***Written in 1st person, dual POV, present tense.***
This book is the first in the new interconnected standalone HEARTSTRUCK series with a guaranteed HEA.
Noia Wilde built her career writing swoon-worthy happily-ever-afterâs, but when her fiancĂ© leaves her high and dry at the altar, her whole world comes tumbling down.
Heartbroken, humiliated, and stuck in a creative rut, the once-prolific âQueen of Steamâ canât write anything to save her life. Her characters wonât talk to her, her deadline is looming and her wine stash is getting seriously low.
But everything changes one morning when she wakes up to find a dangerously sexy, hauntingly familiar shirtless man in her kitchenâRyder Blackwoodâthe tortured, irresistible hero in her latest WIP from her bestselling series, Heartstruck.
As Noia scrambles to figure out what is real, whatâs fiction, and whether she has finally lost her freaking mind, one thing becomes crystal clear: Ryder isnât going anywhere until he gets his own happy endingâand heâs decided itâs going to be with her.
So, when her messy past collides with her present, Noia will have to choose between the man who broke her heart, and the one she willed into existence to heal it.
***Written in 1st person, dual POV, present tense.***
This book is the first in the new interconnected standalone HEARTSTRUCK series with a guaranteed HEA.
Noia Wilde built her career writing swoon-worthy happily-ever-afterâs, but when her fiancĂ© leaves her high and dry at the altar, her whole world comes tumbling down.
Heartbroken, humiliated, and stuck in a creative rut, the once-prolific âQueen of Steamâ canât write anything to save her life. Her characters wonât talk to her, her deadline is looming and her wine stash is getting seriously low.
But everything changes one morning when she wakes up to find a dangerously sexy, hauntingly familiar shirtless man in her kitchenâRyder Blackwoodâthe tortured, irresistible hero in her latest WIP from her bestselling series, Heartstruck.
As Noia scrambles to figure out what is real, whatâs fiction, and whether she has finally lost her freaking mind, one thing becomes crystal clear: Ryder isnât going anywhere until he gets his own happy endingâand heâs decided itâs going to be with her.
So, when her messy past collides with her present, Noia will have to choose between the man who broke her heart, and the one she willed into existence to heal it.
PROLOGUE
âI need another month.â Balancing my coffee in one hand, I press my phone against my ear with the other as I deftly dodge a puddle in the middle of the sidewalk.
Portland in October shouldnât be this hot, but Iâm already starting to sweat through the pits of my blouse. âItâs not like Iâm asking for an effing kidney, Amanda.â
âWe canât push the deadline again, Noia. Your readers have been waiting long enough.â
âYou know I have a wedding coming up. I know itâs last minute, butâŠâ I sidestep a tourist who has stopped right in the middle of the sidewalk to take a photo of a massive mural painted on the side of the building across the street.
Fuckâs sake.
âNoia, weâve already pushed this deadline twice.â My agentâs voice has that clipped, Iâm-trying-not-to-lose-my-shit tone that Iâve become all too familiar with over the past few years. âBesides, the release date is set in stone. The publisher has alreadyââ
Something slams into my back and my coffee goes flying. My phone slips out of my hand, clattering to the sidewalk as my ankles wobble in a pair of ridiculous four-inch heels Sasha convinced me would âmake a statementâ at todayâs meeting.
I pinwheel my arms, but itâs no use. Unable to catch myself, I fall backward, my head slamming against the concrete.
Gravity is such a bitch.
CHAPTER ONE
NOIA
The one thing no one tells you about weddings is how goddamn itchy and traumatic everything is.
The dress. The fake eyelashes. Not to mention the ridiculous expectations.
âAre you sure about this?â my mom asks again, her smile not quite reaching her eyes as she hands me a flute of champagne. âHowâs your head feeling? Itâs been a week and you still have a bump.â
âTish,â Sasha cuts in sharply. âItâs her wedding day. Maybe donât interrogate her while sheâs being stuffed into a straight jacket made of statin and lace.â
I smirk. My best friend Sasha is a bad ass. Weâve known each other since we were in the sixth grade, and sheâs always had my back. Shit, we even got our periods the same fucking week.
