The Heartbreakers (Heartbreak Chronicles, #1)

by Ali Novak

When her triplet sister Cara is diagnosed with leukemia, eighteen-year-old Stella puts her dreams on hold to move home and be with her family, but when she starts spending time with the lead singer of Cara's favorite band, will Stella resent him for taking her attention away from her sister--or will he help Stella find the courage to live her own life?

• ISBN10: 1492612588
• ISBN13: 9781492612582
• Publish Date: 4 August 2015
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Sourcebooks Fire
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[bgsbooks18]

I loved this book! I would give me chills when they talked about Cara. I couldn't imagine the struggle of seeing someone so close go through what Cara had to. It broke my heart. The amount of love in the family was amazing. The story of Stella and Oliver was so cute. Stella made new friends along the way and had a great adventure. She got to do something so loved and be around the people she adored. This was a very cute.

[Sam@WLABB]

I was in the mood for something fun and cute and sweet, and I found it in The Heartbreakers. Overall, this was a pretty "fluffy" book, but we also had characters dealing with real issues.

I felt like there was a lot more to explore with respect to the band's dynamic, but I did believe I learned a lot about them, nonetheless. What really captured my heart was the relationship between Stella and her brother and sister. This was one tight-knit trio, and though, they lamented being "the triplets" at times, they loved each other dearly.

I know people are not too keen on instalove, but I'm ok with it, and even if I wasn't, the way Novak incorporated the themes of friendship and family throughout this story would have kept me reading.

Overall: A delightful story of love, family, and friendship, which left me with a big smile on my face.

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[nitzan_schwarz]

Find this review and more on Afterwords

It's always a good idea to kick a new reading year with something light and fluffy to get you in the reading groove, and the Heartbreakers Chronicles was the perfect pick for such a task, even as it sprinkles some more serious topics along the way!

For those who don't know, one trope I always love in contemporary romance is the star and the normal girl (or the reverse, although I can't think of any). There is just something captivating about the dilemmas and conflicts that arise from such a union, where it isn't usually lack of love between the couple but more so the circumstances that keep coming in their way.

As for contemporary YA in that category, The Heartbreakers is a fairly good example. It's the type of book that kind of sweeps you off and the next thing you know it's 3 a.m. in the morning somehow and you've finished reading.

It's just... cute. It's really cute. The relationship between Stella and Oliver is cute, the relationship between the three twins is cute (I feel weird calling them triplets for some reason), and the relationship between the band members is cute. The way they embrace Stella into their fold instantly is... say it with me... CUTE! And they're cute because of the way they flow, like real friends, and real siblings, and real crushes. It's smooth where it needs to be an awkward where it should.

Also: they're all really funny and witty, which... I love.

But the novel is not just cute and funny. It has some serious issues, since the setting is the backdrop to Stella's coming of age story, as she struggles with finding her own individual identity outside of her siblings, as well as with the concept of death as her sister is sick and she could potentially lose her.

However, those heavy subjects definitely don't overshadow the light, fluffy vibe the novel's got going, so if you're not looking for that you can rest assured, and if you are... pick up the Fault in Our Stars or some other soul-crushing novel instead.

The highlight of the book is definitely The Heartbreakers as a group. As I said before, these four guys feel like great friends, and when they're away from the limelight they even feel like normal guys. Albeit sort of rich ones. My favorite boy of the bunch HAD to be Alec. I have a thing for the silent yet observant and thoughtful types.

But Alec is not the main male characters of this novel - Oliver is. He is the guy Stella meets at a coffee shop one day without realizing who he is. He's the one who calls her to their suite when they find out they're in the same hotel. He's the one who kind of adorably falls in love with her. He is also the one I had kind of mixed feelings about. I loved who he was with Stella, but sometimes, he would slip into his stage persona, and that one was confident and sure of himself to the point of being slightly obnoxious. Stella always kind of shut him down when those happened, but those moments stopped me from loving him.

But Stella brings him back to himself - the sweet, kind, attentive, occasionally awkward guy who can just hang around and chill with the people he loves most. Still confident, but in an attractive way.

And aren't those the best relationships--ones where you make each other better by being together?


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First Thoughts

I've actually been reading it for a couple of weeks, as I was touring London. But since I really only got about five minutes of reading a day, I'm not putting in those dates but yesterday's date since I pretty much stayed up until 3 in the morning (on the day of landing back home, no less) in order to read this one properly in one sitting. So..... lol

This is just a really cute romance between a heartthrob musician and a normal girl, with a dose of the heavier side of life as the heroine struggles both with her identity but when a sick twin sister who could potentially die.

I definitely enjoyed this one a lot. It was easy and fun, without too much drama and angst. Just a growing up story. The boys were really funny and I loved their relationship and the way they embraced Stella into their fold instantly. I think my favorite boy has to be Alec. I have a thing for the silent yet observable and thoughtful types lol

Oliver was kind of a mixed bag for me. The book never addressed the fact that he acted a lot like something he was not. With Stella, he would be sweet and attentive and... well... normal. Then sometimes he would have these slips into his stage persona, which is full of confidence and is a little obnoxious and very much NOT him. It's not that Oliver is not confident, it's just that he's normally not so obnoxious about it.

Anyways, I liked the combo of him and Stella, although I did want a little more scenes of them just interacting or things like that to build the relationship more. They were cute and sweet, without too much drama between them.

Oh, and I desperately want to see Stella's photos! LOL