Aiden Valentine is the host of Heartstrings, a call-in radio show where he dispenses relationship advice. Although he's not really qualified for this kind of thing on any level, he likes to talk to people, and his name fits the bill. However, lately, Aiden has become more cynical. He's tired of hearing petty complaints from people in unhappy relationships.
Then one night a young girl named Maya calls. She says her mother doesn't date, and she's worried about her. Lucie Stone, finding her daughter up and on the phone in the middle of the night gets on the line. And she and Aiden start talking. These first couple chapters were my favorite in the book. Aiden and Lucie have great chemistry, and it was fun to listen to.
When Aiden and Lucie's conversation goes viral, the show decides to have Lucie on as a recurring guest as they find dates for her. Lucie begins this journey with high expectations, but the first couple of dates are remarkably bad. At the same time, she's spending more and more time with Aiden. It is inevitable that at some point, they have to address the growing attraction. But Aiden grew up with a mother who was constantly fighting cancer, and it messed with his ability to have relationships. He keeps pushing Lucie away with flimsy excuses that only hurt her.
Like I said before, I really enjoyed the beginning of this book. Unfortunately, it let me down a bit as I read. My biggest complaint is the relationship between Aiden and Lucie. I felt like Lucie was constantly putting herself out there, and Aiden would alternate between pushing her away and being weirdly touchy feely for simple coworkers. Honestly, it kind of creeped me out.
In addition, the characters didn't feel real to me. Lucie is a mechanic, which is a very interesting job for a woman. But there was nothing on how she became a mechanic or even got interested in cars. She seems to have zero interest in cars outside of her job. Also, her garage sends her out with a tow truck one time in this book, and she just happens to pick up Aiden's car, which just happened to break down. I'm pretty sure mechanics do not routinely also become tow truck drivers. Maybe in tiny towns, but this takes place in Baltimore. Lucie's daughter, Maya, also felt more like a mascot than a real daughter.
Finally, and I am nitpicking here. Lucie is a single mother who works full time and is too busy for anything for herself. Yet she suddenly spends hours night after night talking at a radio station. I hope she was getting paid for this because her time commitment was enormous. When was she getting any sleep?
The beginning of this book set my expectations very high, but I was let down in the end. This was not a bad romance, but I got frustrated in the middle and it left me wanting more.
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