Review: Black Heart (Cursed Hearts #1) by R.L. Mathewson

Black Heart

Cursed Hearts #1

by R.L.Mathewson

Adult PNR

Published June 22, 2013

*ARC Ebook obtained directly from the author in exchange for an honest review*

Synopsis via Goodreads:

There was something seriously wrong with Marty. That was the only explanation that she could come up with. Why else would she feel this way for the biggest SOB in town? Granted, he was also the hottest man in town, but he was also arrogant, callous, and determined to drive her away even as he drove her crazy with his touch. She should just walk away from him and probably would if it wasn’t for this connection that she’d always had with him that kept making her want more with the one man that couldn’t give her anything more than heartache.

He should have left and never looked back when he’d decided to finally do the right thing and push Marty out of his life, but instead he stuck around to torture himself by staying close to the one woman that he could never allow himself to have. She deserved better than him, better than the tortured existence that he led and better than the horrifying future that waited for him.

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Per her Goodreads Profile:

Hello, my name is R.L. Mathewson :)

Before I tried my hand at writing I was a receptionist, cafeteria worker at the college I attended, museum worker, bellhop, and about a dozen other different things that are pretty embarrassing so we're just going to skip over those things and pretend that they never happened ;D

At some point I got a little direction in my life and tried my hand at emergency medicine, since I am, or at least was, deathly afraid of needles I opted for the fun job in EMS, an EMT. It was a fun job, a bit stressful, but I learned a great deal and had the opportunity to meet people from all walks of life. I learned a great deal from my patients and have never forgotten the wisdom they imparted on me. After a short stint as a Residential Home worker I decided to try the stay-at-home mom job and found out something very important.

I can't just sit around with nothing to do while I try to be deathly silent so that I don't wake up one of my children and send them into a blood curdling screaming fit. So, to fill the time I started to read again. When I was in school I was a bookworm, but got away from it as I grew older. I was drawn back into my love of reading by Julia Quinn's What Happens In London. It was a wonderful, witty book and I fell instantly in love with romance novels.

Some of the romance novels that I read were great and I couldn't get enough, I started to play with the idea of writing a book. Several months later I finally gave in and tried. For four months straight I worked day and night until finally I finished my first book. Then of course I re-read what I wrote, cringed and deleted the entire book and started over again. I started working on other projects and soon had two finished books, Tall, Dark & Lonely: A Pyte Series Novel and A Humble Heart: A Hollywood Heart's Novel. It was a very exciting time except for one little problem......

I had absolutely no idea what to do with the books now that they were done. So, of course I put the books aside and forgot about them for a little while I worked on other books. Months later I decided that maybe I should do something with them. I looked into getting published, admittedly not very hard since what I read about the publishing process wasn't exactly making me jump and down with excitement.

After reading an article about self-publishing I knew that was the way I wanted to go. I like the freedom to write what I want, when I want and publish a story that I hope others will enjoy reading. It gives me a great deal of freedom and allows me to retain full control over my work, which of course allows me to set the prices of my books and make them affordable for everyone :) Which of course is the reasoning behind the $0.99 price tag for my books.

That's how I became a writer and why I self-publish. Well, that and I'm pretty laid back and don't want to be hassled with contractual obligations. That would just cut into my writing time, time with my kids, reading time and my hot cocoa addiction. Yes, I am thoroughly addicted to hot cocoa and if you're interested in experiencing the perfect cup of cocoa you can find the recipe for my cocoa somewhere on my author blog.

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R.L. Mathewson has the most amazing way of writing humor into the most intense scenes. I freaking love this woman. LoL

Black Heart doesn't disappoint! Starting out, the novel has an entirely different feel from other Mathewson novels. It's just...different. I'm not sure how exactly to describe it. Make sure you read the notes in the front of the novel regarding the making of Black Heart. <3

The characters are fabulous - easy to get attached to, easy to follow, normal people. Loved them all by the end of the novel. I have to admit that Marty did get on my nerves a tad during the first half of the book but I guess, if I was in her shoes, I may annoy myself too... Now, Tristan, total ass-wipe but then you find out WHY he's like that and you say "No wonder!". Oooh and Shayne! Holy crap I loved him. I wish he was in every single scene because he was awesome. I laughed my ass off at this fella going back and forth with Tristan.

So the plot... Okay, I had no clue what exactly I was getting into when I started Black Heart. Yes, I read the synopsis and knew I wanted to read it, but of course, I didn't know what paranormal twist was going to be thrown at me. Now, halfway (maybe a little over halfway?) you get hit with it. BAM! Totally knocked my head back and gave me whiplash. I have no other way to describe it.... I was like "huh???" "Whaaat?" Gasp! Totally out of left field. I had to pull back and determine if I liked this twist... My decision, yes... I did like it but it's totally different from anything I would've ever imagined in a million years... That's not a bad thing. It was just a shocker...surprise... confusing at first... but then you're like "hmm, okay...let's go with it..."

Overall, I really loved this novel & can't waittttttt for Shayne's continuation!!!!

Overall rating: 5 Stars
Cover Rating: 3 Stars...could be better
Characters: 4.5 Stars
Plot: 5 Stars
Climax: 5 Stars
Ending: 5 Stars