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Harrowed Hearts
A wedding. A manhunt. A life-altering decision.
Kenna marries Dr. Merino under the pretense that she’s protecting him. Spouses can’t testify against each other. Or so he told her.
When she uncovers his lie, she forms an unlikely alliance with the detective who’s determined to see her husband behind bars. The dilemma?
Her love for Dr. Merino is frightening, and also very real.
Fact and fiction blur to create a terrifying reality in a summer from hell as Kenna must decide whether her devotion lies with the enigmatic doctor or the truth.
Kenna marries Dr. Merino under the pretense that she’s protecting him. Spouses can’t testify against each other. Or so he told her.
When she uncovers his lie, she forms an unlikely alliance with the detective who’s determined to see her husband behind bars. The dilemma?
Her love for Dr. Merino is frightening, and also very real.
Fact and fiction blur to create a terrifying reality in a summer from hell as Kenna must decide whether her devotion lies with the enigmatic doctor or the truth.
Unknown Binding
Published December 17, 2024
11 people want to read
About the author
Leighann Hart
6 books27 followersLeighann Hart is the author of the Rosenfeld duet and the Confessional trilogy. She is a huge mental health advocate and this sometimes—okay, oftentimes—bleeds into her love stories.
She consumes heinous amounts of espresso and pays tithe daily to the New York Times Spelling Bee. Her biggest regret is that she probably will not meet Rick Moranis before he dies.
Leighann lives with her husband, daughter, and Sugar the Shetland Sheepdog in a convection oven—er, Georgia.
She consumes heinous amounts of espresso and pays tithe daily to the New York Times Spelling Bee. Her biggest regret is that she probably will not meet Rick Moranis before he dies.
Leighann lives with her husband, daughter, and Sugar the Shetland Sheepdog in a convection oven—er, Georgia.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 24, 2024
First of all, I would like to thank the author for this ARC!
Is it strange to want give a standing ovation for a book? The conclusion to this trilogy is finally here and WOW did it deliver! The plot thickens and Kenna’s and Dayton’s twisted and paradoxical liaison continues as they enter into an uneasy stalemate of a marriage, uncertain if it’s based on love, something resembling mutually assured destruction, or both. The escalating investigation of a young woman’s murder that Dayton may or may not have been involved in does not help matters. Like its predecessors, this book is still very much a toxic romance and psychological thriller but now with a murder mystery element as well as some darkly funny moments thrown in, given that most of the supporting characters are blissfully ignorant about how screwed up the relationship truly is.
I absolutely loved Hart’s writing in this and it’s definitely the shining element of this book and the series as a whole. She is a master of using a switching POV combined with a very limited third-person narration to gradually build up all of the tension and suspense to a crescendo. Though a lot of questions are finally answered, they definitely don’t come out easily and there was truly no certainty of what either Kenna’s or Dayton’s intents towards each other were until the final paragraphs of a stunning yet satisfying ending. The prose is rich and poetic without sliding into purple prose territory, which does the story’s many themes (such as love, obsession, betrayal, loyalty, purity and corruption, darkness and light, and condemnation and redemption), motifs, and symbolism justice as well as creating a unique and intense atmosphere that lingers long after the last page. It was a pleasure to have the opportunity to finish reading the series and I am definitely looking forward to Hart’s future books!
Is it strange to want give a standing ovation for a book? The conclusion to this trilogy is finally here and WOW did it deliver! The plot thickens and Kenna’s and Dayton’s twisted and paradoxical liaison continues as they enter into an uneasy stalemate of a marriage, uncertain if it’s based on love, something resembling mutually assured destruction, or both. The escalating investigation of a young woman’s murder that Dayton may or may not have been involved in does not help matters. Like its predecessors, this book is still very much a toxic romance and psychological thriller but now with a murder mystery element as well as some darkly funny moments thrown in, given that most of the supporting characters are blissfully ignorant about how screwed up the relationship truly is.
I absolutely loved Hart’s writing in this and it’s definitely the shining element of this book and the series as a whole. She is a master of using a switching POV combined with a very limited third-person narration to gradually build up all of the tension and suspense to a crescendo. Though a lot of questions are finally answered, they definitely don’t come out easily and there was truly no certainty of what either Kenna’s or Dayton’s intents towards each other were until the final paragraphs of a stunning yet satisfying ending. The prose is rich and poetic without sliding into purple prose territory, which does the story’s many themes (such as love, obsession, betrayal, loyalty, purity and corruption, darkness and light, and condemnation and redemption), motifs, and symbolism justice as well as creating a unique and intense atmosphere that lingers long after the last page. It was a pleasure to have the opportunity to finish reading the series and I am definitely looking forward to Hart’s future books!
January 21, 2025
Hart tied up this riveting conclusion to the Confessional trilogy perfectly!
Dr. Merino & Kenna's twisty-complicated relationship (now marriage) delivered exactly the right way for us dark romance girlies.
I loved so many aspects of this series: the dark romance (particularly the cat and mouse game-affair), the suspense/thriller elements, and finally the murder mystery parts of this final book with all the twists and turns to keep you on the edge of your seat and up til way way past your bedtime.
The ending was so so good for these characters and their story, I didn't see it coming but it was perfectly executed and just fit Merino and Kenna so well!!
If you haven't tried this series yet, here's a little hint of what's in store:
-unethical psychiatrist MMC
-a touch of murder
-student turned amateur sleuth FMC
-toxic, cat and mouse game
-satisfying ending
-romantic thriller
Dr. Merino & Kenna's twisty-complicated relationship (now marriage) delivered exactly the right way for us dark romance girlies.
I loved so many aspects of this series: the dark romance (particularly the cat and mouse game-affair), the suspense/thriller elements, and finally the murder mystery parts of this final book with all the twists and turns to keep you on the edge of your seat and up til way way past your bedtime.
The ending was so so good for these characters and their story, I didn't see it coming but it was perfectly executed and just fit Merino and Kenna so well!!
If you haven't tried this series yet, here's a little hint of what's in store:
-unethical psychiatrist MMC
-a touch of murder
-student turned amateur sleuth FMC
-toxic, cat and mouse game
-satisfying ending
-romantic thriller
November 18, 2025
I didn’t expect a dark romance to dissect attachment, fear, identity, and self-preservation with this level of psychological precision… yet here we are.
This series doesn’t simply tell a story; it studies you while you’re reading it.
And the strangest part? You won’t notice it happening until it’s too late.
Dr. Merino is not written as a typical “broken hero.”
He’s an entire case study in anxious-avoidant attachment, emotional imprinting, trauma-driven self-sabotage, and the desperate instinct to leave before being left.
Every decision he makes stems from a place the author never names directly—
but your mind fills in the silence.
That’s the brilliance of this book:
it triggers your analyst brain whether you want it to or not.
If you’re the type of reader who can sense when a scene is hiding a memory…
when a gesture is actually a confession…
when a character escapes not because they want freedom, but because they fear being replaced—then this book will feel like someone just handed you a psychological puzzle wrapped in romance.
And if you’re not that kind of reader?
You’ll either become one by the end…
or you’ll keep wondering what, exactly, you missed.
Either way, this story leaves fingerprints on your mind.
---
“I kept telling myself it didn’t hurt.
That I could carry it, bury it, outsmart it.
But pain doesn’t stay quiet—not when it’s the kind that digs into your ribs and sleeps behind your heartbeat.
I’m not broken… just tired of pretending the cracks aren’t there.
Every choice I made felt like fighting shadows with bare hands, knowing they’d always come back.
Maybe this isn’t strength.
Maybe it’s simply surviving because I don’t know how to stop.”
This series doesn’t simply tell a story; it studies you while you’re reading it.
And the strangest part? You won’t notice it happening until it’s too late.
Dr. Merino is not written as a typical “broken hero.”
He’s an entire case study in anxious-avoidant attachment, emotional imprinting, trauma-driven self-sabotage, and the desperate instinct to leave before being left.
Every decision he makes stems from a place the author never names directly—
but your mind fills in the silence.
That’s the brilliance of this book:
it triggers your analyst brain whether you want it to or not.
If you’re the type of reader who can sense when a scene is hiding a memory…
when a gesture is actually a confession…
when a character escapes not because they want freedom, but because they fear being replaced—then this book will feel like someone just handed you a psychological puzzle wrapped in romance.
And if you’re not that kind of reader?
You’ll either become one by the end…
or you’ll keep wondering what, exactly, you missed.
Either way, this story leaves fingerprints on your mind.
---
“I kept telling myself it didn’t hurt.
That I could carry it, bury it, outsmart it.
But pain doesn’t stay quiet—not when it’s the kind that digs into your ribs and sleeps behind your heartbeat.
I’m not broken… just tired of pretending the cracks aren’t there.
Every choice I made felt like fighting shadows with bare hands, knowing they’d always come back.
Maybe this isn’t strength.
Maybe it’s simply surviving because I don’t know how to stop.”
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews