I was super excited to receive this book as an ARC. This Author is one of my favorite Authors and this book did not disappoint. The characters were lovable and their chemistry was fire! The storyline was cute and very well written. The grumpy sunshine trope is one of my favorites and she did so well with this one! I can't wait for the rest of the series!!

I really enjoyed this book, it was such a cute read! I love grumpy vs sunshine and this book absolutely smashed that trope!
The story line, the banter and the tension were amazing. I loved Mason and Pia, they worked so well together. & the spice was 😮‍💨

This was my first book by @meccaromance and I can’t wait to see what’s going to come next in 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙧 𝙋𝙖𝙘𝙠 series!🩷

Fallen Hearts delivered just what you'd expect from a romance book. Was it groundbreaking? No. Were the characters something out of this world? Definitely not. But was I entertained? Absolutely. Will for sure read the rest of the series!

This is the first of a new series and a small town romance.
I found the characters likable and it was an easy read for me.
It's an author I've not read before but I enjoyed this one so will look forward to continuing the series.

Fallen Hearts is an emotionally charged and engaging tale that explores the intricacies of human relationships, decisions, and repercussions. The story focuses on the main character's journey of betrayal, love, and forgiveness while she works through the struggles of family and self-aggrandizement. Mecca constructs a storyline rich with secrets and disclosures so that readers are engaged and care about the results. The twists and turns are well-placed to maintain the tension without swamping the emotional center of the story. The characters in Fallen Hearts are finely crafted, and Mecca brings them to life through subtle storytelling. The emotional journey of the protagonist is both relatable and compelling, while the supporting characters provide depth and contrast to the story. All the characters seem real, with their flaws, strengths, and motivations vividly described. Mecca's ability to develop multidimensional characters keeps readers interested and invested in the story.

Cissy Mecca's style of writing is beautiful and descriptive, combining lyrical language with a keen sense of dialogue. She uses vivid description to paint pictures of the scenery and emotional stages of the book. The perfect balance between internal moments and dramatic interactions makes the novel introspective yet readable to a wide demographic. Ultimately, Fallen Hearts is a story about forgiveness, strength, and the lasting effect one's decisions have on their life. The book also addresses family, identity, and the courage it takes to rise above. Mecca's writing conveys a strong message regarding the value of self-knowledge and healing, which makes the book deeply emotionally resonant.

The writer uses an array of literary devices to make the story richer, such as symbolism, foreshadowing, and parallel narratives. They contribute depth and complexity to the narrative, paying off engaged readers with additional layers of meaning. The pace is well-controlled, with instances of tension followed by contemplative pauses that facilitate character development and emotional impact. The novel has a consistent and well-balanced pace, which allows the events of the story to run their course naturally without being hurried or protracted. The organized structure, with its clear sequence and neatly defined chapters, improves the readability as well as maintains the continuity of the narrative. Mecca's accessible writing voice makes it easy to read while providing substance for readers who like analyzing literary aspects.

Fallen Hearts is a moving and introspective novel that lingers in the minds of readers long after they finish the book. Cissy Mecca's masterful combination of gripping storytelling, sympathetic characters, and thought-provoking themes makes the book an irresistible read for devotees of emotionally gripping fiction. Though some readers might desire a quicker pace or more emphasis on certain subplots, the emotional resonance and depth of the book far outweigh these small criticisms. I would strongly suggest Fallen Hearts to anyone looking for a heartwarming and reflective tale that explores the intricacies of life, love, and redemption.

Loved it from start to finish the plot and romance and everything. The slow burn was perfect and it made me swoon.

4⭐
Genre ~ contemporary romance
Series ~ The Bachelor Pact
Setting ~ small town in New York
Publication date ~ March 13, 2025
Publisher ~ Boldwood Books
Est Page Count ~ 298 (43 chapters +e)
Audio length ~ 7 hours 31 minutes
Narrators ~ Rebecca Rogers, Josh Wichard
POV ~ dual 1st
Featuring ~ boss/employee, off limits, good sexual tension, some steamage

Pia (30) & Mason (30's)
Pia is looking to start over when she accepts a job at the Heritage Hill Inn. When she arrives in town she learns the man who hired her has recently passed away and his son, Mason, is in charge now and he’s not interested in honoring her contract. Pia was super sweet and I enjoyed the friendship she found with Delaney.

Mason never expected to lose his father so suddenly and step out of his NYPD shoes into new innkeeper shoes. But it’s just temporary, he’ll get the place up and running and head back to the city, easy peasy. It doesn't take him long to figure out he needs help and agrees to hire Pia. I was really loving him for the whole book, and I was hoping and praying he wouldn’t make me mad, but of course he did. He redeemed himself of course, but maybe a little too quickly.

Overall, I wasn’t really a big fan of the whole ‘bachelor pact,’ but I enjoyed the book nonetheless probably because you just know the pact will get broken when the fella comes to his senses even if it takes them a hot minute.

