Review: Anxious Hearts

I just finished reading Anxious Hearts by Tucker Shaw. I wanted to like this book. I really did. The first thing that stands out about this is that it is two stories in one so the chapters alternate between the two. The characters and story are based on a poem called “Evangeline.” Having not read it, I can’t say how closely this plot follows it. I can say; however, that this book really did nothing for me.

It is about two romances that take place two hundred years apart. Trying to connect two stories either works beautifully or, like in this case, it fails miserably. Yes, the stories were similar. The characters had loosely similar struggles, but I felt that the constant switching back and forth hindered the development of all of the characters. Had the author chosen to modernize the poem and focus solely on one of the stories, it could have been a great book. I can honestly say by the end, I didn’t care what happened to them.

 I rated this book a 2/ 5. I think the where the characters and plot lacked, the writing was quite lovely so I wouldn’t give it a 1. That said, this isn’t a book I’d recommend.