Change of Heart by Courtney Walsh

A Colorado senator’s wife, Evelyn Brandt seems to have it all. But her carefully constructed life comes toppling down when the FBI crashes her society brunch with the news that her husband has been arrested for embezzlement, and he’s far from repentant. It turns out this was only the start of his indiscretions—for which he has little regret.

As the weeks following the scandal turn into months, Evelyn withdraws, even shirking her duties with the philanthropic Valentine Volunteers. The inquisitive women of the group are determined not to let Evelyn’s divorce destroy her. They have big plans for her to use her long-forgotten artistic talent to reimagine the city’s iconic lamppost hearts. But doing so will force Evelyn to work closely with Trevor Whitney, her ex-husband’s former best friend. Though she and Trevor used to be close—and he’s been letting her hide in his guesthouse—his gruffness conveys his unease with the situation.

Amid the beauty of Trevor’s farm and the comfort of a paintbrush, Evelyn starts to reclaim the dreams she sacrificed to become the perfect politician’s wife. And as creativity inspires them both, Whit begins to see the girl he fell in love with before his friend—and his own mistakes—stole his chance. Possibilities for a new beginning emerge, but long-kept secrets threaten to ruin everything. After so much time, is a change of heart too much to hope for?

 

Change of Heart is the second book in Courtney Walsh’s Paper Hearts series, coming after Paper Hearts. I really enjoyed Paper Hearts, so I was pretty excited that I finally found time to get around to the second book in the series, but I have to say, I’m a little disappointed. While I was really looking forward to enjoying this book, I honestly don’t think I can say that I really did. I did actually finish this book, so that’s a plus. Though I did think about skimming the last half, I was actually able to read the entire thing, so that is good I suppose. I just didn’t really enjoy what I read, and that was really disappointing because I hate when I don’t enjoy a book, especially when it is one I was looking forward to reading.

Honestly, there were quite a few things about this novel that made it hard for me to enjoy it as much as I wanted to. For starters, the story was very repetitive. Now, I know that it had to be in some ways just because there were more and more things coming to light so the story of deception and lies had to be repeated to a certain degree, but it was too much. It felt like Evelyn was too back and forth about everything, and it was extremely difficult for me to believe she never could have known about at least some of her husband’s lies. There is no way you are married to a man who is that obvious for that long and not know about his sins. It’s just impossible.

And Trevor’s whole place in the story was the most repetitive part of all. It felt like every single time there was a chapter or section in his perspective, it talked about his feelings for Evelyn and how he continually told himself that she “wasn’t his to love.” I get it, he loved his best friend’s wife even though he shouldn’t, and he wanted to be over her but never was. I don’t understand why it had to be repeated over and over and over all throughout the book. Besides that, I just felt like it was a little sad, to be honest. Like, he even had other girlfriends or opportunities for girlfriends, and he still was stuck in that same boat for so many years? I don’t buy it.

I absolutely hate to go on so negatively about books like this, but I really truly just didn’t enjoy this story. There were so many places Courtney could have gone with the plot line, with Evelyn’s past and Christopher’s indiscretions and everything that was going on with Trevor, but I felt like it was just repetitive and circular rather than really developing as the story went on. Because of this, and everything else that I have mentioned, I unfortunately cannot give this story any more than three out of five bookshelves. It wasn’t so unbearable that I had to skim it enough to warrant only two bookshelves, and I am sure that it still might be an enjoyable book for someone who can look past all of the faults I found with it. So, although I definitely cannot confidently recommend this book, I also am not going to say that no one will enjoy it and that it isn’t worth giving a try if you feel so inclined.

Happy reading!

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All credit for the italicized synopsis goes to Courtney Walsh and Tyndale House Publishers.