Review – Heart Signs by Cari Quinn

Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
Publish Date: Out Now
How I got this book: eARC from author

Rory Fowler has taken Sam Miller’s billboard orders for the last two years, but they aren’t to advertise they’re love notes to his wife. Sam’s most recent billboard about his wife’s passing hits Rory hard. When she calls Sam to offer condolences, it sets off an unexpected chain of events that ends with Rory in Sam’s apartment-and his arms.

Reading Sam’s love letters tugs Rory into the romance between him and his estranged, now-deceased, wife. Their lives soon intertwine so completely that Rory wonder how she’ll ever forget the man who makes poetry out of emotions she’s fought to dismiss. And plays her body even more skillfully that he writes love notes.

Consumed by guilt and grief, Sam is shocked by the feelings Rory arouses in him, sexually and otherwise. Now he’s not thinking about yesterday as much as he’s looking forward to tomorrow. He’s just not sure if he’s capable of moving on…or if the woman who helped him find the will to really live again will be by his side.
*Blurb from Goodreads*

One of the things I love most about Quinn’s books is that she creates such unique and interesting situations in which her main characters meet and fall in love. This book is one of the most intriguing ones I’ve read to date.

Rory works for her family’s billboard company and has been taking Sam’s orders for awhile now. Through the passionate words he’s left for his wife, Rory has developed a deep connection to him. When she finds out his wife has passed away, she reaches out and contacts him to offer her condolences. Little did she know that they would connect on an even deeper level.

Sam’s wife left him before she died, but he never stopped loving her. The billboard was his way of reaching out and apologizing to her. When he meets Rory for the first time, he is amazed at the dept of the feelings for her. While he is still in love with his life, Rory also offers him the chance to move on with his life. But will their connection be enough to pull him out of the grief and despair and into a life filled with love?

Again, I couldn’t believe at how well Quinn portrayed both Rory and Sam and their situation as a whole. It’s painfully obvious how much Sam regrets the way his life with his wife ended. It’s also evident that he continues to beat himself down with the grief and guilt over it. It’s almost as if he refuses to move on with his life, and it isn’t until Rory walks into his life that he is able to accept things and move on. I felt for him and wanted desperately for him to be happy once more.

Rory was a character with a big heart and, at times, what felt like some misguided decision making skills. She seemed to throw her sexuality in the forefront and kept a lot of her personality hidden behind walls, constructed to keep her heart safe. I was so glad to see that the physical aspects of their relationship were put on hold by Sam, as he didn’t feel ready to take that leap. Although he did it for his own reasons, I could see just how good it was for Rory to come to him as a person first and not a lover.

Their relationship consisted of a lot of smoking hot conversations on the phone as they got to really know one another. There was a tension filled build up in their relationship and I absolutely loved it. I thought it was done so well and so beautifully. Rory really learned to respect herself as a woman and Sam was given the chance to deal with his grief and come to grips with what he wanted most for himself.

All in all I really enjoyed this Quinn book. It was filled with a wide range of emotions from each character that had me rooting for them both as individuals and as a couple as well. The letters that Sam shared with Rory tore at my heart and had me wishing the story was longer and more in-depth. I can’t wait to see what Quinn cooks up next!
I give Heart Signs a B+

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