Series notes:
The series will follow friends; Parker, Beck and Cole. I really enjoyed their camaraderie and how they have each other’s back through it all. I look forward to reading their books in the future.

This was my first read by this author & it definitely won't be my last. She's created a wonderful friend group here that I just can't wait to learn more about. Mason & Pia were such a lovely couple, despite everything they couldn't avoid falling for each other.

I’ve been waiting for Fallen Hearts to be published for quite a while, and it doesn’t disappoint! Cissy Mecca, formally, Bella Michaels, writes a good romance, no matter what name she uses!

Mason and his friends created a marriage pact when they were in college. Now they’re in their 30s and they’re still holding each other to it! Mason returns to Cedar Falls when is father dies and finds that just before he died his dad hired someone to run the Inn. He’s unsure if he wants to stay in Cedar Falls and run it or not so he’s not eager to meet Pia.

Pia quit her previous job when she was passed over for a promotion she earned. She took the job in Cedar Falls, and when she arrives finds that her new employer has passed away. When she meets his son Mason, he quickly makes it clear. He doesn’t want her there.

But as they start to refurbish the Inn, their attraction sizzles but Mason insists on keeping their boss/employee status and won’t move past that. And he wants to stick to the pact.

Add in Masons college buddies and Pia’s new friends and this is a fun book to read! The author does an excellent job of building the characters quickly and keeping the reader involved. I had a hard time putting this down! I recommend you add this to your TBR now! This would be an excellent spring break read!

This is my first book by this author, so I didn’t really know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Pia has just packed up her worldly goods and moved across America to Cedar Falls to take up a new role as the manager at Heritage Hill Inn. Luckily for her, not long after arriving she meets a wonderful lady called Delaney, who will thankfully become a great friend and confident. Little does she know how important that will be until Delaney informs her that the man who hired her has sadly passed away, leaving the Inn in the hands of his son Mason.

Mason has just lost his father. He’s come home to Cedar Falls to grieve and to make some difficult decisions, including what to do with Heritage Hill Inn. His life is in New York as a cop, not as an Inn Keeper. Thankfully, he has his three best friends by his side to help him work through this difficult time. So, when Mason encounters the feisty Pia for the first time, announcing she is the new Inn manager, which he knows nothing about, he is completely thrown and is downright rude to her, sacking her on the spot.

Mason and his three friends made a pact back in college, ‘The Bachelor Pact’. There are four simple rules, the main one being, never fall in love.

The book starts with lots of tension between the two main characters who have been thrown into the same difficult situation but from two totally different perspectives. The problem they have is from the moment they meet there is an electric charge between them that neither of them are ready for, nor want to admit.

When Mason acquiesces and hires Pia back on a temporary basis, it’s the beginning of the end. The relationship starts slowly, as coworkers. Then Pia wheedles her way into Mason’s friendship group and Mason is thrown by his jealousy at his friend’s persistent flirting with Pia. The more time the two of them spend with each other, the more the attraction it is harder to fight it until neither of them can restrain themselves any longer. From here there’s no stopping them, it’s spice, spice and even more spice.

The authors intricate descriptions of the characters personalities, their relationships and their feelings in this story is second to none. From the first chapter I couldn’t put this book down.

I’m excited to read more tales of the wonderful members of the Bachelor Pact and if any more of them will have to pay into ‘the pot’.

The first story in the Bachelor Pact, Pia and Mason meet when he comes back to bury his Father. They do not get off to a very good start when they first meet. Their story grabbed my interest from the start and did not let go until I had finished. I enjoyed seeing them get their happy ending especially with the ups and downs they went through to get it.

The first book in the Bachelor Pact is Mason and Pia's story, drawing me in from the first page. Pia is a lovely character with a compassionate nature; she is insightful and notices when someone needs her help. Her connection with Mason on a physical attraction level is immediate. Still, he is grieving and naturally grumpy and unapproachable, so getting to know him takes time, and then she has to wonder if it's worth the heartache, given he is part of the Bachelor pact. I like the connection between Mason and his friends, which provides the humour and the conflict to Mason and Pia's romance. I enjoyed the sweet but passionate romance between Mason and Pia and the believable ethos and setting created.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

4.5⭐️ oh I'm such a sap for this book.

In real life there is no way I would find this trait attractive but in books I like my men grumpy, moody, sullen and every other adjective that means they are unbearably sexy. On the condition that for their person they are a big old softie even when they are growly.

Mason, city cop grieving the loss of his father, is one of four friends that agreed on a bachelor pact, all having different reasons for doing so but wanting the same outcome.

But as every romance reader knows there is always a woman that will come along and throw a spanner in the works. In this case it's Pia who had an agreement with his father to restore and run the family inn.

This book was damn close to perfect with its characters, plot and spice. I think I'm just probably being a little stingy and holding back the 5⭐️ for Parker and possibly Beck who had my favourite quote in this book which I will happily leave you with.

'𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒏, 𝒎𝒂𝒏. 𝑰’𝒗𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒏.” “𝑨𝒔 𝒊𝒇 𝑰 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒕, 𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒑𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎.” 𝑾𝒆’𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎 𝒂𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑩𝒆𝒄𝒌’𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒍𝒆𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒇 𝒉𝒆’𝒅 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒃𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒐𝒏𝒆. 𝑩𝒆𝒄𝒌 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆. 𝑨𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒘𝒂𝒚.'

This looks to be a great series!

So I love a series that has connected characters and this one has four scrumptious bachelors who've made a pact to never fall in love and never get married.

Oh how fun it will be to watch them fall!

First up is Mason who is a BIG grump, but he did just lose his father, so you have to cut him some slack. But he also has to cope with his father's inn that has seen better days and needs a lot of TLC to keep afloat. That's where Pia walks in, but Mason does not give her a warm welcome - in part because he is instantaneously attracted to her!

This was such an entertaining read. Some steam, a lot of heart, found family in the brotherhood, and ridiculousness that is Beck. I already can't wait for Bachelor #2 (aka Parker) to fall and it is going to be delicious!

I voluntarily requested and read an advance reader copy from the publisher via Net Galley.

Another great story from Cissy! Pia and Mason had instant chemistry while in a awkward work situation and it made for a great read.

I love when an author throws in perfectly tined humour when things get heavy and Cissy did it so well here. When the 4 "boys" got together, who knew what was going to be said!

I am really lookkng forward to getting to know the rest of the town and the women who are going to "tame" the boys!

I really enjoyed this!
Pia and Mason had great chemistry from the start (and insta attraction), even though they both tried to ignore it at first.
A good story with humour, banter, fun characters, romance and a bout of angst. I liked the small town aspect (I always do) and the boss/employee relation made it a little less straight forward. It was a fun and easy read and I just cannot wait for the next book in the series!!!
Thank you Boldwood books and the author for the early copy!

This book follows Mason and Pia. Pia is new to Cedar Falls, she packed up her life and moved east for a fresh start. She lands a job managing an inn, except when she gets to town, she learns the man who hired her died unexpectedly. Mason has just lost his dad and now he isn’t sure what to do. Does he sell the inn? Or does he leave his job as an NYPD police officer and become an inn keeper?

What follows is a will they won’t they push and pull. Both Pia and Mason are attracted to each other but they work together and Mason is her boss. Also, Mason isn’t sure if he is staying in town. AND Mason has a pact with his 3 best friends to stay a bachelor for life.

Mason was so frustrating through most of this book, he liked Pia and was attracted to her but he kept giving her whiplash. And he held onto the bachelor pact for too long. But he was also really sweet to Pia at times and cared about her.

I loved Pia, she’s just such sunshine compared to grumpy Mason. She quickly makes friends in her new town. She is so patient with Mason especially when he won’t make up his mind.

I loved the other members of the bachelor pact, they had such a great friendship and I really loved the found family they had. They pulled Pia into their group with open arms and I loved seeing her form a friendship with them too.

I am excited to see where this series goes and to see each bachelor fall!

Entertaining Bachelor Pact Romance!!

There are rules: Never stay the night. Never date the neighbor, Never fall in love. Never say “I Do”. Four best of friends who either witnessed caustic marriages, or a man who lost his one love and never recovered. Best not to marry at all.

Pia left Oregon to start a new job running an inn in Cedar Falls, NY. When she arrives, she finds her employer has passed away, and his son wants nothing to do with her. Let the games begin.

Love the town, the found families, the relationships, the non-romance / romance, relatable characters, and how we are all the result of our past experiences. Pure entertainment which I thoroughly enjoyed.

This is my first Ciccy Mecca read and I really enjoyed this story. So many amazing tropes - workplace, boss/employee, small town and a bit of enemies to lovers.. The characters are fantastic, the banter is off the charts and the love story is great!!

This is a slow burn story between Pia and Mason is great. Pia is new to town, ready for a fresh start and doesn’t backdown from anyone. Mason is temporarily in town to deal with the Inn his father left him with after his untimely death. He’s very grumpy. Lol

Sparks fly, emotions are at an all time high, tempers flair and a beautiful love story prevails!

A fun, fantastic and heartwarming read.

I absolutely loved Pia and Mason.

Mason and his buddies made a bachelor pact. That none of them would ever get married. But that was before Pia. The moment Pia walked into Mason’s life, he knew it was about to change.

Pia left everything she knew behind to start a new life and new job. She didn’t need a new man (the last one had been horrid). But then she met Mason and all the reasons she thought she moved became a little more clear.

This book was fun and flirty and such an easy read. I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of the bachelors find the women that make them break that pact.