What better way to get into the romantic spirit this month than with a fiery second-chance romance between a passionate Latina woman and an Irish songwriter who cannot forget her? Heart Strings by Ivy Fairbanks has been on my radar since I finished Morbidly Yours, and I felt now would be the time to pull it from my mental tbr stack and get a copy.

She doesn’t do second chances. But he’s not done writing their song. Cielo “Lo” Valdez doesn’t believe in second chances. Surviving cancer taught her that life is too short to spend time on someone who wronged you. But Aidan O’Toole is determined to show her that life is best spent together. When the tough-as-nails Texan moved to Galway for medical school, she wasn’t looking for love. Aidan, a gorgeous, tattooed, mandolin-playing lawyer, slipped past her defences. They each fell hard and fast. But when Aidan was given the opportunity of a lifetime—to move to London and record an album—he took it, breaking Lo’s heart. Yet more than two years and a successful album later, every song he writes is still about her, the one he let get away. And every time Lo hears his voice on the radio singing about love, it’s an arrow straight to her soul. Now, they’re on a collision course as maid of honour and best man at a weekend-long Irish castle wedding. Are some mistakes worth forgiving? Can Aidan convince Lo that their song wasn’t meant to end?

I do love a good second-chance romance, and this duo is perfect for such a dramatic endeavour. From the witty banter and charged interactions to the way they understand each other deeply, even if they don’t want to, and the mysteries waiting to be revealed, Cielo and Aidan have amazing chemistry. I not only enjoyed seeing them get back together throughout the course of this novel, but smiled at almost every interaction and exchange, whether that smile was a happy one or a sad one is up for debate. Even with the sad and scary parts of this novel’s plot, the writing is so sweet that you can’t help but let one out.

I really like the layers and varying character relationships in this book. Cielo is a complex person, with a history and family tensions that differentiate her from her cousin Lark. I feel Cielo’s plight so strongly, not only through how compelling her character is, but in how she tries to protect herself from what the world throws at her. She’s a fighter, she’s determined to pull through, but even the strongest people have a limit. Seeing how Aidan supports her throughout the ups and downs of the novel really shows the depth of his character, too. Not only is he a good man, but he is a firm believer in doing what is right, focusing on what he wants to do and who he wants to support. He doesn’t lose track of what is important to him, nor does he lessen the significance of the people closest to him. Even in the things he does for Callum, it is clear to see that Aidan is an incredible man and a worthy equal to Cielo.

Heart Strings is a soft romance with a bit of spice sprinkled throughout, but the main plot line and relationship lines are strong and well balanced, making the explicit scenes unneeded in my opinion. This romance is one for the contemporary romance readers, and those wanting just a little bit of action to go alongside their lovey reads. It will definitely get the hearts beating, and it is a gentle but steady start to the love-themed reads.