Thief of Hearts by L.H. Cosway
Series: Hearts, #5
Contemporary Romance
October 4, 2016
Self Published
Reviewed by Tori
Favorite Quote: “People like you give people like me a soft place to fall. Otherwise we’d just be cold and hard. That’s how I was before I met you.”
Andrea (Andie) Anderson is a widow whose job teaching adults trying to re-enter the world of education and taking care of her cousin is her whole world after her husband passed away. Love is not something she aspires to until a dangerous and sexy ex-convict enters her classroom and makes her feel emotions she long thought dead.
Stuart (Stu) Cross just got out of prison after a two year stint for robbery. His appearance in Andie’s class is anything but a coincidence. His new teacher has something he needs to repay a debt or his family will pay the ultimate price. But Stu never predicted he would fall for his mark and unless he proceeds with caution, he will lose everything.
Once again, Cosway tossed down the gauntlet to show us there is much more to a previously introduced character then what we originally thought. She shows us the hidden side of a stereotypical screw up who’s immaturity and assumed lack of intelligence disguises a brilliant, compassionate, heartfelt warrior whose player days fall to the wayside when they meet the ‘one.’ Using this character as a base, she writes a story brimming with humor, intrigue, fantastic chemistry, and some emotional bittersweet moments to create a solid storyline that firmly engages your heart as you watch an impossibly matched couple fight for what they want against some incredible odds.
Thief of Hearts is the fifth installment in L. H. Cosway’s Hearts series and revolves around the eldest Cross brother, Stu. To briefly recap, at the end of Hearts of Blue, Stu took the fall for the family’s illegal car theft ring, making a deal that effectively frees his family from a crime boss’s clutches. Now two years later, Stu is out of prison but still not free. Deals he made to stay alive while in there leave him stuck between a rock and a hard place. His family is worried about him, especially when they see him trying to strike up a romance with his teacher. Something that could get them both in trouble.
“… if you go around living your life indifferent to new experiences, you’re going to have a grey life. Wouldn’t you prefer it to have a rainbow?”
Told from Andrea’s point of view, we see Stu through her eyes and it’s an interesting view as she fluctuates between excitement and dread. He pushes all her boundaries, challenging everything that defines her. A widow with a normal, uneventful childhood and life, Stu is like an exotic untamed animal she wants to touch but knows will eventually turn on her. I like Andrea though she didn’t exhibit the same dynamic as some of the other heroines. She’s pretty solid and I felt that aspect of her personality is what Stu needed. They “see” each other for who they really are beneath the surface and understand what made the fuel behind what fires them. She grounds him while he teaches her how to fly.
“You’re beautiful. So beautiful. I see you.”
We already know Stu’s story from the previous book. Abandoned by their parents, Stu and his brothers took to a life of crime to support themselves. Lee, his younger brother, shouldered a majority of the weight and Stu allowed that. By taking the blame for car ring, Stu was able to pay his brother back for all he had done and assuage himself of that guilt. Similar to Lee, Stu is also an attractive bad boy whose charm and innate sexuality flows like water. Not as playful as his brothers, its his intensity that is the attraction. Never one to turn down a challenge, he pursues what he wants with a single mindedness. Only this time he has an ulterior motive which soon leads to confusion because his feelings become real.
“Even when you’ve given up on yourself, I won’t give up on you.”
The delicious push and pull of the slow burning forbidden romance is punctuated by the sexual tension and some cheesy but fun innuendos. The humor and the inclusion of a well developed cast of secondary characters helps to elevate the story from a simple opposites attract to a complicated journey of growth, redemption, and learning to let go. Cosway doesn’t make it easy for this couple. She takes her time making her way to the conflict in the first half of the book, artfully building the romance while giving us clues that Stu is far more complicated than we first suspected and there is more to the story at hand. Machiavellian twists and turns keep readers on their toes as Cosway adds new information to change the direction of story at any given time.
I definitely enjoyed seeing the Cross family again along with various other familiar faces from the series. Some new characters are introduced, my favorite being Andie’s cousin, Alfie and his bff, James. Alfie becomes an integral part of the story and I loved how he bravely pushes aside his own issues in order to help Andie. They are all a dysfunctional lot whose actions and advice can’t mask the obvious love they have for one another. Conway paves the way for the next hero-Trevor-and his own romantic journey that looks to be an interesting one.
“Smooches? Who are you? Paris Hilton?”
“I’m my own special flavour of exceptional.”
The ending is an exciting dramatic undertaking of ingenuity and duplicity. The epilogue Cosway chooses to wrap everything up leaves your heart swooning and your fist pumping for not one but two couples who take a chance on love and win.
Grade: B+
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