Book Reviews

Review: How to Excavate a Heart by Jake Maia Arlow

Look, I love a good meet cute, but an unconventional one where your mom almost hits a girl on a snowy evening? That’s the kind of introduction that will hook me in. And How to Excavate a Heart is a heartfelt contemporary about love and fear. Keep reading this book review for my full thoughts.

Summary

Attempted vehicular manslaughter was not part of Shani’s plan. She was supposed to be focusing on her monthlong paleoichthyology internship. She was going to spend all her time thinking about dead fish and not at all about how she was unceremoniously dumped days before winter break.

It could be going better.

But when a dog-walking gig puts her back in May’s path, the fossils she’s meant to be diligently studying are pushed to the side—along with the breakup.

Then they’re snowed in together on Christmas Eve. As things start to feel more serious, though, Shani’s hurt over her ex-girlfriend’s rejection comes rushing back. Is she ready to try a committed relationship again, or is she okay with this just being a passing winter fling?

Review

(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)

TW: sexual assault

I was told Jewish Sapphic Contemporary and I was always going to add this to my TBR. But then I was looking at the synopsis and saw that our MC Shani loves fossils? As someone who is captivated by fossils, I knew we’d become best of friends. While that may not be everyone’s selling point, for me it was – and is still – one of my favorite elements. I will always get behind a passionate intellectual and Shani is a precious fish fossil loving character.

But even more so, How to Excavate a Heart is focused on Shani’s character journey. Her emotional whiplash from her break up means that she is even more scared of that all consuming nature of love. Of the ways in which it is absolutely terrifying to let someone see ourselves. All the pieces of who we are. And have the ability to hurt us? Pure terror. From the very get go, the characters in How to Excavate a Heart felt so detailed from side character all the way up.

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Plus their banter is A+! How to Excavate a Heart is a story about doing what scares us and sitting with ourselves. Having the space and awareness to look at the person we are and when we aren’t being our best. For fans of contemporary books with a romance flair and which feature characters just trying to figure it out (and reel from a breakup) this is for you. Find How to Excavate a Heart on Goodreads, Amazon, Indiebound, Bookshop.org & The Book Depository.

Discussion

What is your favorite contemporary set in a city?


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