We first met when I was twelve. I was sitting on a bench, nose buried in a book, trying to blend into my surroundings over by the basketball court, when Lexi Carter and her crew cornered me.
Keeping my nose in my book, I hoped if I ignored them, theyâd get bored and just go away.
But Lexi was having none of it. She snatched my book out of my hands, dangling it just out of reach.
âGive it back,â I mumbled, wishing I had the courage to punch her in her smug little upturned nose.
âOr what, freak?â Lexi sneered, flipping through the pages. âGod, this is so lame.â
It was at that moment when a blur of red hair and righteous fury showed up out of nowhere. Sashaâa girl I barely knew from math classâstormed over like a pint-sized hurricane and stepped between us.
âBack off, Lexi, or I swear to god Iâll tell everyone about what happened at camp last summer,â Sasha growled, green eyes flashing.
All the color drained from Lexiâs face before she dropped the book on the ground and she and her posse scattered.
Then Sasha sat down next to me, handed me half her smashed PB&J, and said, âYou like books? Cool. Me too.â And from that day forward? Best friends for life.
âEarth to Noia,â Sasha grins, snapping her fingers in front of my face.
I grab the glass from my motherâs hand and down half of it in one gulp.
âIâm fine,â I murmur, mostly to myself. âEric is a good guy. A little narcissistic, but he doesnât snore and he gets along with Goonie. Thatâs gotta count for something, right?â
They look at me, both of them slowly shaking their heads.
âWeâll support you no matter what, you know that,â Sasha smiles.
Music floats through the church walls from outside the bridal suite. Inside, it smells like flowers and anxiety, which, for some reason, suddenly feels wildly ironic.
I sit in front of the vanity mirror, staring at a version of myself I never would have been able to put together on my ownâIâm more of a stretch pants and sweatshirt kind of girl. The perfect up sweep of my blond hair, the shimmery shadow and glossy lips, sure as shit doesnât feel like me. Not for a second.
âGod, I look like a freaking cupcake.â
Sasha steps behind me to fluff my veil. âYou look beautiful.â
I study her as she stands behind me in the mirror. With a ride or die soul and a smart-ass mouth, sheâs always been there for me. Just like she is now, wearing her deep green maid-of-honor dress like a badge of honor.
My mom, Tish, is pacing over by the window, setting my nerves even more on edge.
âMom,â I sigh, shaking my head. âCan you stop acting like someone just ran over your dog? Marrying Eric isnât such a bad thing.â
Mouth twitching, my mom crosses her arms. âYouâve only known him for six months.â
âSeven,â I correct.
âYouâre only doing this because your manager said it would be good for your image,â she volleys back.
âIncorrect,â I say, pointing at her with my champagne glass. âIâm doing it because Iâm thirty-two and tired of explaining at every family gathering why Iâm not married yet. And because I canât make one of my fictional book boyfriends come to life so I can bring him Thanksgiving dinner.â
Sasha snorts. âHeâd just burn the turkey and flirt with your grandma.â
âYou both know Gramâs can give as much as she gets.â
We laugh, and for a second the air in the room feels lighterâlike maybe Iâm not making the biggest mistake of my life.
But that second is short-lived.
Thereâs a knock on the door, followed by a deep, hesitant male voice. âUh, Sasha? Can I talk to you a sec?â
Sean, Ericâs best man, is a cinnamon roll of a guy. Eric met him in college and they have been best friends ever since.
Sashaâs brows pull tight. âJust a sec. Iâll be right back.â
Heels clicking against the tiled floor, she slips out, closing the door softly behind her.
Taking a seat, my mom crosses her legs, aiming a look at me over the rim of her glass. âSugar... If something feels off, it would be better to back out now. Other than in your books, you donât owe anyone a happily ever after.â
âMom...â
She shrugs a shoulder. âJust trying to keep you from doing something stupid.â
Just as I open my mouth to fire back, I hear Sashaâs raised voice coming from the other side of the door.
