How to Mend a Broken Heart

by Amy Andrews

Facing her estranged husband Fletcher was always going to be heartbreaking for nurse Tessa King.

Especially as Fletcher has one last favour to ask – with his mother critically ill, he needs Tessa to pretend tragedy never tore their marriage apart. Impossible when your husband’s the one man it hurts your heart to touch...but the one man you can’t resist...

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Medical, Hqn, Fiction, Harlequin

134 pages, ebook

First published August 1, 2012

About the author

Amy is an award-winning, USA Today best-selling Aussie author who has written eighty-five contemporary romances in both the traditional and digital markets.

Her books bring all the feels from sass, quirk and laughter to emotional grit and panty-melting heat.

She loves good books and great booze although she'll take mediocre booze if there's nothing else. For many, many years she was a registered nurse which means she knows things. Anatomical things. And she’s not afraid to use them!

She recently took a sea change and lives by the ocean with her husband of 33 years.

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Reviews

[Tmstprc · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sometimes less is more. This is a book about grief. Her inability to move on from her grief was palpable and when she’d asked for a divorce he gave in. 10 years later, he admits he cheated days before she asked for the divorce. This added nothing to the story. It’s like the author decided let’s kick this woman when she’s finally ready to cope, deal with and move on from her grief.

Some include it in their lists of infidelity books, nothing in this book deals with cheating. It’s all about grief.

[Sue Gerhardt Griffiths · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Have your box of tissues handy as you will shed a tear or two in this emotional second chance romance where love is found again after much heartache. The characters had real problems and exhibited genuine feelings. Excellent imperfect leading characters. Very well done.

[Heidy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow I mean WOW!

You have not read a heart screaming, tier wiping soul-searching medical romance novel until you read Amy Andrew How to Mend a Broken heart.

This novel is exquisite is caviar for the readers. The story line is just memorizing a parent worst nightmare. This story will steal your heart.

It is a few times when I start a book right before bedtime and cant but it down it was one that I just had to finish.

A Story of two people who are in love but are separated by tragedy. Tessa have not seeing her ex-husband in nine years but Fletch needs her help. Fletch mother is suffering from Alzheimer's and Tess has experience in that field so who better to help him then his ex-wife. So Tess come in agreement with her ex-husband to help him with Jean. The catch of this agreement is that Jean Fletch mother does remember their divorce or their tragedy.

From there first touch you can see the love they have for each other and how they can never get enough of one another. With perfectly small flashback of there live together you can see how steamy their love was. It was never overwhelm or felt like filler in any way.
On top of all that love there is a dark cloud of pain, regret, guilt and shame that does not allowed them to live beyond their past. There is only one road to travel and Fletch knows they are the only one that can mend their broken hearts.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Mills & Boon Medical and Harlequin Medical Romance series for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for review.

How To Mend A Broken Heart is quite an emotional read. The main characters, Tess & Fletcher are still trying to cope with the death of their son 10 years later. After seperating nine years previously & Tess moving to the UK to try to escape any memories of Ryan (their son) she comes back on the anniversary of his death & see's Fletch at the graveyard. He asks a favour of her & the rest of the story carries on from there.

I had tears well up a few times as Tess' struggle with grief was quite sad but also Fletch had moments of utter despair too.
If you like emotional, true-to-life reads then this is definitely for you!

[Cc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and very emotional. I read this sometime ago, so my review is late, but I'm going to re read and update. But if you like second chance romance and don't mind some real turmoil, this is great. No 5 stars bc I'm being stingy with them now.

[Sara HarlequinJunkie · Rating 5 out of 5]

How to Mend a Broken Heart is Poignant, soulful and thought provoking romance!
A must read....

[Fiona Marsden · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those wow books when you are amazed at the story but shattered at the same time. This was such an emotional read for me even though I've never lost a child post-natal. Fletcher and Tessa are such remarkable characters you just ache for them right from the first moment. Each of them have dealt with the loss, the grief and the guilt of losing their only child tragically in different ways.

Fletch looks whole on the surface but inside he has a hole in his heart that not only is the place where their son should be, but also his soulmate Tessa. He has chosen to devote his life to improving the chances of children who drown by researching and trialling methods.

Tessa has withdrawn entirely from feeling, from living, and this was essentially the breaking point of the marriage. They still loved each other but they lost their way in expressing that love, in validating their feelings. By denying her grief and through that, giving her husband no outlet for his, Tessa pushed Fletch into an action that became the final straw.

Now they have to work together to help Fletcher's mother who is sinking into the frightening world of Alzheimer's. Tessa is experienced in nursing such patients since she left paediatric nursing to avoid children and Fletch desperately needs her assistance.

Thrust together, these two have to start dealing with the issues that tore them apart ten years ago. And it is a painful process, not just for the hero and heroine, but for us living through it with them.
I felt battered when I finished the book. Yes, it has a happy ending. But as the author informed me when I asked halfway through when I was panicking, it is a tempered one. Damaged people do not have euphoric happy endings, not in the real world.

But this book, painful as it is, is a book about hope. It is about healing that can come if we are willing to work towards it, within ourselves and together with those we love.

The writing, and the way the author deals with such a deeply sensitive issue is beautifully done. It isn't an easy book to read but it is a very worthwhile one. Anyone who denigrates the quality and depth of romance novels has never read authors such as Amy Andrews. Thank you Amy for the pleasure and the pain, and the healing tears.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the most realistic romances I've ever read. It touches on the death of a child and the toll it can take on a marriage. It touches on the care of Alzheimers' patients. Dealing with the care of a sick child not to mention infidelity. How could this be a romance? Well how could it not? Romances are relationship stories and relationships can have problems as well as emotionally satisfying moments.

It's Tess and Fletch's reunion story. Their marriage was unable to survive the aftermath of their son a decade earlier. They retreated from each other, divorced and buried themselves in work - his work as a doctor, hers as a nurse.

But a family problem has thrown them together again. Now it's time to face up to what happened back then. Face it, heal and move on - preferably together.

As in all romances, when the healing power of love gets a chance to do its work, the results are magic.

I approached this book with trepidation. I did not think it would work as a romance. But surprisingly for me at least, it did. Stories about relationships, stories about life, these are stories worth reading. Especially if a message of hope is there. And yes, it is there

[Hsiau Wei · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find this book is an emotional read for me. Whatmore, the night before i started reading this book i dream of my boy being missing. In fact, i almost wanted to put aside this book given that i know the stressfulness in reading this book. Glad that i contnue to read instead.

This book tell the story of Tess who went back home to visit her son on the anniversary of his death found that the Husband that she left behind 10 years ago waiting for her at the graveyard. Fletcher needed her help to take care of his ailing mother who is battling with Alzheimer. This was to get her to be back by his side after she severe all ties with him upon the death of their son. Hence, the begining of the second chance of them to discover their love for each other.

Throughout this book, the author inserted bit and pieces of the untimely death of the son and i was able to piece them up together and understand the reason Tess in doing so ten years ago. This book is definitely not an easy read and at the end of the book, i was emotionally tired!

[Brianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trigger warning: the death of a little kid

This was a heart wrenching and sad book that ends on a hopeful note. The bulk of the story is about the journey of these two parents ten years after the death of their 18 month old son.

[Aurelia Rowl]

Gosh, what a heavy subject matter - mourning the death of a child. This story left me feeling wrung out, not helped by the unexpected blast of personal grief over the elderly, fat, arthritic, deaf Labrador.

[Jacquie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This must have been so hard of a story to write, I can't imagine. The trauma that this family went through was so well written I cried.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a heart warming story I loved it so moving

[Elizajane40 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This little book packs a punch. All the warnings but if you like angstyangst romance this is the book for you.

[Brie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Originally posted at Romance Around the Corner

I haven’t read a Harlequin Medical Romance in months, maybe even years, so when I saw this one on NetGalley I decided to renew my former love for the line.

Almost ten years ago Fletcher and Tessa’s toddler died in a tragic accident. Their inability to cope with their grief ended their marriage. Tessa moved to London and they never saw each other again. But every year she visits their son’s grave and he watches her. Now, after all these years, he’s ready to confront her. His mother has Alzheimer’s and he asks Tessa to stay with them for a while because his mother needs her. So she agrees, even though she’s still actively grieving and can’t even stand the sight of him. The situation forces her to come to terms with what happened and decide if she wants to give their marriage a second chance.

I like angst and emotional stories, and there was plenty of it here. But the heroine was very selfish in her grief. She acted like she was the only one who lost a child, and didn’t even give a second thought to Fletcher’s pain. I understand acting that way at first, but after ten years she still wasn’t able see past her own feelings. Not only that, but she was frozen in time, she was unwilling to even try to move on. I’m not going to judge, because I can’t even imagine having to experience such a tragedy, but it was exasperating (and I just judged. Honestly, I don’t know how to express my dislike without sounding like an asshole).

Fletcher wasn’t a bad hero. Mostly I just felt sorry for him. He was a martyr with a very good reason to atone and he was mature and knew what he wanted. The problem was that he didn’t mind using his mother to get it. And this is why I almost couldn’t finish the book. The mother and her disease were nothing but convenient plot devices. As someone who knows just how devastating Alzheimer’s is, I found this book borderline offensive.

The book does have a redeeming quality that kept it from being just plain awful. There was no easy answer or miraculous recovery for Tessa. The happy ending isn’t emotional health; the happy ending is the first step towards recovery. It’s a work in progress and it was the only way to make the ending believable.

This one was a melodrama, so if you like over the top emotion give it a try. Fletcher’s sister has a toddler and a baby on the way, so we also get the typical scene where the heroine has a nervous breakdown, but then when the kid is in danger she has to save him. So there’s a lot of angsty angst which I’m sure most readers will enjoy. I was too offended to pay much attention, though.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a different style book for me, it hit home pretty hard on a few points. I usually read more towards the contemporary romance with the fantasy element of the rock star etc. This was a very sweet story.

Disclaimer: The cover does this book NO JUSTICE at all! It really says nothing about the emotion that is portrayed in the book.

Fletcher and Tessa were married, a tragedy happened and they divorced. Fast forward nine years to the anniversary of the tragedy and they are face to face again because Fletch needs help and Tess is just the person to help him. Reluctantly Tess agrees; see Fletch needs help with his mother whom is living with Alzheimer's and Tess just happens to work in a home for such patients. She reluctantly agrees but does because she knows her ex-mother in law can benefit from her help.

The catch with this arrangement is Fletcher's mother thinks they are still married and does not remember they divorced. Such trauma is not good for a woman in their condition so of course Fletch and Tess decide what is best is to pretend. Here is where it gets good.

From the first touch of Tess' hand on Fletcher's thigh to her shirt sliding off her shoulders in bed we get glimpses of who this couple used to be together; a couple madly in love and who could never get enough of one another. The flashbacks and time together are just steamy enough and placed perfectly where they do not feel forced or for filler.

Yet though we see their past happiness; there is the tragedy looming over them like a serious dark cloud of regret and guilt from their past. To confront this can lead them down two different roads which neither of them are sure they want to travel but know they are the only one who could mend the heartbreak that caused their divorce and the divorce itself.

How to Mend a Broken heart is a very real to life story. A story of two people who fall in love and separate because they felt it was for the best. There is a scene in this book dealing with the tragedy that had me in tears; it was emotional reading it but on a personal level I experienced the almost exact same thing so reading something that close to home and my heart hit hard.

I enjoyed this read as it was a nice break from the fantasy land of rich men, rock stars etc. and just read as simple love story about a man and a woman who caused each other pain but have the chance to repair the hurt.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mills & Boon Medical and Harlequin Medical Romance series for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

[waterbaby786 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this Arc via Netgalley. I give it a 5 star rating cause i absolutely didnt want to put it down and gratefully it didnt read like a cliche romance novel.
The only thing I'm complaining about is that it was too short..
In this quick, but emotional, heart wrenching but soul satisfying read I'd grown so quickly attached to our two main characters fletcher and tess. Theyve been divorced and out of touch for ten yrs Following the tragic freak death of their 18mnth baby boy.the trauma and grief was the catalyst in the consequential fall out of their marriage. Fletcher blames the lack of ability to deal with their own devastated feelings and each others too. Ten yrs later a still very much in love Fletch approaches the still grieving mother of his child( in denial) for a chance of making life a bit more comfortable for his alzheimers sufferng mother who was lke a mother to Tessm what insues are awkward moments volatile situations. Plenty harsh words spoken back and forth but teender feeling of once passionate and endless love brimming below the stranger facades they wear in front of Fletches easily riled up mother. At times things seemed to just fall into a calm serene pce and times fletch finds 2 step progress of keeping a barely existing trusting friendship goes back ten steps and turns them bak iinto suffering frustrated souls screaming on the inisde for respite.
Ilove love loved this book, it had me riveted frm the get go all thru the 48 hrs it took to revel in this heartfelt story

[Roub · Rating 3 out of 5]

very painful, heart-rending one. this is not abt romance but abt a couple getting over the loss of their baby..a small toddler wid rounded chubby fingers, blond hair n big green eyes. i'm actually picturing him.. the 10 year gap is realistic, in fact 10 years may not be enough but the healing process begun at least. tessa was dreadfully affected. when i arrived at the very end, i understood why she cud not talk abt it, get over it. i mean u dunt get over but u can try 2 live again while she cud not at all. she was an ice block 4 10 years. dats bcoz it's already unbearable 2 lose ur child, add 2 dat she did had a point abt feeling guilty. ofc it was an accident, a set of circumstances thriving together so dat things went wrong. but any1 in her place wud feel very very guilty bcoz she fell asleep n thus was not watching over ryan. the if-onlys u never get over. this is a book not 2 be missed, the author deals wid this theme fantastically. she did a real good work. she showed us how tessa's attitude, shutoff pushed fletcher away n eventually in the arms of another woman. he was suffering too. as he said, it was not a matter of lust, not a matter of love but a question of affection which he badly needed. he did not remember the woman's name, did not see her again but dat was not the point. he got a few hours of abandonment, of forgetting, of oblivion ! this is one exceptional read yet only a 3 stars bcoz it's too tear-jerking

[Nas Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

HOW TO MEND A BROKEN HEART by author Amy Andrews is a August 2012 release for Mills & Boon Medical and Harlequin Medical Romance series.

Tessa King really couldn’t agree to what her ex-husband Fletcher asked of her- could she?

Living apart for the last nine years after tragedy tore their lives; she just managed to live day by day. Surely she couldn’t pretend now that everything is normal between them?

But since it was Fletch’s mum, who had been like a mum to her, Tessa agreed. And living together kept bringing back all those harrowing memories for her. But it did one more thing, it brought back her subdued feelings for her husband!

They were bereaved, aggrieved and divorced. That was a whole lot of baggage to take with them to a bed they hadn’t shared in nine years.

HOW TO MEND A BROKEN HEART is a wonderfully poignant tale of old passions, second chances and healing power of love. It is an exceptionally realistic romance that will touch your heart and make you shed tears. Author Amy Andrews kept her characters and therefore her readers in constant whirlwind of emotions with this dramatic, at times heartbreaking, but ultimately uplifting story about taking chances on loves devastating choices, redemption and triumphing against the odds.

4.5 out of 5 Stars

[Judith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of How to Mend a Broken Heart through NetGalley.
This book is definitely a roller coaster of emotions. It has been ten years since the death of her toddler son and Tessa King still lives with the pain every day. After her marriage fell apart, Tessa left the home she loved and her life. Now her ex- husband, Fletcher, needs a favor. His mother has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and her prognosis grows worse and worse. Fletcher needs Tessa’s help caring for his ailing mother, but can Tessa handle the constant reminder of the life she once had?
I almost gave up on this book. I was about a quarter of the way into, but the atmosphere surrounding the story, especially the character of Tessa, was too depressing. I ended up finishing the book and I am glad that I did. The relationship between Tessa and Fletcher will definitely tug on your heart strings, especially when Fletcher admits the secret he has been keeping all these years. This is not your typical dime store romance and I wish it hadn’t been fashioned this way. I think the story, given the content and array of emotions, would have been an exceptional if the author had drawn it out to a full novel.

[Rakisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of my friends and colleagues know of the struggles I had with conceiving and/or having a viable pregnancy in my late 20s and 30s. Only a few know how devastating it was on myself, my husband and our marriage. To say that my first miscarriage had the destructive force of a hurricane is no hyperbole. It took me a lot longer to read Amy Andrew's How to Mend a Broken Heart because it brought back some of those hard feelings and situations. The book, of course, is a little bit more neat and tidy than real life. Also, in the book, the child lost was 18-months-old not 12 weeks in utero or still born at 22 weeks. But a loss of a child hurts no matter how old. It's the death of dreams, futures, and what might bes. The aftermath is guilt, hatred, and no escape from pain. I think How to Mend A Broken Heart did a good job of describing that but infusing hope and love into a situation where one imagines the grieving will never end. I never really read a somber romance novel that had a happy ending before. It wasn't sappy. Also, it was nice to have a hero and heroine who were my age contemporaries. :-)

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought provoking and heart wrenching.

When Fletcher and Tessa divorced ten years ago it wasn't a simple break down of love it was a break of a million pieces kind caused by grief. The loss of their son broke them. In a way denying themselves of each other is their self inflicted punishment. Fletcher still loves and needs Tessa, even more now he needs help caring for his mother. It is a decision that inflicts more pain as both are forced to relive their loss and devastation.

Don't read this if you are expecting your usual smile a minute romance from Amy Andrews, read it because she has the bravery to stay true to the depth of the emotion behind this story. From page one I felt like a baby elephant had decided to take root on my chest and was making my eyes leak. Yes throughout I wanted Tessa to be stronger, yes I wanted Fletcher to be the perfect guy, yes I wanted them to start mending their broken hearts before I reached the middle. But honestly if all of that had happened I would have felt cheated. The reality is grief hurts and Amy Andrews explores this beautifully.
Now if someone can just help me move this elephant...

[Nicole Reads Romance · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not the type of romance I am typically drawn to, it was not at all a light read and had I know that I wouldn't have read it... but I would have missed a great story. I teared up throughout the book, it was absolutely heartbreaking the tragedy (death of their toddler ten years ago) that Tessa and Fletcher went through and how they dealt with it (or didn't). I was a bit disappointed the happy ending didn't come a tiny bit sooner, more for an emotional uplift than anything else... as I was still pretty down despite the happy ending.

Overall a very heartfelt love story, about a couple torn apart by grief but who still love each other very much. Definitely not for anyone looking for a 'cheer me up' romance.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this a really heartbreaking book to read. A friend of a close friend recently lost her 20 month old son to drowning and I have been following her blog. As a mother of four children myself, its unfathomable to understand how a mother can ever live with the grief of losing a child. Amy Andrews has written a very touching and heartbreaking story and I immersed myself in Fletcher and Tessa's story. Well done to Amy Andrews.

Recommendation: You'll need a box of Kleenex for this one.

Oh and also...my cover is different to the one on Goodreads, but the one I have is not appealing at all. Certainly not the kind of male model that would catch my eye when browsing the bookshelves.

[Caro · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an ok book. It was slower and had a little too much angst for my taste. There were plenty of emotions, some good parts and bad ones. The personalities were ok, but mostly I just wanted to tell the characters to get their stuff together and comm-un-i-cate. There was also a lot of grief. This was written well and flowed but just couldn't keep me interest. Good Luck

[Amelia Strydom · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly beautiful romance, one of the best I have ever read. The characters divorced years ago because their son drowned, and both carry a lot of guilt. It was heartbreaking yet very uplifting. I read it twice, something I rarely do. Have a box of tissues ready!

[Kegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A heart breaking story but so worth it. I loved how it all ended.

[Therese · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice story, it touched how parents grieve differently for their children and acceptance. It also touches Alzheimer's.

[Alison F · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started this book a couple of years ago but soon gave up as it annoyed me. However, Amy Andrews has written some of my favourite medical romances so I decided to give it a second chance. I nearly DNF again. I thought both MCs acted selfishly & the prose in the first half of the book is pretty purple at times.

We're told that Tessa & Fletcher King had a loving, passionate marriage. They had met working in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit of St Rita's, a Brisbane hospital. Ten years ago their 18 month old son Ryan drowned & each blamed themselves. Tess withdrew from Fletch, not recognising that he too was grieving. A year later they separated & divorced. Tess moved to a village in Devon, England, where she works as a geriatric nurse in an aged care facility & has virtually frozen her emotions. Fletch has been working in Calgary, Canada & has become an expert in cold-water drowning. Now he's back at St Rita's, heading a study on the application of hypothermia in acute injury. Tess has no interest in romantic relationships & Fletch has had only a few meaningless ones in all that time.

Although she's coped by burying her grief, every year Tess travels 16,000 kilometres to visit Ryan's grave on the anniversary of his death, only staying in Brisbane for three days. There's no mention of her having any family. I found this behaviour unbelievable. Every year Fletch watches her from a distance. It's only now that he wants something from her that he approaches her. His mother has Alzheimer's & he virtually railroads Tess into becoming her 24/7 companion in his apartment, even though it has only two bedrooms & he still finds her desirable (he plans on sleeping on the sofa). He's dismissive of the life she's made in England.

The book does improve from around the mid-way point. The MCs become more sympathetic as they begin to understand the other's POV. There's melodrama aplenty with events occurring which bring back Tess's memories of Ryan's death. I liked that, unlike in almost all category romances, the ending doesn't tie everything up neatly. It's hopeful but by no means assured that Tess & Fletch will work things out.

I read this story in the anthology Mad About the Doctor, which has a more appealing cover than the single volume edition.

[Anuradha · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story full of medical emergencies and casualties. And how the lives of the leads are affected by them. A young happily married couple lose their 2 year son in a freak drowning accident. They are torn by guilt and remorse and grief, start to distance from each other emotionally. Leads to a divorce.

The hero is a hot shot doctor, the heroine is a nurse. They are living a dull, half life devoted to their professions for a decade. When another emergency unites them. The hero'es mummy has Dementia, is a debilitating Alzheimer's patient. And the old lady only remembers the son and daughter in law happily married phase !!!!

So a fake reunion, for the sake of the old lady. And the regular opportunities for romance, given the close proximity. Same bed, old habits, pretend kisses and so on.

By the end of the story, the romance is back in their lives. The guilt of the child's death is expunged from their hearts. And they are ready to live again.

OK story, poignant in parts. But not very hard hitting.