Book Review – How To Mend A Broken Heart by Anna Mansell

Title: How To Mend A Broken Heart

Author: Anna Mansell

Publisher: Bookouture

Publication Date: 1st March 2017

Format: ARC e-Book

Note: This book was received from the publisher in return for an honest review

About the book:

A compelling, heartbreaking tale that will make you laugh, cry and believe in the kindness of strangers. Perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes, Lucy Dillon and Miranda Dickinson.

Life is good for nurse Kat. That is until the man she intended to marry legs it, she’s unexpectedly promoted to a position with too much responsibility, and a patient arrives on her ward under strange circumstances.

Susan is a mystery. She refuses to speak or interact with anyone, she’s obsessed with a book of fairy tales, and the only name in her diary is that of Rhys – a plumber she barely knows.

Down-to-earth Rhys is trying to get his life back on track after the death of his beloved brother. His mum is his priority, and she needs him as much as he needs her. Or at least she did, until she starts disappearing, leaving him to find comfort in the form of his brother’s girlfriend.

Complicated is an understatement.

As the lives of these three lost strangers intertwine, will they find a way to lay ghosts past, present and future to rest? And when the chance comes to mend their broken hearts, will they be brave enough to take it?

What I Thought:

.How To Mend A Broken Heart tells the story of three strangers whose lives intertwine on a hospital ward in Sheffield.

Kat is the acting ward sister who is struggling to believe in herself following her temporary promotion and her partner of five years suddenly leaving her.

Susan is a patient on Kat’s ward, she’s been silent since she was brought in following an accident with a bus. She has no information about next of kin and only one random number in her diary: Rhys.

Rhys is a plumber who once did some work for Susan, struggling to find an explanation following his brother’s suicide, hearing Susan’s story he sticks around trying to work out a reason and hoping he’ll be able to help her even though couldn’t help his brother.

The chapters alternate between each of these character’s points of view, and we gradually learn more about each of their personal lives as they struggle to move on from their current situations. I’m not always the biggest fan of changing view points as depending on how it’s done it can sometimes be quite difficult to keep up with whose point of view you’re reading. In this case I think it’s done really well, each viewpoint is easy to identified and adds something to the narrative.

What I liked about this book is that it felt realistic. Obviously the book is dramatic but throughout it felt real, I enjoyed Kat’s journey, seeing her make mistakes but grow and being to believe in herself again. I think what I liked the most is that not everyone got their perfect happily ever after, I think it represents the real world that not everything ends up tied up in a neat little bow, but at the same time I was happy to see that everyone is moving in a positive direction

Would I recommend it?

.Yes, like the blurb says if you’re a fan of Jojo Moyes this is a perfect book to while away an evening or two.