âYouâd better find out where that motherfucker is, or so help meââ
I sit up straight.
My mom looks up sharply. âWhat the hellâ?â
I stand from my chair, heart thumping in my chest.
A second later, Sasha storms in, cheeks flushed and fists clenched.
âWhatâs going on?â I ask, blood pounding in my ears.
She pauses, almost as if she wants to soften the blow, but when she sees my face, she lets out a defeated sigh.
âNoiaâŠâ
âSpit it out.â
âSean canât find Eric,â she explains. âHeâs not answering his phone and heâs not here at the church. No one has actually seen or talked to him since last night.â
My mom gasps, hand flying to her chest. âI knew that guy was no good. I knew it. There was something twitchy in his eyes, always smiling like a politician.â
I canât move, canât breathe. Fuck, I donât even feel like crying. Iâm just⊠stunned.
The silence in the room is so heavy, I can almost feel it in my bones.
âMaybe he got stuck in traffic?â I offer a little too brightly. âOr maybe his phone died. Maybe heâs trying to find a parking spot?â
Sasha shakes her head slowly. âNoia. He was supposed to be here an hour ago. Sean checked with the hotel. His car is gone.â
âI always said you shouldâve stuck with that fireman with the motorcycle,â my mother grouses. âWhat was his name? Lucas?â
âLuca,â Sasha and I say together.
âHe was crazy. He set my mailbox on fire after I broke up with him,â I mumble.
âWell, at least he showed up,â my mom snaps.
Not trusting my legs to keep me upright, I sink back onto my chair.
âI donât understand,â I whisper. âHe told me he really wanted this. He helped choose the cake, said he couldnât wait to see me walk down the aisleââ
Sasha kneels in front of me and grabs my hands.
âNoia. Listen to me. This is not about you. This is about him.â She stands up with a huff. âThat asshole, douchebag, piece of shit, coward.â
My throat burns, but for some reason, I canât bring myself to cry. Iâm too numb and way too fucking pissed.
My mom hands me her champagne and I take it, draining the glass.
âI need to get out of this fucking dress,â I finally say.
âYou want me to get the scissors?â Sasha asks, reaching for her purse.
âYes,â I growl. âThen I want a fucking bonfire.â
Sashaâs mouth twitches and my mom nods.
I look at myself in the mirror one last time.
Thereâs one thing I do know for sureâRyder Blackwood would never do this shit to me.
Strangely plucky, but also quite heartwarming. Hearts Fire is a unique romance that has the perfect chemistry and quirky sense of humor to make this book a steamy, yet fun read.
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Noia Wilde is a romance author whose reality and fiction blur when her writer's block sends her into a bit of a tailspin. One evening after a bit too much wine the fictional character she's been writing, named Ryder, comes to life. He seamlessly begins fitting into Noia's real world, everyday becoming a more permanent fixture, with a real backstory and a real identity. Ryder also offers Noia a chance to break through her block and live out her fantasies. I mean...hello....wouldn't we all love this scenario. đ Bring on the book boyfriends!
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It should seem like a no-brainer. Tall, dark, and handsome doesn't even begin to cover Ryder's finest features. đ„” However, it's more than just un-breaking Noia's writer's block. The longer he stays real the more potential he has to break her heart when he could potentially disappear when she types out "the end".
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This was the first book I've ever read by Lara Bruni and her writing is fast and fluid while all of the characters were very real. đ You see what I did there. Even as the secondary characters were introduced I kept picturing how this world was growing and whose story would be next in this entertaining and ever changing world. Hearts Fire is a fun book overall if you need a true escape from reality and this is just the first book in the Heartstruck series.
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Tropes: Romantic Comedy, Forced Proximity, Small Town Romance, He Falls First, Grumpy vs. Grumpy, Spicy, Twist of Fantasy Romance
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Thank you to Reedsy for the advance review copy and all opinions are my own.