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Heartstrings #2
Heart For Sale
Good enough wasn't anywhere good enough to get me what I genuinely wanted. And god, how I wanted Gael Kelly.
For five years I've kept a wall up between my heart and the guy in sales who looks like a model and acts like a Boy Scout.
Five years of diligently hiding the hearts in my eyes and the drool on my desk whenever we worked projects together, trusting sarcasm to protect me.
But my wall of carefully crafted salt and snark crumbles the moment he reveals a career-wrecking mistake and turns to me for help.
Heart For Sale is the second novella in the Heartstrings series, and is a sweet grumpy/sunshine office romance that includes more pining, family drama, organizational awesomeness, steamy sex, and a guaranteed HEA. The Heartstrings series is best read in order.
For five years I've kept a wall up between my heart and the guy in sales who looks like a model and acts like a Boy Scout.
Five years of diligently hiding the hearts in my eyes and the drool on my desk whenever we worked projects together, trusting sarcasm to protect me.
But my wall of carefully crafted salt and snark crumbles the moment he reveals a career-wrecking mistake and turns to me for help.
Heart For Sale is the second novella in the Heartstrings series, and is a sweet grumpy/sunshine office romance that includes more pining, family drama, organizational awesomeness, steamy sex, and a guaranteed HEA. The Heartstrings series is best read in order.
94 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 1, 2022
About the author
Erica Montrose
5 books15 followersErica Montrose earned an English/Writing degree as an alternative to Medieval Literature because she couldn’t stand taking Literary Research and Applied Criticism another. damn. time.
It was a calculated measure. Every career path benefitted from being knowledgeable about putting words on paper in an intelligent way, so the creative impulse got stashed so she could focus on a career writing corporate policies, procedures and training.
But...
The stories kept swirling around in her head for years with no outlet... until finding M/M romance and attending the 2021 Gay Romantic Literature convention in St. Louis. Then, high on the thrill of meeting authors she admired and making friends with so many readers who shared her interests, she decided to dust off her degree and see where independent publishing could take her.
Please feel free to join her Facebook Group, MontRoMMancers, for information on upcoming works!
It was a calculated measure. Every career path benefitted from being knowledgeable about putting words on paper in an intelligent way, so the creative impulse got stashed so she could focus on a career writing corporate policies, procedures and training.
But...
The stories kept swirling around in her head for years with no outlet... until finding M/M romance and attending the 2021 Gay Romantic Literature convention in St. Louis. Then, high on the thrill of meeting authors she admired and making friends with so many readers who shared her interests, she decided to dust off her degree and see where independent publishing could take her.
Please feel free to join her Facebook Group, MontRoMMancers, for information on upcoming works!
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 20, 2022
The good
+ The way they both fell harder the better they got to know each other
+ Zack noticing Gael was not okay behind his mask
+ Confessions of their long-time crushes
+ Gael listening to Zack ranting about his lack of recognition, instead of forcing the attention back to himself and his achievement. It was a real sore spot for Zack and Gael handled that really well
+ Zack and his family swooping in to save Gael
+ Zane ribbing Zack
+ Zack’s dad giving Gael a fatherly hug. I melted
+ Public kissing at the awards ceremony. Aww!
+ Zara adopting Haiden
+ Nice Edwin and Liam cameo!
The neutral
o I was a beta reader for this book. My review is probably biased
o Like in the first book, the siblings being named Zack, Zane and Zara (and all with the nickname Z) was a little confusing at times (although I liked Zane’s comment that even Galen and Gael are similar names)
The bad
- Gael’s mother was not a good mom. She should have protected Haiden from Reese, but instead selfishly forced everyone to keep living in a bad environment. She also changed her mind rather abruptly when everyone decided to move out, but never once apologized for the part she played in everything
I enjoyed this novella as much as the first. There's always a little conflict that the main characters handle like adults, which gives me faith in the future of their relationships. I'm really curious about the next book, and I hope it'll be just as sweet. Would recommend for sure for a quick and sweet read.
+ The way they both fell harder the better they got to know each other
+ Zack noticing Gael was not okay behind his mask
+ Confessions of their long-time crushes
+ Gael listening to Zack ranting about his lack of recognition, instead of forcing the attention back to himself and his achievement. It was a real sore spot for Zack and Gael handled that really well
+ Zack and his family swooping in to save Gael
+ Zane ribbing Zack
+ Zack’s dad giving Gael a fatherly hug. I melted
+ Public kissing at the awards ceremony. Aww!
+ Zara adopting Haiden
+ Nice Edwin and Liam cameo!
