http://romancebookie.blogspot.com/2013/02/heart-like-mine-by-amy-hatvany-review.... ( )

I previously read Amy Hatvany's Best Kept Secret: A Novel and thought that the story and plot in that novel was very great and I found myself happily immersed in that novel for hours. I selected "Heart Like Mine" and was thrilled to be able to say that I really loved this novel too.

The novel is told from three points of view, Grace, Ava, and Kelli. Grace McAllister, is a fiancee to Victor Hansen a restaurateur in Seattle. Ava, is Victor's thirteen year old daughter. Kelli, is Victor's ex-wife.

Due to a tragic set of events Grace is forced upon the role of stepmother and has to deal with her own uneasiness about becoming a caregiver to Victor's children. "Heart Like Mine" definitely explores Kelli's past and we get to see how Grace and Ava deal with the loss of what they thought their future would be.

I really did love this novel and though that Ms. Hatvany wrote very deftly and made me feel that each of these characters' were very well drawn. I tend to dislike novels that have different points of view, however, I really loved this one. Probably because Ms. Hatvany was able to write all three characters as separate people who had a distinct voice from one another. Also she was able to imbue so much information to the reader in the distinct chapters focusing on either Grace, Ava, and Kelli.

I also really loved the open-endedness to the novel and was glad that Ms. Hatvany did not try to tie things up with a bow. I like novels that are written true to life and realize that some things are going to take work.

I 100% recommend to other readers! ( )

Grace McAllister has just become engaged to her boyfriend Victor, and they're planning to tell his children during their weekend visit, when a normal Friday afternoon is disrupted by the shocking news that the children's mother, Victor's ex-wife Kelli, has suddenly died. The couple are now full-time parents to two grieving children, with all the new stresses this introduces, for Victor, for Grace, and for the two children, thirteen-year-old Ava and ten-year-old Ben.

Grace raised her much younger brother, and has never wanted children of her own. She's not sure she has the ability to be the parent the children need. Victor feels guilty for not having been as involved in his children's lives as he now thinks he should have been, and fears he is more like his father, who left when he was five, than he cares to believe. The cause of Kelli's death isn't altogether clear--she died of heart failure, but the underlying cause may have been an overdose of her anti-anxiety medication.

We learn that Ava, at thirteen, had been taking on enormous responsibility for taking care of her brother, and helping her mother do basic things like paying the bills. She's been bearing the burden of being the emotionally strong one in her relationship with her mother. Now she's confused and guilty, afraid that her mother died because she didn't tell her father or a teacher what was going on.

And then, gradually, Ava and Grace separately start to discover that Kelli's past is a mystery. There are no pictures of her after the age of fourteen until she's an adult. She talked a lot about being a cheerleader in high school, and captain of the squad, but the only yearbook she has is her freshman year of high school.

There's a big, gaping hole in her history. Is that where the explanation for her death lies?

We get the story in alternating chapters, Grace's viewpoint, Ava's viewpoint, and, in flashbacks, Kelli's viewpoint. It's a beautifully braided story, revealing events from multiple viewpoints, and building up a fuller and fuller understanding of Grace, Ava, and Kelli, and how all their lives have been affected by the decisions of adults around them as they grew, and their own choices flowing from those experiences.

Highly recommended. ( )

This was just OK to maybe I liked it. It seemed a bit too sappy and chick litty for my taste. (I realize litty is not a word).

If you are a person that is in to chick lit, then I think that this book will be quite enjoyable for you. ( )

I received this book as goodreads first reads giveaway. I was instantly pulled into the book and didn't want to put it down. I love that you get the three women's point of view into the story. Grace the reluctant mom, Kelli the mother who is hurt and Ava the daughter struggling with her role. Grace never wanted to be a mom. She is sure she is missing the nurturing gene and focused on her career. She meets Vincent and falls in love. Vincent has 2 kids, but reassures Grace that they have a mother and she is not going to have to step into the role. Then Kelli dies. Ava, 13 who has been taking care of her mom since her parents divorce is devastated. Ava wants to dislike Grace because she know her mama was hurting over Grace and Vincent's relationship. Ava and Grace are both curious about Kelli's mysterious past. What happened to make Kelli's parents disown her and was that what killed her? This story was wonderful. It showed all the sides and made you care for all the characters. A lot of other novels or stories try to make the step-mom or mom come off as uncaring or evil. I think that Amy Hatvany did an amazing job of making you feel for Kelli and u deist and her pain. I felt that it would have been easy for her to make you just pity Kelli, but she didn't. I cared about Kelli as much as I did Ava and Grace. I would recommend this book to my friends. ( )