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The Heart of the Deal
Perfect for fans of Emily Giffin and Jojo Moyes, Lindsay MacMillan’s debut novel deftly captures the feeling of being adrift in your late twenties, with poignant commentary on female friendships, mental health, and what happiness really looks like.
Rae is in a romantic recession.
The Wall Street banker is single in New York City and overwhelmed by the pressure to scramble up the corporate and romantic ladders. Feeling her biological clock ticking, she analyzes her love life like a business deal and vows to lock in a husband before her 30th birthday.
The Manhattan dating app scene has as many ups and downs as the stock market, and outsourcing dates to an algorithm isn’t exactly Rae’s idea of romance. She considers cutting her losses, but her friends help her stay invested, boosting her spirits with ice cream and cheap wine that they share in their sixth-floor walk-up while recapping cringe-worthy dates.
And then Rae meets Dustin, a poetic soul trapped in a business suit, just like her. She starts to hear wedding bells, but Dustin’s struggles with depression will test their relationship, and no amount of financial modeling can project what their future will look like.
Can Rae free herself from the idea she had of what thirty was supposed to look like and let love breathe on its own timeline? Or is she too conditioned to stay on the “right track” to follow her unpaved intuition?
Moving and timely, The Heart of the Deal is the story of one woman’s reckoning with what success really is in a city, an industry, and a relationship whose low lows continually challenge the enchantment of the high highs.
Rae is in a romantic recession.
The Wall Street banker is single in New York City and overwhelmed by the pressure to scramble up the corporate and romantic ladders. Feeling her biological clock ticking, she analyzes her love life like a business deal and vows to lock in a husband before her 30th birthday.
The Manhattan dating app scene has as many ups and downs as the stock market, and outsourcing dates to an algorithm isn’t exactly Rae’s idea of romance. She considers cutting her losses, but her friends help her stay invested, boosting her spirits with ice cream and cheap wine that they share in their sixth-floor walk-up while recapping cringe-worthy dates.
And then Rae meets Dustin, a poetic soul trapped in a business suit, just like her. She starts to hear wedding bells, but Dustin’s struggles with depression will test their relationship, and no amount of financial modeling can project what their future will look like.
Can Rae free herself from the idea she had of what thirty was supposed to look like and let love breathe on its own timeline? Or is she too conditioned to stay on the “right track” to follow her unpaved intuition?
Moving and timely, The Heart of the Deal is the story of one woman’s reckoning with what success really is in a city, an industry, and a relationship whose low lows continually challenge the enchantment of the high highs.
342 pages, Hardcover
Published June 7, 2022
70 people are currently reading
2585 people want to read
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May 27, 2024
This book was stunning. The writing was lovely and heart wrenchingly REAL. The book is about Rae, and follows her from her 25th birthday to her 30th as she navigates her life, and as her hopes and dreams for the future (career, friends, romantic relationships) change and grow. If you are looking for a fun, easy read, this is NOT the book for you. If you are looking for a book that is going to make you laugh, cry, cringe, shake your fists, roll your eyes, and generally FEEL ALL THE FEELS about what it’s like to navigate your mid to late twenties, then READ THIS NOW.
The descriptive language the author uses brings her characters to life in such a special way that I do NOT come across often. For example, “she crunched a few of the fallen leaves with her heels to release some anxiety, immediately feeling remorse for breaking them into bits.” I MEAN, OH MY GOD. Is this not relatable as hell?? This is how I feel literally every time I step on a leaf! Anyone else? Just me? Ok, well regardless, this one sentence gives us such beautiful insight into the main character’s personality. And the book is chock full of lines like this. Here’s another one, because I just can’t help myself: “‘He’s going to think I’m one of those psycho girls who starts planning the wedding after two dates’ She was that girl, of course, but Dustin didn’t need to know that until farther down the line, once he’d fallen in love with her properly.” UMMM HELLO IT ME. What mid-twenties girl HASN’T had this exact thought before?? (Oh, just me again? Ok, well I guess I weirdly relate to the MC more than the average reader and maybe that has something to do with why I loved this book so much). I felt like the author was peering directly into my soul with lines like this at so many points throughout the book.
All that being said, the book took a TURN a few chapters in. It starts off seemingly like a rom com (and a very good one at that!!) but swerves hard into some pretty dark shit, and then you come out temporarily, but you have this sense of dread the entire time because you’re anticipating the other shoe dropping, and then at the end of the book it does, in fact, drop, and you’re nauseous and heartbroken even though you saw it coming, because it felt inevitable, but you still hoped against all hopes that it might end differently. But for me, I still adored this book because it was SO. DAMN. REAL.
The other reviews I’m reading are ripping the book apart for a few reasons:
1. The relationship between Rae and Dustin was toxic as hell. Yes. Agree. But do I hate the book because the relationship was imperfect/unhealthy? …No. It was not portrayed or disguised as a healthy relationship, and while it was upsetting at times to watch it all unfold, that was the book. If you only want to read books about fake relationships where everything is always perfect and arguments are eye rollingly stupid, then yeah, this book is probably too heavy for you.
2. People seem to dislike the portrayal of depression because Dustin was also a narcissistic asshole. I mean…yeah. It is actually possible to be both depressed and a selfish jerk. One does not preclude the other. The author was not conflating the two, Dustin was just both things. Why is that so hard to swallow? He’s a complicated person, like, you know, a HUMAN, as opposed to a one dimensional character. The author wrote a book about humans. That’s what makes it so friggin good.
3. It wAs SuPpOsEd tO bE a RomcOm wHaT haPPenEd??? LIFE HAPPENED. This is not a rom com, this is a story about Rae, and when we first meet her, she’s on a journey to get wifed up but then SHIT HAPPENS because (see point above) she’s a HUMAN! Ultimately, people who are complaining about this have a problem with ADVERTISING/MARKETING, not with the book itself. Don’t take that out on the author. The author creates a masterpiece, you just weren’t expecting it.
A disclaimer: I am a month and a half away from my 30th birthday so I am deep in my feelings and this book hit me hard because it spans the same 5 years of the MC’s life that I just lived through. While I have never been in a relationship like the one that plagues Rae (thank god) her career frustrations and successes, her musings on motherhood and marriage, her relationships with friends, and overall maturation are relatable in such a vulnerable way. I admit that it’s possible that my own impending 30th has made this book and the topics it touches on more relatable for me than it may be for others. However, I truly believe that the author’s writing is so good that if you’re reading it before you’ve turned 25 then you’ll think back on this book one day when you are and be like wow the character’s voice and the things she’s dealing with really are an incredibly perceptive take on this age (and so on). And for those already over 30, I think they will recognize themselves from however many years ago in the author’s writing and again, recognize what a perceptive take on these years in a woman’s life this book is. But yes I recognize not all women will relate to Rae.
Overall, I think this book is amazing even if I carried a sense of dread with me for much of it because I wanted to shake the MC and help her choose a better path. Was I happy with how it ended? No. Was I satisfied? Yes, because it made complete sense for Rae and I was able to appreciate this book for what it was rather than wanting it to be something it wasn’t. This book is raw, and heartbreaking, and at times dark, but also full of hope and self discovery and growth (even though she regresses at the end in her relationship choices, that doesn’t negate all the growth she made in other ways). Also that is often the nature of a toxic relationship. Just because I don’t approve doesn’t mean it’s not realistic. It felt like having real friends who are going through real issues and you want them to just make the right decisions but you can’t make them, so you have to choose whether you want to stick it out or not. If this were real life, I might not have been able to weather the storm with Rae, because watching a friend make self destructive choices is awful. But it was a book, and it was written beautifully, and I had no choice but to keep reading because I had to see what was going to happen to my friend. Ok I’m ranting. I loved this book. I can’t stop thinking about it. I could go on forever (duh). 5/5 messy but beautiful stars (also duh). Thank you to NetGalley and the author and the publisher for sending me this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review. Best ARC I’ve ever read. Ok I’ll really stop writing now. Ugh I wish this author were getting the respect and admiration I feel she deserves. The end.
The descriptive language the author uses brings her characters to life in such a special way that I do NOT come across often. For example, “she crunched a few of the fallen leaves with her heels to release some anxiety, immediately feeling remorse for breaking them into bits.” I MEAN, OH MY GOD. Is this not relatable as hell?? This is how I feel literally every time I step on a leaf! Anyone else? Just me? Ok, well regardless, this one sentence gives us such beautiful insight into the main character’s personality. And the book is chock full of lines like this. Here’s another one, because I just can’t help myself: “‘He’s going to think I’m one of those psycho girls who starts planning the wedding after two dates’ She was that girl, of course, but Dustin didn’t need to know that until farther down the line, once he’d fallen in love with her properly.” UMMM HELLO IT ME. What mid-twenties girl HASN’T had this exact thought before?? (Oh, just me again? Ok, well I guess I weirdly relate to the MC more than the average reader and maybe that has something to do with why I loved this book so much). I felt like the author was peering directly into my soul with lines like this at so many points throughout the book.
All that being said, the book took a TURN a few chapters in. It starts off seemingly like a rom com (and a very good one at that!!) but swerves hard into some pretty dark shit, and then you come out temporarily, but you have this sense of dread the entire time because you’re anticipating the other shoe dropping, and then at the end of the book it does, in fact, drop, and you’re nauseous and heartbroken even though you saw it coming, because it felt inevitable, but you still hoped against all hopes that it might end differently. But for me, I still adored this book because it was SO. DAMN. REAL.
The other reviews I’m reading are ripping the book apart for a few reasons:
1. The relationship between Rae and Dustin was toxic as hell. Yes. Agree. But do I hate the book because the relationship was imperfect/unhealthy? …No. It was not portrayed or disguised as a healthy relationship, and while it was upsetting at times to watch it all unfold, that was the book. If you only want to read books about fake relationships where everything is always perfect and arguments are eye rollingly stupid, then yeah, this book is probably too heavy for you.
2. People seem to dislike the portrayal of depression because Dustin was also a narcissistic asshole. I mean…yeah. It is actually possible to be both depressed and a selfish jerk. One does not preclude the other. The author was not conflating the two, Dustin was just both things. Why is that so hard to swallow? He’s a complicated person, like, you know, a HUMAN, as opposed to a one dimensional character. The author wrote a book about humans. That’s what makes it so friggin good.
3. It wAs SuPpOsEd tO bE a RomcOm wHaT haPPenEd??? LIFE HAPPENED. This is not a rom com, this is a story about Rae, and when we first meet her, she’s on a journey to get wifed up but then SHIT HAPPENS because (see point above) she’s a HUMAN! Ultimately, people who are complaining about this have a problem with ADVERTISING/MARKETING, not with the book itself. Don’t take that out on the author. The author creates a masterpiece, you just weren’t expecting it.
A disclaimer: I am a month and a half away from my 30th birthday so I am deep in my feelings and this book hit me hard because it spans the same 5 years of the MC’s life that I just lived through. While I have never been in a relationship like the one that plagues Rae (thank god) her career frustrations and successes, her musings on motherhood and marriage, her relationships with friends, and overall maturation are relatable in such a vulnerable way. I admit that it’s possible that my own impending 30th has made this book and the topics it touches on more relatable for me than it may be for others. However, I truly believe that the author’s writing is so good that if you’re reading it before you’ve turned 25 then you’ll think back on this book one day when you are and be like wow the character’s voice and the things she’s dealing with really are an incredibly perceptive take on this age (and so on). And for those already over 30, I think they will recognize themselves from however many years ago in the author’s writing and again, recognize what a perceptive take on these years in a woman’s life this book is. But yes I recognize not all women will relate to Rae.
Overall, I think this book is amazing even if I carried a sense of dread with me for much of it because I wanted to shake the MC and help her choose a better path. Was I happy with how it ended? No. Was I satisfied? Yes, because it made complete sense for Rae and I was able to appreciate this book for what it was rather than wanting it to be something it wasn’t. This book is raw, and heartbreaking, and at times dark, but also full of hope and self discovery and growth (even though she regresses at the end in her relationship choices, that doesn’t negate all the growth she made in other ways). Also that is often the nature of a toxic relationship. Just because I don’t approve doesn’t mean it’s not realistic. It felt like having real friends who are going through real issues and you want them to just make the right decisions but you can’t make them, so you have to choose whether you want to stick it out or not. If this were real life, I might not have been able to weather the storm with Rae, because watching a friend make self destructive choices is awful. But it was a book, and it was written beautifully, and I had no choice but to keep reading because I had to see what was going to happen to my friend. Ok I’m ranting. I loved this book. I can’t stop thinking about it. I could go on forever (duh). 5/5 messy but beautiful stars (also duh). Thank you to NetGalley and the author and the publisher for sending me this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review. Best ARC I’ve ever read. Ok I’ll really stop writing now. Ugh I wish this author were getting the respect and admiration I feel she deserves. The end.
February 19, 2022
At first I was upset with this book for having a pink cover. It felt like it was making the book try to be a fluffy rom com, which it's not. But in the end, I liked the cover. Because who says deep things can't be pink? I needed to re-assess my judgments here, and I think a lot of readers will need to do the same. Cover aside, brilliant beyond measure.
October 26, 2021
I struggled putting this book down. Lindsay MacMillian does an amazing job showing Raes growth throughout the years. I found myself relating to the main character in multiple scenarios especially with putting a time stamp on my expectations in life. This is more than just a love story it’s about the character learning to love herself and choosing her expectations for herself over others. I would suggest this book for young adults as they can learn that life shouldn’t be a time line you follow it should just be lived.
February 19, 2022
This book was such a gift. I'm a woman in my fifties, and I used to work in the corporate world in NYC during my twenties and thirties. This book brought me back there to all the highs and lows, and it also transported me into the present-day dating and corporate world and was both entertaining and incredibly poignant. For those saying that this is a mental health book, it is not. Dustin's mental health is part of the plot but far from the focal point. I think that people's reaction to it says much more about where they're at in their lives than where the MC is at. This is clearly a women's fiction novel, not a rom com, which I so appreciated. Having said that, I think we do need to be careful not to label/pigeon hole this book because what makes it so beautiful is how it defies the boundaries of what's been done before. This is the type of innovation we need to applaud, not belittle. I also saw on her bio that she's a VP at Goldman Sachs which only adds to how impressive this book is - she has truly lived the corporate ladder/romantic ladder pressures that she writes about. Hoping we can get her to Zoom into our book club. I would encourage women of all ages to read this...and men too. How much better would our world be if men understood what it was like to be a woman trying to become an adult today? So glad I got my hands on an early copy and will be following this book closely when it publishes in June. Brava, Miss MacMillan. This is special.
October 1, 2021
The story
Rae and her best friend and roommate Ellen live in a “penthouse” up a zillion steps in the West Village in Manhattan. They both work gruelling hours in their finance job. Although Rae spends her days working at an investment bank, she dreams of being a poet and every opportunity to see the poetry around her and write it down. But at 25, Rae is panicking that she won’t have time to meet her life goals of being married with three children by the time her biological clock stops ticking. She meets Dustin through a dating app and their souls just click. But Dustin’s severe depression threaten Rae’s plans, will they be able to make it work.
My thoughts
This beautifully written story covers the five years between Rae turning 25 and 30, how she and her friends navigate life in Manhattan and their place in their careers and the world. As someone who married and found someone in my late twenties, I am a strong believer in the benefits of doing some growing up in your twenties before finding yourself and your independence in the world. A big part of this story was Rae’s mostly optimistic nature that despite the challenges in her own life, she has worked hard, studied hard and is working in a tough male dominated environment. This contrasts with Dustin’s deep depression, where Rae’s instinct is to “solve” and heal him. There are many aspects of this relationship that made me feel sad for her. As much as she loves him, I don’t think it was healthy. I so enjoyed this story and the thoughtful and emotional aspects. This felt a bit like a bonus episode of the Bold Type, if that is your thing. ❤️
I read an eARC copy courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher.
Rae and her best friend and roommate Ellen live in a “penthouse” up a zillion steps in the West Village in Manhattan. They both work gruelling hours in their finance job. Although Rae spends her days working at an investment bank, she dreams of being a poet and every opportunity to see the poetry around her and write it down. But at 25, Rae is panicking that she won’t have time to meet her life goals of being married with three children by the time her biological clock stops ticking. She meets Dustin through a dating app and their souls just click. But Dustin’s severe depression threaten Rae’s plans, will they be able to make it work.
My thoughts
This beautifully written story covers the five years between Rae turning 25 and 30, how she and her friends navigate life in Manhattan and their place in their careers and the world. As someone who married and found someone in my late twenties, I am a strong believer in the benefits of doing some growing up in your twenties before finding yourself and your independence in the world. A big part of this story was Rae’s mostly optimistic nature that despite the challenges in her own life, she has worked hard, studied hard and is working in a tough male dominated environment. This contrasts with Dustin’s deep depression, where Rae’s instinct is to “solve” and heal him. There are many aspects of this relationship that made me feel sad for her. As much as she loves him, I don’t think it was healthy. I so enjoyed this story and the thoughtful and emotional aspects. This felt a bit like a bonus episode of the Bold Type, if that is your thing. ❤️
I read an eARC copy courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher.
February 19, 2022
This book was enchanting. Such a mix of levity and depth and completely captured a life stage and made me feel like I was on Rae's liberation journey. What I liked was that it didn't follow a formulaic little arc like I thought it might. It bravely dove into our relationship with work, with ourselves, and with friends, in addition to the romantic relationship through line. Think this one is going to be a bit polarising - either you love it or you're not quite feeling the way that so many emotions are woven together. For me, it was a winner and the fresh voice and poetic writing was so beautiful. I'm sold on Lindsay and can't wait to see what she comes out with next.
February 19, 2022
THIS. BOOK. IS. EVERYTHING.
Truly everything. The platonic love and magic of how your gal pals get you through your 20s. The romantic love of trying to selflessly show up for someone who is having a hard time showing up for himself...or for you. The self love and growth and getting sucked in by a job that you don't like but can't figure out how to escape.
This story, IMHO, is -- to quote one of my million favorite lines from it -- is "an ode to love in its surest, purest form.” (from the wedding scene with Dustin's friends)
I'm not going to address the people who are having issues with this book/the blurb. I really have no time for their negativity and lack of appreciation for this millennial masterpieces. all I'll say is that those people seem to be judging the book by the blurb on the cover which is precisely. authors do not have control over their covers -- do not take your anger out on our author queen Lindsay MacMillan about the fact that this was put in a cute pink cover and yet is an emotional bombshell inside. Free yourself from all expectations, like the book teaches you if you are open to it.
I read an e-ARC on a. kindle and am eagerly awaiting my paperback in June so I can highlight the million passages/quotes that tore me apart with their beauty and then built me back up again, higher than I'd ever been before. (There's just something so satisfying about physically highlighting/making notes on the pages)
okay might come back and add more to this later because I just have SO MUCH TO SAY and can't wait for Rae and Ellen (also yes, I think Ellen is the #2 character in this book and not Dustin. And I think that was intentional from Miss Masterful MacMillan because the female empowerment themes are so much more central than the romance, boy-meets-girl themes).
might start a podcast to break down every chapter in detail because I need that energy in my life.
Truly everything. The platonic love and magic of how your gal pals get you through your 20s. The romantic love of trying to selflessly show up for someone who is having a hard time showing up for himself...or for you. The self love and growth and getting sucked in by a job that you don't like but can't figure out how to escape.
This story, IMHO, is -- to quote one of my million favorite lines from it -- is "an ode to love in its surest, purest form.” (from the wedding scene with Dustin's friends)
I'm not going to address the people who are having issues with this book/the blurb. I really have no time for their negativity and lack of appreciation for this millennial masterpieces. all I'll say is that those people seem to be judging the book by the blurb on the cover which is precisely. authors do not have control over their covers -- do not take your anger out on our author queen Lindsay MacMillan about the fact that this was put in a cute pink cover and yet is an emotional bombshell inside. Free yourself from all expectations, like the book teaches you if you are open to it.
I read an e-ARC on a. kindle and am eagerly awaiting my paperback in June so I can highlight the million passages/quotes that tore me apart with their beauty and then built me back up again, higher than I'd ever been before. (There's just something so satisfying about physically highlighting/making notes on the pages)
okay might come back and add more to this later because I just have SO MUCH TO SAY and can't wait for Rae and Ellen (also yes, I think Ellen is the #2 character in this book and not Dustin. And I think that was intentional from Miss Masterful MacMillan because the female empowerment themes are so much more central than the romance, boy-meets-girl themes).
might start a podcast to break down every chapter in detail because I need that energy in my life.
February 19, 2022
Going out on a limb that doesn't feel too far out there to say that this is going to be one of the biggest books of 2022. Not sure if it will be an instant bestseller because I think it will need to bubble up in a grassroots way, but the word of mouth recs are going to spread like wildfire. I'm also one of the naughty ones who borrowed a friend's ARC after she couldn't stop talking about it, and I was blown away. I'm a new grandmother in my 60s and not the target demographic, per say, but the beauty with this book is how big it is - it spans genre and generation. Keep your heart open and this book will land for you where it's supposed to. Lindsay MacMillan is a force to be reckoned with.
February 19, 2022
Please, can all of you GR friends remember to review what the book actually is, not what you thought it would be? The negative ones I'm seeing on here seem to be forgetting that point. I'm in the 5-star category here, zero hesitations. Genuinely curious to see how the world reacts to it. Lindsay MacMillan has a real power here -- in presenting this book like a cute pink thing, and then having it tackle such deeper issues about the pressures women feel in their personal and professional lives -- I think that this book is going to disrupt the status quo in exactly the way MacMillan intended, even if some of the marketing folks are leading readers astray with the light depiction. This book took me a full week to read, which is very rare for me for fiction. But that's a credit to the depth and also the poetry of every line. I wanted to keep drinking it in. And I will be, for a long time to come. As will many others, I know.
November 8, 2021
The Heart of the Deal
by Lindsay MacMillan
Thank you to Alcove Press and Netgalley for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review
This is the story of Rae and her best friend Ellen spanning the five years between Rae turning 25 and 30 and the transitions they face during that time. Rae has worked hard in a male dominated field and has set life and career goals for herself. She hears her biological clock ticking and feels the need to search for her future husband before time runs out on her plans.
She connects with Dustin on a dating app and soon discovers that he suffers from clinical depression. Instead of heeding the advice of her friends she continues to be involved with him despite his lack of investment in the relationship. She loves him and thinks she can solve his problem and that he will get better.
This was actually a very sad and heartbreaking story rather than the romantic comedy that I thought it was going to be. That doesn’t mean that it is a bad story, just not what I was expecting. Rae seems to be someone who is goal oriented and has worked hard to create the life she wants. That is why it feels as though she is throwing it all away on someone who is not as invested in building a life. He stops contact with her out of the blue and goes a year without a word and then they are back together. His depression is an excuse for his behavior instead of something he is working through. I’d like to see the characters have an arc, grow and change and be different in the end from where they are in the beginning. However, Dustin doesn’t grow or improve at all and Rae seems to reverse her advancement and momentum. The relationship is toxic and unhealthy for her and makes the ending disappointing.
by Lindsay MacMillan
Thank you to Alcove Press and Netgalley for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review
This is the story of Rae and her best friend Ellen spanning the five years between Rae turning 25 and 30 and the transitions they face during that time. Rae has worked hard in a male dominated field and has set life and career goals for herself. She hears her biological clock ticking and feels the need to search for her future husband before time runs out on her plans.
She connects with Dustin on a dating app and soon discovers that he suffers from clinical depression. Instead of heeding the advice of her friends she continues to be involved with him despite his lack of investment in the relationship. She loves him and thinks she can solve his problem and that he will get better.
This was actually a very sad and heartbreaking story rather than the romantic comedy that I thought it was going to be. That doesn’t mean that it is a bad story, just not what I was expecting. Rae seems to be someone who is goal oriented and has worked hard to create the life she wants. That is why it feels as though she is throwing it all away on someone who is not as invested in building a life. He stops contact with her out of the blue and goes a year without a word and then they are back together. His depression is an excuse for his behavior instead of something he is working through. I’d like to see the characters have an arc, grow and change and be different in the end from where they are in the beginning. However, Dustin doesn’t grow or improve at all and Rae seems to reverse her advancement and momentum. The relationship is toxic and unhealthy for her and makes the ending disappointing.
February 19, 2022
Okay can we please talk about this book???? And how Lindsay MacMillan just did the most brilliant thing of our generation to write a HUGELY IMPORTANT BOOK ABOUT LIFE AND LOVE AND EVERYTHING under a sort of guise of a little rom com. I am here for it. End of story. Start of discussion. Let's go.
October 1, 2021
I was lucky enough to receive this ARC of ‘The Heart of the deal’ by Lindsay Macmillan.
Thank you to @netgalley, @alcovepress & Lindsay Macmillan.
My review.
Wow, this epic love story isn’t your usual run-of-the-mill boy meets girl story. This book has ups and downs as much as Dustin’s depression. Rae was an investment banker dreaming of a poets life and when she met Dustin, her perfect match in every way there was one thing that was holding him back. His depression.
The book didn’t focus on Dustin’s problems, but the lives of the people around him and how his life and the choices he makes, does effect the ones around him.
Rae was such a good, courageous character & although she had a set plan on wanting to get married and have kids, life got in the way - and this books shows that sometimes, it’s okay.
Although it ended abruptly and I didn’t get the closure I need. I did thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.
Thank you to @netgalley, @alcovepress & Lindsay Macmillan.
My review.
Wow, this epic love story isn’t your usual run-of-the-mill boy meets girl story. This book has ups and downs as much as Dustin’s depression. Rae was an investment banker dreaming of a poets life and when she met Dustin, her perfect match in every way there was one thing that was holding him back. His depression.
The book didn’t focus on Dustin’s problems, but the lives of the people around him and how his life and the choices he makes, does effect the ones around him.
Rae was such a good, courageous character & although she had a set plan on wanting to get married and have kids, life got in the way - and this books shows that sometimes, it’s okay.
Although it ended abruptly and I didn’t get the closure I need. I did thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.
February 19, 2022
Agree with what the other 5-stars have said. If you have an issue with the way you thought this was going to be a light fluffy rom com, that's your problem not the book or author's problem. This is utterly and achingly stunning, with enough light moments to keep my heart whole and happy. Thank you to Miss MacMillan for writing with such heart.
February 19, 2022
I am feeling RILED UP and ready to go to defend this book and the author at all costs!!! Absolutely hands-down the most stunning ARC I've ever read and am insanely baffled that more people aren't catching onto this. I agree with what some of the others have said that this book will serve those it needs to serve, and some of the dimwits (oops, sorry not sorry) might not catch on to how beautifully expansive and important this story. It gave me all the feels about the twenty-something chapter of my life where female friendships basically filled the role of a romantic partner, and the volatility of dating and work life. Disclaimer, I did live in NYC for 2 years after college so I am potentially biased but the city details and the way that Lindsay portrayed NYC as a character in the book -- another partner of sorts -- was such a gift to me especially since I haven't visited since the pandemic. I'm in my mid-30s now and this was a time capsule in the best of ways, and yet also so eerily relevant to things I'm facing today and likely will continue to face as I keep growing up. Please can we stop trying to put a label on this book and just start giving it the credit it deserves? The only reason I'm not more appalled by how some people are dismissing it is that I know that there will be SUCH A HUGE DEMOGRAPHIC of women (myself included, obviously) who will be so obsessed with this book that the naysayers will quickly become the minority. I think it's tough because I don't think as many ARC readers are women in their 20s and 30s who ~get~ this world, so maybe that's the issue here. But either way, there is NO issue with the writing, the plot, the exploration of mental health, or literally anything else about this gorgeous book. I'm not going to be able to stop talking about this one for ages. Probably forever. Okay, stepping off the soap box now and letting you develop your own opinion but please do not go in with expectations -- just receive the book as you go, and see where it takes you. Then I'll be there to talk about it over wine and Ben & Jerry's after, a la the Scramblettes. Brava, Lindsay MacMillan. I've got you, girl.
February 19, 2022
5 star review described in 5 words: "Stunner. Watch out, Sally Rooney."
December 30, 2021
Thank you to the author and the publisher, Alcove Press, for letting me read an ARC of this amazing book!
TRIGGER WARNING: depression, toxic relationship
"I need to meet my husband ASAP so I can get married before thirty, or it's all over"
"You're too much of a somebody to follow the nobodies"
"Midtwenties girls have lots of bargaining power"
This book was amazing!
I read it, expecting a romantic book I could easily get into and finish ... it wasn't like this at all!
It completely surprised me and in the best possible ways.
I loved the message and lesson the author wants to share, and I loved how the reader can unravel it , while experiencing what the main character is experiencing.
I admired Rae for her determination, her strong-will, her passion, and the fact that she is passionate about having a family but also continuing her career.
I loved how different women' portrait were made in this story, and also the fact that, despite everything, there will be people who'll never leave you ... no matter how much you want or don't want to.
After all that's all this book was about; trying to find someone worth it through the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.
Though sometimes we should find ourself during those moments, before asking someone to be there with us.
Women in stem, carrier, family, romance and struggle ... this book had them all.
Nothing is taken for granted and right at the moment when you believe you've figured out how it will develop, everything changes.
I loved how the author explored different form of relationships but every time it all went back to friendship and affection.
And if there's another important thing this book deals with, it's time. It showed that time truly is personal and subjective, and that, in life, we can make everything happen if we just manage to trust our own time, without rush or anxiety. Especially women who, because of society standards, feel pressed to act according to a certain biological timeline.
Despite everything I still believe that the main character had an happy ending, even though maybe not what many will expect!
"Don't steal from your own sunshine to keep my soul out of the shade"
"You don't choose love ... Love chooses you"
"Marriage is a merger, not an acquisition"
TRIGGER WARNING: depression, toxic relationship
"I need to meet my husband ASAP so I can get married before thirty, or it's all over"
"You're too much of a somebody to follow the nobodies"
"Midtwenties girls have lots of bargaining power"
This book was amazing!
I read it, expecting a romantic book I could easily get into and finish ... it wasn't like this at all!
It completely surprised me and in the best possible ways.
I loved the message and lesson the author wants to share, and I loved how the reader can unravel it , while experiencing what the main character is experiencing.
I admired Rae for her determination, her strong-will, her passion, and the fact that she is passionate about having a family but also continuing her career.
I loved how different women' portrait were made in this story, and also the fact that, despite everything, there will be people who'll never leave you ... no matter how much you want or don't want to.
After all that's all this book was about; trying to find someone worth it through the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.
Though sometimes we should find ourself during those moments, before asking someone to be there with us.
Women in stem, carrier, family, romance and struggle ... this book had them all.
Nothing is taken for granted and right at the moment when you believe you've figured out how it will develop, everything changes.
I loved how the author explored different form of relationships but every time it all went back to friendship and affection.
And if there's another important thing this book deals with, it's time. It showed that time truly is personal and subjective, and that, in life, we can make everything happen if we just manage to trust our own time, without rush or anxiety. Especially women who, because of society standards, feel pressed to act according to a certain biological timeline.
Despite everything I still believe that the main character had an happy ending, even though maybe not what many will expect!
"Don't steal from your own sunshine to keep my soul out of the shade"
"You don't choose love ... Love chooses you"
"Marriage is a merger, not an acquisition"
December 28, 2021
This is the story of Rae, a young investment banker from Indiana, who has made a plan to find love in New York City, and ultimately get married before she hits thirty. Rae also dreams of being a poet.
I loved this book. I loved the characters. I highly recommend this, but with caution as the book mentions depression and suicide.
Watching Rae grow as a character was a real treat. From her Midwest origins to her man's world sort of job to her artistic dreams, you can't help but root for Rae. I understand how some readers could be put off by some of her decisions, however. Rae's choices are not for everyone to make, but they are relatable and I couldn't help but empathize.
What I usually love about romance books is the best friend, and Ellen in this story did not disappoint. I was rooting for her too.
This is a debut novel, and I'm looking forward to more books from this author.
I give this 5 stars.
Thank you for the e-arc, Netgalley!
I loved this book. I loved the characters. I highly recommend this, but with caution as the book mentions depression and suicide.
Watching Rae grow as a character was a real treat. From her Midwest origins to her man's world sort of job to her artistic dreams, you can't help but root for Rae. I understand how some readers could be put off by some of her decisions, however. Rae's choices are not for everyone to make, but they are relatable and I couldn't help but empathize.
What I usually love about romance books is the best friend, and Ellen in this story did not disappoint. I was rooting for her too.
This is a debut novel, and I'm looking forward to more books from this author.
I give this 5 stars.
Thank you for the e-arc, Netgalley!
December 26, 2021
Let’s cut to the chase, it’s one of the tough books that’s difficult for me to review. The book is so much more. It explores many forms of love – platonic love in between friends, love in between family members, self-love and dysfunctional love. It discusses that romance isn’t about fairytales and dreams. It catches a glimpse of realistic love story that could be relatable to anyone. A realistic romance that you can learn from.
Speaking of the main characters, they have shown real flaws and vulnerability. It addresses depression. It’s a heartbreaking story for me to witness how the main character, Rae, bravely shows genuine love and care to make the other partner better, but not being able to. Second lead syndrome has hit me, too.
Thank you to @netgalley and Alcove Press for providing me an e-ARC in exchange of an honest feedback.
Speaking of the main characters, they have shown real flaws and vulnerability. It addresses depression. It’s a heartbreaking story for me to witness how the main character, Rae, bravely shows genuine love and care to make the other partner better, but not being able to. Second lead syndrome has hit me, too.
Thank you to @netgalley and Alcove Press for providing me an e-ARC in exchange of an honest feedback.
December 24, 2021
What a great debut novel! There ate some real life struggles of depression and the untold truth behind the caretakers of those directly involved with them. It's so heartbreaking when someone's love for their partner starts to overshadow their own autonomy. Great book! Thanks for the advanced copy!.
January 4, 2022
I'd like to thank NetGalley and the author/publisher for providing an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
I struggled to settle on a rating for The Heart of the Deal, firstly because of the misleading marketing: I thought it was a rom-com because of the cover/comparisons, and that was what I was in the mood for reading when I picked it up. It is not a rom-com, it's not even a romance, it is a painfully accurate tale of trying to make it in this awful late-capitalist society without losing yourself, and dealing with a loved one who struggles with mental health.
It was a weird reading experience for me because I related to both Rae and Dustin, and I couldn't decide if I wanted them to be together or not when it was so clear no one would come out unscathed from that relationship. Most of the reviews I've seen point out that Dustin is toxic and uses his mental illness as a shield to keep doing it, and that's definitely true, and that's when I think the marketing strategy screwed up because if this was a romance, that would have been unforgivable and I would agree with the low ratings, but I'm choosing to give the book the rating it deserves.
I struggled to settle on a rating for The Heart of the Deal, firstly because of the misleading marketing: I thought it was a rom-com because of the cover/comparisons, and that was what I was in the mood for reading when I picked it up. It is not a rom-com, it's not even a romance, it is a painfully accurate tale of trying to make it in this awful late-capitalist society without losing yourself, and dealing with a loved one who struggles with mental health.
It was a weird reading experience for me because I related to both Rae and Dustin, and I couldn't decide if I wanted them to be together or not when it was so clear no one would come out unscathed from that relationship. Most of the reviews I've seen point out that Dustin is toxic and uses his mental illness as a shield to keep doing it, and that's definitely true, and that's when I think the marketing strategy screwed up because if this was a romance, that would have been unforgivable and I would agree with the low ratings, but I'm choosing to give the book the rating it deserves.
August 10, 2022
The Heart of the Deal is a sad story. Miss Macmillan weaving her story so raw and real. I kind of suspecting if this book is a personal story of hers.
The story is focusing on a woman who navigate her life while having relationship with a man who is depressed. How she stayed with him sfor so long and finally break free. Along the way is also a story of her navigating career life and her wanting to have family.
The audiobook is 13 hours long. So it is a very depressing book. I personally like how raw and real the conversayion is. How heart breaking her struggle to stay afloat in sanity.
4 stars
The story is focusing on a woman who navigate her life while having relationship with a man who is depressed. How she stayed with him sfor so long and finally break free. Along the way is also a story of her navigating career life and her wanting to have family.
The audiobook is 13 hours long. So it is a very depressing book. I personally like how raw and real the conversayion is. How heart breaking her struggle to stay afloat in sanity.
4 stars
February 20, 2022
~absolutely stunning. read it 2 times and plan to go back again because each time I find more symbolism and little hidden details that give me TSwift Easter egg vibes~
obsessed with the symbolism of this line with Rae and Dustin's names and the whole premise of how she is the light and he is stuck in the dark:
*“The dust on the windowsill,” Dustin said. “How, when a ray of sun shines on it, it turns into glitter.”
Other favorite lines of the ten thousand that I could've picked from:
*He wasn’t the one who kissed her first, and she wasn’t the one who kissed him first, but they met at a halfway point that wasn’t the average.
*“You’re too much of a somebody to follow the nobodies.”
*"What if he's just like the rest of the Lost Boys of Boyhattan" (LOL too relatable...I mean that's what this entire book was. A big fat poem of relatable life moments that made me feel seen in an eerie but amazing sort of way)
*He smiled his lyrical smile, and she smiled something back, the other half of the verse she’d been stuck on.
obsessed with the symbolism of this line with Rae and Dustin's names and the whole premise of how she is the light and he is stuck in the dark:
*“The dust on the windowsill,” Dustin said. “How, when a ray of sun shines on it, it turns into glitter.”
Other favorite lines of the ten thousand that I could've picked from:
*He wasn’t the one who kissed her first, and she wasn’t the one who kissed him first, but they met at a halfway point that wasn’t the average.
*“You’re too much of a somebody to follow the nobodies.”
*"What if he's just like the rest of the Lost Boys of Boyhattan" (LOL too relatable...I mean that's what this entire book was. A big fat poem of relatable life moments that made me feel seen in an eerie but amazing sort of way)
*He smiled his lyrical smile, and she smiled something back, the other half of the verse she’d been stuck on.
February 19, 2022
this book is poetry. i would read it ten times over for the writing alone. it's a love story and oh so much more. wasn't what I was expecting...so much better and deeper.
February 20, 2022
! ! ! ! ! ! Eeeeeep I don't even know where to start ! ! ! ! !I felt like the author was describing my life in its exact specificity and detail. I don't work on Wall Street but I do have a corporate job and the burnout/pressure to climb the romantic and corporate ladder was incredibly accurate and relatable. We also don't talk much about the ticking biological clock/feeling like you have to get married by 30, and it was handled in such a real-life way that I really adored every single thing about this book.
I actually don't want to write too much in this review because I don't want to color anything for anyone else. I think the issue here is that people are going into it thinking it's going to be one thing and then they're disappointed when it's something else. So I say just let it be what it is and don't have any expectations ("low expectations, high standards" to quote the Scramblettes)
And then please do comment after/message me because I need to talk to as many people as I can about this book and everything I just experienced ! ! ! Think I have a new favorite author.
I actually don't want to write too much in this review because I don't want to color anything for anyone else. I think the issue here is that people are going into it thinking it's going to be one thing and then they're disappointed when it's something else. So I say just let it be what it is and don't have any expectations ("low expectations, high standards" to quote the Scramblettes)
And then please do comment after/message me because I need to talk to as many people as I can about this book and everything I just experienced ! ! ! Think I have a new favorite author.
February 19, 2022
there's such a gap in the market (in Rae's finance lingo) for books like this. instead of arguing over which genre is it, can we talk about the gorgeous writing and relatable themes? it surprised me in the very best of ways.
February 19, 2022
okay, confession one of my best friends got this ARC and i read it from her because she couldn't stop talking (and talking and talking) about it and was dying to chat with someone. we are probably the exact target audience because we are both in our late twenties in NYC and having some major existential crises and trying to figure out what the eff we want in work and love and just about everything. so yes, we're v convinced that the author is one of our bffs in disguise or like a modern gossip girl who KNOWS EVERYTHING ABOUT OUR LOVES (saw this theory on another review too). this is beautiful and kind of messy but in a delightful way that is TRUE LIFE. i think the problem with the book world or just the world in general is how we put everything into little categories that try to make it small. like we try to say 'oh this is a commercial fiction rom com' when actually there are clearly huge literary elements here and it's sooooo much more than a rom com that it's completely counterproductive to do this. i also saw that the description on Barnes & Noble is different from the one on Goodreads. B&N mentions mental health and depression and this one does not...thinking they might have updated it and the newer description is on there? would be good for those changes to flow through because (fair enough) there should be some acknowledgement of the mental health/depression angle of the book since that is a significant chunk of the book. but as others have said, this is RAE'S STORY NOT DUSTIN's so I do not want people saying this is a book about depression because that misses the point. Rae's journey is so much more than that. but okay I also haven't even gotten to the quality of the writing yet. going to throw out some extreme superlatives here and yes I mean every single one. stunning. jaw-droopingly gorgeous. achingly tender. I could go on and on and on. (believe me, my friend who got the ARC and I have already debriefed for hours and will keep doing so because there is just soooo much about what it means to grow up as a woman today and be freaking about about needing to have everything figured out. i felt like I could breathe better by the end of the book which is probably the best compliment I could give.
side rant/question - how old do we think the author is?? we feel like she's got to be so young to be so close to all these details about the dating app scene/twenties life/bottom of the corporate ladder but also the writing has a maturity to it that makes us think she could have written it when she was older. either way, I need to be her friend asap, if I'm not already (which again, I probably am given that she's clearly someone in our friend group operating under a pseudonym because this just hit so close to home and made me feel ridiculously seen and understood and free).
one of my favorite lines (can't actually pick a favorite because that would be like asking me to pick a favorite Ben & Jerry's flavor which we all know is a ridiculous request): 'The only deal she wanted to close was the one that freed her from all archaic obligations and expectations.'
PREACH, LINDSAY, PREACH. and also can you please publish your next book tomorrow because I need more where this came from. ty, talk soon. xo
side rant/question - how old do we think the author is?? we feel like she's got to be so young to be so close to all these details about the dating app scene/twenties life/bottom of the corporate ladder but also the writing has a maturity to it that makes us think she could have written it when she was older. either way, I need to be her friend asap, if I'm not already (which again, I probably am given that she's clearly someone in our friend group operating under a pseudonym because this just hit so close to home and made me feel ridiculously seen and understood and free).
one of my favorite lines (can't actually pick a favorite because that would be like asking me to pick a favorite Ben & Jerry's flavor which we all know is a ridiculous request): 'The only deal she wanted to close was the one that freed her from all archaic obligations and expectations.'
PREACH, LINDSAY, PREACH. and also can you please publish your next book tomorrow because I need more where this came from. ty, talk soon. xo
October 17, 2021
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review
The premise of The Heart of the Deal sounded interesting, but I just couldn't get past how toxic the relationship between the two MCs was.
I understand that depression and mental health can be difficult to overcome, however using them as a crutch an a way to escape accountability for their on actions is not okay. Romanticising a relationship with a person because ' they will get better' when they clearly do not want to get better is just incredibly toxic, and honestly Dustin came accross as, yes depressed, but also horribly narcissistic.
The premise of The Heart of the Deal sounded interesting, but I just couldn't get past how toxic the relationship between the two MCs was.
I understand that depression and mental health can be difficult to overcome, however using them as a crutch an a way to escape accountability for their on actions is not okay. Romanticising a relationship with a person because ' they will get better' when they clearly do not want to get better is just incredibly toxic, and honestly Dustin came accross as, yes depressed, but also horribly narcissistic.
February 20, 2022
Yes, as others have pointed out, this book was confusing to rate in that it spans so many genres and is far more than a typical rom com. Was I bit confused with the twists and turns along the way? Indeed I was. Would I have gone back and changed anything? Absolutely not. I feel like I matured as a reader from the time I started this to the time I finished. In the beginning I was getting hung up on how this was deeper and more emotional than I'd expected it to be. By the end I was cheering and celebrating that this was the case and that not only did Rae (the MC) break out of the box she was confined to in her career & relationships, but I broke out of my box too and was able to receive the entirety of this beautiful and important book. I think that some people won't get it or won't be (lest I say it -evolved?) enough as people to appreciate this book but that doesn't take away from it at all. If anything it just makes it more rare and special. The writing is head and shoulders above most contemporary fiction, especially fiction that focuses on life in your 20s. Though I wasn't personally rooting for Rae and Dustin, I found all of it so believable that it feels like everything in the book was exactly right. Even if I didn't necessary agree with all of the decisions the characters made, I related to them more than I've related to anything in a long time.
February 21, 2022
Thank you to the author for an ARC of this book. Gorgeous writing aside (no one seems to be disputing that much) this is an interesting book because of how it breaks out of conventional genres. Is it commercial fiction or literary? A bit of both. Is it general fiction or romance? A bit of both. Is it entertaining or deep/thought-provoking. Once again, a bit of both. Readers will do well with this one if they embrace what makes this book different instead of pick it apart. I, for one, was completely captivated. This book has my whole heart.
February 20, 2022
Lindsay MacMillan's debut novel, The Heart of the Deal, completely captured my heart. Through the twists and turns, it was raw and real and oh so poetic. Thank you to the author for the advanced copy and can't wait to get my hands on the physical version soon. A must-read for anyone in their twenties - or honestly any age - who's ever felt a bit confused. I'd like to see men read this too so they can walk a mile in women's high heels (as Rae so eloquently says). Amazing on every level, except the one where I wish it weren't over because I neeeeeed to know how what comes after the last chapter.
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