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Ace of Hearts
As a child, Declan Goldwin believed he was haunted. He’d grown accustomed to the feeling, a fondness towards the fellow friend in the shadows. Cold bones, a racing heart, and a turbulent mind were all natural side effects of befriending a ghost.
There was no other way he would’ve been able to explain it.
So, he didn’t.
Now, Declan is a football scholarship recruit about to finish his senior year, an amateur race car driver, and a terror to the town’s police department—his father included. But, as his mother rekindles an old friendship—pulling memories out of late-night phone calls and a box of pictures from his past—that lifeless unease begins to sink in once more. The feeling he once called ‘haunting’ begins to take a different shape as he’s forced to reconcile the excuses he once made for a friend with the horrors he was too young to understand.
As uncertainty consumes him from every angle, Declan must acknowledge the gritty details of his past if he has any hopes of putting it to rest before he builds his future.
Ace of Hearts tackles dark themes, including childhood trauma. A comprehensive list of content warnings is provided at the back of the book.
There was no other way he would’ve been able to explain it.
So, he didn’t.
Now, Declan is a football scholarship recruit about to finish his senior year, an amateur race car driver, and a terror to the town’s police department—his father included. But, as his mother rekindles an old friendship—pulling memories out of late-night phone calls and a box of pictures from his past—that lifeless unease begins to sink in once more. The feeling he once called ‘haunting’ begins to take a different shape as he’s forced to reconcile the excuses he once made for a friend with the horrors he was too young to understand.
As uncertainty consumes him from every angle, Declan must acknowledge the gritty details of his past if he has any hopes of putting it to rest before he builds his future.
Ace of Hearts tackles dark themes, including childhood trauma. A comprehensive list of content warnings is provided at the back of the book.
- GenresRomanceContemporaryLGBT
332 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 27, 2024
About the author
Sara Marhan
3 books14 followersReader. Writer. Stargazer.
Author of Spotlight, Ace of Hearts, and King of Hearts.
Author of Spotlight, Ace of Hearts, and King of Hearts.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 19, 2025
3.5
2025 reads: 270/300
2025 tbr: 52/111
content warnings: childhood sexual assault, ptsd, mentions of past drug addiction, underage drinking
buddy read with ella!
declan is a football scholarship recruit struggling to finish his senior year, an amateur race car driver, and a boy haunted by his past. when he’s paired with colby, a standoffish classmate, for a school assignment, the two form an unlikely friendship.
going into this, i really didn’t know what to expect. it also doesn’t help that i put this on my tbr so long ago that i had forgotten the synopsis by the time i finally picked it up. still, i don’t really think that mattered since this was very much a character-driven novel. (it’s also a spinoff of the author’s other book, spotlight, which i had no knowledge of until i started writing this review.) this book had some decent discussions on childhood trauma and asexuality, but they seemed more surface-level to me. i would’ve loved if the author had gone deeper into these themes. however, i guess since it took declan so long to even get to the point of reaching out, it makes sense that we didn’t have much time to go further into his mind. overall, though, this was an enjoyable book. i’ll likely read spotlight at some point.
2025 reads: 270/300
2025 tbr: 52/111
content warnings: childhood sexual assault, ptsd, mentions of past drug addiction, underage drinking
buddy read with ella!
declan is a football scholarship recruit struggling to finish his senior year, an amateur race car driver, and a boy haunted by his past. when he’s paired with colby, a standoffish classmate, for a school assignment, the two form an unlikely friendship.
going into this, i really didn’t know what to expect. it also doesn’t help that i put this on my tbr so long ago that i had forgotten the synopsis by the time i finally picked it up. still, i don’t really think that mattered since this was very much a character-driven novel. (it’s also a spinoff of the author’s other book, spotlight, which i had no knowledge of until i started writing this review.) this book had some decent discussions on childhood trauma and asexuality, but they seemed more surface-level to me. i would’ve loved if the author had gone deeper into these themes. however, i guess since it took declan so long to even get to the point of reaching out, it makes sense that we didn’t have much time to go further into his mind. overall, though, this was an enjoyable book. i’ll likely read spotlight at some point.
May 2, 2024
i started reading this because i genuinely thought it was about real ghosts
May 1, 2024
It was good but there’s no plot
April 30, 2026
Where was the peak???
Read
June 5, 2024on to be read list. dose anyone know if there is romance in this book like spotlight ?
May 22, 2024
sara never disappoints with her books… i cried like three times. SEEING COLBYYYYYYYYYYYYY AGAIN MADE ME SO GIDDY. declan & brady you two are cuties.
March 10, 2025
it was okay, but I loved the way it was written.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews