Title: Shape of My Heart

Series: Standalone

Author: Khardine Gray

Publisher: Khardine Gray

Cover Artist: Erin Dameron-Hill

Release Date: August 6, 2017

Romance Genre(s): Contemporary, Sports

Words: 75,000

View on Goodreads

About the Book:

Like a Phoenix from the Ashes, True Love Can Arise from Illness and Death.

An aspiring fashion designer, Amy’s life changes when her mother suddenly falls ill. Her mother needs lifesaving surgery, and it’s up to Amy to acquire the funds.

A famous and highly valued football player, Josh has an incredible lifetime of excellence in his sport. His life crumbles when his mother and sister are killed in a car crash while on their way to see his last game of the season. Distraught with self-loathing and self-blame, Josh descends into a life of alcoholism and loose women that threatens to ruin his football career and possibly his life.

Mission Impossible?

A friend sets Amy up with a job as a PA at the LA PR Agency which represents Josh’s football team, the Gladiators. Her task is to whip Josh into shape mentally and physically for the next football season.

From Worst Person in the World to Love of a Lifetime?

Shocked to her core, Amy discovers that Josh is the worst person in the world. His daily protests, unsavory habits and loose women are unbelievable. Josh is equally annoyed with Amy. As Amy gets Josh to see some hope, a spark is kindled…

Will that spark grow into a flaming romance? Or will they return to their regular lives?

Excerpt:

A series of female giggles pierced the silence. She looked upstairs to where the sound resonated and saw two women in barely there bikini’s running down the steps. Behind them was Joshua Mancini himself wearing a pair of shorts and a black t-shirt. He was chasing the women.

Amy geared herself up to meet her new employer. Even if she was appalled at the state of the house she had to make that first impression a good one.

As he got closer she saw that he was truly handsome indeed with his sleek muscle and untamed pride. What she saw online was totally drool-worthy, but those images had nothing on the real-life Joshua Mancini who was six feet six, extremely well built with a ridged wall of a chest that bulged against the soft fabric of his t- shirt. He was breathtaking to look at with his black shiny, spiky hair, tanned skin and piercing eyes with an unusual mix of blue and green. Turquoise. That was the color. It was turquoise like the sea in somewhere like the Caribbean. Not that she’d ever been, but she’d seen enough pictures.

He was the kind of man that made you want to stare, even against your will. She quickly adjusted herself and her focus. It would do her no good to go all girlie weak-kneed and turn into some babbling buffoon in front of him. She had to look professional.

He looked her over with appreciation as he made his descent down the stairs and stopped a few paces away from her, making her feel like a dwarf even in her heels that added an extra two inches to her mere five feet and four inches. The women joined him and giggled as they tried to fix each other’s hair.

“Good, the stripper’s here,” he said with a wide smile that revealed super gorgeous dimples in his exotic high cheek bones. It took her a second or two to realize that he was referring to her.

“No, no I’m from the agency,” she replied quickly.

“I’m Amy, your new PA.” That was when he looked up at her and narrowed his eyes. “If you could just point me in the direction of the office I’ll get started.”

There, that was professional.

To her surprise, however, he started to laugh. It was the usual sort of off balanced laughter you’d expect from someone who was truly wasted and didn’t know what they were even laughing at. “Those people are jokers.”

“This is no joke. I’ll take care of all your paperwork and everything.” She offered a smile.

“Ha, ha. Everything? Well you can start in there.” He set his square jaw in a firm line and pointed to the mess in the living room. “Clean that up will you.”

Her mouth dropped. She attempted to protest but he just walked away, leaving her there to gawk at the crazy mess.

Buy Links:

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU

About Khardine Gray:

 Khardine Gray is a contemporary romance author who lives in England with her husband and two kids. She is well travelled, cultured, and a woman with a passion for dancing and ice skating. When not writing you can catch her shopping, indulging on pizza and hot chocolate, or hanging out with her family and friends. No need to spend money on an airline ticket. Simply pick up one of Khardine's books to become immersed in the fascinating stories and characters she creates.

Connect with Khardine:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Rafflecopter Giveaway:

Khardine Gray is giving away an e-copy of her latest release, The Shape of My Heart. For your chance to win, simply enter via the Rafflecopter below. The contest closes at midnight EST on August 11, 2017, and is open to entrants worldwide.

Good luck! Enter here.

Tour Stops

July 31:

A Naughty Book Fling
Novel Addiction
***Kitty's Book Spot***
Obsessed by Books
Loves Great Reads
Fictional Rendezvous

August 1:

Book Lovers 4Ever
I Heart Reading
Books, Dreams, Life
Shh, I Am Reading
NerdGirl Official

August 2:

Happy Ever After
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Written Love Reviews
Abibliophobia Anonymous
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Life at 17

August 3:

Those Crazy Book Chicks
Up 'Til Dawn
Liz's Reading Life
Romance Novel Giveaways
Outrageous Heroes of Romance
CelticLady's Reviews

August 4:

EskieMama Reads
Lisa's Book Blog @ LEL
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Dandelions Inspired
Suzanne Jenkins' Blog
Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents

1/6 - So much better than the second book in the series (I stayed up till 3 am finishing it and had to have a nap this morning to make up for it)! I couldn't stand Lauren and I felt no connection between her and Rob, with Courtney and Max I was grinning when they finally got together and tearing up when

. I was 'feeling' the connection all over the place and I could barely put it down, it's lucky it wasn't another 100 pages long, I probably wouldn't have gotten any sleep last night if it had been. After enjoying this one so much more than the previous book I will definitely look out for Nadia's story at the library.

