This is perhaps the silliest book I have ever read. The story line is 100% unbelievable and romantic in the worst possible sense of the word. Presumably the author wrote it to piggyback on the success of one of her previous books, and to justify a New Orleans holiday to the tax office. ( )

How to Mend a Broken Heart is a not-quite sequel to Rachael Johns’ The Art of Keeping Secrets. I always felt that there was more to be explored, as Felicity (Flick) ended up with more dilemmas at the conclusion. This novel is all about Flick and her growth after her split from her husband and her children leaving home. It’s not a typical empty nester story, rather it’s much more exciting partially due to it being set in New Orleans.

With the current limitations on travel, any armchair travel is welcome and How to Mend a Broken Heart has it in spades. Partially a love letter to New Orleans, it explains in great detail the French Quarter, its nightlife, the Garden District and the food. (Seeing as the closest I’ll get to New Orleans for a long time is this book, I tried making beignets – little square donuts. They were delicious!) I did stop several times to Google various places and foods the characters saw, which is always the sign of a great book (i.e. one that entices you to learn more). However, it’s not just the setting that makes this book loads of fun but the plot too. Flick is a taxidermist and the story goes into some detail (but not squeamishly) about her job and what it entails. It also involves romance and friendship as she becomes more involved in life on Bourbon Street. For Flick’s daughter Zoe, New Orleans is the place she runs to after the demise of her marriage. Zoe has a very different experience of New Orleans, including the drinking, dancing and nightlife. She’s looking to forget, and it seems this is the place. But then Zoe finds friends in Jack, ghost hunter and Aurelia, eccentric artist and her life takes a different turn. But both mum and daughter have secrets, as do their new friends. Can they move past them to move forward?

How to Mend a Broken Heart is easily read and understood without reading The Art of Keeping Secrets. (In fact, I think it’s a stronger novel). The characters, setting and plot are all incredibly interesting, yet not totally out of the realm of real issues. It’s easy to relate to both Zoe and Flick’s methods of dealing with heartbreak (some more conventional than others) and seeing them heal and grow made me feel rather proud of them. I would have loved to know a bit more about Jack and his life in an Amish community, but maybe that could be in a future novel. I felt that Aurelia’s story was very sensitively told, as was that of Zoe’s dad. The story absolutely hummed with the author’s love of New Orleans, which now sounds to me like somewhere worth a visit one day! (If only just to eat). Overall, it’s a story that reminds you – how good is reading?!

Thank you to Harlequin for the copy of this book. My review is honest.

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com ( )

“Sometimes what you think is going to be the most painful time of your life, simply turns out to be the storm before the rainbow.”

Readers familiar with The Art of Keeping Secrets will recognise How To Mend a Broken Heart’s main protagonist, Felicity Bell. It’s been four years since her divorce after Felicity found she couldn’t reconcile the changes in their relationship wrought by her husband’s gender transition. Though the two have remained friends, and Flick is supportive of Sofia, she struggles with the continual reminders of the life she has lost. When an unexpected opportunity arises for taxidermist Felicity to take three month position at Bourbon Street Taxidermy Art, a small store in the heart of the French Quarter of New Orleans, she seizes the chance, hoping to spend some time focusing on herself.

How To Mend A Broken Heart explores the themes of heartbreak, self discovery and moving on as Felicity learns to let go of the past and explore new possibilities. I thought Johns portrayal of the complicated relationship Flick has with her ex to be sensitive and honest. Johns portrayal of Flick’s struggle to trust in love again is sincere and poignant as the protagonist’s romantic relationship blooms with Theo, the handsome owner of the bar that neighbours the taxidermy store.

Felicity is just beginning to find her feet in New Orleans when her daughter unexpectedly appears on her doorstep. Zoe’s husband of four years has left her after confessing to an affair and, and she is devastated by her childhood sweetheart’s betrayal. Zoe too is now confronted with the challenge of recovering from heartbreak and forging a new life for herself. It’s easy to sympathise with Zoe whose faith in love, and herself, is shattered. She makes a mistake or two in her effort to forget the anguish, taking advantage of the French Quarter’s nightlife, but at least one turns out to be quite serendipitous.

Johns introduces the elderly Aurelia Harranibar, a cantankerous, reclusive local artist whose own life has been marred by her inability to move on from the loss of her sweetheart. Modelled on the Charles Dickens character Miss Havisham, Miss H lives alone in a decaying mansion in the New Orleans Garden District. When she is accidentally injured during a visit to the taxidermy store, Zoe, an aspiring artist herself, volunteers to assist Miss H at home and forges a sweet relationship with the eccentric old woman. Miss H becomes a key figure in the story, not only serving as an example of what failing to accept the demise of a relationship and move on could look like, but her past also introduces a thread of mystery as Zoe tries to determine what really happened to the artist’s lover.

It’s New Orleans, arguably America’s most haunted locale, so there is no surprise that Johns includes a tiny hint of the supernatural in the story. Zoe believes Miss H’s house is haunted by more than the artist’s sadness. I enjoyed accompanying the characters on a ghost tour of the city, and learning of the tragedy of ‘The Casket Girls’. Felicity’s unusual occupation also plays well into the mystique of the city, which the author describes vividly, and with obvious affection for all of its atmosphere and eccentricities, despite its darker side.

How To Mend a Broken Heart is a heartfelt and entertaining novel set in a vibrant location, sure to have wide appeal. ( )