Sorry to break your hearts ladies and gentlemen, but we have come to the end of the blog tour for Anna Mansell’s debut, How to Mend a Broken Heart! TWG isn’t the only one helping to close the tour, so make sure you check in with my blogging buddy, Laura Bambrey Books too. Seeing as I have broken your heart by being the bearer of bad news in regards to the tour, I SUPPOSE I had better tell you how to mend your broken heart eh?
Oh, I can’t. Anna Mansell has already done that so read my review and you can mend your own heart via the Amazon ‘to buy’ link at the bottom! Enjoy!
Hello? Rhys Woods? I have a patient here I think you know. Yours is the only number in her diary…
When Rhys is called to the hospital to meet Susan, a woman he barely knows, he is compelled to help her. Still grieving the loss of his brother months earlier, Rhys knows all too well the feeling of loneliness.
There are years between them, but Rhys is the only person Susan will respond to, and when she asks him to bring her her most treasured possession, a book of fairytales, he is intrigued.
Hidden in the book is a clue to Susan’s past, and the painful regrets she carries with her. And as Rhys starts to unearth Susan’s secrets, he finds that his own grief begins to heal too…
Together, Susan and Rhys must learn to live again. Can they help each other to find happiness and finally mend their broken hearts?
How to Mend a Broken Heart is a heart-wrenching and absorbing story about second chances, forgiveness, and making every second count, perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes, Lucy Dillon and Miranda Dickinson.
What does TWG think?
I really do feel like a worn out record saying this, BUT, if you think the cover hints that the storyline is a candyfloss type of chic lit/romance novel where the ending signifies walking off into the sunset, stop right there. Now, I adore the cover as it’s simple, pretty, and very eye-catching in a very intriguing way. However, all you really need to focus on with the cover is the title and the author as this storyline contains more grit than the front cover could ever hold. By all means, admire the cover, but don’t let yourself get hung up over it or try to question what lies behind the cover. How to Mend a Broken Heart has a storyline which needs to be savoured word by word, line by line and page by page…
I had a little nose at some of the reviews which have already been posted on Goodreads, before I started writing my review and a lot of readers have the cover as a talking point. Just like many others, my first reaction to the novel was based on its cover and an assumption. But, as soon as I got stuck into Anna Mansell’s novel, I quickly realised how my initial reaction to the book could not have been further off the mark if I tried.
The novel introduces the three main characters, Kat, Rhys and Susan pretty early on in the storyline, even though it is quite clear that things aren’t quite as simple as they first seem. Kat is nursing her broken heart after being dumped by her long-term boyfriend. Rhys heart got completely smashed when his brother committed suicide. And then there is Susan, her heart has been broken for many, many years and she is stuck in her own emotional jail. Which one of the characters, if any, will be able to find the right key to free Susan from her turmoil?
As soon as someone says that they’ve had their heart-broken we automatically assume it’s to do with a relationship. I know I do. I mean, the only way you get your heart broken is when your partner dumps you, right? Completely WRONG. Before I read Anna Mansell’s novel, my mindset was the same as the above, yet the complexity of each character within the storyline, opened my eyes to the fact that a lot of things can break someone’s heart; such as suicide, any other death related circumstances or horrific events involving people you know, love or care about, just to name a few. Every human being will have their own trigger where their heart is concerned, just like Kat, Rhys and Susan. Three individual people with one big thing in common; they all have had their heart broken yet no-one else will understand their own personal pain.
This storyline had me pinned against the sofa with a little voice whispering in my ear, ‘don’t you even think about putting this book down!’. Even if I wanted to put it down (which I didn’t), I couldn’t tear myself away from the emotional orb I had found myself temporarily residing. Even though the book contains a lot of intense moments, it also contains many, many heart-warming and uplifting scenes; it was as though you were walking the journey with the characters and holding their hands for comfort. Does that make sense? I love how Anna Mansell has been able to acknowledge heartbreak in various different forms, highlighting the fact that everyone’s life journey is exactly that…their own. I truly believe that a lot of readers will be able to relate to the three main characters as they all have such a powerful presence within the storyline.
It really blows my mind that ‘How to Mend a Broken Heart’ is Anna Mansell’s debut novel, as she has such a distinctive writing style which automatically made me feel as though I already knew her. I could tell that Anna Mansell has poured her heart and soul into every single line of the book, as though she had published 123248347 books previously.
‘How to Mend a Broken Heart’ made me wear my heart on my sleeve (for an Ice Queen that is unheard of), due to its intense, emotional and raw situations. I cried whilst reading this, more than once, and I’m not ashamed in the slightest. Anna Mansell, if I could hug you right now I would, truly!
A spellbinding novel full of love, tears and heart ache, How to Mend a Broken Heart not only shows how the heart can be broken, it also shows how broken hearts are mended with the right love, care and attention. To you that ‘thing’ may be small, but to another person it may just be the one ‘thing’ they have been searching for to fix their broken heart. Don’t judge, just love. Absolutely fantastic novel, Anna Mansell has set the bar incredibly high with her outstanding debut novel, How to Mend a Broken Heart.
Thank you Bookouture.
About the author.
The Writing Garnet 
What a fabulous review for MEND A BROKEN HEART by Anna Mansell. I can’t wait to read it. You’re right: the cover does make it seem as if the story will be light and fluffy.
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