It is no secret that in the humble opinion of The Nora Theory, Sara Cate is one of the reigning queens of the romance genre. With her latest book, The Heartbreaker, the Goode brothers are back. This book is spicy as hell, heartfelt, and a wonderful read.
Sadie is a manager at a sex club, the same one that employs Dean who readers encountered in the last book in the series. She’s a college student working on a business degree hoping someday to open a club of her own. But she’s not known for making the greatest choices. When a sexy porn star and influencer comes into the club one night, they hook up, and in the heat of the moment forget to use protection.
The guy predictably ghosts her, and Sadie gets back to her life, which means a new semester and a new English class. She’s late on the first day, she doesn’t have a notebook, and her new professor isn’t having any of it. This new professor, Lucas Goode, is smoking hot and won’t give her a break, even when she finds out she’s pregnant and her life is falling down around her. Instead, he offers her a place to live and an opportunity to get her life in order before the baby comes. The situation can only be temporary, but before they know it, Sadie and Lucas are caught in a forbidden romance that threatens to break both of their hearts.
The Heartbreaker features a near-torturous amount of sexual tension, with a slow-burn build-up that makes it all the sweeter when these two characters finally give in to each other. I was very skeptical when the description of this book revealed that she was pregnant with someone else’s baby because I’ve seen people try to make a romance out of that in real life and only a mess ensued. But alas, this is not real life, and it actually made for an incredibly emotional and rewarding romance. I was surprised at how much I loved it.
Sadie is kind of a disaster, which makes her the best kind of romance heroine, an utterly relatable one. She’s always late, and she’s not all sunshine and rainbows all the time. She’s a beautiful, curvy, smart girl just out there doing her best. Lucas, in turn, is the best kind of romance hero. He’s ice cold and kind of an asshole at the start, but as he gets to know Sadie, the readers get to see the kindness and love shine through that tough exterior. It’s perfection.
The Heartbreaker is a classic contemporary romance, in tone and in tropes. Reading it feels like a special little comfort food treat, but that doesn’t mean it’s not also absolutely filthy, which is always a delightful combination. Fans of contemporary romance and Sara Cate’s books will love this latest story. I can’t wait to read the next book, The Prodigal Son, coming next April.
Writing: 5
Spice: 4
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