Nobody writes about sex and sexual explorations as well as Heather Levy. I love the mystery here, and the character development was really well done. Auto-buy author for me

Prepare to have your pulse quicken and your breath catch. Heather Levy's "This Violent Heart" is not just a story; it’s a descent into a labyrinth of secrets, whispered truths, and an undercurrent of tension that will have you turning pages long into the night. The kind of tension that makes you look over your shoulder, wondering if the shadows are just shadows.

We are drawn into a world where every relationship feels like a tightrope walk over an abyss, where loyalties are tested, and the past refuses to stay buried. There’s a mystery at its core, a puzzle piece that's just slightly out of reach, and the closer you think you are to solving it, the more tangled the threads become. The characters are not what they seem; each holds back a part of themselves, a hidden agenda, a secret that could shatter everything.

Levy crafts an atmosphere so thick with intrigue, you could almost taste it. You’ll find yourself second-guessing everyone, every piece of information, as the layers of deception slowly peel away. This is not a gentle story, but a raw, visceral exploration of what lies beneath the surface of our lives. "This Violent Heart" will stay with you long after you’ve closed the final page, a lingering question mark in your mind, a whisper of doubt in your heart, and a thrill you won’t soon forget.

Thank you to my partners, Kate Rock Book Tours and NetGalley, and the author. I appreciate the gifted paperback and eARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily!

1. 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 • As difficult as it is to understand oneself in the midst of puberty, I cannot even imagine having to do so within the confines of the stifling community of Arkana. It really is no wonder they all struggled and continue to struggle with their identities.

2. 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠• I think this story brings to light the normalcy of exploring feelings of all kinds within one’s life. There isn’t a right or wrong and a person should be free to find what truly makes one feel good.

3. 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐃𝐨𝐨𝐫 • While I do understand the need to share the depths of Devon’s actions when she is young, the details of teenage sexual experimentation did go a little far for me. However, because the story was just so good, I didn’t let that detract from the true issues at hand. Now the adult spice…that’s a different story!

4. 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 • Small towns make for easy cover-ups. Sometimes the people you’d least expect to be dirty are the worst of them all. Devon’s tenacity does win out and Summer’s truth is finally laid to rest!

5. 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐓𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐬 • For Devon and Keaton, it came down to forgiveness. And truth. Once these were handled, they both were able to forge ahead and find some semblance of happiness amidst the horrors of their past.

4.5 rounded up

Devon Mayes left her small "small-minded" town of Arkana, OK when she was 18 after her best friend Summer committed suicide.  She left behind Summer's twin brother Keaton to deal with the grief.  She really thought she would never have to look back.  But when she's met with another tragedy, she feels like it's the only place she can go.  She still hasn't told her parents about her bisexuality, which is a big no-no to her overly religious parents.  She is also still harboring feelings for Keaton.  There are things he doesn't know, and if he did, he may never want to see her again.  The longer she's in town, the more she starts to think Summer's death wasn't really a suicide.  She and Keaton work together to find out the truth.  Can they keep their feelings out of the way?  It seems that Devon wasn't the only one keeping secrets.

Told in dual timelines of 2025 and 2013, I was hooked from the very 1st page.  The book was intriguing and totally addictive!  There was tons of drama amongst the friends that kept me highly entertained, and there was seriously never a dull moment.  The mystery of what really happened to Summer and all the secrets had me completely engrossed.   I really felt for Devon as she explored her sexuality and had to hide her true self.  There were so many different topics covered in this book, and it really made it a great read!  I seriously enjoyed this book and highly recommend adding this one to your TBR!🩷

Wow - I wasn't sure what to expect with this, but I'm pleasantly surprised. This was way quite emotional and poignant, and it goes so much deeper than it first appears on the surface.

The first thing that grabbed my attention from this book was the cover. This is basically Devon's coming of age story with self acceptance and trying to solve the tragic death of childhood friend Summer.
We first meet Devon as an adult training to be a therapist and trying to come to grips with a traumatizing event that happened to her. When a patient commits suicide Devon is forced to take time off and go back home to face her demons in jer hometown.
This story is told in present and flashbacks to the time of Summer's death and Devon's high school days. I would definitely recommend for readers of coming of age and LGBTQ acceptances. I loved how we got to see Devon grow, acknowledge her mistakes of the past, accept herself flaws and all, never giving up to solve her best friend's death, oh and finally find love.
Thank you to the author and Kate Rocks Tours for sending me this book to read and review.

I love this cover and I loved the title! The book was decent and I would recommend anyone to move this up on their TBR!

I like the suspense, but i didn't understand the whole backstory on Devon, it had nothing to do with the plot. It seemed out of place and awkward. It honestly distracted me and made me roll my eyes.

Do you like a dash of romance with your thrillers? Some hometown mysteries surrounding the death of a childhood best friend? Grief and struggling with identity are both very present themes in This Violent Heart, and I think they added an incredible depth to Devon and Keaton as they continue to navigate Summer’s apparent suicide.

When she was 18, Devon left the small town she grew up in after the suicide of her best friend. Summer’s twin brother, Keaton, is consumed by his grief and has never been able to truly move on. Upon Devon’s return to Arkana, the two rekindle their friendship and both suspect that there was something more to Summer’s death and that it wasn’t truly suicide.

As we all know, when you start digging into the past, you might discover things you shouldn’t. Or at least something someone wanted buried and forgotten. Everyone has their secrets, and no one wants them to come to light.

You truly feel for Devon and her struggles with her identity and confronting her demons in this journey. Growing up in a small conservative town with very religious parents meant that she had to keep her bisexuality to herself and was one of the reasons she left and never looked back. This book is more than just a thriller – it’s full of drama and emotion, and even though I had guessed the ending, it didn’t take away from the entertainment!

The complexity of this book, the characters and the way the narrative is told motivates you to read more and more just to be able to participate and understand the dynamics of the characters. The writing is so full of poetry and emotion that it captivates and conquers us with each new thought of the characters.

I'm delighted!!

This story gives an accurate portrait of coming of age in a small town with lots of judgmental eyes. This book surprised me because I was expecting an easy mystery but it was far more than that. It packed a lot of trauma and an amazing journey into it. I think everyone should read this book and allow it to transform them.

I found this book a very interesting read. It started off really slow for me, but then it picked up and I flew through it. The book is shown through past and present point of views as well as a few journal entries. This made for a bit of a confusing back and forth but also an interesting one as the reader gets to understand the main character more. I found this to be a really good read and the suspense was captivating.
Thank you to the author, Heather Levy, NetGalley and the publisher, Montlake, for a copy of this book.

This was my first book by Heather Levy, and it will not be my last. This story was beautifully written, tragic and so fragile it was heartbreaking, small town where dark secrets run deep. It was a rollercoaster of emotions, and so much to unpack, Levy did a great job with the pace and going from now to then. The back story was clue to the future and unbury past so deep it will take everything the main character has to get answers.

Therapist Devon Mayes returns to her hometown where she revisits memories of what really happened to her best friend. But being back means facing her best friend's brother and coming to terms with her bisexuality. Soon she realizes that her friend Summer death was not suicide she must stay and face the town and parents who turn their back on her long ago. Can she find out who hurt her best friend and keep herself safe at the same time?

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for copy of this book for my honest review.

I wanted to like this one more than I did. It had potential but I needed more depth and more emotion to really form that connection to both the storyline and the characters.

This is a dual time frame novel from the perspective of Devon with a few scattered journal entries from Summer. Devon, Summer and Keaton were the best of friends (and a little more) during their junior and the start of their senior year of high school until Summer is found dead by suicide. Current day, Devon is studying to be a therapist when she suddenly loses a client to suicide. She returns home and begins to question whether Summer’s death was actually suicide or if something more sinister was going on in her small town with radical religious beliefs.

There is a lot going on in this book. There are themes of suicide, bi-sexuality, BDSM, teen pregnancy, sexual assault, rape, various forms of discrimination and much more. My issue with this book is that it skirts these issues but never provides any real depth. For half the book, you know that Devin was sexually assaulted but you don't know what happened. You know that she role played BDSM fantasies for money but you don't get any depth about the situation. You have some sexual scenes but very little detail. It almost felt like the author was uncomfortable writing sexual scenes…which is fine but partially writing them creates an emotional detachment. This book has serious potential to be very disturbing and interesting but it ended up feeling very superficial. I really struggled to feel anything with this book. Based on the themes, I would expect very strong emotions but I literally had none. I actually think that telling this from multiple perspectives (Devon, Keaton and Summer) might have made it better. I was really rather disappointed and a little surprised by the number of 5 star ratings for this one.

I love Heather's works because they are part romance part thriller. I havent really read anything like them before. This Violent Heart was no exception. This book has a little bit of something for everyone. Love triangle? check. Murder mystery? check. LGBT rep? check. It was so well written and the sensitive bits were all respectful and well done.

After a devastating loss at work that hits a little close to home, Devon heads back to her hometown for closure regarding her best friend Summer's suicide thirteen years before. Once there, Devon reconnects with Keaton, Summer's twin brother and her friend from before. Together they look into Summer's suicide, and all the facts are not adding up. What actually happened to Summer all those years ago?

Please read this if you like:
*Romance
*Love triangles
*LGBTQIA+ Rep
*Mental Health Rep
*Murder Mystery

Thank you to Heather Levy and Netgalley for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I loved this book and ate it up quick despite the length. The chapters go from current, past, and diary entries from the best friend and I think that worked perfectly. I appreciate the exploration of being queer in a small town (a religious one at that), burlesque and BDSM, and feeling different from others in general. I think the author did a great job being informative without it feeling like reading a textbook within a book. The only part that wasn’t for me were the steamy scenes while they were teenagers but they’re easy enough to skip over if needed!

I liked how real this felt - even if that reality is horrible and terrifying - being set primarily in rural Oklahoma. Secrets never stay hidden in a small town and this dual timeline story is going to expose them all.

This Violent Heart - Heather Levy

5/5⭐️

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Wow this one was a great read! Totally not my usual but I loved it! This book will bring on a journey from present time and past. Devon grew up in a small conservative town that definitely has some secrets. Devon now is dealing with tragedy once again in the presence with being put on leave it’s time to turn back to her childhood and heal from the things she never healed from. Like her best friend (who she loved) death. While on the journey to figure out what really happened with her best friend Summer she uncovers it might not be suicide after all. Let just say this book omg i couldn’t put it down until i was done. Devon had my heart instantly and i totally recommend it.

📚📚📚
If you like to read:
- Mystery
- Romance
… You should definitely check this out

to describe this book in one word: raw.

for those thinking about reading this story, please look at triggers beforehand! this book covers some heavy topics, but they are crucial subjects that deserve more discussion.

the story follows devon, who is friends with twins summer and keaton. the narrative alternates between present-day events and flashbacks to their high school years. Devon navigates her sexuality in a small town in Oklahoma while developing feelings for both siblings. keaton seems like the easier choice, but summer captures her heart. when summer tragically takes her own life, devon suppresses her emotions and runs away from the pain and the town.

fast forward ten years, and devon returns to her hometown to confront her guilt, reconnect with keaton, and search for answers about why summer would make such a decision. while back home, devon not only comes out to her family and the town but also opens up to keaton about her complicated past with his sister.

i couldn’t put this book down. the mystery, the unfolding love story, and the deep soul-searching pull you in from the start. as mentioned earlier, this is a dark and emotionally charged story, but it’s an important read for anyone going through similar struggles or looking to understand these experiences.

thank you so much to Montlake, Netgalley, and Heather Levy for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed this! The characters felt so real and the story was raw, emotional and intense. The twists totally caught me off guard! This is definitely one of those books that sticks with you long after you after you’re done!