Book Review on Mangled Hearts by Felicia Tatum


When I discovered Felicia was writing a contemporary romance, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book and read it. It’s about heartache, love, and addiction.

The main character Francesca Taymon is a young Worker’s Compensation lawyer who has been doing the same entry level cases for three years at J&B Law Firm. She hates her job and feels the men there treat her like an intern. She wants to be challenged and take on higher ended cases. She gets her chance when her boss Mr. Phillips assigns her a special one. He wants her to defend his friend’s son who was involved in a bar fight, and the owner of the bar wants to press charges. All she needs to do is review the client’s record and make sure he doesn’t serve jail time.

This is the break Francesca has been waiting for in her career, and inwardly she’s elated. But when Mr. Phillip’s mentions whom she’ll be defending, her heart sinks. She’ll be defending the man who stole her heart years ago, the one who was involved in the tragic accident of her beloved sister and never once told Francesca the whole story about what really happened on that fateful night. She still has nightmares about it, and now she’s going to be his lawyer. But despite the knot in her stomach and the war raging in her heart, she decides to conduct herself in the most professional manner she can muster. This new case is her chance to shine, to show these men at the law firm what she can do, so she accepts the job.

Cade Kelling gets a call from his Pops who tells him he hired a female lawyer for him and this is the last time he’s going to bail him out. Cade is reckless, irresponsible, and has been an alcoholic since the age of thirteen. His Pops has cleaned up Cade’s messes far too long. This is the last straw. Cade agrees to meet this lawyer, but is nonchalant about the whole deal and finds his Pops rather annoying, wishing he'll get off his back. But then the devious side of Cade thinks if this lawyer is hot, he can charm her into his bed.

When Cade enters Francesca’s office, his mouth drops. Never in a million years did Cade ever thought the person who captured his heart years ago would be defending him in court. He has made a lot of mistakes in his life but hurting Francesca trumps all of them. He’s determined to win her heart back.

Felicia did an excellent job portraying Cade’s alcoholism and the common demeanor most addicts have associated with this debilitating problem. It’s sad. Felicia captured it so well, though, that at one point in this story a lump formed in my throat. I’ve personally had to deal with family members in Cade’s situation, so I can totally relate to this book. 

Mangled Hearts is a wonderful read. I love this book and can’t wait for the next one to come out. I highly recommend it.

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