Review of Open Heart by Emlyn Chand

Open Heart is the second book of the Farsighted series. The first book was written in Simmi’s boyfriend Alex’s perspective and the book was about how he slowly came into his powers. Open Heart is obviously from Simmi’s perspective and dwells into deeper issues.

About the book

Simmi Shergill’s life is a mess. Her powers of psychic feeling are on the fritz, and Grandon Township’s sudden population boom has brought quite a few unsavory characters to town. She also looks like an over-blown balloon in her size 14 pants, but not even starving herself seems to be working as a diet plan. Well, at least her boyfriend, Alex, loves her so much he’d do anything for her. Last summer he even risked his life to protect her from the mysterious boy everyone was convinced wanted to kill her.

The problem is, she’s not so sure she feels the same way. Is Alex really the man of her dreams? And why can’t she stop fixating on her would-be killer, Dax? Whenever he’s around, part of her wants to run screaming in the other direction while the other part longs to run into his embrace, no matter who she’d hurt or what she’d risk.

Simmi’s loyalty is on the line. Who will she choose—the blind seer who loves her, or the charming telekinetic with “bad idea” written all over him? Emotions run high as the tension mounts in book two of the Farsighted series.

This book was heartfelt, emotional, annoying, and amusing all at the same time. It was heartfelt and very emotional because it dealt with very serious issues that Simmi struggled with. I couldn’t relate with what Simmi was going through, but I did understand the seriousness and could only imagine the difficulty of dealing with something like that. I can appreciate how the author handled something that many people, especially young women, are struggling with everyday.

I had difficulty getting through most of the book, not because of Simmi’s issues (although that part wasn’t a breeze in any way) or that it was bad but because the characters were, well, pretty young and pretty much acted like any normal teenager. I found myself annoyed with how most of them acted in certain situations and I had to keep reminding myself that these were high school kids. Reading this book confirmed it–I am slowly becoming an old fart! GAH.

Anyway, it became easier towards the end, but I was sad about what happened to one of my favorite characters, my Open Heart boyfriend! Sigh. The ending wasn’t quite what I expected and for me there weren’t any real resolutions just yet, so I’m looking forward to the next books in the series. Each book features a different character so it should be interesting.

What I liked about this book: that it was able to tackle a serious issue that many people, mostly young women, suffer from.

What I didn’t like about this book: the annoying teenage angst, but I think that’s just the old fart in me talking!

All in all, this is a good book for young girls and women. I liked that this book wasn’t so much about magical powers but of real issues.

I received a review copy of this book at no cost and with no obligations. All opinions and views expressed here are my own.

About the author

Emlyn Chand emerged from the womb with a fountain pen clutched in her left hand (true story). Since then, she has always loved to hear and tell stories. When she’s not writing, she runs a large book club in Ann Arbor and is the president of author PR firm Novel Publicity. Learn more about Emlyn at www.emlynchand.com or by connecting with her on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or GoodReads. Don’t forget to say “hi” to her sun conure Ducky!

Revisit my review of Farsighted HERE.

2 thoughts on “Review of Open Heart by Emlyn Chand”

  1. Thanks for the awesome review, Leah Bear (that is your new NP nickname, btw). I’m happy I could reach through the Kindle and annoy you with my teenage angst–buahahahha! The new series I’m writing The Timewalker Chronicles is supposed to have less flawed characters, but it’s hard. Flawed is what I know, you know? ;-)

    <3 you,
    Emlyn

    Reply
    • Hahaha! Maybe I was just feeling old when I read the book because I do like reading YA or teen books! Flawed characters are awesome because they feel real and can annoy you for reals. :P

      <3 <3 <3

      Reply

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