Ken Murphy

A Hearts On Fire Review

2.75 STARS--Ken Murphy's debut novel "Stubborn Heart" is a story about a thirty-something SICU nurse who has been cheated on one too many times and a 28 year old surgeon, Trevor, falling for one another.

My expectations before reading: Mark has been cheated on in the past, making him one emotionally screwed individual. He'd be internally angsty, (sometimes the best there is) emotionally closed off, turning down other men when he is asked out because under the ice veneer is a world of hurt.

Were they met?: Not exactly.

What was delivered: A simple story that was drawn out too long (there were paragraphs on picking a Christmas tree or medical procedures - pages of those) with little to no angst, heavy on the sweetness, peaked at 33% (imagine the other 67%) and overall just an okay read. I neither liked nor disliked any of the characters including Trevor and Mark . The secondary characters were a 3 out of 5 - Derrick - I agreed with him calling his friends morons who needed to talk to one another instead of trying to avoid hurting each other's feelings and Carla - she was blunt but she wasn't cruel. Sometimes you need friends like this. but her delivery might have come across as brash for some.

MAN TEARS - Sometimes the crying was valid (grieving for a parent who passed) and other times, it was a bit much. Trevor and Mark had silly little arguments over the smallest things, to the point that I had to stop reading, get a drink (of coffee - naughty) and try to pick it back up again.

Mark and Trevor could have cut a lot of this story down if there quit beating around the bush and talked with one another. I'm at the point in my life where giving up one's career for love is foolhardy and Mark's reasoning on trying to avoid this with Trevor was valid. But I wished he would have talked to the man a lot sooner instead of the 88% when an unfateful event happened. We could have skipped over the medical jargon, back story for tertiary characters, etc. if they had.

But they didn't. *sigh*

The ending was romantic and expected. It reminded me of Andrew Grey-esque or Étienne-ish tones. So there's a market for this story. I'd recommend for readers who enjoy those aforementioned authors works, if you're in the mood for a contemporary simple, sweet, gay novel.

Not a bad read."… (meer)

First off, I cried, so that is always a good sign.

Simple version: This is a story about a nurse and a doctor who fall in love.

There is a decent amount of angst and trauma, so be prepared for some ups and down. We have Mark, a man who has had some bad choices in previous boyfriends that provides his character development. Trevor is our sweet doctor who gets Mark to open his heart.

I will say that the conflicts are a bit predictable, but how the author presented it was enjoyable. I am also cutting him some slack because this is his first book. I certainly could not have written such a good book right out the gate.

So, to sum up, if you like your lovable, angsty romance, then I think you will like this one. I am certainly going to keep my eye out for what this author does next.… (meer)