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    Heartbroken: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Heartbroken: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Heartbroken: A Novel
    Audiobook13 hours

    Heartbroken: A Novel

    Written by Lisa Unger

    Narrated by Amanda Carlin

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Long after anyone expected Kate to do anything with her life, she did. Using the journals left behind by her aunt and grandmother, she wrote a novel based on a very real, generation-old love story that ended in tragedy. On the other side of town, Emily is about to set fire to her life. She's in a dead-end job and is involved with the wrong man; she can feel herself being drawn into darkness, with horrific consequences. With nowhere to go, she finds herself on the run. Without knowing each other, and with lives that couldn't be more different, Kate and Emily head to the same point on the map: Heart Island, an idyllic place in the middle of a lake in the Adirondacks, owned for generations by Birdie Burke's family. The harsh and unyielding Birdie is at one with this island, which has a terrifying history all its own. She, too, has consequences to face.

    Heartbroken is a tense, mesmerizing novel about the limits of dysfunctional families, of an island haunted by dark memories and restless ghosts, and of the all-too-real demons we must battle.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateJun 26, 2012
    ISBN9780307990372
    Unavailable
    Heartbroken: A Novel
    Author

    Lisa Unger

    LISA UNGER, guest editor, is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of twenty novels, including her latest, Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six. She has been nominated for or won numerous awards, including the Strand Critics, Audie, Macavity, ITW Thriller, and Goodreads Choice Awards as well as the Hammett Prize. In 2019, she received two Edgar Award nominations, an honor held by only a few authors, including Agatha Christie. Lisa is currently copresident of the International Thriller Writers organization.

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    Reviews for Heartbroken

    3.5/5

    89 ratings13 reviews

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    • 4/5
      This was my first Lisa Unger novel. I enjoyed her writing style and was captured by the storyline as well as the characters. Her writing reminded me of two other authors whose novels I read often, Kristin Hannah and Sarah Addison Allen.

      I definitely had a hard time putting the book down. no matter what I was doing. I had it propped up while cooking, sitting outside and doing household chores. That is a sign of a compelling novel.

      My only complaint was the ending. There was too much left hanging and I felt as if the author was either in a hurry or needed to tie up loose ends. Maybe there will be a sequel, but I felt let down after being so absorbed. It was an "oh. huh. ok." moment.

      I will definitely read more by Unger.
    • 3/5
      Didn't really keep me riveted. The characters and sense of place are well written but I just couldn't invest in their story. I was hoping for more suspense and I felt let down in that aspect. I agree with a previous reviewer in that the ending seemed forced.
    • 5/5
      Great mix of complex family drama and thriller. I haven't stayed up late reading in bed for ages, but this book prompted me to.
    • 4/5
      It took me awhile to sort the characters out and figure out how they would converge. That could have been the result of listening to it while bicycling. Not the greatest crime thriller, but I did enjoy it.
    • 3/5
      Two stories that are intertwined and weave together at the end of the book.
    • 5/5
      HeartBroken is the story of Birdie and her family and Emily and her problems. This story becomes entertwined with many twists and turns to keep the reader on edge to the end. This is an excellent mystery. I truly devoured it and hope to read more Unger books,
    • 4/5
      Great narration.
    • 4/5
      Two stories weaved together in a way that unravels and reveals to the last page.
    • 4/5
      Having read and loved Lisa Unger’s “Fragile,” I was excited for a chance to read “Heartbroken.” This novel is not quite as pulse-pounding as “Fragile,” but is nonetheless quite suspenseful. There is a slower build in “Heartbroken” that requires some patience. The first several chapters, moving among the viewpoints of several characters, feel somewhat disjointed and slow-moving until you finally get a grasp of how the characters are all connected and things begin to make more sense. For me the story was definitely worth the patience required to hang in for the first few chapters. There are three main characters: Kate, happily married but having deferred a lifelong dream; Birdie, proud and controlling owner of Heart Island, and Emily, naively in love with the wrong man and caught in a series of poor choices. Birdie turned out to be the most compelling character for me, perhaps because she was so multifaceted and complex where Kate and Emily were a bit more one-dimensional. Heart Island is almost its own character, in its wild isolation and with its mysterious past, hints of island ghosts, and the undeniable hold it has had over Birdie’s family for years. It pulls the characters of this novel together with almost magnet-like force, to a suspenseful, tension-filled climax that’s a good payoff to the slow build of the story. The setting was the most powerful element in the novel, creating a delightfully spooky atmosphere. It’s a good summer read that kept me turning the pages until late.
    • 4/5
      A copy of this book was received from the Amazon Vine Program. This was the fourth book I had read by Lisa Unger and I look forward to reading her future books. Her stream-lined style of writing draws the reader in the story very quickly and takes you along for a noteworthy and fascinating ride.The Heart Island, only accessible by boat, lies in the Adirondacks and has been in the Burke family for years. The family matriarch, Birdie feels that the island is a haven from regular life and wants her children to feel the same way about Heart Island as she does. She cannot understand why her children hesitate about coming to the island.Unger intertwines the past and the present into narrative about the twists and turns that some family relationships seem to contain… especially about the connection between mothers and daughters. Birdie’s daughter Kate is closer to her aunt, Caroline (Birdie’s sister) and uses journals from her family to write her first book about Heart Island.Unger cleverly interweaves several story lines into a climax that takes place on Heart Island, during stormy weather, and brings all the characters together for a thrilling conclusion.I recommend this book by Lisa Unger as a thriller you will want to read and additionally as an introduction to an author to add to your “to read” list.
    • 3/5
      Family drama with a hint of suspense, Heartbroken by Lisa Unger takes the reader to Heart Island and into the complicated relationships that exist between mothers and daughters. Unger seamlessly weaves together differing mother-daughter relationships to further develop an intricate plot, which slowly builds into a rather well thought out and suspenseful plot. Going into the book I was expecting Heartbroken to be more of in-your-face suspense/thriller, however Unger takes the book into a different direction and makes it work quite well. I enjoyed reading the complex relationships and watching the story unfold and would recommend it to anyone looking for a quick summer read.Disclaimer: I received a copy of Heartbroken through the Amazon VINE Program, for review.
    • 3/5
      While Heartbroken is being marketed as suspense, I found it more of a family drama. The first three-quarters of the book moves slow. We explore the lives of families that are tangled in a variety of ways. The relationships are interesting, though I got a little bored with the repeated descriptions and the slow pace. The last quarter of the book picks up speed and suspense, and, for me, was the best part.
    • 4/5
      Birdie is a cold woman, living on a stark island, and happiest when she is alone.What made her this way is the reason for this story. Perhaps I should say stories, because there are always many threads woven into any good story. Kate, her husband Sean and her children are preparing for yet another visit toHeart Island to spend time with Kate's mother Birdie. They all feel a strange mixtureof anticipation and dread, but for different reasons. But they went to the island everyyear, and Kate really had no idea how to avoid it. Her children liked it there, she hadsome good feelings for the place as well. But Birdie, her mother, was an enigma. Time spentwith her was rarely pleasant or comfortable. But going was the right thing to do, wasn't it?Emilie had no husband, no children and in fact her own mother was more like Kate's. Cold and not very loving to her daughter. That was one thing that they seemed to have in common.The only thing that they seemed to have in common. Yet, meeting each other in an unlikely placewould change both of their lives forever. It is well worth following the threads to findthe story of how and why. recommended