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Heart Bones

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Life and a dismal last name are the only two things Beyah Grim's parents ever gave her. After carving her path all on her own, Beyah is well on her way to bigger and better things, thanks to no one but herself.

With only two short months separating her from the future she's built and the past she desperately wants to leave behind, an unexpected death leaves Beyah with no place to go during the interim. Forced to reach out to her last resort, Beyah has to spend the remainder of her summer on a peninsula in Texas with a father she barely knows. Beyah's plan is to keep her head down and let the summer slip by seamlessly, but her new neighbor Samson throws a wrench in that plan.

Samson and Beyah have nothing in common on the surface.

She comes from a life of poverty and neglect; he comes from a family of wealth and privilege. But one thing they do have in common is that they're both drawn to sad things. Which means they're drawn to each other. With an almost immediate connection too intense for them to continue denying, Beyah and Samson agree to stay in the shallow end of a summer fling. What Beyah doesn't realize is that a rip current is coming, and it's about to drag her heart out to sea.

338 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 19, 2020

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About the author

International and #1 New York Times bestselling author of romance, YA, thriller, women's fiction and paranormal romance.

I don't like to be confined to one genre. If you put me in a box, I'll claw my way out.

My social media username is @colleenhoover pretty much everywhere except my email, which is colleenhooverbooks@gmail.com

Founder of www.thebookwormbox.com charity and Book Bonanza.

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5 stars
152,879 (49%)
4 stars
105,972 (34%)
3 stars
39,502 (12%)
2 stars
7,004 (2%)
1 star
1,872 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 25,619 reviews
Profile Image for Nilufer Ozmekik.
2,127 reviews39.2k followers
February 10, 2023
OMG! I just finished it and.........................................................yes, first time in my life, I’m speechless! My heart is broken into million pieces. It hurts! But I also keep smiling..... okay... as soon as I recover, my review is coming soon! Oh let’s forget giving entire galaxy’s stars! It’s not fair to give this book only five stars!
Profile Image for jessica.
2,506 reviews30.9k followers
August 22, 2020
if it wasnt official before, it certainly is now - CoHo can do no wrong.

im so used to CH writing about adults that i was a little taken aback when i realised this is about two young people, right on the cusp of adulthood. but i think this story explores a lot of great topics that surround people who are in the vulnerable transition period between high school and university, between youth and adulthood.

this a short, simple, sweet story about learning how to trust and listen to your heart. and i wouldnt expecting anything less from queen CoHo.

5 stars
Profile Image for Christy.
3,755 reviews32k followers
January 3, 2021
5 stars

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"You can fill your life with nice things, but nice things don’t fill the holes in your soul.”

It has been so long since I've sat down and read a full length novel in one sitting, but that is exactly what I did with Heart Bones. Colleen Hoover wrote such a beautiful book that made me feel so deeply. It was one of those books that captivated me from the start and I never wanted to put it down... so I didn't.

Beyah has had a hard life. And I don't say that lightly. Her life is more difficult than most of us can ever imagine. And she's only nineteen. After tragedy strikes with her mother, she moves from her trailer in Kentucky to a beautiful beach house in Texas. Beyah has never lived with her father before, but she needs a place to stay for the summer before she starts college so she goes.
I thought I knew who I was, but I had no idea people can become different versions of themselves in different settings.

Beyah has a stepsister she's never met named Sarah and Sarah has a friend named Samson. Samson and Beyah seem to be from totally different worlds, but they're more alike then one would think. They both have a lot of secrets, but Beyah can't help but to want to tell all her secrets to Samson and that is very unlike her.

Both of these characters are so broken, and two broken characters healing together... there isn't much I love more than that. This story is heavy and heartbreaking at times, but it's also beautiful. Beyah is such an incredibly strong character. She's loyal and determined and her story broke my heart. By the end of this book I was crying so hard, it was just beautiful.

Heart Bones is a story with an incredible prose, interesting characters with secrets you won't guess, and a truly stunning love story when it comes down to it. I loved this one and I highly recommend it!

184DE9E3_223B_4246_9CC2_8C10EE8F2A27_IMG_8136
Profile Image for The Burning Rose (Jess).
161 reviews322 followers
Want to read
February 8, 2020
Me, a week ago: I need more Colleen Hoover books.
Colleen: a new romance novel, coming in July.
Me: *looking at the sky* GOD???
Profile Image for Bibi.
1,282 reviews3,317 followers
July 12, 2021
Tears are dribbling down my cheeks as I write this. Partly for this story but mostly because it compounds the numerous heartbreaking moments we’ve been through in 2020. This just tops it perfectly. Just another broken piece of my heart, even if it’s for fictional characters.

Mehn, I don’t know. This hit too hard. FRTC, maybe.
Profile Image for Ali Goodwin.
122 reviews9,371 followers
July 23, 2022
Ahhh another great Colleen Hoover book!! Such unique characters and a unique plot. I cared about Samsom and Beyah SO much and the ending made my heart melt.
Profile Image for Arini.
696 reviews1,546 followers
January 1, 2022


4.5 Stars

“Damaged people recognize other damaged people. It’s like a club you don’t want a membership to.”

In case you DO want a membership, just read this book cause: (1) It’s so sad, it’s a mood; (2) After spending most of the 2nd half chapters sobbing my eyes out, I can confirm that I am now positively damaged. So, let’s welcome me to this club (with a hug, please)! ✨ 😭

Beyah (19), having lived most of her life in poverty, is left with no option but to spend her summer with her father, whom she barely knows, and his family in their beach house in Texas. There she meets her neighbor Samson (20). A rich boy who rents out his parents’ properties during the summer.

On the surface, they have nothing in common. Drawn to each other by the secrets and troubled pasts they see hiding behind their eyes, they start to develop a relationship. One that will end in ruins if they’re not careful. What mystery are they afraid to reveal? Who do you think is going to break first?

This story is intense and heartbreaking, but it is also powerful and uplifting. What it is not is perfect. I can think of a few reasons why you might not like this book because I’m pretty sure those are the same reasons why Heart Bones almost didn’t hit MY jackpot.

↠ Despite having a tragic beginning that punches you straight in the gut and a beautiful ending that warms your heart, the first half of the book is pretty slow. Not to mention, this book is short. I wish it had more pages as I feel like some issues could’ve been explored more.

↠ You might find yourself frustrated with Beyah because of how judgemental she is towards the rich people in the beginning. She doesn’t know life outside of her own. She’s jaded and bitter. So, I think that behavior (warranted or not) is not a surprise.

↠ Even though the side characters (Brian the father, Alana the stepmother, Sara the stepsister with her boyfriend Marco, and Marjorie the grandma next door) are all different shades of kind, nice, and lovely; they are also somewhat . . . hollow.

↠ Beyah and Sara have a growing friendship that I adore. However, the father/daughter relationship is . . . rushed and unsatisfying. I would’ve loved to see how Beyah removed her animosity towards Brian and how they repaired their relationship.

↠ The romance blossoms too fast within a month and a half time of them being in each other’s miserable company. Plus, with no distinctive humor and fun banter, what even is this? Sorry, love, we have to stick to the theme and keep it angsty and depressing.

What I’m saying is . . . if you don’t love this book and think it’s flat, I get you (on some level). At first, I was going to give this book a three stars myself. But then the floodgates were opened and I grew myself a heart bone. 😭 CoHo really came through this time!

“Maybe we did grow heart bones. But what if the only way of knowing you grew a heart bone is by feeling the agony caused by the break?”



When I was reading this, it put me in a Lana Del Rey mode and made me think of her album Born to Die, particularly the song “Blue Jeans,” “Dark Paradise,” and “Summertime Sadness.” Idk, this book just emanates chronically sad vibes. My reasons for loving this book are:

Samson ♡ Beyah

They have a rather pitiful, embarrassing, and not so cute meet cute. Their attraction was swift, but I loved their strong connection, deep conversations, intense interactions, and their heavy with meaning small touches. Basically, I loved how they were with each other.

The plot twists

I did see one coming, but the rest was a shock. It can be irritating in a book when one character keeps a huge secret. I actually enjoyed this one, and I think the big reveal was worth the wait. Though I must say, the last 3 to 5 chapters happen so fast, and there’s no epilogue which is a bummer.

The setting

Heart Bones is more beach read than the book Beach Read itself. It’s glum, full of doom and gloom aura AND is actually set on a beach with characters actively spending time there watching sunrises and sunsets. So if you love Beach Read, definitely read this.

The prose

I’ve always loved CoHo’s writing, and it is no different this time. Something about it just makes you feel . . . and contemplate your existence and moves you. There were so many quotes and passages I wanted to highlight even from the very first page.

