Paper Hearts (Hearts Series) Paperback – October 7, 2016

Paper Hearts (Hearts #2) by Claire Contreras5 stars!!“Real love stories never end.”This one intense, emotional roller coaster but is one that is so flawlessly and beautifully written that you cannot help but connect emotionally with both these characters. What a journey Claire Contreras takes you on.I am a soft sap, I put my hands up, but the raw emotion that bled through these pages had me in tears. My heart truly broke for this couple, soul mates and first loves, quite the heady combination. But sometimes, it is just not the right time and these two were testament to that. Sometimes, you have to be that bit older and that bit wiser, or the past has a way of making you take a different track but you always hold onto that belief that one day your paths will cross once again and hopefully just hopefully, that will be the right time.“I let her go, not because I loved her too much to ask her to stay, but because I couldn’t bear to hear her tell me she wouldn’t. Still, every once in a while I wonder. And nothing is more haunting than regret.”This is a story of re-connection, second chance love, forgiveness and moving on from the past and looking to the future. A book about fighting for what you want in life and most importantly, who you want.“Fragments of my soul were scattered on those pages...and you burned them.”We were first introduced to Jensen and Mia in Kaleidoscope Hearts, you could feel the animosity and you just knew that there was a story to be told there and Claire Contreras delivered that in the little novella Torn Hearts. (If you have downloaded the book it is included in the beginning, you must read this first.)Five years prior this couple split on the worst kind of terms, it wasn’t nice, it wasn’t pretty, and it was darn right heart-breaking. Even in those few short pages of Torn Hearts I cried a river. I was astounded really, because there were so few pages to instigate that kind of reaction, but that is testament to Claire Contreras writing, such is the emotive way she writes that so few words can still pack such an emotional punch. Not many authors can do that.“But when that whole thing happened, a part of me died. A big part of me died.”Five years later and Mia is on the move, having been offered the job of a life time. Sometimes though things are always too good to be true and this job has one huge draw back...Mia will be in the same place as Jensen, most probably in the same building as he freelances for them too. But it is a big city so the chances are slim right?It was inevitable that these two would once again breathe the same air; it was like destiny had already mapped their lives and made their paths cross when the time was right or was it?“I hate him. I hate him. I hate her. I hate New York. I hate love. I hate my heart for being a effing living reminder of his love. I effing hate everything.”Both Jensen and Mia struggle in their own ways. Jensen with his guilt over what happened five years ago and Mia with how she has only just repaired her broken heart and is reticent to put herself out there once again. Both have internal battles to win and Claire Contreras captures this perfectly throughout this story.“I’ve lived in pain since the moment I lost you. I’ve learned to live with it, but I haven’t learned to accept it.”I could ramble for an age about this book, but I do not want to spoil it. I highlighted so much, so many heart felt and poignant sentences and paragraphs to fall in love with. So many beautiful characters that you cannot help but take deep into your heart and arms. This is a book that will tear your emotions apart, yet piece you back slowly, where nothing is rushed yet perfectly played out. Where a story is believable and relatable and you will be championing them home.“For Mia, who never tried to alter my language, but instead learned to translate the meaning behind my silence.”This was such an amazing story. I loved the way that we got a further insight into Jensen, the newspaper columns and social media snippets were genius!! In my opinion this is by far Claire Contreras best book to date, what an amazing ride and one that I will definitely be riding again.

