REVIEW: Heartbreak Hill by Heidi McLaughlin

Heartbreak Hill by Heidi McLaughlin: For Grayson being born with a life threatening illness has always made him look at his life like a glass half empty. Never wanting to get to invested in anything or anyone, he has always distanced himself from others and never truly allowed himself to fall in love. Well that is until he meets the new HR recruit, Reid. There is just something about Reid that Grayson cant help but feel drawn too. While they have great chemistry and even stay in the same apartment building, Grayson cant help but want to put up a wall between himself and Reid, well that is to bad because Reid is not interest in his hide and seek games, more so after Grayson collapse at a basketball game. With secrets revealed and some hard choices to be made Grayson needs to figure out if he wants to continue to live in fear or gibe himself a chance at happiness…

Life can change in a blink of an eye, one minute Nadia is living a happy normal life, the next she is getting the call to say her husband has been in a horrible accident. With hardly any time to process the news let alone grieve Nadia needs to make a tough decision that could save another life… she knows what her beloved husband Rafe would have wanted but can she really give up a part of the only person that she ever love to save someone else?

Okay, well this book was a lot heavier than I had expected. Im not going to lie, this is not normally the kind of second chance romance that I liked to read, Heartbreak Hill was far from lite and fun. This book was an emotionally heavy read that deals a lot with loss, grief, life after loss and finding the silver lining after a big loss. This book will definitely not be for everyone and if I am honest it will not be one that I would go back to. While the book itself was beautifully written and had a heart gripping storyline, it just made me cry far to much and did not really leave me with happy feeling in the end.

We get to see this story through the eyes of two different people, Grayson and Nadia. While Nadia’s chapters are filled with pain, loss and grief, in Grayson’s we get to see him looking at life in a new light and having real hope for the first time in his life. I found that while more heart breaking to read, Nadia’s chapters felt more real, we get to see her go through all the stages of grief and how she has to redefine her life after the loss of Rafe. While my heart broke her her on more than a few occasions, I have to say her characters journey was painfully beautiful and realist to follow. Now for Grayson, at first I was not a huge fan of his, I felt that he should have embraced what life he does have instead of mourning his dead prematurely. I also felt that he should have given a relationship with Reid a chance earlier or at least told her about his condition. However on reading his POV, I have to say I understood why he felt the need to distance himself for everyone and for not wanting to get into a relationship only to break Reid’s heart in the end. There was a noble intent behind his actions.

As far as the romance aspect in this book, while there was a bit of romance, I personally did not really feel that it suited the overall tone of the book. If anything the romance in this book felt a bit backseat for me. I will say that I did enjoy getting to see both sides of the whole organ donor situation, most times we only think about the person getting the new organ, but in this book we get to see how both parties deal with this donation of life.

All in all Heartbreak Hill was a heartbreaking read. Be warned, this book is heavy -while it’s about love, loss, and healing this book will take you on an emotional roller coaster ride so be prepared to ugly cry your heart out!

Book Info:

Publication: October 1, 2024 | Montlake |

Grayson Caballero sees the glass half-empty. Born with a life-threatening heart defect, he’s been living on borrowed time. The uncertainty of tomorrow makes him push people away, helping Grayson to avoid any real commitment.

Then he meets Reid Sullivan and falls madly in love. The two work together at the Wold Collective, Grayson as a project manager and Reid in HR. They even live in the same apartment complex. But Grayson continues to keep his distance, despite their obvious attraction. And Reid’s not interested in waiting around.

When Grayson collapses at a basketball game, Reid learns he’s been keeping secrets from her. Now his life hangs in the balance…and a stranger from Boston holds the key to his survival.

Nadia Karlsson makes a life-changing decision after her husband, Rafe, is involved in a tragic accident near Harvard Square. Her choice will unwittingly alter the course of Grayson’s future—and tie his fate unexpectedly to her own.