Review: Heartbroken by Lisa Unger

Author: Lisa Unger

Publisher: Crown Publishing Group

Audiobook: Random House Audio

Date of Publication: June 2012

Long after anyone expected Kate to do anything with her life, she did. Using the journals left behind by her aunt and grandmother, she wrote a novel based on a very real generation-old love story that ended in tragedy. On the other side of town, Emily is about to set fire to her life. She’s in a dead-end job and is involved with the wrong man; she can feel herself being drawn into darkness, with horrific consequences. With nowhere to go, she finds herself on the run.  Without knowing each other, and with lives that couldn't be more different, Kate and Emily head to the same point on the map: Heart Island

I can't say that I really cared that much for Heartbroken.  I'm not sure why I even finished listening to the book.  It probably should have been a DNF book for me. I think I was hoping that it would get better or that something would happen. The lackluster ending was very disappointing.  I was left with the feeling of...That's it?   I'm not sure what type of book Heartbroken was supposed to be. I thought it was going to be a thriller based on the synopsis, but I was wrong. At first, it seemed to be a character study.  We are introduced to several characters and get a glimpse into their lives. It was hard to figure out how some of the characters fit into the story.  The first 2/3 of the book were tedious and kind of slow. In the last 1/3 of the book, it turned into an unexciting thriller. 


None of the characters were very likeable nor did I really feel connected with them.  I had some mild sympathy for Emily in the beginning, but as the book advanced, she wasn't as pitiful as I thought she was at first.  She was almost as bad as her boyfriend.  She knew what she was doing was wrong, yet she kept being a doormat and allowed him to use her repeatedly in his schemes.  I liked Birdy the least as she isolates everyone in her life.  I was surprised that her family hadn't stopped making and effort with her long before the events in the book take place.  The rest of the characters were just forgettable.

This book did get good reviews, but I just didn't care for it.  The audio book was fairly good and that is probably why I finished it.