This was my first book by Tif Marcelo and I can without a doubt say that I'll be reading her backlist of books! I absolutely loved this story! It Takes Heart is focused around the Puso family (a group of brothers, mainly) who are preparing to run a couples resort in the Outer Banks. Some of my love for this book might be situational, but I was actually reading this book while vacationing in the Outer Banks and that just made the story that much more special! I really enjoyed the characters and the depth they had. I loved the filipino backgrounds of the characters. There was some romance in the book, but this book had a big focus on family dramas. All in all, this was a great read and I can't wait to dive into book 2 of the series!

Geneva Harris and Brandon Puso have known each other for years. Geneva is Brandon’s older sister Beatrice’s best friend and they grew up together. But four years ago, at his older brother Chris’s wedding, Brandon and Geneva hooked up and spent the next few weeks together. Their relationship ended badly, and having fallen out with Chris as well, Brandon has distanced himself from his family ever since.

But with the family-owned property, Heart Resort, in a race to reopen after a hurricane, Brandon travels to the Outer Banks to help, unaware that Geneva is lending her interior design assistance.

Dealing with family tensions, weather concerns, pressure from his business partner, and his undeniable attraction to Geneva may push Brandon over the edge. Or will it force them both to stop running from what is best not just for them but for the entire Puso family?

This is an engaging romance, the first in a series. The setting is perfect, and the Pusos are a memorable Filipino-American family. #ItTakesHeart #NetGalley

Sweet and romantic. Full of family, friends, romance. Like watching a good hallmark movie

CAnt wait for the next installment

This author has grown on me over the years. When I picked up one of her books I wasn’t sure what to expect but then I was completely lost in her stories and couldn’t wait to read more from her! One thing I noticed though was Marcelo writes a variety of stories. Not just women’s fiction but romance too. I was super excited to read this latest novel that was more contempo romance than women’s fiction.

Second chance romance isn’t really my favorite troupe but I was excited to see what Marcelo did with it in this book. One of the things that I also love about Marcelo’s writing is she incorporates her culture into the lives of the characters. Marcelo is Pilipino and many of her characters are also Pilipino and I just love how much interest that adds to the stories.

I am also excited to see this is part of a new series. I loved the setting and I am excited to see that we will get to return here and get to know more about the family perhaps in future books. If you are looking for a more contempo romance that has heart and culture then I think this will be a great read for you this summer! I know I enjoyed it!

Summary
From romance author Tif Marcelo comes a heartwarming story about taking a second chance on love at a family-owned couples resort.

Heart Resort, a private resort in the Outer Banks, is a romantic getaway for couples but a hotbed of family drama for its proprietors, the Puso family. Brandon Puso, the youngest of the four siblings, prefers life on his own as a licensed contractor in DC after a falling-out with his eldest brother.

After a hurricane plows through the Outer Banks, Brandon has a change of heart. He returns to the resort to help with the grand reopening but encounters his big sister’s best friend, designer Geneva Harris, who’s there to do the same thing. But Geneva and Brandon have a secret. Years ago, they had a secret romance that ended in heartbreak.

With the resort’s future at stake, Brandon and Geneva decide to put the past aside and to keep peace with the family. But as their mutual attraction heats up, they have to decide if history will repeat itself—or if this time, love gets a second chance. (summary from Goodreads)

Review
As I said earlier, second chance romances aren’t really my cup of tea. They generally fall in the ‘just ok’ category for me but I am usually up for romances regardless of the troupe plus I know that Marcelo does a great job with her writing and storytelling so that’s why I picked this one up happily. I thought Brandon and Geneva had some solid chemistry and I loved how both of them felt so real and complexed. They both had some baggage and that really gave me perspective into their romance and their shared history. I enjoyed seeing how their worked through this issues and ultimately decided to move forward with their feelings.

I also really liked the family dynamics in this book!There was so much culture and family dynamics in this one and I think readers will enjoy the family and culture especially if they haven’t read anything by Marcelo before. That was one of the things I recall loving about Marcelo’s books was how well she deployed culture and family in her books. So if you haven’t read anything by her before, you are in for a treat because this book really highlights both of those elements.

This book was more on the sweet and cozy side when it comes to romance, rather than hot and steamy. I really loved the sweet romance aspect of this book and I am eager to see how the romance for the siblings unfold in future books. Overall I loved the setting (Outer Banks), it was charming and romantic plus a lighthouse, and I loved the chemistry between the characters and the mix of family and culture. The only thing that I had a bit of an issue with was the pacing mid way through. It started to drag a bit toward the last third but then started picking up so it wasn’t so distracting that I would have given it a lower rating than 4 stars. Great romance!

Book Info and Rating
Format349 pages, Kindle Edition

PublishedAugust 10, 2021 by Montlake

LanguageEnglish

Free review copy provided by publisher, Montlake in partnership with the Tall Poppy Writers and Bloggers, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced.

Rating: 4 stars

Genre: romance, contempo romance

I love Tif Marcelo's writing and this is a new favorite from her! Brandon and Geneva were easy to root for. I loved both characters and their families. Definitely pick this one up!

#BookReview: It Takes Heart by Tif Marcelo 3.5 stars

As this my first book by this author, I didn't expect much. Incorporating some of the Filipino culture and words were interesting to me. I can see the value of family despite their differences. They want to honor their parents legacy. But I was hoping for more open communication. Same goes with Geneva and Brandon. I wish they will be more open in their thoughts. This is more a sibling drama and dealing with bringing their resort back up with a second chance romance thrown on the side. I am glad there were no explicit nor graphic scenes. A bit slow but so many details were included since this is a first in a series. .

Thank you netgalley for the complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Just another book about 2nd chance love. This one however I couldn't get into and unfortunately did not finish.

Right in time for hurricane season, living on the coast is the perfect time to read a book about hurricane rebuilding and watching out for the next storm. I live about an hour from where the book takes place, just further up the coast, so I loved reading about "almost home". The forbidden/hidden love storyline was angsty and you just wanted the characters to get over themselves (I won't tell you if they do or not!) but the real storyline star for me was the resort and the redesigning and all that went with that.

The Puso family owns a resort complex in the Outer Banks. After a natural disaster, the resort is in need of extensive repairs, and does the Puso family. It's easy to see from the start there are some issues needing resolution between the family members.

It Takes Heart focuses on Brandon Puso. Years ago something happened between Brandon and Geneva, his sister's best friend. There's a big family here, so there's lots of ground to cover to cover both the second chance romance and the family drama that is at play in this story. I did think that slowed the story down, and that was sometimes noticable in the reading.

Overall, I found the story to be interesting as it did incorporate diversity and the culture of a Filipino-American family. There were some nice lighter moments as well. While It Takes Heart was more family drama than romance, I did like the family drama aspect of the story right along with the romantic elements. Brandon and Geneva had to resolve a few issues before they could be together, and I did like that part of the story. Overall, a typical family drama with romantic elements.

It Takes Heart by Tif Marcelo, a second chance romance tells the story of Brandon Puso and Geneva Harris.  It's the first book in the Heart Resort series and follows a Filipino-American family.

Brandon Puso, the youngest of the Puso siblings, returned home to Heart Resort to help with the renovations of the resort prior to its grand re-opening. However, he would be in for the biggest surprise of his life when he discovered he would have to work with the woman who broke his heart four years ago.

Geneva Harris grew up with the Puso family and is the best friend of Brandon’s sister. Because of her bond with the family, she provided her skills as an interior designer pro bono in the renovation of Heart Resort. Little did she know Brandon would return to the resort and that she would have to work with him.

I had high hopes for It Takes Heart; it being a second chance romance. However, the romance to a back seat to the other events. The story focused on sibling dynamics. In this installment we get a story laced with secrets, drama and angst.

What I Enjoyed

Beach Setting: Nothing excites more than being on the beach and the fact the story took place on beach  resort was a major plus.

Culture: I enjoy learning about the various cultures and It Takes Heart provided a wonderful introduction to the Filipino culture. 

Narration: Joy Regullano and Reuben Uy narrated. Both are new to me. The narration alternated between the chapters. It took me sometime to get with the voice of the male narrator, but after a while I came to appreciate his tone. Both narrators voices were distinct for each of the characters.

What I did not Enjoy

 Characters: Unfortunately, I could not relate to any of the characters and I was not invested in Brandon and Geneva’s relationship. They all kept secrets from each other while advocating for open communicati0n among themselves. Makes no sense to me. 

Pacing: The story dragged in several places, making it feel like a chore to get through. After a while, I started skipping parts of the story.

Romance: If a book is being promoted as a contemporary romance, then I would expect the romance to be the focal point of the story. Not the blip on the radar it received here with one intimate scene thrown in for good measure. Which probably would not have happened if they were not trapped due the tropical storm. 🙄 Never once did I feel the chemistry Brandon and Geneva supposedly shared. I am still trying to wrap my head around the reason for their break-up. As usual, failure to communicate played a major role in their break-up. In the end, it didn’t matter to me if they got back together or not.

Conclusion/Recommendation
 I know other readers may feel differently, but It Takes Heart didn’t click for me. I am not sure if I will continue the series.

Geneva and Brandon have know each other most of there lives. Geneva is Brandon’s sisters best friend. When they meet up at a family wedding after not having seen each other for a while sparks unexpectedly fly. They have a short lived romance that doesn’t end well. Years later they both end up at Brandon’s family’s resort to help out after storm damage. They are both wary of each other but fate seems to find ways of throwing them together. The issues that tore them apart are still there and need to be resolved. There is a bit about Filipino culture mentioned in the book, which I knew nothing about, so it was nice to learn something new. A bit slow for me but overall an enjoyable read.

Meet the Puso family, stars of Tif Marcelo’s new Heart Resort series. IT TAKES HEART, the first in the series, focuses on Brandon Puso, the youngest brother, and Geneva, his sister’s best friend. Brandon has been estranged from the family but comes to the Outer Banks to help get the family resort up and running after it was damaged in a hurricane. He has things to discuss with the family, but has always felt unheard by his oldest brother, and they have always butted heads, leading to him staying away from the new family home. The last thing he expects to find is his sister’s best friend and the woman who broke his heart after a whirlwind relationship. Geneva has her own issues, stressors, and plans. Falling in love with her best friend’s brother wasn’t part of the plan, and their break hit her harder than anyone but her parents knew. Since they kept the relationship under wraps, none of the Puso family knew, even her best friend. No matter what happened with Brandon, the Pusos were her adopted family, so Geneva came to help with decorating the newly repaired resort, confident that Brandon wouldn’t be there. Best-laid plans and all, these two get thrown together because their work goes hand-in-hand. Can working together heal their relationship and give them a second chance?
With IT TAKES HEART, Marcelo created an enjoyable second-chance romance with family at its center. Not just any family, but a Filipino-American family, with its ties, traditions, and food, which are all mainstays of Marcelo’s work that I love. Throw in a beautiful setting that is also personally important to her, and you have a solid foundation to what looks to be a wonderful new series. I can’t wait to read the next! If you can, toss this in your beach bag and read it by the ocean.
Thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of the novel. All opinions are my own and freely given.
#ItTakesHeart #HeartResort #PusoFamily #TifMarcelo #Montlake #TallPoppyWriters #BloomReads #TallPoppyBlogger

DNF This book wasn't able to hold my attention.


*****************I received an ARC for my honest opinion from NetGalley.*****************

This one is so wonderful and another winner from Tif Marcelo! She is quickly becoming an auto-buy author for me and I highly recommend this one!

This is the second book I’ve read by Marcelo and I really enjoy her writing style. She blends romance with family drama which makes for a more relatable and plausible story. This is the first time I’ve come across a book that mentions life post COVID pandemic.

What I Loved:
- Second Chance Romance Trope. This was a good one! Two characters who have undeniable chemistry and a complicated history. There’s so much tension mixed with familiar desire. It’s obvious they are perfect for one another yet both need to work through some issues in order to find their HEA. There’s also the challenge of falling for your besties brother or a longtime family friend.
- Setting. The majority of the story takes place in Outer Banks, NC at a private couples resort. I easily could picture the tiny houses nestled along the water and picture my feet in the sand. I was ready to book a reservation.
- Design. Reconstruction and design played a huge part of the activities for all of the characters I love watching the resort come back to life after a destructive storm. I especially liked watching Geneva decorate, get inspiration and interpret the meaning of each house.
- Siblings. The Puso family is full of strong personalities who definitely brought the drama. While they want to honor their parent’s legacy, their storylines included more than just working together. They touched on divorce, joint custody, marital tensions and wanting to leave the family business to pursue other passions. My favorite was Gil! Loved watching him maneuver being a single dad. All acted like true siblings with realist problems.
- Representation. The majority of the characters were Filipino-American. Loved learning about their culture through their interactions.

I’m happy to see this is the first book in the Heart Resort series. I would love to read more. Curios if it will be based on the other siblings or guests who visit the resort.

It Takes Heart is all about second chances-those with romantic partners, and the second chance to repair broken familial relationships. I thought this was a romance, but the focus is more on the Puso family and the Heart Resort, and less about the slow-burn second chance romance between Brandon and Geneva. I struggled with a lot of the story, because the lack of communication between Brandon and his siblings was so glaring. The sibling relationships were dysfunctional and I never quite understood why the Puso kids would invest so much in a resort when they didn't work well together.
I think this story is most suited to readers that like a story heavy on family backgrounds, with several plot threads running at a time. Fans of most Hallmark movies would likely enjoy this book. Sadly, it just wasn't for me.

IT TAKES HEART (Heart Resort Book #1) by Tif Marcelo is a second chance contemporary romance and the first book in a new series featuring a Filipino-American family of three brothers and one sister who own and run the Heart Resort in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

Brandon Puso is the youngest of the Puso clan and a licensed general contractor in business with his friend from college. Since a falling out with his oldest brother, Brandon has been living in the home of his deceased parents in Annapolis. But after a hurricane rips through the Outer Banks, Brandon returns to Heart Resort to help his siblings get it repaired and set up for a grand re-opening.

Interior designer Geneva Harris is Brandon’s sister best friend and has always been around the Puso family. Geneva is at the resort to help with the interior design and a rest from her hectic schedule. Geneva does not know Brandon will be at the resort and none of the siblings know that Geneva and Brandon had a secret romance that ended in heartbreak.

Brandon and Geneva agree to work together as friends, but their mutual attraction continually heats up. They have a short time to work together and to decide if they will once again go their separate ways or if this time, they will get a second chance at love.

This is a romance that was so enjoyable to read. The family gives you not only the usual sibling dynamics, drama, angst, love and understanding, but also an interesting infusion of Filipino culture and food. Brandon is doing well professionally but dealing with so much emotionally. Geneva is also doing great professionally but she never settles anywhere and lives out of her bags. Both run from their emotions and emotional situations and Ms. Marcelo does a good job of having each work through their baggage with the help of family and/or having frank conversations between themselves. There are short sex scenes that are neither explicit nor graphic. I am definitely looking forward to reading the other siblings‘ stories in this Heart Resort series as well.

I recommend this heartfelt second chance contemporary romance!

This is the first book I have read by Tif Marcelo, one I was very excited to read. I loved the premise of the story - a hidden relationship years ago with his older sister's best friend.

I struggled with this story a little, I felt I needed a bit more "before" information. I did finish this book and found it entertaining, the characters were well written and lovely. It is an easy read, light on the romance and heavy on family drama. I craved a bit more romance

I loved the setting of the book - the Outer Banks.

I will look for more from this author in the future.

Thank you #NetGalley, #Montlake, and #TifMarcelo

Blog tour: http://lianareads.home.blog/2021/08/09/it-takes-heart-by-tif-marcelo-blog-tour/


If you know me, you may know that I love romance and especially second chance romance stories.

What a great story. I loved so much the setting that I feel like it’s a must on my to see list if I ever get to visit the country.

Everyone is like a big family that come together to help and build each other’s lives through good and bad things. I loved the support and friendship that comes along with this community.

And of course, I loved the romance side of the story. It has heart and emotions, chemistry and great dialogue.

I haven’t read any of the author’s previous books but I know now that it’s a must because her writing is great and it really makes you feel like being there with the characters and feeling all the great things they do. From heartbreak to happiness and love.

This is the first book in a new series about a Filipino-American family that has opened a resort in the Outer Banks of NC aimed at helping couples that are drifting apart come back together.

The book starts at a wedding 4 years previously and there is a hook up between Brandon and Geneva that didn't last too long. Perhaps it was expectations, or lack thereof, or that they were too close since they were family friends. But whatever the cause, it takes time for them both to realize that maybe they shouldn't have given up so soon.

While billed as a romance, the romance portion was very light in my opinion. I think it is more of a second chance at romance and Brandon and Geneva working out their issues with each other and on their own. Of course, keeping all of this a secret from their families....who aren't as clueless as you might think. And what better place that the resort for couples that they are helping rebuild after a hurricane took down part of the buildings. Outside of the chemistry between the two, they have their own issues to work through including a lack of commitment and fear of the unknown.

I enjoyed the back and forth between all of the families but I have to say that Chris needs to lighten up. He is the oldest brother of the Puso family and runs the resort and he is a bit of a control freak. I had to laugh at some of the dialogue that involved his wife, Eden. She is an author and I think the funniest part when she said that her characters were not following the outline and were going rogue!  I have heard this from many authors that they have a plan and then the character decides to go down another path.

The book does go back and forth in time so that we can see what happened between Brandon and Geneva in the past. The book did feel longer than normal and while I enjoyed the book, it didn't draw me in as much as other books. I did enjoy the story and the family and am curious what might happen for other siblings in this series. I did learn some new words that are Filipino which I really enjoyed. And of course the food discussions...left me hungry for more!

We give this book 3 paws up.