It Takes Heart

Heart Resort, Book 1

By: Tif Marcelo

Narrated by: Joy Regullano, Reuben Uy

Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

From romance author Tif Marcelo comes a heartwarming story about taking a second chance on love at a family-owned couples resort.

Heart Resort, a private resort in the Outer Banks, is a romantic getaway for couples but a hotbed of family drama for its proprietors, the Puso family. Brandon Puso, the youngest of the four siblings, prefers life on his own as a licensed contractor in DC after a falling-out with his eldest brother.

After a hurricane plows through the Outer Banks, Brandon has a change of heart. He returns to the resort to help with the grand reopening but encounters his big sister’s best friend, designer Geneva Harris, who’s there to do the same thing. But Geneva and Brandon have a secret. Years ago, they had a secret romance that ended in heartbreak.

With the resort’s future at stake, Brandon and Geneva decide to put the past aside and to keep peace with the family. But as their mutual attraction heats up, they have to decide if history will repeat itself - or if this time, love gets a second chance.

©2021 Tiffany Johnson. (P)2021 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Ok beach read

Brandon always had a thing for his older sister’s best friend but never had the opportunity to act on it…until his sister’s wedding. That reconnecting with Geneva led to a fling…until she walked away without a word. Now several years later she’s back, working to redecorate the family’s resort. Maybe he’ll finally get some answers…and an HEA.

A bit different but I did like it

3 Stars for me!

My rating range of this story... 3 Stars
If significant, why?

Main Character Ratings...
H = 6/10
h = 4/10

Was cheating involved? No
Any major triggers to be aware of?

Scenes with heat... Almost fade to black.
What point does it start? 10%
How much of the story? 10%
Anything beyond M/F? No
If yes, explained

Heat Rating... 2/10
Clean or Fade to Black - 1 or 2
Normal to Descriptive 3-5
Detailed Descriptive Sex - 6-7
Um, Wow, Beyond Descriptive Sex - 8 or above

Was there so much sex or unrealistic sex that you rolled your eyes and/or skipped forward? No

The back story... The MCs, who had a torrid 3 week relationship 4 years earlier, both end up helping his family rebuild their relationship Resort after a hurricane.

The Romance... Tough one as he was angry about how she left and she was focused only on work. They both listed after each other but the relationship was mostly from the affair 4 years earlier.

The drama explosion...
Did it feel real or contrived? A bit contrived
Was it OTT? Sort if
Separation involved? A few weeks
Was it resolved properly or rushed? A bit rushed

Final Notes... Both families follow a strong family structure. The kids are somewhat hampered by their thoughts on what the family should do but have difficulty discussing it. I did like the story but the male narrator kind of drove me insane when he would perform the sister's voice.


HEA or HFN?

Sweet family story

It is a sweet book. I like how the family came together after a hurricane, but there was an interesting family dynamic. They all seem to be close, yet they all have secrets. All of them have something that they want to tell their siblings, but it takes them days if not weeks to share the news.

I enjoyed the narrator. Although I had some issues, I enjoyed the book and I'm looking forward to reading the series.

loved it

I really enjoyed reading this author.  I look forward to reading more books by this author in the near future.

I liked the story.

I liked the story and thought it was really sweet, with some sad parts. There’s a lot of family drama and past trauma that the siblings need to deal with. I loved the setting and the descriptive writing.

My problem was with the male narrator. I hate being negative but his vocal inflections and timing just weren’t up to par with what I’ve come to expect for audiobook narrators in this day and age. The female narrator’s voice was quite high and somewhat childlike but I still thought she gave a much better performance than the male.

I would have switched to reading this book if I had the time to sit and read; the audiobook was at least better than having Alexa read it to me.

not recommended

I couldn't finish it. language was juvenile. the Audible readers - the male voice was robotic, the female voice sounded childlike.

not listenable

couldn't get past chapter 6 because of the male narrator. his character voices, especially of women, were simply awful. it took me out of the story completely. too bad, because the story itself seemed interesting.

Male Narrator

Nope I couldn’t even make it through the first chapter. The male narrator voice I could not manage to get past.