“You can fill your life with nice things, but nice things don’t fill the holes in your soul.”
“What fills the holes in a soul?”
“Pieces of someone else’s soul.”

Despite my grievances or it could be because of my period and I’m hormonal, this book made me so emotional I hurt and I cried. That’s enough of a win for me. After the massive disappointment that was Regretting You, this book was a much needed relief. It proves that I guess I’m not completely over CoHo afterall.

(Read as an Audiobook)
Profile Image for Nicole.
397 reviews13k followers
May 8, 2022
3,5/5 ku 4/5
Po tylu latach to wciąż Hoover jest jedyną autorką romansów, która nie pozwala mi się oderwać od swoich książek.
Profile Image for Reading_ Tamishly.
4,165 reviews2,234 followers
February 15, 2023
✨ CoHo does well with new adult writing and this one didn't disappoint me.

"Maybe we both grew heart bones."

Two broken people finding love in each other 😭💯



*Review as on publication day:

19th August, 2020

I just grabbed my copy as soon as it was available 😍

The story starts with a death and leaving Beyah looking for a place to stay.

Sounds weird, right?

Rightly so!

This is the story about a girl who has been through poverty and neglect because of an addict parent.

This is the story of a girl who has a father far away and who doesn't feel like a father at all.

This is the story of a girl struggling for the most basic human needs.


This is the story of a girl who has lived most of her life as an outcast.

But things change when she has no other choice than to leave everything else behind and live with her father and his family.

There she gets to know her father more, her stepmother, Alana, and her daughter, Sara. There she gets to meet Marcos, Sara's boyfriend, and Samson, a guy who has more hidden secrets than her.

This is the story of found family and acceptance.

I know the characters aren't our typical romcom fluffy romantic characters as it always have been with CoHo's books.

I would certainly have an interest in dark shady (yes, shady 😑) characters like Samson but he's the cutest sht ever when he makes up his mind to do his best for the one he cares about.

A young adult romance about revealing the darkest secrets, trying to trust again and defining what family means.

The writing is good as always. Never a dull moment but yes, the explicit scenes go on and on and on like it fills up some chapters entirely towards the second half of the book when all I needed was answers and more character development and secret revelations. And yes, it didn't do much in the end. And yes, expect lots of drama towards the end.

The only few things that test my patience while reading a CoHo book:

1. Too much focus on sex scenes, details which I do not need
2. Forbidden romances/toxic relationships get too normal to the point of me questioning myself why I am reading the book
3. Rushed endings at times after a lot of romance in the second halves

Yes, 1 and 3 happen in this one.

I do not like how things turn out casual real fast.

And yes, the title explanation didn't seem that relevant to me. It was like a heat of the moment talk. That's it. It was put there just for the sake of putting the words there somewhere in between. And the bonding with the almost strangers as family happened too soon.

Not probably one of my favs. The characters are a detached lot no matter how much they tried.


(***The amount of eye rolls I did while reading chapters 22 and 23 were phenomenal. I am so glad my eyes are okay after all that.)


But you know what?

Her stories always have wholesome good endings.
And this one was no different 💕


***Me when I saw the publication announcement:

I could not believe my eyes when this book was released earlier than expected!

One of my most anticipated releases of the year and I just finished up reading it 💕

I am a happy reader!
Profile Image for Gabby.
1,198 reviews26k followers
August 28, 2020
4.5 stars
This book was really sweet, but also really sad and heartbreaking.
in this story we follow this young girl named Beyah, who lives in a trailer park with an addict for a Mother. Her life seems to be falling apart when her Mother dies of an overdose and she finds herself homeless in the summer after her senior year of high school. So she calls her birth Father who she barely ever see anymore and asks to stay with him for the summer. This is a romance story about two broken people finding hope in each other again, as well as a coming of age story.

I feel like it's best to go into this book not knowing a whole lot, as I'd say it is for most of Colleen Hoover books. This book is sad and devastating, Beyah experiences a lot of tragedy and hard times at such a young age and these experiences have shaped her as a person. I adored her step-sister Sara in this book, and Samson was frustrating at first but he also grew on me as the book progressed. This book is everything you'd expect from a Colleen Hoover book, it's sad as hell, it'll make you cry, it has dark characters with mysterious pasts, etc. But some scenes in this book really touched me and I won't forget about those scenes anytime soon.

This book is literally 'august' by Taylor Swift. They are having a summer romance but they know they'll be parting ways at the end of the summer and damn. It just fits the lyrics of the song so well. The ending was also pretty good.

This isn't my new favorite from Colleen Hoover, because lets be real will anything ever beat It Ends With Us? Probably not. But this one is pretty great and it'll catch you in the feels and it's the perfect book for summer.

Profile Image for Regina.
1,136 reviews2,844 followers
March 26, 2021
Is it just me, or is Heart Bones a really gross title? Makes me think of something you dread finding in your take-out meal.

For the characters in Colleen Hoover’s 2020 novel, heart bones are things you grow when you fall in love that make an actual broken heart possible. Yeah, okay.

Since CoHo has been all over the place lately in terms of genre, it’s helpful to know going in that this is a return to her sweet spot - New Adult romance. If you haven’t read one of those before, you're basically signing up to be a fly on the wall while of-age teenagers engage in bedroom business time. Once again, I feel compelled to use the word gross.

Honestly, it really doesn’t matter what the plot is. Picking up a Hoover novel means you’re going to be sucked into a cliched yet somehow still original page-turner that you’ll read in one sitting. This one falls to the middle of the CoHo pack for me, so let’s go with 3.5 stars rounded down.

Heart Bones (gross) is available as part of the Kindle Unlimited program (as of 3/25/20).

Blog: www.confettibookshelf.com
IG: @confettibookshelf
September 19, 2020
Epic first love!



The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💚💙💜❤️💖
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📘📗📕📙📓
World building: 🌏🌎🌍🌎🌏
Character development: 👤👤👤👤👤



The setting: Kentucky & The Bolivar Peninsula, Texas (beach house).

The Hero: Samson – Rich kid with a lot of secrets, staying alone in one of his families 5 rental properties while he is in charge of taking care of them.

The heroine: Beyah - (Pronounced: Bay-ah), she grew up poor and almost always hungry with her addict Mom in Kentucky. Her Dad sent child support, which was used for drugs, but he never cared enough to check on her living conditions.

The love story: Samson and Beyah are interested in each other from the beginning when they see each other on a ferry. Both of them keep nearly everything to themselves and both have endured a lot. The romance is not insta-love and is very romantic.



This story was different than any I had read before. It’s funny how in romance there are so many plots and tropes that are used over and over again and we can still like them, because the minutia is different. The interactions between the characters is different in each one. In this book both Samson and Beyah had secrets about their pasts. Beyah started opening up to Samson right away because she saw him as a kindred spirit.

I was wondering what kind of secrets Samson could be holding onto and was close to getting frustrated because so many times in books we see people keeping secrets and there is this back and forth with one character trying to keep secrets and the other trying to find them. It often goes on so long that when the secret finally comes out, it is either anti-climactic or blown way out of proportion to what would happen in the real world. However, this one was different and after the secrets came out, I could definitely see the reason Samson kept them.

I’m not telling what the secrets were, but I will say that it made for quite a captivating story. I really enjoyed both characters and their stories and though the book did get a bit depressing at times, it was well worth it, The book held my interest the entire time and I was actually surprised a few times. I will definitely read it again sometime.

I voluntarily read & reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

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Profile Image for EmBibliophile.
475 reviews1,075 followers
August 2, 2021
“People sometimes still drown in the shallow end,”



I think I grew a heart bone as well! Even though I’m not a huge fan of the summer romance/summer fling trope, I really liked this one. Because it just turned out being more. This was just so sweet and emotional. This book is a mood in its own way for those damaged and the non fun people and I loved it!!

Damaged people recognize other damaged people. It’s like a club you don’t want a membership to.


I loved the main characters, their connection, their deep conversation, and how they were both the same even if it doesn’t seem like that. They were both damaged that they were perfect for each other in a way. The only issue I got is that I wanted more of her relationship with her dad. Their relationship is so important I wished it was more focused on. I wanted to see them connect and talk and throw blames and make amends and all of that. I wanted to see how there relationship gets fixed instead of being told that it was.

“You can fill your life with nice things, but nice things don’t fill the holes in your soul.”
“What fills the holes in a soul?”
Samson’s eyes scroll over my face for a few seconds. “Pieces of someone else’s soul.”


This was a sad gloomy beach read and I was so in the mood for that. I wished it wasn’t short and the ending wasn’t rushed, I kinda wanted more. but it’s fine, I was still satisfied with what I got. Beyah and Sara’s relationship was so perfect. I loved how they got close and started to have a trusting friendship. I feel like this book is the summer version of the butterfly project by Emma Scott. In a way they’re both kinda similar or gave me the same vibe to each other, so if you liked one I think you might like the other.
Profile Image for Ninoska Goris.
256 reviews156 followers
July 21, 2022
English - Español

It has become a custom. Coleen Hoover's books are an adventure (either I like it or I hate it) and a ride on a rollercoaster (the strong emotions are not lacking in her books). This book, despite not being a truly memorable one, is intense.

Beyah is very young, but in her young age she has had to go through too many bad experiences and her reality is far from being even acceptable.

Just graduated from high school and two months away from going to college with a scholarship she got with the volleyball team, when she arrives at the trailer where she lives with her mother, she finds her dead of an overdose. His mother's body is still warm when the renter ask her to move from the trailer. That leaves her on the street with the only option to call her father, with whom she does not have a close relationship and whom she has not seen for several years. Worse still, his father is married and has to share the beach house they are staying in for the summer with his wife and stepsister.

Beyah on the ferry on the way to the beach house meets Samson, young, beautiful, womanizing and rich, but she can tell that he is just as broken as she is. They have a very bad first encounter which makes the following encounters just as bad. She wants to resist being one more of Samson's summer flings, but the attraction they feel is indisputable and they realize that they have a lot in common, but their destinies are too far apart.

Nothing is known about Samson, only that he is the son of someone who has a lot of money. Beyah tries to find out and he doesn't tell her. So they agree to be together for the summer and that in the end he will answer everything she wants to know.

In my opinion, the bad thing is the ending of the book. Shock? A little. A forced ending? Also a little. And that's what's left of the book. Too many realities to come to such an abrupt happy end.

"If there's nothing inside a heart that can break, why does it feel like mine is going to snap in half when it's time for me to move next month? Does your heart not feel like that?

Se ha vuelto una costumbre. Los libros de Coleen Hoover son una aventura (o me gustan o no me gustan) y una subida a una montaña rusa (las emociones fuertes no faltan en sus libros).

Este libro, a pesar de no ser uno realmente memorable, es intenso. Beyah es muy joven, pero en su corta edad ha tenido que vivir demasiadas malas experiencias y su realidad está muy lejos de ser ni siquiera aceptable.

Recién graduada de la secundaria y a dos meses de ir a la universidad con una beca que consiguió con el equipo de voleyball, al llegar al tráiler donde vive con su madre, la encuentra muerta de una sobredosis. El cuerpo de su madre está aún caliente cuando le piden que desaloje el tráiler. Eso la deja en la calle con la única opción de llamar a su padre, con el que no tiene una relación cercana y al que no ve desde hace varios años. Peor aún, su padre se casó y tiene que compartir la casa de playa en la que se están quedando por el verano con su esposa y una hermanastra.

Beyah en el ferry de camino a la casa de la playa conoce a Samson, joven, hermoso, mujeriego y rico, pero ella puede notar que está tan roto como ella. Tienen un primer encuentro muy malo lo que hace que los siguientes encuentros sean igual de malos. Ella se quiere resistir a ser uno más de los ligues del verano de Samson, pero la atracción que sienten es indiscutible y se dan cuenta que tienen mucho en común, pero sus destinos están demasiados separados.

De Samson no se sabe nada, solo que es el hijo de alguien que tiene mucho dinero. Beyah intenta averiguar y el no le dice nada. Así que llegan al acuerdo de estar juntos por el verano y que al final el le responderá todo lo que quiera saber.

En mi opinión, lo malo es el desenlace del libro. Shock? Un poco. Un final forzado? También un poco. Y eso es lo que le resta al libro. Demasiadas realidades para llegar a un final feliz tan abrupto.

Lamentablemente este libro no ha sido traducido al español.



Profile Image for Drey.
167 reviews790 followers
December 23, 2020
5 "SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS" Stars!!

I'm goddamn blown away ... again!

"He might be right. Maybe we did grow heart bones. But what if the only way of knowing you grew a heart bone is by feeling the agony caused by the break?"


I've NEVER expected less from Colleen Hoover since I read Ugly Love. She's this author that will totally sweep you away. And this story? This story is absolutely at it's best that I think I've also grown a heart bone!

Overall, Colleen Hoover not only wrote an amazing romance, but also acknowledged every challenge the world is facing today. I highly recommend this!


Profile Image for Corina.
778 reviews2,111 followers
July 17, 2022
4.5 stars

And she did it again!!!!
___________________________________

My review is finally live on the blog.
___________________________________


After reading Regretting You last year, and totally and madly falling in love with it, I was wondering it it was a fluke or if I’m turning into a CoHo fan. And it’s now official, I’m really loving her latest books.

Heart Bones was such a wonderful, emotional, but also touching YA/NA contemporary romance. When I read Regretting You, I loved the YA part so much, and hoped she would write a YA novel, and as if she heard me, she wrote one.

I feel like Heart Bones would be perfect for anyone loving KA TUCKER novels. It was heart-felt, beautifully written, and just the right book to escape in. Her main characters were relatable, likable and secretive. And I loved how they both slowly opened up to each other. The story on its own was one AWESOME beach read! Because of it I want to spent a summer on the beach, staying in a stilt house, exploring the dunes, going swimming at night (or not). It all sounded so charming and relaxing, and something I could definitely see myself doing for a summer.

I started and finished Heart Bones in one day, and loved it all. Honestly there was nothing I didn’t love about this book. And I’m already impatiently awaiting her next contemporary romance. Because her style is right up my alley.


___________________________________

You can find me on my blog and on Bookstagram
Profile Image for Saumya.
70 reviews232 followers
October 13, 2020
After two challenging books, the author seems to have played it safe this time by using the same plain old romance plotline.

The last two books gave hope that maybe the author is venturing into new lanes of storylines but this book tells that that enjoyable trip ended way too short.

It is the story of a boy and girl who face extreme financial and familial deprivations from childhood and had to do things not-right to make themselves survive. No one understood them and they never felt loved until they found each other.

The plotline is too convenient. All side characters seem so hollow. There is no originality. It is not exciting or engaging. Author should branch out into different genres like her last two books showed that she has potential rather than becoming stereotyped into a cliche romance writer.
Profile Image for Jade Saul.
Author 1 book43 followers
July 10, 2022
In Colleen Hoover Heart Bones we meet Beyah who after unexpected death goes to live her estranged father and falls in love Samson the boy next door. This was great lovely written story I really enjoyed and couldn't stop reading it
Profile Image for Karla Espinosa.
57 reviews2,293 followers
January 14, 2022
I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH!! Colleen Hoover... you did it again :') I kept hearing how underrated this book was and I didn't understand that until this very moment. If you've been thinking of reading this book then I highly recommend you RUN DON'T WALK and start this book now!! Samson and Beyah are the perfect example of soulmates. They both have had to experience incredibly tough moments throughout their lives that left them feeling like no one could ever understand them... that is until they cross paths. I can definitely see this book being a perfect summer read, since it is about a summer romance, so that leaves me even more excited to reread it in the upcoming months!
Profile Image for Bridgett.
Author 17 books412 followers
September 1, 2020
Damaged people recognize other damaged people. It's like a club you don't want a membership to.

Like all of CoHo's books, Heart Bones is compulsively readable. I've mentioned before that even her books I don't care for, still manage to suck me right in. I enjoyed Heart Bones, but it wasn't my favorite from her library. To me, it didn't compare to Hopeless, Maybe Someday, or Regretting You.

It took me awhile to warm to Beyah, as she was more judgmental than the so-called rich people she constantly insulted. Samson wasn't a douche...always a plus for a CoHo novel, but he also wasn't particularly riveting. It wasn't until the beach volleyball game that I really began to feel much of anything for him.

I did enjoy most of the secondary characters, and the setting was lovely.

The star of the show was, of course, Pepper Jack Cheese. 🐾

At the end of the day, I'd recommend this to all who love young adult romance.

3.5 stars
Profile Image for Larry H.
2,481 reviews29.4k followers
September 21, 2020
CoHo hits another home run with her newest novel, Heart Bones !!

“‘Don’t worry. Hearts don’t have bones. They can’t actually break.’ But what if the only way of knowing you grew a heart bone is by feeling the agony of the break?”

Beyah has always made her own path. She’s had no other choice. But with a few months left until college she’s left with nowhere to turn, so she winds up going to spend the summer with her father, whom she barely knows, on a peninsula in Texas.

She’s not planning to let anyone in. She just needs a place to stay. And then she meets Samson, the best friend of her stepsister’s boyfriend. The two are drawn to one another but Beyah feels ill-at-ease around him, partially because they are so different on the surface: Samson is a child of wealth and privilege, while Beyah has known mostly neglect and poverty.

But as the summer progresses, and she lets her guard down little by little, Beyah realizes that there’s so much about Samson she doesn’t know. He has so many secrets that he promises to tell her before she leaves, but she’s not sure leaving is even what she wants anymore. They promised not to fall in love with each other, but how do you stop yourself from falling?

And then in a split second, it all changes. How do you figure out what your heart wants, what path your future should take? It’s easier never to let anyone else in, that way you can’t feel hurt. But of course, you’ll never experience love and joy this way either.

Over the last year or so, Colleen Hoover has become one of my go-to, auto-buy authors. I read this book in one sitting and it grabbed hold of my heart and didn’t let go. This is a story of strength and vulnerability, courage and fear, and powerful, powerful love.

I’m almost sorry I raced through it so quickly because I loved it so much.

Check out my list of the best books I read in 2019 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2019.html.

Check out my list of the best books of the decade at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2020/01/my-favorite-books-of-decade.html.

See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.

Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
Profile Image for talon smith.
706 reviews114 followers
August 18, 2020
My review will not be long for this one. Period. Because I think every one should go into this book as blind as I did. You will thank me later for this plain and generic review.

Heart Bones hurt.
But it also felt really, really good.
It felt so good reading and getting hurt by CoHo all over again like when I read Hopeless and Ugly Love.

That's what this book felt like. A Hopeless / Ugly Love baby. Kicking me right in my gut.


The characters absolutely stole my heart. Not just the main characters, but the secondary ones as well. They made the story even better than it already was.

I always say that Colleen is the best story-teller and the story that unfolds in Heart Bones is no different from my original statement.

Heart Bones will not be what you expect it to be. And I 100% believe that is why I loved it so much. If you enjoy the turmoil and angst that Colleen pulls you through with all of her books-- Heart Bones is bound to be your new favorite CoHo book. As it should be.
Profile Image for Lacey (laceybooklovers).
2,006 reviews9,927 followers
September 4, 2020
Heart Bones is essentially a beach read, Colleen Hoover style, which means it’s heartbreaking and intense. And since the only requirement I have for beach reads is that it takes place on the beach, this book worked for me! And even though I just said it was heartbreaking, Heart Bones was surprisingly an easy, enjoyable read. It didn’t hit quite as emotional as I’m used to from this author but it does have a twist towards the end in classic CoHo style. I wish it could’ve been longer because there was so much to explore near the end but I did like the unique storyline and the heroine’s journey in discovering love and family.

Beyah grew up in poverty with her single, drug-addicted mother. Food was never a guarantee for her and she was left to fend for herself way too young. Now, at 19, she has a volleyball scholarship waiting for her in Pennsylvania, but with her mother dying of an overdose and nowhere to go, she’s forced to live with her estranged father. So she joins her father and her new stepmother and stepsister to a beach house on a Texas peninsula. Her next door neighbor is rich boy Samson, who hides behind his camera with his secrets and mysteries. And it’s on the beach that Beyah learns what it’s like to trust, to love, and be loved, not just with Samson, but with a family she never expected.

As with all of Colleen Hoover’s books, the writing is solid. I always enjoy the way she builds her characters. Beyah is broken from her traumatic past but has an inner strength I admired. Her new family is wonderful – I genuinely loved that she forms a friendship with her stepsister, who is so kind and endearing. Samson’s character wasn’t as compelling as I hoped it would be. I was curious about his secrets and absolutely didn’t expect the twist towards the end with his character, but he’s definitely not a new favorite Colleen Hoover hero for me.

Still, I really enjoyed the story overall, though I wish it was longer. What Beyah and Samson go through will have your heart hurting. It’s almost a tragic kind of love between two broken souls (but there is an HEA, I promise!) with their romance having an end date once summer ends, though you can’t help but root for them anyway. If you love your beach reads on the sad, more emotional side, Heart Bones is pretty much perfect for you!
Profile Image for Jessica .
2,044 reviews13k followers
September 8, 2020
Colleen Hoover releases a new book, I'm going to read it. I like to go into her books not knowing anything, so I went into this newest release knowing very little and waited to see where Colleen would take us.

The first half of this book is very slow. We get a LOT of build up between Beyah and Samson and watch them slowly start to open up and fall for each other. I enjoyed watching two very closed off people start to fall for one another, but I will say I was slightly annoyed with how secretive Samson was and how okay with is Beyah was. She kept on asking questions he refused to answer and said he's only tell her the truth at the end of the summer when they both left. And she was just like, okay! It just felt like we were waiting and waiting to find out the truth about Samson and, even then, it wasn't anything that completely shocked me or punched me in they gut like other books by Colleen have.

I really loved Beyah's relationship that she developed with her stepsister, Sara. I do wish we had more of her dad trying to connect with her and spend time with her in the first 200 pages, but I did appreciate how she opened herself up to a relationship with Sara and started to trust people in her life.

I will say, the end of this book is what did me in and had me tearing up. Honestly, the last twenty pages were my favorite and they absolutely broke my heart. This one of those books that was pretty good while reading it, but really hits you when you're done and can't stop thinking about it. Beyah and Samson's story broke my heart and what they experienced is something that, sadly, too many young people in our world are forced to go through. I honestly didn't want their story to end, especially with how quickly the ending wrapped up. I wish I could continue to read their love story and see what the future has in store for them.
Profile Image for Andi.
2 reviews
September 15, 2020
Colleen got me in the heart bone

I gave this a one star review because some people only look for negatives no matter where they are and those people would be missing out on a damn good book. I don’t want them to miss it. This actually deserves a galaxy of stars just like the author and all the words she gives us.

Stop looking for negatives everywhere and go read this! If you don’t want to read this one, she has a lot of other books out too and you will be a better human for reading them. Or even one. In one way or another she will touch your soul in every book you read by her.
She makes you feel and it leaves a mark y’all. Be ready for that.

Profile Image for Cara.
240 reviews144 followers
April 17, 2022
OH MY GOSH!!!! Colleen Hoover has done it again! This book broke my heart bones, and had me sobbing throughout the whole story! I knew nothing going into Heart Bones, I went in completely blind, not knowing anything about this book and i'm glad I did because it left me completely speechless! Colleen Hoover has become an author I have fallen in love with, and does NOT disappoint. Every single one of her books have left me in tears. When I see a CoHo book I haven't read yet, I know I need to run to it! After finishing this story and writing a review, I still have tears streaming down my face! I was hooked from the very first page! This story will be with me for a long time to come. I've heard a lot of people have a hit or miss with Colleen's books, but the ones I've read, I have loved every single one of them!

In Heart Bones we follow the journey of Beyah and Samson. Life and a dismal last name are the only two things Beyah's parents ever gave her. After following her path all on her own, Beyah is well on her way to bigger and better things, thanks to no one but herself! With only two short months separating her from the future she's built and the past she desperately wants to leave behind, an unexpected death leaves Beyah with no place to go. At this time Beyah is a full time student in high school and working a job at McDonald's with no money because her mom has an addiction to drugs and uses every penny to buy them. Forced to reach out to her last resort, Beyah has to spend the remainder of her summer on a peninsula in Texas with a father she barely knows. Beyah's plan is to keep her head down and let the summer slip by seamlessly, but her new neighbor Samson throws a wrench in that plan. I just wanted to reach into the book and pull Beyah into a hug, but she didn't like hugs😭💖!!!

Beyah's step sister Sara, is the sister Beyah never had. At first I didn't think I was going to like Sara, but she grew on me, she was literally so sweet and so supportive of Beyah. Samson and Beyah have nothing in common on the surface. Beyah comes from a life of poverty and neglect, whereas Samson comes from a family of wealth and privilege. But one thing they both have in common is that they are completely drawn to sad things, which is why they are so drawn to each other. Beyah and Samson agree to stay in the shallow end of a summer fling. Beyah and her father are on a ferry to go home after he picked her up at the airport when Beyah has never seen the ocean before and she's completely mesmerized by the perfect surrounding, when she doesn't realize that Samson is taking pictures of her.

The plot twist was insane, and I honestly didn't see it coming! I loved Beyah and Samson's relationship so much!!! Beyah's father's family opened up their house and welcome arms for her, and I just loved every minute of it!! If you haven't read Heart Bones yet by Colleen Hoover, I highly recommend you do!! I read this book as a BOTM for The Book Chicks group! Sometimes it felt like I was on the beach with this amazing group of people, which include Sara, Beyah, Samson, and Marcos. I'm going to finish up this review right here because I don't want to give away the whole story because it was just so perfect, and I loved every single minute of reading it!! So, get yourself this book, a cozy blanket, a cup of tea and just read it.

Can we have a movie of Heart Bones please?
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