***This review has also been posted on The Social Potato

I've loved everything I've read by Jenn Bennett and she is on my autobuy/read list so this review might be slightly biased.... BUT THE BOOK WAS REALLY GOOD OKAY?

I went into this book expecting to fall in love and that's exactly what happened. NO SURPRISES THERE. Jenn writes the most amazing romances that won't fail to make you feel tingly on the inside and give you all the shipper feels. On top of that, she weaved in important issues and some diversity into the novel to make it an absolute winner. Her characters are complex and developed intricately so you cannot help but love them in spite of their imperfections.

The biggest issue I had with this book; however, was the slut-shaming. I will say that the main character kind of redeemed herself towards the end but there were some things she said and the people around her said that bothered me. The book aside from this one thing, is very sex positive (I *will* elaborate on that later) so I just wished the slut shamming didn't happen. I don't like it when characters are talked about in negative ways because of their sex lives. Let them live the way they WANT to.

The other issue I had--which wasn't nearly as big of a deal--was the way things wrapped up. There were some things I would have liked to see more of instead of just being told about it. I wanted to see Noah and Heath together a little more (and figure out the dynamics of their relationship); I wanted to find out more about Jack's family and some of those dynamics and I wanted to see more of Bex's relationship with her father.

Moving on...

Bex is an amazing character. I love how complex and imperfect she is. I love her struggle to find out who she is outside of her family. I love her determination. AND I LOVE HER WIT. I love watching her grow over the course of the book and become more comfortable within her own skin.

Jack is also equally amazing. He is also swoony. *melts into a puddle* No. I am not giving you more deets but I will let you know that his persistence is rather charming. *giggles*

The way sex is handled in this book is fucking amazing.It is the way sex should be handled not just in YA lit but also in adult lit. Jack and Bex sit down and actually talk about sex and what they like/don't like and then they ask each other to make sure they are okay with what is going to happen. Consent. *fist pumps* It's a magical thing that is so fucking important and hats off to Jenn for the way she handled it. *throws confetti in the air*

Which is why the romance works too. It's all about communication and we all know how important communication is. They aren't always amazing with their communication but the constant reminders that they are there for each other are fantastic and I love that. It's why you cannot help but ship them and that's what makes Jenn's romances some of the best I've ever read. She just knows. Perhaps magical powers? Who knows. WE WANT TO KNOW YOUR SECRETS, JENN.

This book also features other great relationships.Namely between Bex and her family and Jack and his sister. The only I would have liked to see more of would be friendships. Friendships are some of the most important relationships out there and I think it would have been nice to see Bex interact with some of her friends (who were not there for the summer but hey, skype calls are great too!)

The book also deals with mental illness in a way that makes me want to high five Jenn (maybe I just really want an excuse to high five her. Is that too much to ask for?)

Anywayyyy, I would 100% encourage people to add this book to their enormous TBRS. This book is a fantastic contemporary romance that won't fail to charm you and make you swoon.

Note that I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

http://witandsin.blogspot.com/2015/10/review-anatomical-shape-of-heart-by.html

The Anatomical Shape of a Heart is a completely charming, utterly addictive, and – best of all – wholly unique story that’s sure to make you smile. Bex and Jack are wonderfully quirky and their spirit and heart make the pages of their book fly by.

Bex is a rising high school senior who hopes to be a medical illustrator. It’s a competitive field and she hopes to win a museum-sponsored scholarship contest by drawing real cadavers. But when she misses the last train home, she’s stuck taking the night bus. It’s there she meets Jack, another rising senior who is unlike anyone Bex has ever met. Jack is handsome, quick-witted, and unique. He’s also a notorious graffiti artist with a major secret. Their chance meeting and flirtation leads to more and soon the two are having breathtaking adventures and falling harder for one another than either could have imagined.

It’s easy to like Bex and Jack. They’re both smart, refreshingly different characters with big hearts that carry a few scars from the past. I won’t spoil the story by revealing what they’ve been through, but author Jenn Bennett gives both her protagonists fully fleshed-out histories and families that are important to the story. In fact, every character is fully-realized and beautifully drawn, imperfections and all.

The Anatomical Shape of a Heart isn’t all late-night escapades and cadaver drawings – there are family struggles, heartbreak, and consequences that have to be faced. The book tackles mental issues, divorce, and more. Most of all, the story has hope. Hope gets our hero and heroine through the dark times and makes you believe they can face any challenge on the road ahead. I loved the sense of realism imbued in the story. Ms. Bennett does a great job of mixing it with the breathless fall into love and the heady sense of adventure and freedom Bex and Jack feel when all of San Francisco is laid at their feet. Jack and Bex’s romance is joyful and completely spellbinding. I dare you not to fall for them and their tale.

Jenn Bennett is an auto-buy author for me no matter what genre she writes in. The Anatomical Shape of a Heart is Ms. Bennett’s first foray into the young adult genre and makes me believe there’s nothing she can’t write. The Anatomical Shape of a Heart made me laugh, tear up, and smile. I absolutely adored Bex and Jack and their quirky, witty, captivating romance is one I’m sure to enjoy again and again.


Note: In the UK, Australia, and New Zealand The Anatomical Shape of a Heart is titled Night Owls.

FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I am totally in love.

With Jack...
the art thingy...
and this book in general

Just don't go and break my heart, Bennett!