What Becomes of the Broken Hearted, by Lisa Hobman

Publication: Aria; September 18, 2018

brken hearted

About the book:

Cassie Montgomery can remember a time where her life seemed pretty perfect. By day she was setting up her own little business in her sleek penthouse apartment, and by night sleeping on gazillion-count Egyptian cotton sheets next to her fiancée, once reputed to be Glasgow’s most eligible bachelor.

And yet one ordinary, fateful day, Cassie uncovers a secret that shatters her heart into tiny pieces and changes her life forever…

Escaping to a rural and idyllic coastal village, Cassie finds a cottage that, from the moment she steps through the rose-surrounded door, feels instantly like home. And then there’s Mac, the cool surf teacher, who makes her question what really makes her happy –and makes her wonder if maybe, she might already have found the answer…

My Review

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for the latest novel by author Lisa Hobman, What Becomes of the Broken Hearted. This is the story of a young woman named Cassie, living what she thinks is the perfect life with her fiancée, Seth. After meeting through one of Cassie’s best friends/Seth’s sister, Vina, Cassie feels that she has the Prince Charming she’s always dreamed of, but as their wedding approaches, Cassie learns that Seth is not who she thought he was. Looking for a fresh start, Cassie locates a charming cottage overlooking the sea in a quaint, friendly town where she begins rebuilding her life. However, the past continues to haunt her as she forms new friendships and tries to reclaim her own life and happiness.

I loved the previous two novels that I have read by Lisa Hobman, so I was very excited to participate in this blog tour. And I truly enjoyed this novel – but there is something I need to get out of the way first! This novel is just too long. I get that characters were being developed, suspense was built, conflict was interjected, and so on but this didn’t have to be so long. At times I wasn’t sure that I would stick with it because I felt it was dragging and the drama/conflict became too much, but I am glad that I did.

My favorite things about this novel are the village of Coldingham where Cassie moves, her landlord Rab, his nephew Mac, and her little dog, Cliff. All the residents of the little village are wonderful, and I instantly wanted to pack up everything I own and move there! Not very familiar with Scotland, I even googled Coldingham and was so excited to find it and see the pictures that are just as the author described, including the multi-colored beach huts.

My least favorite things about the novel were Seth, Vina, Pippa, and at times – Cassie. Keep in mind that I have nothing but respect when authors can develop characters so well that I literally want to jump into the novel and wring the characters’ necks, however, Seth was just ridiculous. This man was conceited, selfish, had numerous psychological issues, and just an all-around horrible human being. Pippa was o.k. initially, but quickly got on my bad side. I think Vina meant well and I’m glad that she and Cassie found some peace between one another, but she still wasn’t my favorite. Which brings me to Cassie, the main character of the novel. In some ways I adored her, specifically the way she loved her Seattle grunge music and sort of marched to the beat of her own drummer. But in other ways, I saw her as someone repeatedly allowing herself to be a victim, repeatedly allowing herself to be manipulated by Seth, and at first, repeatedly being rude to and pushing away the only friendly faces in the novel. Considering that she was intelligent and creative enough to run her own publishing business out of her home, she showed very little intellect until maybe the last 2-3 chapters of the novel. Yes, I was excited and enthusiastic when she confronted Seth in an “I am woman, hear me roar” fashion. But she kept slipping back into the same thought patterns and allowed herself to be made a fool of. I’m glad that Mac hung in there and that Cassie did find her HEA, but I found myself not finding her very deserving of Mac’s repeated patience and understanding.

Nevertheless, as I stated previously, I really did enjoy this novel. Yes, I have issues with the length, which resulted in increased annoyance at Seth and Cassie, but the overall themes regarding family, friends, and finding one’s happy place in the world made my heart smile. What Becomes of the Broken Hearted had Hobman’s distinct tone and brutally honest dialogue, as well as, her trademark beautiful setting and fairytale ending. I’m sure that long after finishing this novel I will find myself daydreaming of a cozy cottage overlooking the sea in Coldingham.

*Thanks to Aria and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Buy links

Kobo:http://bit.ly/2wmWVjY

iBooks:https://apple.co/2NMIqgz

Amazon:https://amzn.to/2OYb3Yp

Google Play:http://bit.ly/2wj8bh5

About the author

Lisa Hobman is a British author, living in Scotland with her family and two dogs. Her debut novel was shortlisted in the 2014 RoNA awards. When she’s not writing, Lisa can be found singing in a local band or out enjoying the beautiful Scottish countryside.

Follow Lisa

Twitter- @LisaJHobmanAuth