Plastic Hearts (Hearts #1) by Lisa De Jong
New Adult
February 27, 2013
Kindle-Self Published

Reviewed by Tori

Favorite Quote: “He was everything I didn’t think I could have and somehow, he’d become everything I needed. There was a part of me that knew I would never recover if this fell apart, but what I felt now was worth it.”

Alexandra (Alex) Riley is a young college student whose entire life has been planned out by her rigid socially conscience parents. From her pre med major to what she eats….even who she dates, Alex is nothing more than a doll that her parents manipulate for their own selfish wants and needs. When Alex makes a conscientious choice to go against her parents wishes and take an art course, she sets her life on a course of self discovery that leads her to Dean Wright.

Dean Wright is the complete opposite of Alex and someone her parents would never let her befriend, much less date. After spending most of his life caring for his alcoholic mother and drug using brother, Dean finally decided it was time for him to live his own life and enrolls in college to pursue his dream of art. When he lays eyes on Alex, his world explodes as he finds what he has been looking for all along.

Explosive chemistry surrounds Dean and Alex as they throw caution to the wind and succomb to a relationship that seems destined to fail.

Plastic Hearts is the debut new adult romance by Lisa De Jong. An emotionally heart wrenching coming of age story that addresses the unrealistic expectations that parents can place on a child and the courage it takes to turn your back on the familiar in order to live for yourself. Heavily character driven, De Jong has a wonderful voice that translates well to paper. She makes it extremely easy to submerge ourselves into Alex and Dean’s lives, letting us experience for ourselves all their emotions that present on the turbulent journey they have embarked on. The storyline, though predominantly focused on the romance, intertwines effortlessly with the sub plots and in a subtle way showcases the pivotal moments in Dean and Alex’s lives.

The romance itself builds slowly. Alex originally saw Dean as an “experience.” Nothing permanent was suppose to happen between them. It was to be her only taste of the forbidden before committing fully to what her parents commanded of her. Yet, fate never does what you expect of it.  From extreme lust to sweet love, our couple struggles to build a solid foundation in which to build their lives together upon. They get to know one another through small gaps in their emotional barricades.

“We can’t be friends, I meant that,” he stepped closer to me, never breaking eye contact. “I want you to be my girl,” he whispered.

Between Dean and Alex, I liked Dean the most. Though he is initially portrayed as the ultimate “player” bad boy, he isn’t button holed into the stereotypical role of the heartbreaker. He has a sweet compelling honesty that belays your first impressions of him. Though arrogant and self assured, we do see moments of vulnerability that appeal to the protectiveness in us all. I found it intriguing that it’s actually Alex, the innocent “good girl” whose decisions cause the most conflict and problems in their relationship.

“Sometimes things don’t work out the way we want them to. Life was full of truths that don’t play out in romance novels. Sometimes we don’t get our happily ever after.”

Alex is a smart, intelligent young woman who unfortunately has years of conditioning to overcome. Part of you wants to shelter her from the problem you know is coming while the other half of you wants to shake her and tell her to stop being such a quintessential doormat. Though I found myself angry at some of the decisions she made, especially those that hurt Dean, I couldn’t fault her for making them. Her parents, two truly nasty people, had such a strong hold over her life, she really couldn’t have done things much differently. De Jong doesn’t make it easy for Alex. Sometimes you have to lose it all in order to see what a gift you had. And Alex learns that lesson all too well. Luckily for Alex and Dean though, they have some wonderful friends who are there for them no matter what they decide. This is especially good for Alex as she has been judged and found lacking throughout her entire life by her parents.

Though Dean and Alex’s journey is rough and filled with the pain filled type of angst only found in youthful imaginations where everything is a drama, both Alex and Dean grow beyond their respective restraints and become individuals who are able to live their lives as they choose. We aren’t gifted with a HEA but De Jong takes mercy on us and leaves Dean and Alex in a good place where there is hope for their relationship.

“I learned something today. Redemption isn’t something that comes fast and easy. You have to put all your effort and heart into it to make it work. It can’t be forced or bought; it simply had to be earned. It requires honesty, commitment and trust. Dane and I have some things to work on, but as long as there is effort, there is hope.”

I look forward to book two, Glass Hearts, which is set to release in June 2013.

Overall Rating: B

Recent Reviews:
The Autumn Review – 4/5
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