4 stars!"You only need one person to believe in you, even if that person is yourself."**Note: Paper Hearts must be read after Torn Hearts (1.5) which is included in the ebook. Mia and Jensen were post high school sweethearts. When Jensen was an outcast Mia saw him for who he was and loved him. When Jensen left for New York to pursue his dreams he made a mistake that ripped him and Mia apart for years.Five years later and Mia has accepted a photographer job in New York at the same magazine where Jensen works as a writer. Despite her every effort to keep him out, Jensen is determined to get himself back into Mia's life. But Mia cannot bring herself to trust Jensen despite their feelings for each other, and soon it may be Mia breaking Jensen's Heart.I love angsty reads and second chance romance and this book was the best of both of those worlds. On top of being a romance, this book focused on finding one's own place in life as well as the importance of family. I loved Jensen, he knew he had messed up, but he didn't give up hope that he would end up with his soulmate. His determination to get Mia back was everything.Mia had her world broken apart so it was hard for her to sort out her feelings on everything. She wasn't always the nicest person to Jensen, but after holding in her anger for five years she let it out. To be fair, he did somewhat ruin their planned future with each other and it devastated her. Once someone's trust is lost, it's that much harder to gain it back.Claire Contreras is a very talented author. Every book I've read by her packs a bunch of feels and sends the reader on an emotional yet heartwarming journey. I loved her inclusion of real reader questions in the book, it added a level of authenticity that made the answers so much more genuine. I also loved all of the side characters, and I'm hoping for an M/M novella about the story of Rob and Juan Pablo. Please? Pretty please, Claire?"I used to wonder what I would do if I had the chance to go back in time and right something. Would I take it? Would I look at it as a second opportunity, or would I just let it go, knowing the experiences I went through and learned from?"

Loved it….I laughed and cried…..very good read…. Ends in HEA…. Definitely recommended for reading as second chance romances…. Both the main characters were superbly written…story too was good

First of all I want to say that I've never read a book that's made me cry as much as Paper Hearts did, like seriously, Claire Contreras is such an amazing writer, it almost felt as if I was the one going through the heartbreak. Basically, I loved this book and I loved the characters,how so well written it is and the fact that you can actually feel the emotions that the caracters go throughout the entire book. The only thing I didn't like was that I felt like Jensen was asking for too much from Mia, like I couldn't believe he was being serious, but OK, he redeemed himself and now I want my own Jensen.

I'm always last to the party & can't believe I've had this on my damned kindle all this time & only just gotten round to it.This is one of my Top Reads this year & I seriously have separation issues already with this book, it's words & it's characters. This was such a stunningly sad & hauntingly honest story of love. A love that is torn to shreds by a single action that will change the course of Jenson & Mia’s life. A life that has one drowning in regret & the other running from hurt. When an action results in a consequence that will forever leave a footprint on the canvas of their life, the emotional journey that followed sucked my soul dry.The emotions that packed this story were immense & I felt every single one of them. From hate & anger to sorrow & heartache, my poor little heart almost couldn't cope. It was so real & raw. The kind that long after my kindle was closed, I could still feel the ripples of the story deep in my bones.I loved Claire's writing style. She forced me to understand & forgive, all while supporting & encouraging this beautiful couple & their quest for a second chance to breathe as one. She showed the immense strength & courage that is needed to take our second chance & just how hard embracing the here & now can be in order to have your forever.I could talk for hours about this book & one of my all time fav heroes (shock horror Jenson actually made this list lol) I've done my usual & read this out of sync & so can't wait to read the others in what I expect is going to be one helluva series.Love. Love. Love

Damn, that was a 5 star read. I couldn’t put it down and the emotions it evoked, wow that was a great read! Even better than the first book.

Paper Hearts by Claire Contreras (Audio Edition)Narrated by Misty Stone and Vikas AdamSeries: Hearts #24.5 stars - I loved the chemistry between Mia and Jensen and I could really feel how much he loved her. Some of the things he said to her just made me melt! I could tell Mia loved him a lot too, however she was very cautious with her heart and at a point in the story I was a bit disappointed that she was STILL acting like Jensen wasn't all in, which considering how much he's shown her, surprised me. In the end though it was a sweet and heartwarming story. I have not read this author before but I will be sure to check her out again.Misty Stone’s narration was quite good. Vikas Adam sounded like he was trying to deepen his voice and I found it sounded odd,(almost “pretend scary monster” like) however he didn't have a lot of parts to read and I got used to it after a while. In the end I thought the narration overall was well done.~Paragraphs and Petticoats~