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Hungry Hearts
“Only love can satisfy a hungry heart.” Claudia Montgomery is the best-selling author of the Nosy Parker mystery series. Her life was everything she had dreamed it would be, but it all came crashing to a halt when her parents died. As a result, she has an acute case of writer’s block. After several months, she goes to a Bed & Breakfast on the coast to relax and regenerate. Kate is a a successful archeologist. She loved traveling the world and studying matriarchal societies. However, her work and life were upended when her sister was arrested and sent to prison. Kate had to give up her job, go home to raise her sister’s ten-year-old twin girls, and help her aging mother run the family Bed & Breakfast. They say that love happens when you’re least expecting it. Can Claudia and Kate satisfy their hungry hearts in each others’ arms?
257 pages, Paperback
First published September 13, 2018
66 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
Layce Gardner
43 books127 followersLayce Gardner is a screenwriter, a novelist, and a playwright. Her plays have been performed around the world and she is the recipient of The Los Angeles Drama Logue Award for Best Play. She has written screenplays for every major television network and her movie “Prison of Secrets” was Lifetime’s highest rated movie. She is the Goldie award-winning author of the novel, Tats. She has written over forty books and is one half of the best-selling comedic duo, Layce Gardner and Saxon Bennett.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
October 29, 2018
Not my Cuppa
This was an okay read. I’m not the biggest fan of precocious kids and in this book Punk and Charlie overshadow Kate and Claudia, the leading ladies. Sometimes kids in books can be endearing. I found the twins annoying. Lots of misunderstandings and poor communication keeps these nice women apart for the majority of the novel. Not as funny as others written by these authors.
2.5 stars
This was an okay read. I’m not the biggest fan of precocious kids and in this book Punk and Charlie overshadow Kate and Claudia, the leading ladies. Sometimes kids in books can be endearing. I found the twins annoying. Lots of misunderstandings and poor communication keeps these nice women apart for the majority of the novel. Not as funny as others written by these authors.
2.5 stars
October 14, 2018
An absolute joy!
A lighthearted read, well written and incredibly enjoyable. I was glued to this book and I immediately fell in love with the characters. I want to adopt the twins, they are so cute, smart and with a heart of gold. The authors create great personalities and the most funniest situations which make me laughing out loud. I highly recommend this slow burn romance. This is a book not to miss.
A lighthearted read, well written and incredibly enjoyable. I was glued to this book and I immediately fell in love with the characters. I want to adopt the twins, they are so cute, smart and with a heart of gold. The authors create great personalities and the most funniest situations which make me laughing out loud. I highly recommend this slow burn romance. This is a book not to miss.
March 3, 2019
Claudia Montgomery, a best selling author of mystery novels, is suffering from writer’s block. Her agent sends her to ‘Hungry Hearts’ a Bed & Breakfast in a small seaside town to find inspiration for her next novel. Kate Ferguson was a successful archaeologist who had to quit her career to care for her twin nieces in her mother’s B&B. When Claudia and Kate meet, their attraction is undeniable but could they find love in each other?
This is a very slow-burn romance between main characters in their mid forties. The story is set in a small seaside town with the typical meddling of its inhabitants. Most of the time, the tone of the story is whimsical and humorous, similar to Robin Alexander’s style, so I’m not sure if it’ll appeal to all romance fans. For me, this read would have been better if the chemistry between the main characters was stronger.
The novel is generally well written though sometimes the balance between showing and telling is off. In my opinion, the most enjoyable parts of the story is when the authors give an insight into the writing process through Claudia’s creative struggles.
There are a good number of secondary characters, mostly town residents, but the ones that steal the show are Kate’s nieces. The 10 year-old twins are as much main characters as the leading couple. They are very precocious for their age and their use of language and social skills are similar to an adult’s. I personally didn’t find them completely believable but they were definitely likeable.
Overall, a good slow-burn romance with a cast of unconventional characters. 3.5 stars.
ARC provided to me in exchange for an honest review.
See all my reviews at www.lezreviewbooks.com
This is a very slow-burn romance between main characters in their mid forties. The story is set in a small seaside town with the typical meddling of its inhabitants. Most of the time, the tone of the story is whimsical and humorous, similar to Robin Alexander’s style, so I’m not sure if it’ll appeal to all romance fans. For me, this read would have been better if the chemistry between the main characters was stronger.
The novel is generally well written though sometimes the balance between showing and telling is off. In my opinion, the most enjoyable parts of the story is when the authors give an insight into the writing process through Claudia’s creative struggles.
There are a good number of secondary characters, mostly town residents, but the ones that steal the show are Kate’s nieces. The 10 year-old twins are as much main characters as the leading couple. They are very precocious for their age and their use of language and social skills are similar to an adult’s. I personally didn’t find them completely believable but they were definitely likeable.
Overall, a good slow-burn romance with a cast of unconventional characters. 3.5 stars.
ARC provided to me in exchange for an honest review.
See all my reviews at www.lezreviewbooks.com
September 23, 2018
What a delightful way to spend a Sunday. I absolutely loved this wonderful love story. Sure the romance was satisfying, but as always with this dynamic duo of writers, it is often the supporting characters that steal the show. In this case it was Punk and Charlie. Laugh out loud moments are always a good bet. Highly recommended.
September 24, 2018
This book warms my heart. I loved all the characters, especially the twins. They're so funny and sweet.
A second part, please !!!!
A second part, please !!!!
October 12, 2018
I must start by saying my review does not agree with the majority of the reviews on this page. I simply could not stand the twins. The story seemed to be about the twins and not on the two main characters. I skipped entire pages just to get away from the silliness. But I read the ending so it wouldn't be a complete waste of my time. If the book was rated like a movie, it would be a Disney movie with smartass little girls as their central character. Not my kind of story at all.
September 23, 2018
Bennett and Gardner have written another perfectly wonderful lesbian romance about women who act like legitimate adults.
Hungry Hearts puts Claudia Montgomery in a seashore B & B owned and operated by the Ferguson family. Maggie, her daughter Kate and her granddaughters Punk and Charlie welcome Claudia with open arms. Each day of her extended stay is filled with love, laughter, writing and romance. Claudia and Kate do the miscommunication two step, but the twins already have their future mapped out.
I can't claim to be either a critical reader or reviewer, because I love novels by the amazing writing team. This story and these characters may not appeal to a cross section of lesfic fans, but I found it to be heartwarming and extremely entertaining. Nothing less than 5 stars captures how I feel about Hungry Hearts.
Hungry Hearts puts Claudia Montgomery in a seashore B & B owned and operated by the Ferguson family. Maggie, her daughter Kate and her granddaughters Punk and Charlie welcome Claudia with open arms. Each day of her extended stay is filled with love, laughter, writing and romance. Claudia and Kate do the miscommunication two step, but the twins already have their future mapped out.
I can't claim to be either a critical reader or reviewer, because I love novels by the amazing writing team. This story and these characters may not appeal to a cross section of lesfic fans, but I found it to be heartwarming and extremely entertaining. Nothing less than 5 stars captures how I feel about Hungry Hearts.
November 19, 2022
DNF
What is it with romance authors not being able to write believable children? Let me quote one of the 10-year-olds in Hungry Hearts: "War is bad and must be eliminated from the planet, if humans want to survive as a species" - "War is a form of population control [...]" At that point, as an author, how do you not notice something is off about your characters?
No 10-year-old talks like that. Children aren't just smaller adults FYI...
The weird, creepy adult-children also get way too much page-time for how boring and irrelevant they are. Their story is already wrapped up and they're pretty much just there as filler.
The writing isn't anything to write home about either, and while the setup could've been interesting, the entertaining part - getting to know the twins and figuring out how to be a mother-figure to them - was already wrapped up before the story starts.
I think the scene about the lead character's sister driving over her ex-husbands head multiple times with her car, until bits of his brain were stuck in the tire was supposed to be funny. I felt like it missed its mark though.
The insanely positive reviews seem kind of arbitrary to me... I was expecting something exceptional at almost 4.5 stars, but this is a below-average book, really.
Heads up: if you still want to read this, don't go for the audiobook. The narration is very flat and kind of hard to listen to.
What is it with romance authors not being able to write believable children? Let me quote one of the 10-year-olds in Hungry Hearts: "War is bad and must be eliminated from the planet, if humans want to survive as a species" - "War is a form of population control [...]" At that point, as an author, how do you not notice something is off about your characters?
No 10-year-old talks like that. Children aren't just smaller adults FYI...
The weird, creepy adult-children also get way too much page-time for how boring and irrelevant they are. Their story is already wrapped up and they're pretty much just there as filler.
The writing isn't anything to write home about either, and while the setup could've been interesting, the entertaining part - getting to know the twins and figuring out how to be a mother-figure to them - was already wrapped up before the story starts.
I think the scene about the lead character's sister driving over her ex-husbands head multiple times with her car, until bits of his brain were stuck in the tire was supposed to be funny. I felt like it missed its mark though.
The insanely positive reviews seem kind of arbitrary to me... I was expecting something exceptional at almost 4.5 stars, but this is a below-average book, really.
Heads up: if you still want to read this, don't go for the audiobook. The narration is very flat and kind of hard to listen to.
November 4, 2018
I'll give this one a 5-star because the characters were flawless, yet flawed like any real person. With their own backstory and history. Claudia and Kate coming together had to be inevitable, right? They just felt so right from the very beginning. How about Kate's sister, though?
That's a hard-knock life for her, going through a divorce from someone who was abusive but losing custody of your two kids who fear their own father and what he might've tried to do to them is (I think) any normal parents fear, real or fictional. Just a great read and fun characters, with some sadness mixed in. There were some fun and happy moments, but god that's gotta be tough raising your sister's kids while she's in jail for 20+ years. That part hit me hard, too. The only complaint I had was that Amber was a question throughout while Claudia and Kate were still figuring out what they other wanted. Kate wanted Claudia to stay longer, but didn't want to interfere in her life and Claudia didn't know where she would fit in with Kate and the twins.
That's a hard-knock life for her, going through a divorce from someone who was abusive but losing custody of your two kids who fear their own father and what he might've tried to do to them is (I think) any normal parents fear, real or fictional. Just a great read and fun characters, with some sadness mixed in. There were some fun and happy moments, but god that's gotta be tough raising your sister's kids while she's in jail for 20+ years. That part hit me hard, too. The only complaint I had was that Amber was a question throughout while Claudia and Kate were still figuring out what they other wanted. Kate wanted Claudia to stay longer, but didn't want to interfere in her life and Claudia didn't know where she would fit in with Kate and the twins.
October 15, 2019
This is my official new favorite Gardner/Bennett book. Kate and Claudia are a fantastic couple, and I love that they just click, and there's no real personality conflicts between them. It's okay for that part to be easy, sometimes. They had enough other stuff to deal with, including Claudia's determination to return to the big city, Kate's concerns for her mother's health and her nieces' upbringing. Then there's the sexy hairdresser who seems to pop up whenever Kate is around. I love the climax of the book, because it's a good ole rom-com ending, and it couldn't have been any better. This is a book I can see myself returning to year after year. It made me laugh, it made me cheer, and it made me shake my fist in the air. Yeah, I'll be back.
September 24, 2018
Hysterical, adorable and touching
I loved this book! These authors have written some crazy, off the wall hysterical stories, and they have written very touching stories. This book is filled with both aspects. Even better than the adults falling in love is the inclusion of the daily adventures of two dangerously intelligent little girls who are at the center of the story. Punk and Charlie totally make this book great. I'm disappointed that I finished the book because I want to spend more time with them.
I loved this book! These authors have written some crazy, off the wall hysterical stories, and they have written very touching stories. This book is filled with both aspects. Even better than the adults falling in love is the inclusion of the daily adventures of two dangerously intelligent little girls who are at the center of the story. Punk and Charlie totally make this book great. I'm disappointed that I finished the book because I want to spend more time with them.
December 10, 2019
Sweet Pre-summer romance
“When love came knocking, it didn’t consider things like time and space. It arrived unannounced and barged in the front door without warning.”
+ • + • + • +
A sweet & delightful slow-burning love story reminding us that sometimes the worst moments & hardest times of your life can be the very ones that redirects you onto a path that leads you to your best life & greatest experiences.
“When love came knocking, it didn’t consider things like time and space. It arrived unannounced and barged in the front door without warning.”
+ • + • + • +
A sweet & delightful slow-burning love story reminding us that sometimes the worst moments & hardest times of your life can be the very ones that redirects you onto a path that leads you to your best life & greatest experiences.
February 24, 2021
A writer with writers block changes her status!
Claudia a mystery writer needs new material or so she thinks. Finding herself at a B&B on the coast and and the mixed family who manages it with enough day to day activities to maybe find enough material and maybe find that missing thing in her heart called love! Good job on the writing ladies! Enjoy!
Claudia a mystery writer needs new material or so she thinks. Finding herself at a B&B on the coast and and the mixed family who manages it with enough day to day activities to maybe find enough material and maybe find that missing thing in her heart called love! Good job on the writing ladies! Enjoy!
September 15, 2018
Excellent!
I loved Hungry Hearts by Bennett and Gardner. What a beautiful story. Again they take the reader to a small town where we all wish we could live. I wish part of the happily ever after ending had been a solution for helping the twins Mom.
I loved Hungry Hearts by Bennett and Gardner. What a beautiful story. Again they take the reader to a small town where we all wish we could live. I wish part of the happily ever after ending had been a solution for helping the twins Mom.
March 24, 2019
Wonderful read. The main characters were wonderful to get to know. To watch them develop. I enjoyed the warm read. I would love to see were to the other characters end up. But see punk and Charlie have a story would also be wonferful.
August 6, 2019
Wonderful story
This love story was very refreshing. The main characters Kate and Claudia were very interesting and enjoyable. The supporting characters added a great flavor to the stories development.
This love story was very refreshing. The main characters Kate and Claudia were very interesting and enjoyable. The supporting characters added a great flavor to the stories development.
May 16, 2021
I love this book
I read all all their books but especially the ones with kids. This is about building a family and in a small beach town setting. I looked up stuff the kids were exploring so it gets educational points too.
I read all all their books but especially the ones with kids. This is about building a family and in a small beach town setting. I looked up stuff the kids were exploring so it gets educational points too.
October 4, 2018
Really fun book!
Great characters, good story. The kids are hilarious. I laughed out loud throughout the book and finished it in a few hours. I couldn’t put it down.
Great characters, good story. The kids are hilarious. I laughed out loud throughout the book and finished it in a few hours. I couldn’t put it down.
November 26, 2018
I really loved this story. It was hilarious at times. Both Kate and Claudia were so nice and so in love. The twins and the grandmother were great as well. Well written and a great ending.
November 27, 2018
Great
It has been a while since I laughed out loud while reading a lesbian book . Punk and Charlie made the story and it is great.
It has been a while since I laughed out loud while reading a lesbian book . Punk and Charlie made the story and it is great.
January 6, 2019
Amusing vacation tale with a pair of precocious twins for good measure.
February 12, 2019
Great book
I love this story and these characters. It was a nice love stuffy and i loved the laughs in it.
I love this story and these characters. It was a nice love stuffy and i loved the laughs in it.
February 27, 2019
Super cute and funny, these two authors never disappoint.
Read
November 11, 2019Loved this book! Charlie and Punk are great little characters (10 year old twins). Really sweet story.
April 22, 2021
Totally loved this book. I laughed so hard at the twins, Charlie and Punk, with their take on life, I had tears running. It's great to have a family presented with such a fun.
January 1, 2023
Fabulous book so funny and heary warminga book thats guaranteed to put a smile on your face
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews