Heartbeat is Sharon Sala’s third book in her new romantic suspense series, Jubilee. It should absolutely be read after the second book, Last Rites; the first book, Don’t Back Down, isn’t required to understand the story. This book is a must-read for all fans of Sharon Sala and romantic suspense.
Shirley Wallace and her four adult sons return to her childhood home on Pope Mountain in Jubilee, Kentucky, after her abusive husband is convicted for murdering two store employees in their Arkansas town. Shirley inherited her late mother’s house and they all legally change their last name to her maiden name, Pope, to further disassociate themselves from scandal. All of them lost their jobs in Arkansas due to her husband’s misdeeds and must start over. The second-oldest son, Sean, is 27 years old and works from home as an independent IT specialist.
Amalie Lincoln is a 27-year-old CPA who has recently relocated to Jubilee, Kentucky, from Oklahoma to get a fresh start. She has spent the past two years recovering from a serious car accident and healing from the burns that she sustained. She was raised in foster care, never adopted, and looks forward to any family matches on Ancestry.com. On her first day in town, a helicopter explodes and flaming debris lands on the Jubilee Elementary School. She hires Sean Pope to set up her computer equipment and can’t figure out why he looks familiar, since she knows no one in Kentucky.
Sean is hailed as a hero after he assists his two police officer brothers in rescuing teachers and children from the burning school. He is lonely but no female has caught his eye since he gave his heart to a classmate, Molly, when he was 9 years old in Conway, Arkansas. He likes Amalie and asks her out, not at all put off by her visible scars. Eventually they realize that they knew each other in elementary school and start falling in love. Sean’s family embraces Amalie, and she is thrilled to be included.
Meanwhile, a Miami billionaire, Wolfgang Outen, is supposed to attend a hotel board meeting in Jubilee when he learns that there’s a fire at his oil refinery in Brazil. At the last minute he sends his assistant, Stuart, to Jubilee in his place so he can go to Brazil. Then he learns about the helicopter crash and suspects that his wife, Fiona, planted the bomb. He stays in hiding while the FBI starts their investigation. Then he finds an email from Ancestry.com saying that Amalie Lincoln is a familial match and an introductory email from Amalie herself. Wolf realizes that his in-laws lied 27 years ago when they told him that his daughter was stillborn and deformed. His wife died the next day in his arms, just after he arrived from working overseas. Now Wolf must contact Amalie and protect her from his evil wife.
Heartbeat is not only about romantic love, it also shows parental and family love. Amalie remembers Shirley Wallace’s delicious cookies and hugs when she was a child and mentions her affection several times. The reader feels the love between Shirley and her four sons, and within the much larger Pope/Cauley/ Glass families. Wolf has never gotten over the death of his beloved first wife, Cassandra “Shandy”, and embraces Amalie as soon as he sees her. Wolf takes immediate action to protect Amalie and find out how she was given away.
In Sharon Sala books, the villains always get what they deserve. Cameron Pope and his large extended family were introduced in Don’t Back Down and Last Rites and serve as minor characters throughout this story. There are multiple sub-plots and lots of characters, but the author writes so clearly that it’s easy for the reader to keep up. Heartbeat contains a sweet romance between loveable characters without descriptive sex or violence; there may have been a couple of curse words uttered by villains. I couldn’t put this story down; it deserves more than 5 stars! I can’t wait to read more stories featuring the younger Pope brothers.
I received an advance review copy (ARC) from NetGalley and SourceBooks-Casablanca for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.