a story of his own, even if it was just a novella, and he is so much better than I could have imagined. He’s sweet, sexy, supportive, and honest. He broke down the barriers that encased Iris’ heart, accepted her for who she was, and understood her completely.

“You’re closed tight as a bank vault, Iris. You’re closed tight because you’ve been let down too many times.”
How could he possible know this?
“I know because I’ve been where you are.”

I loved his protective streak and his genuinely sweet side. He gave me such a warm and tingly feeling inside and put a smile on my face.

“People probably think you’re arresting me.”
Liam frowned. “How do you reckon that?”
I gestured to myself and laughed. “Just look at me; black hoodie, dirty hair, tattoos, mean face. I’ve got criminal written all over me.”
He stopped and stood in front of me, his expression gentle. “That’s not what I see.”
His words made my throat clog as I stared at him head-on. “What do you see?”
“Intriguing fashion sense, hair so black it’s almost blue, skin that’s a work of art, gorgeous face. No, strike that. Beautiful fucking face. Sad eyes.”
…
“Why are you so nice to me?”
Liam’s fingers touched my chin and tilted my head up so I was looking at him again. “Because I like you. And because for some reason I desperately want to make those sad eyes of yours happy.”

*SWOON*

Iris was wonderful. I loved her sweet, quirky personality, her instant likability, and the fact that she knew who she was. Her life hadn’t been easy, especially the past few years and yet she remained positive even when life was almost unbearable. Her hope was beautiful and it showed her strength and proved that she was a survivor.

I was a glass half full kind of girl. I had to be, otherwise I’d be a hand me the crack pipe kind of girl.

Overall, this was a wonderful addition to the Hearts series. I am so glad we got to see more of the Cross clan and can’t wait for more. Up next, One Epic Night, the novella featuring the Trevor and Reya from the sixth and final Hearts book, Hearts in Air.

I have to give a shout out to Bowie. He was there for Iris when she needed a friend and I love the part he played in her life. I love all things Bowie too and loved the titles of the chapters.

*ARC generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review*

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The Hearts series (All books can be read as a stand alone)

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About the Author

L.H. Cosway lives in Dublin, Ireland. Her inspiration to write comes from music. Her favourite things in life include writing stories, vintage clothing, dark cabaret music, food, musical comedy, and of course, books. She thinks that imperfect people are the most interesting kind. They tell the best stories. L.H. is represented by Louise Fury at The Bent Agency.

 

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