The neutral
o I was a beta reader for this book. My review is probably biased
o Like in the first book, the siblings being named Zack, Zane and Zara (and all with the nickname Z) was a little confusing at times (although I liked Zane’s comment that even Galen and Gael are similar names)
The bad
- Gael’s mother was not a good mom. She should have protected Haiden from Reese, but instead selfishly forced everyone to keep living in a bad environment. She also changed her mind rather abruptly when everyone decided to move out, but never once apologized for the part she played in everything
I enjoyed this novella as much as the first. There's always a little conflict that the main characters handle like adults, which gives me faith in the future of their relationships. I'm really curious about the next book, and I hope it'll be just as sweet. Would recommend for sure for a quick and sweet read.
August 2, 2022
love a love story!
I love these little fast stories by Erica Montrose! Zack and Gael work together at Kingston & Stone, the marketing company that handles his brother’s books. Zack is a project manager that organizes and handles the day to day business that keeps the company running while Gael is a sales person that closes the deals and makes the promises. Zack also has a huge crush on Gael, but he keeps it hidden with an iceman persona as company policy doesn’t really lend itself to fraternization between coworkers. Gael lives a very busy life helping to take care of his family ever since his father died and working hard with keeping his clients busy. He’d love to let Zack into his life, but he’s not even sure if the guy likes him. When he makes a huge mistake the only that can help him is Zack, will sparks fly or is he doomed to be alone?
Super quick, easy to read. It’s the series that keeps on giving. The Anderson family is sweet and the perfect team to bail you out of a marketing mess. It turns out, they can also help you figure out family problems too. And now we know we get a third book that continues this cute series by bringing us Gael’s brother Leighton. I can’t wait to read book number three and see what happens next! 😊
I love these little fast stories by Erica Montrose! Zack and Gael work together at Kingston & Stone, the marketing company that handles his brother’s books. Zack is a project manager that organizes and handles the day to day business that keeps the company running while Gael is a sales person that closes the deals and makes the promises. Zack also has a huge crush on Gael, but he keeps it hidden with an iceman persona as company policy doesn’t really lend itself to fraternization between coworkers. Gael lives a very busy life helping to take care of his family ever since his father died and working hard with keeping his clients busy. He’d love to let Zack into his life, but he’s not even sure if the guy likes him. When he makes a huge mistake the only that can help him is Zack, will sparks fly or is he doomed to be alone?
Super quick, easy to read. It’s the series that keeps on giving. The Anderson family is sweet and the perfect team to bail you out of a marketing mess. It turns out, they can also help you figure out family problems too. And now we know we get a third book that continues this cute series by bringing us Gael’s brother Leighton. I can’t wait to read book number three and see what happens next! 😊
August 2, 2022
Heart for Sale by Erica Montrose unfortunately didn't capture my heart. The reason I wasn't a fan of this story is because certain elements felt rushed. There's mentions of each of their families and then they aren't apart of the story until the main characters needed help with a project. It just felt like certain things were glossed over and rushed. The first 30-40% of the book is just the main characters describing what they do for their job. It just didn't appeal to me.
I did have a favorite character though, that favorite character was Haiden. Despite me not caring for this story if the author gives Haiden his own book I would check it out.
Even though I wasn't a fan I still recommend this.
*I received an early copy of this book and this is my honest review.*
I did have a favorite character though, that favorite character was Haiden. Despite me not caring for this story if the author gives Haiden his own book I would check it out.
Even though I wasn't a fan I still recommend this.
*I received an early copy of this book and this is my honest review.*
August 4, 2022
3.5 stars rounded up.
This was a short novella with a lot packed into it. Not friends to lovers, or even enemies to lovers, more a mutual undiscovered crush to lovers. The very nature of a novella means that events speed along at a pace quicker than normal to reach the conclusion.
Even with that said maybe I missed something by not reading the first book. I liked both Zack and Gael and liked getting to know them both, hurried as it was. I don't really understand Gael's family dynamic though, if I'm honest. I don't really get why they let the brother make things get to that point without intervening before, if they knew what was going on. Why make home life so unsafe that Haiden felt he wasn't even safe in his own home? And they did nothing about it?
I did like Zack and Gael together though, they had a lot in common once they got past the initial stage and they were so supportive of each other. This was a short, sweet read with a lovely HEA too.
This was a short novella with a lot packed into it. Not friends to lovers, or even enemies to lovers, more a mutual undiscovered crush to lovers. The very nature of a novella means that events speed along at a pace quicker than normal to reach the conclusion.
Even with that said maybe I missed something by not reading the first book. I liked both Zack and Gael and liked getting to know them both, hurried as it was. I don't really understand Gael's family dynamic though, if I'm honest. I don't really get why they let the brother make things get to that point without intervening before, if they knew what was going on. Why make home life so unsafe that Haiden felt he wasn't even safe in his own home? And they did nothing about it?
