Review: Fumbled Hearts

Fumbled Hearts by Meagan Brandy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Kalani has had to face more tragedy than any 18 year old should have to. Moving next door to her Aunt, Uncle and cousin Mia was an attempt to convince her family she's doing okay. Spending her senior year in Alrick Falls won't be so bad, she just needs to keep herself guarded and get through each day; just one year and then she can leave it all behind.

Walking home from a party, Kalani meets Nick while he's in a compromising position. Deciding to be a good person, she steps into help him while drunk. Little did she know that Nick was going to insert himself into her life whether or not she wanted him to.

The star quarterback is used to getting what he wants. Girls are expendable and he's used to shallow relationships where people use him for his promising future. So when Kalani tells him she's not interested, he feels out of his element.

Kalani isn't falling for Nick's usual charm. "I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing at his failed attempt at seduction. I mean, come on. He just walked out of a nasty ass bathroom with some chick, and I’m supposed to... what? Bat my lashes, giggle, full on girly sigh? Seriously?" She's been through enough and has no desire to share her past or build a future with anyone. Especially someone like Nick who comes across as a carefree party player. She may want nothing but simple relationships, but she's not an easy lay.

Always speaking her mind, her refreshing flirtatious and blunt personality draws Nick to her,“I’m hella loud and tend to blurt out whatever I’m thinking, overly sexual or not, and I can be completely inappropriate. Basically, I’m like a guy." But beyond her beautiful front, the deep pain hidden in her eyes has him trying harder to get and keep Kalani's attention. The seemingly magnetic pull they have towards each other is hard to explain, but he's determined to be what she needs.

Getting past her walls isn't easy, somehow Nick has managed to squeeze in. But when the two are tested, they just might fumble and ruin their chance at a future together.

"She’s alive. I can feel it in the way she touches me, see it in the way she looks at me, and I need her to know… “Never gonna be alone…” I sing my promise...and her body tenses, sending my heart into overdrive, fueled by pure fear. But it’s only for the briefest of moment before she pulls me tighter against her."

"I brought this for you because I know what it would mean to him...You sitting here, under the lights on his last night as a high school football player, with his name and number proudly displayed on your cute little body...He’ll never forget it,"... Fuck it. In one quick motion, I yank his jersey over my head, then grab the railing with both hands. When the ball falls from his grip, I can’t help the laugh that escapes me."

I loved every page! This was such an emotional read and I not only grew attached but I didn't want it to end. I love how Kalani is strong and blunt yet broken. She's witty, unapologetic for who she is, real and has a lot of depth. Her history and background was interesting and her personality drew me in. She became someone I found myself relating to even without a similar experience. The progression of relationships between Lolli and each of the characters was well written and flowed. There wasn't insta love or fix that made everything better. It was real and relatable. She may have been around people, but only let a few past her exterior. The need to escape through loosing yourself in nothing is accurate and felt right with the character's experiences.

Some of my favorite lines...

"Alcohol does one of two things for you in high school: gives you the courage to tell the truth or the freedom to forget it. So they party, get drunk, hook-up, do and say stupid shit, and in the end, they take a page from Jamie Foxx and “blame it on the alcohol.”

“Think reeeal hard, asshole.” My voice is a sultry whisper for only him to hear. “Because, I can promise you this… if I fucked you,” I swear I hear him groan, “you can bet your ass you’d remember it.”

"I don’t feel humiliation or compassion or love. Hell, I don’t even feel alive most of the time. It’s all skin deep. Fun and free-spirited. It is what it is and nothing more. And I love it. It’s perfect. A beautiful simplicity of nothingness. The ultimate escape."

“Why don’t you ever say goodbye to me?”...Her tone is accusatory, as if she’s upset by it, but I can see the importance of the question in her eyes. I don’t even think she realizes how badly she wants my answer, maybe even needs it, but I can feel it....I whisper against her lips, my eyes locked onto hers, “Because, for some reason, the thought of saying goodbye to you does something to me. I don’t like it. It makes me feel like I’m losing something.”




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