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Listen To Her Heart
Two women who live very different lives meet due to unforeseeable circumstances, only to discover they were brought together because it was their destiny!
Yalen Martinez is ex-CIA and a bestselling author of lesbian fiction with fans all over the globe, yet she is alone. Since the breakup of her ten-year relationship two years ago, no one special has been in her life. After countless attempts by her two best friends to set her up on blind dates, she decides to use the internet to meet women because she thinks it’s safe and she can do it anonymously. She joins a lesbian dating site where she meets Emily only to learn that Emily has sent her a fake photo of herself, she’s running an online dating scam, and Yalen is the latest victim.
Yalen, though disappointed, becomes obsessed with exposing the con-artist as well as finding out who the woman in the picture really is and she’s willing to go to any length to get the information. Armed with a name and address, Yalen boards a flight to Tennessee with no thought on how she plans to approach the woman in the photo: Briana Latham, a former Victoria’s Secret model. Yalen decides to just wing it and hope like hell that the woman doesn’t think she’s a psycho head-case.
Determined to get to the bottom of the online dating mystery and against their better judgment, the two women set out on a suspenseful, tension-filled adventure that will take them to London, England where they risk their lives confronting the leaders of a multimillion-dollar, underworld Russian Mafia syndicate that specializes in human sex trafficking, computer viruses, and on-line dating scams—it’s a world where murder isn’t that big of a deal and true love really knows no boundaries.
Yalen Martinez is ex-CIA and a bestselling author of lesbian fiction with fans all over the globe, yet she is alone. Since the breakup of her ten-year relationship two years ago, no one special has been in her life. After countless attempts by her two best friends to set her up on blind dates, she decides to use the internet to meet women because she thinks it’s safe and she can do it anonymously. She joins a lesbian dating site where she meets Emily only to learn that Emily has sent her a fake photo of herself, she’s running an online dating scam, and Yalen is the latest victim.
Yalen, though disappointed, becomes obsessed with exposing the con-artist as well as finding out who the woman in the picture really is and she’s willing to go to any length to get the information. Armed with a name and address, Yalen boards a flight to Tennessee with no thought on how she plans to approach the woman in the photo: Briana Latham, a former Victoria’s Secret model. Yalen decides to just wing it and hope like hell that the woman doesn’t think she’s a psycho head-case.
Determined to get to the bottom of the online dating mystery and against their better judgment, the two women set out on a suspenseful, tension-filled adventure that will take them to London, England where they risk their lives confronting the leaders of a multimillion-dollar, underworld Russian Mafia syndicate that specializes in human sex trafficking, computer viruses, and on-line dating scams—it’s a world where murder isn’t that big of a deal and true love really knows no boundaries.
418 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2012
12 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 16, 2013
I'm genuinely surprised that a book rated as highly as this one was so terrible. The entire thing is a mess of overused cliches and plot hooks so visible at some points they literally pointed signs in the direction of the next scene.
I get that the writer may not speak Russian, that's fine, but please don't take the very small handful of words you know and use them at literally every opportunity, just say "so and so are speaking russian". The word Suka (actually written сука) is used so much and so badly that I literally started to cringe later in the book when it was mentioned. That's another thing, at every point where foreign words were being said it's always spelled using the English phonetic spelling rather than the actual language being spoken.
Listen to Her Heart is a story about one woman who's an ex-CIA agent and also a bestselling author of lesbian fiction (After I read that line I literally facepalmed) and her developing relationship with this woman who's Identity was stolen. She's an ex-Model who invites this total stranger into her house, takes absolutely everything she says at face value and for some reason wants to go on a life-threatening adventure with this woman she's never met to a place she's never been to. Yea, happens everyday in Ohio.
I get that the writer may not speak Russian, that's fine, but please don't take the very small handful of words you know and use them at literally every opportunity, just say "so and so are speaking russian". The word Suka (actually written сука) is used so much and so badly that I literally started to cringe later in the book when it was mentioned. That's another thing, at every point where foreign words were being said it's always spelled using the English phonetic spelling rather than the actual language being spoken.
Listen to Her Heart is a story about one woman who's an ex-CIA agent and also a bestselling author of lesbian fiction (After I read that line I literally facepalmed) and her developing relationship with this woman who's Identity was stolen. She's an ex-Model who invites this total stranger into her house, takes absolutely everything she says at face value and for some reason wants to go on a life-threatening adventure with this woman she's never met to a place she's never been to. Yea, happens everyday in Ohio.
November 2, 2014
I usually enjoy TD's books but this one is just terrible. The characters are quite inconsistent, and most of the times it seems like they are reciting Wikipedia with all the information about the Russian mafia and technical details about viruses and devices that are not really necessary for the development of the story.
The word suka (apparently Russian for bitch) is used way too many times and in sentences where it obviously doesn't fit.
Also, Russian characters speak between them in a terribly spoken English, which makes absolutely no sense, and it makes you cringe at every page you read.
And let's not talk about the typos, the cultural clichés and the plot holes.
I only finished because I wanted to give a review of the whole book.
Too bad, because the plot could be good, but the actual book is just terrible.
The word suka (apparently Russian for bitch) is used way too many times and in sentences where it obviously doesn't fit.
Also, Russian characters speak between them in a terribly spoken English, which makes absolutely no sense, and it makes you cringe at every page you read.
And let's not talk about the typos, the cultural clichés and the plot holes.
I only finished because I wanted to give a review of the whole book.
Too bad, because the plot could be good, but the actual book is just terrible.
January 1, 2013
It was well written and fast paced. I loved the ending but the dialogue for the English characters really wasn't right.
January 8, 2013
Another wonderful story from Trin. Great characters, well written, nothing else to add.
November 5, 2020
The CIA, human trafficking, the Russian Mafia & Catfishing
This book is an action-packed story about the CIA, MI6, KGB & international espionage, human trafficking & the Russian Mafia entangled with a woman looking to confront a catfish. Instead, the former agent & the model who's face was used end up in London aa the center of attention—& nobody is safe to trust.
This book is an action-packed story about the CIA, MI6, KGB & international espionage, human trafficking & the Russian Mafia entangled with a woman looking to confront a catfish. Instead, the former agent & the model who's face was used end up in London aa the center of attention—& nobody is safe to trust.
December 3, 2015
Having read and greatly enjoyed The Death Zone: Murder on Mount Everest, I was eager to read another of Ms. Denise's books. This one was not what I'd hoped for. While Death Zone had some issues (its romance was a little thin and some of its dialogue was less than impressive), its plot was absolutely wonderful. Not so here.
Published only a year before Death Zone, this book shares all of its flaws and none of its strengths. To begin with, the non-American dialogue is embarrassing. The author picked a handful of stereotypical words or phrases and hammered them over and over again. The Brits all said "wanker" and "bloody" and "mate" and "bollocks" nearly every time they opened their mouths. The Russians rarely spoke a single sentence without saying "suka." None of this made the characters seem authentic, it just made me absolutely certain that the author was neither British nor Russian.
Again, the romance here was thin. That, in itself, isn't a huge deal. This is a thriller, not a romance novel. Most of the book was spent dodging Russian thugs and searching for listening devices, not whispering sweet nothings in a lover's ear. There was some flirting and a single sex scene, but not a lot of deep heart-to-hearts or quality moments--there just wasn't time for them between all the gunfights. This made the author's decision to throw in numerous declarations of love at the end of the book utterly eye-roll-inducing. I never at any point believed that the two leads loved one another. Liked? Sure. Lusted after? You betcha. Trusted? Absolutely. Loved? Nope. They just weren't there yet.
Now, for the plot. Death Zone's plot was tremendous, despite a somewhat cardboard villain; the research that went into mountaineering and the specific conditions of Everest were absolutely amazing. Here, not so much. The entire premise of this book essentially hinged upon the fact that the CIA, MI5 and MI6 were all thoroughly incompetent, whereas a 44-year-old author and her small group of pals were capable of toppling a crime syndicate that was backed by the Russian government. It was just...I mean...ugh. Had this been a campy novel, none of that would have have been a big deal. It wasn't, though. This was a novel that featured the horrifyingly brutal lives (and executions) of sex slaves. It implied ugly, gritty realism, then blatantly defied it. You can't have it both ways.
Another pet peeve was the point-of-view switching. We never really needed to see anyone's point-of-view other than Yalen's and Briana's, and possibly Lebedev's for the sake of building tension. Oh, but we did. If a character was in the book, we probably got their point-of-view. The p.o.v. switching was fast, constant, pace-breaking, and thoroughly unnecessary.
TLDR: Wanted to love it, kept hoping to like it, now I'm just praying I'll forget it. Seriously, though, do read The Death Zone: Murder on Mount Everest. Aside from the preposterous British accents, it's hard to believe the same person wrote both books.
Published only a year before Death Zone, this book shares all of its flaws and none of its strengths. To begin with, the non-American dialogue is embarrassing. The author picked a handful of stereotypical words or phrases and hammered them over and over again. The Brits all said "wanker" and "bloody" and "mate" and "bollocks" nearly every time they opened their mouths. The Russians rarely spoke a single sentence without saying "suka." None of this made the characters seem authentic, it just made me absolutely certain that the author was neither British nor Russian.
Again, the romance here was thin. That, in itself, isn't a huge deal. This is a thriller, not a romance novel. Most of the book was spent dodging Russian thugs and searching for listening devices, not whispering sweet nothings in a lover's ear. There was some flirting and a single sex scene, but not a lot of deep heart-to-hearts or quality moments--there just wasn't time for them between all the gunfights. This made the author's decision to throw in numerous declarations of love at the end of the book utterly eye-roll-inducing. I never at any point believed that the two leads loved one another. Liked? Sure. Lusted after? You betcha. Trusted? Absolutely. Loved? Nope. They just weren't there yet.
Now, for the plot. Death Zone's plot was tremendous, despite a somewhat cardboard villain; the research that went into mountaineering and the specific conditions of Everest were absolutely amazing. Here, not so much. The entire premise of this book essentially hinged upon the fact that the CIA, MI5 and MI6 were all thoroughly incompetent, whereas a 44-year-old author and her small group of pals were capable of toppling a crime syndicate that was backed by the Russian government. It was just...I mean...ugh. Had this been a campy novel, none of that would have have been a big deal. It wasn't, though. This was a novel that featured the horrifyingly brutal lives (and executions) of sex slaves. It implied ugly, gritty realism, then blatantly defied it. You can't have it both ways.
Another pet peeve was the point-of-view switching. We never really needed to see anyone's point-of-view other than Yalen's and Briana's, and possibly Lebedev's for the sake of building tension. Oh, but we did. If a character was in the book, we probably got their point-of-view. The p.o.v. switching was fast, constant, pace-breaking, and thoroughly unnecessary.
TLDR: Wanted to love it, kept hoping to like it, now I'm just praying I'll forget it. Seriously, though, do read The Death Zone: Murder on Mount Everest. Aside from the preposterous British accents, it's hard to believe the same person wrote both books.
March 24, 2017
I could not get into this one. I really tried.
What was off for me? First, as soon as I started reading the book, I felt the dialogue was bland. Since this book has so many five star reviews, I was expecting wit and freshness that just wasn't there. Secondly, in the character of Yalen, it felt like she had this super woman effect which I didn't like. I'll get into that more below.
There were two other items that quickly brought the book down, as well. One is that there's a lot of information dumping, meaning we get big sections of facts or history. When this is done well, it blends with the story but, in this book, we get big chunks of it.
The biggest grievance I had with the book, though, is that it's just too implausible for me to even suspend my belief for. Putting aside that an ex-CIA agent turned best-selling lesbian author hunts down the woman who's picture is being appropriated and misused on a dating site and that woman turns out to be an ex-Victoria Secret model who happens to be lesbian who happens to be a fan of said best-selling lesbian author who happens to fall for her fast...
Yalen, the ex-CIA agent, then takes Briana, the ex-Victoria Secret model, to the UK after just meeting to go after the villains. And, who are the villians? The Russian Mafia. In the story, the author sets up that not even the active CIA can infiltrate and bring down the Russian Mafia yet Yalen, on her absolute own with her model friend using only her wits and resources WILL bring them down.
If the author would've shot for a villain that was less organized, you know, not be a whole professional mafia, I maybe could've gone with it. Having this super woman go up against an even bigger super villain and succeeding did not work for me.