I did like Zack and Gael together though, they had a lot in common once they got past the initial stage and they were so supportive of each other. This was a short, sweet read with a lovely HEA too.
Read
September 4, 2022This was a sweet enemies to lovers romance.
Zach and Gael were sweet together and I loved the chemistry between them.
The storyline was interesting and the plot was well executed.
The characters were likeable and well fleshed out.
I enjoyed this one aa a standalone although this is the second book in the series.
I'll be looking into reading the first book as well.now.
Definitely recommend this if you like a sweet enemies to lovers romance with great characters!
Zach and Gael were sweet together and I loved the chemistry between them.
The storyline was interesting and the plot was well executed.
The characters were likeable and well fleshed out.
I enjoyed this one aa a standalone although this is the second book in the series.
I'll be looking into reading the first book as well.now.
Definitely recommend this if you like a sweet enemies to lovers romance with great characters!
August 1, 2022
I’m really enjoying this series! The characters are sweet and genuinely likeable. The secondary characters are warm and kind and do a great job of adding to the overall story. There’s a bit of angst but it’s mostly external to the relationship and there aren’t long drawn out misunderstandings. These are lovely books and I can’t wait for the next one!
September 23, 2022
Heart for Sale is the second story in the Heartstrings Book series. I’d definitely recommend reading them in order as characters from the first book make appearances. was a cute fairly short novella. A really good grumpy/sunshine story. Zack is the go-to guy at the sales ad agency he works at. He is overworked and increasingly frustrated with the beautiful man that keeps giving him ore work. Gael is a salesman at the agency. His smile is blinding. I loved that they were both smitten with each, afraid to act on it. I loved Zack’s snark! The story is well written with nice pacing, easy to read in one sitting. My only wish is that the author expanded it a little more and given us more character development/depth. Be warned there is a homophobic character/family member with horrible slurs and abuse. Fantastic family and secondary characters. Overall, a great story, highly recommend. Well written with great pacing!
February 27, 2023
3.5 stars
This novella is an interesting mix of darkness and fluff and blends solid writing with slightly less-developed storytelling. Overall, definitely an example of an early author still developing their skills but showing tremendous potential. Montrose takes bigger risks here than in the first book of this series, but whether they pay off is a mixed bag. We briefly met Zane in the previous book in this series, and this one brings his family together with that of love interest Gael. Before that, however, this is a budding workplace romance that Zane feels is one-sided (and prohibited by his work’s rules anyway).
Zane presents his frustration in a sort of bitchiness that felt particularly overblown when combined with how much of a pushover he generally was whenever Gael needed anything. I did like the interesting external conflict and appreciated how it allowed the men to grow closer personally if not yet romantically, building strong ties of friendship between them before indulging in more. However, the miscommunication/assumption that makes up the dark moment of the romance arc was not too exciting and resolved rather quickly.
The true meat of this story is the drama of Gael’s family life, which I found much more engrossing than the budding romance between him and Zane. This is where both characters, and the surrounding secondary characters, truly shined. The darkness I mentioned previously takes place during this secondary external plot, but Montrose handles delicate topics so well that the angst of the primary romance arc is what ends up feeling more contrived.
Happily ever afters abound for the characters to deserve them. Unfortunately, one plot hole lingered: what happened to the rule about no office dating? That also gets resolved a little too neatly. This book is worth reading in the context of the full series but be warned that Montrose is still finding her stride as a writer.
This novella is an interesting mix of darkness and fluff and blends solid writing with slightly less-developed storytelling. Overall, definitely an example of an early author still developing their skills but showing tremendous potential. Montrose takes bigger risks here than in the first book of this series, but whether they pay off is a mixed bag. We briefly met Zane in the previous book in this series, and this one brings his family together with that of love interest Gael. Before that, however, this is a budding workplace romance that Zane feels is one-sided (and prohibited by his work’s rules anyway).
Zane presents his frustration in a sort of bitchiness that felt particularly overblown when combined with how much of a pushover he generally was whenever Gael needed anything. I did like the interesting external conflict and appreciated how it allowed the men to grow closer personally if not yet romantically, building strong ties of friendship between them before indulging in more. However, the miscommunication/assumption that makes up the dark moment of the romance arc was not too exciting and resolved rather quickly.
The true meat of this story is the drama of Gael’s family life, which I found much more engrossing than the budding romance between him and Zane. This is where both characters, and the surrounding secondary characters, truly shined. The darkness I mentioned previously takes place during this secondary external plot, but Montrose handles delicate topics so well that the angst of the primary romance arc is what ends up feeling more contrived.
Happily ever afters abound for the characters to deserve them. Unfortunately, one plot hole lingered: what happened to the rule about no office dating? That also gets resolved a little too neatly. This book is worth reading in the context of the full series but be warned that Montrose is still finding her stride as a writer.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews