Review: "The Shape of My Heart" by Ann Aguirre
Note: This ebook was provided by Harlequin via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Shape of My Heart is the third and final book in the 2B trilogy from bestselling author Ann Aguirre. Out of the three books, this is definitely my favorite, though the first book, I Want It That Way, is a close second. The spotlight for book three is on Max Cooper and Courtney Kaufman, both former roommates of book one's female lead character, Nadia Conrad. This is a friends to lovers new adult (NA) romance and is also about self-discovery and realizing what truly makes one happy and fighting for that happiness.
Max Cooper knows a lot of people but not many know the real him. Even his closest friends, who just happen to also be his roommates, don't really know a great deal about his past or his back story. His youth and teen years were spent protecting himself and his younger brother Michael from the abuse of their father after their mother passed away. He hasn't returned to his hometown since he was thrown out at sixteen but decides to return upon the death of his grandfather and asks his best friend to come with him.
Courtney Kaufman has known how it is to have loved and lost, having lost her best friend and first love, Eli, when they were both in high school. Since then, she wasn't really able to feel the same passion and commitment for anyone or anything until she becomes roommates with a group of people who become her closest friends, Max Cooper becoming the best friend she hasn't had since Eli's passing. When he invites her to accompany him to his grandfather's wake and funeral, she begins to see him in a new light.
Max and Courtney already kissed twice prior to her moving into their apartment but now that they're "just" best friends, things have become affectionately platonic. But when they spend a few days together in Max's hometown, they both start to wonder if they can be more than friends. Being a couple seems so easy but Max and Courtney's backgrounds are quite different and when one of them is rudely awakened to just how different those backgrounds are, they're left with the choice to either fight for their love or give up.
I really liked Max and Courtney's love story as well as their individual back stories. While Max appears to have made progress in his life, he still harbors insecurities. On the other hand, Courtney may have come from a well-to-do family but she still feels lost, not knowing what to do with the rest of her life after graduation. These two supposed misfits were perfectly fit for one another and reading how their friendship developed into something more had me sighing with satisfaction.
The Shape of My Heart made me laugh and even had me teary-eyed, making it a thoroughly enjoyable reading experience. This definitely made the series end on a high and that epilogue was the perfect touch. I loved that some of these characters considered their tight-knit group of roomies a family, showing that the family you create with those who mean the most to you is just as important as the one you're born into. I'm giving this third and final book 4.5 stars and the entire trilogy a rounded-off rating of four stars. ♥
Date read: 11 December 2014
Learn more about author Ann Aguirre here.
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