I think the author said she based the book on the real life crime of the Russian Mafia which in itself is fine. If she would've made Yalen the head of a team of CIA agents going after the mafia and she happens to get involved with the model, then okay. That makes more sense. Perhaps the model could've been angry and went after whoever was using her picture herself and kept bungling up the CIA's operations thereby throwing the two together. But, as it was, I didn't buy it.
Overall, I definitely think this one was a miss and there are better books out there to read.
What was off for me? First, as soon as I started reading the book, I felt the dialogue was bland. Since this book has so many five star reviews, I was expecting wit and freshness that just wasn't there. Secondly, in the character of Yalen, it felt like she had this super woman effect which I didn't like. I'll get into that more below.
There were two other items that quickly brought the book down, as well. One is that there's a lot of information dumping, meaning we get big sections of facts or history. When this is done well, it blends with the story but, in this book, we get big chunks of it.
The biggest grievance I had with the book, though, is that it's just too implausible for me to even suspend my belief for. Putting aside that an ex-CIA agent turned best-selling lesbian author hunts down the woman who's picture is being appropriated and misused on a dating site and that woman turns out to be an ex-Victoria Secret model who happens to be lesbian who happens to be a fan of said best-selling lesbian author who happens to fall for her fast...
Yalen, the ex-CIA agent, then takes Briana, the ex-Victoria Secret model, to the UK after just meeting to go after the villains. And, who are the villians? The Russian Mafia. In the story, the author sets up that not even the active CIA can infiltrate and bring down the Russian Mafia yet Yalen, on her absolute own with her model friend using only her wits and resources WILL bring them down.
If the author would've shot for a villain that was less organized, you know, not be a whole professional mafia, I maybe could've gone with it. Having this super woman go up against an even bigger super villain and succeeding did not work for me.
I think the author said she based the book on the real life crime of the Russian Mafia which in itself is fine. If she would've made Yalen the head of a team of CIA agents going after the mafia and she happens to get involved with the model, then okay. That makes more sense. Perhaps the model could've been angry and went after whoever was using her picture herself and kept bungling up the CIA's operations thereby throwing the two together. But, as it was, I didn't buy it.
Overall, I definitely think this one was a miss and there are better books out there to read.
March 4, 2013
Listen to Her Heart starts off running and doesn't slow down! The story actually starts after Yalen Martinez has been swindled by a woman working with the mob and the plan on how to get retribution kept me turning the pages. Along the way she travels to Tennessee and picks up the unlikely companion of Briana Latham, the woman's who profile was used to pull off the scam. The meeting with Briana immediately has Yalen off balance and taking actions she wouldn't normally take. Including having Briana travel with her to England where Yalen has tracked the nerve center of the dating scam to be located. Trin Denise creates some very colorful characters and some faced paced action. The fact that the story is actually based on true events is a bit disconcerting but it just adds to the level of story movement. I would definitely recommend this story for anyone looking for an action packed plot with great character chemistry.
February 8, 2013
i would have given this 5 stars but since i am not one for really being too into computers and how things work (i just dont have the mind for that stuff) i felt some of the book was a little too wordy. over all the book was very good... well written, some grammatical errors but most of the time that doesnt bother me too much as long as the author can write well enough.
February 23, 2014
Wow, what a gripping story. It had everything and everybody in it: women, guns, women with guns ;) form the Russian Mafia to the MI5/MI6. It was probably a enormous amount of research for the author. And I have to say: Well done! I really love the main characters (as well as the supporting characters) and the tension kept me up all night. Thumbs up!
January 31, 2017
Another fantastic journey
I love reading Trin's books, I always feel enlightened in a knowledgeable way. Great detail without being boring, exciting and thrilling, already read the mountain Everest book, twice. Trying to find fault, I may have to read again.....
I love reading Trin's books, I always feel enlightened in a knowledgeable way. Great detail without being boring, exciting and thrilling, already read the mountain Everest book, twice. Trying to find fault, I may have to read again.....
March 23, 2013
What a great book! Believable characters combined with a cracking story is bound to lead to some great reading. I couldn't put it down. Well done, Trin Denise, another hit!
June 27, 2015
Predictable yet entertaining. Liked both characters and their interaction with each other.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews