Heartaches 3 Analysis

Heartaches 3 is a romantic novel by H.M. Irving that centers on the broken Anna, a rape victim, as she avenges on the man who inflicted unforgivable damage to her person. Together with Suzi and Rafe, Anna's current partner and who is a broken man himself, they set to ruin Peter Preston's wedding and in the process spare his future wife from a lifetime of hell. This third and final installment mixes romance with suspense as the protagonists try to expose a drug cartel and claim the justice they deserve after all the heartaches they suffered. Will their love remain fierce until the end? The first thing I perceived while reading the prologue and the first chapter was the author's writing style. It was peculiar; something I was unused to read

But I believe, in what little knowledge I have about rape, that the victim would be withdrawn and depressed at the least. The victim would be so traumatized she would not want to be exposed to anything that would in any way remind her of the abuse. Having articulated that, I was confused with Anna's behavior. She was a rape victim; she needed closure and yet she involved herself in a BDSM scene that was obviously sexual in nature. Was it because she was so broken she could not think logically and used whatever she could to somehow avenge herself? Another thing that I could not fathom was, knowing how cruel and dangerous their enemies were, the principal characters seemed unconcerned with their safety, apparently welcoming vulnerability for all the Prestons to exploit take full advantage of. They never learned; Brian pointed a gun at Rafe and yet they continued to consider a killer and rapist in their plan? I could only shake my head in irritation and

I sure had a tough time in catching up with the characters, their behavior, and in understanding the reasons for their actions. If you don’t relish being subjected to confusion due to an onslaught of characters who were in previous installments and were not given enough character introduction in this book, read the other installments first. I give this book 2 out of 4 stars. I did not give a 3 because I perceived it weak in terms of plot, characterization, and content. This was the third installment, so I expected that somehow, some of Anna's and Rafe's personal demons will be resolved. Sadly, each character did not progress on an optimistic note but regressed further instead. Their actions bordered on suicidal and stupid. A good thing there was finally a closure. The characters generated exasperation, disappointment, and incredulity to last me a lifetime. Additionally, there were several grammar and punctuation issues. A rape issue in the romance genre may be a novel idea and a promising avenue for romance authors, but if you expected from this book a broader understanding of this sensitive premise, this was not it. But readers who like romance novels where broken heroes and heroines who, amid all drama and heartaches still capture their happy endings, will be satisfied with this final