Another Little Piece Of My Heart by Tracey Martin: Review

Title: Another Little Piece of My Heart
Author: Tracey Martin
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Buy This Book: Amazon / Barnes&Noble 

What if your devastating break-up became this summer’s hit single? In this rock-and-roll retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, music can either bring you together or tear you apart.

At her dying mother’s request, Claire dumps Jared, the only boy she’s ever loved. Left with a broken family and a broken heart, Claire is furious when she discovers that her biggest regret became Jared’s big break. While Jared is catapulted into rock-star status, another piece of Claire’s heart crumbles every time his song plays on the radio.

The summer after her senior year, it’s been months since the big break-up, and Claire is just trying to keep her head down and make it through a tense trip to the beach with her family. But when Jared shows up, and old feelings reignite, can Claire and Jared let go of the past? Or will they be stuck singing the same old refrain?(Goodreads Summary)


It's probably become quite clear through some of my other reviews, if you have seen them, that I am not the biggest fan of romance books. I don't hate them all, but it takes something special for me to really enjoy one. But I requested this through Netgalley (thank you Harlequin Teen and Tracey Martin!) because of the music themed cover and that the summary actually sounded interesting and I am so glad I did!

I did have my reservations, unsure if I would like it or not, and I confess that it did take me about 40% of the book before I was truly invested. But by then, I could not put it down and kept on reading until I was finished, I was so caught up in Claire's story by then and needed to see how it ended for her.

Claire was a character that I quickly came to love, I felt she was really likeable and really relatable. I was confused by the whole situation with her mother, and why she had to break up with Jared but I soon got past that. I could completely relate to her love of music and how she uses it in her life; how she finds the perfect song that captures how she's feeling at that time. I loved her descriptions of how Jared would get when he was playing guitar, as someone who dates a guitar player it all sounded so familiar.

Jared was someone that I really disliked one minute and then, somehow without my knowing how, Tracey Martin had me completely swooning over him. When he and Claire see each other he makes a very hurtful comment about her that had me thinking he was a complete and utter d**khead! But then I found myself rooting for him, swooning over him and wanting him and Claire to get together. How Tracey Martin did it, I do not know but she is obviously a genius, usually my opinion never changes that drastically.

The secondary characters are a good part of the story too. I especially loved Claire's best friend Kristen and her wonderful, at times sarcastic, sense of humour. The way she answers the phone to Claire had me laughing every time.

I did have my issues with the scenes where Claire reminisced about her times with Jared. They felt a bit like 'this happened, then this and then that' and I didn't get much feeling for their relationship. I didn't really feel anything for them as a couple at that point. But once they were thrust back together, I really began to feel it.

This did have some problems but overall I really enjoyed it. This is what I prefer in a romance novel, a romance that sweeps me up along with the characters, that's more cutesy and romantic than it is full of angsty drama.

4/5 Stars

Great romance. Definitely recommend.

*I received a copy of this novel from the author/publisher/publicist via Netgalley in exchange for a free and honest review and received no monetary compensation for this review.