Weak Heart

Product Information

Weak Heart isn’t a weak book. It is a strong self published debut. The sheer quality of the story is impressive as Gilmartin writes a neat, emotional, and well structured plot of a book. The story itself is unapologetically queer and shows a deep level of tenderness in representing the vulnerability and love shared between multiple characters. It is not just a fantasy story with a bit of mystery following queer characters, it is a story with heart and depth. I will say: I don't think this is for everyone. The pacing is quite slow, and, honestly? Not much happens in this book. We simply follow Jamie and Jude as they go through a couple of months in their life, dealing with their personal issues, becoming friends and, eventually, falling in love. i like that the ending was happy and yet open and left things resolved bc that's life. life always throws shit at you and keeps throwing shit and you and you never know how things will turn out and what would happen next and how things will be resolved bc those goddamn ups and downs keep happening. but you keep going anyway and figure things out as you go bc that's life. and with the people you love at your side, you want to keep going and figuring out things together. feels so much more true to life than a "and they lived happily ever after" At the heart of the story there is this mystery of why Kit tried to kill Thomas, their relationship and complicated feelings harboured about the past. The book is very focused on its characters and their dynamics, their imperfections and the messiness of relationships. Jude (or Julian) Pujari, one of the two main characters (my favourite), is a depressed college student mourning his mother and generally just breathing. Over the course of the book, Jude falls in love, makes loads of tea, and tries living.

Jamie and Billie always try to convince Jude to watch TV with them, and make him sit in the middle and use him as a foot rest, but again: we don't see this happening There Is A Light is a heartwarming story set in Edinburgh following two very broken men in the 1980s and how they find each other and eventually, dare to open up to each other. I love second chance romances and this was certainly an emotional ride with second, third and fourth chances… We’ve never said I love you. That’s not what we do. He says you keep me sane. I say you keep me focused. We talk around our feelings. We’ve planned a future together, but that’s not new. We’ve always had a future together, ever since we were kids. Wherever he went, I was always going to follow.” The atmosphere of this story is on another level, everything felt very anchored on the Isle of Mab and its magic is so well weaved in. Thomas’ visions feel very vivid when reading them and every moment of terror experienced by the characters is enhanced by the setting. This was so captivating and I had a hard time putting it down, it was so easy to get drawn in by every aspect of this book and feel everything deep in your heart.The magic feels woven into the landscape and beaches, keeping itself and the folk who live here safe. It’s like a defence mechanism; it’s gorgeous to look at, but if you look too closely, it draws you in and drowns you.” Gilmartin’s writing is atmospheric as they anchored the story to the island. The weather and the roiling seas in itself is an important character of the story that brought the story to life through the chilly sea winds and the bone deep cold waters. There are multiple details in the setting and environment that foreshadowed the events that happened between the characters. Every time I sit down and read this book I feel cold and chilly (or maybe I’m just coming down on something lol) as though I am standing on the edge of the cliff of Mab. today i’ve been the kind of person i want to be. the kind of person i think i can be. like, maybe if i can do things like this—be useful, be good, help others, maybe it’ll help me stop treating everything like it’s temporary.”

When Jamie gets a job at Jude’s family bookstore, Jamie immediately falls for Jude, but can they find a way of living and loving in their messy lives and not be too much or too little to each other. Julian smiles. A real one. I think I get what he meant about kind cheeks when he smiles. I don't think I have them, but he definitely does. Kind cheeks and mussed up hair and messy beauty, clutching a chipped mug and trying to look happy. So yeah, obviously I love and recommend the book! Sit down with a cup of tea on a rainy day, or wait every Wednesday and Sunday for the updates. I honestly think the latter is a great option, because as it is fast paced, this does stretch it out and I think the tension will be even more well done. I'll definitely be rereading it this way!

About this book

The ending. It's an open ending. It's not a fairytale where everyone is better and perfect. For the most part, everyone is still struggling with their issues and I like that. It shows that healing take time and effort! it’s a slow burn, it’s a forced-proximity, it’s a strangers to lovers with many stops in between. it’s a journey in mental health, a journey in addiction, a journey in grief. it’s finding your place and your people. it’s a book about allowing yourself to be seen, and allowing yourself to be loved for all that is seen. it’s allowing yourself to take all the chances you need. it’s knowing that love can’t fix you, but neither can shutting out love entirely.

I randomly found this book a while ago, and then learned that the author was a very popular Snowbaz fanfic writer whose fanfictions I've enjoyed for YEARS (I've probably read all of her fanfics, I'm being deadass). So I wasn't surprised at all that I enjoyed this book! Kit and Tanis are also really fantastic and complex characters, and they really are awesome for not being tropey or following any stereotypes. Fadwa is fantastic. Owen. Owen is actually everything. I literally have so much sympathy and compassion for him, and I did start crying near the end. I'm not going to say anything more, because spoilers, but if you like morally grey characters, you're gonna love Owen. As a selkie, Isla has always wanted to stay in the sea and doesn’t really understand the impulse that her mother and brother have had to give their pelt away and stay on land for love. All she needs is her herd and her yearly day with Kit. However, things may start to shift when she meets Tanis, who is very hot and also a powerful shapeshifter, oh and runs the local pub that has amazing food. Their relationship was truly perfect and everything I wanted from it and it brought a little bit of light to the overall dreariness of the story.FYI: This book has a LOT of Scottish slang. If you are a simple midwestern farmer like I am, it'll will take time to get used to the slang. I actually really like the slang as it really brings you into the setting! You just may want to reference Urban Dictionary now and then (It took me an embarrassing amount of time to figure out Pants means Underwear haha!) This has to be one of the most unexpected books I’ve ever read. I went in it with very little knowledge of what it is actually about and I feel like it only enhanced the experience. also, i loved how cohesive the plot is, how even the smallest details come together in the end to make sense. my only complaint would be that i wish there was more emotional resolution towards the end, more apologies, more feelings, a little epilogue giving us a reassuring glimpse of the future. but i'm being greedy, i just wanted to spend more time with these characters.