Heartstrings

Sometimes it’s hard to articulate why you like something. This can seem obvious when it’s a B movie (“it’s so bad it’s good!”), but I even struggle sometimes to describe specifically why I like, say, apples. 

“Because it’s crisp.” “Because it’s sweet.” “Whatever the hell ‘mouthfeel’ means.”

And those things are true, but they feel inadequate. Because there are plenty of crisp, sweet things with cromulent mouthfeel I don’t like, so logically it seems like there should be something else, something more that I’m not conveying. 

As a reviewer, this can be, as you might imagine, frustrating. It’s even worse when I can specifically articulate things I dislike, because it winds up looking like a pro/cons list of ask the reasons to say “no.”

Foreshadowing aside, Heartstrings is the story of Mira, the no-nonsense financial planner, and Shelby, the free-spirited violin teacher. Mira’s nephew, Ben, gets unexpectedly dropped in her lap for a few months, and the boy needs to violin! Hence, the meet-cute.

I’ll be blunt: There’s a bunch about Heartstrings I just straight-up don’t like. The way the kid gets treated, the relationship between Mira and her sister. The names of the main characters (Shelby and Mira). I don’t even particularly like the manner of attraction between Shelby and Mira. 

And yet. 

There’s something about this story! Shelby’s family (and family dynamics) are a delight. Their joint focus on Ben is heartwarming in a non-cheesy way, and their complementary natures really do shine through in a way that you can see how being together is better for the both of them. 

I even like the way they deal with their (quasi-joint, part-separate) baggage about how they live their lives, which is rare in a book like this. 

So unfortunately, I can’t give you a laundry list of reasons why you should read this book. You’re just gonna have to trust me on this one, Heartstrings will leave yours plucked in just the right way.