Awakening Hearts

Editorial review:

Angie K. Love’s lesbian literary novel is catchy and keeps us constantly engaged.

I’d recommend Awakening Hearts to anyone interested in dramatic and engaging love stories. It’s a fast and fun read with a back-and-forth narrative that never feels boring.

This novel is a joy to read. - Independent Book Review

Read the complete editorial review here: https://www.angieklove.com/editorial-reviews.

Reader reviews:

Angie is an amazing storyteller. Her writing style is unique, fresh and memorable. - Tom Bross, Author

The sensuality between the women is palpable . . . The story is heart-centered, soulful, and real. - Emmy Chahal, Author

I felt a profound healing take place within me as I read, my own wounds being mended alongside the characters’. - Jen Panske

I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to read this book before its official launch date.


I believe this book will awaken something in each and every person who reads it regardless of your background or situation in life.

I was hooked from the minute I read the prologue.

There are two stories that run simultaneously through the book creating an amazing contrast between the past and present, love and heart-break, tenderness and confusion.

The author has clearly taken time to ensure the characters are real and relatable throughout making you feel a true affinity with them. They are full of colour and jump right off the page to reach you on a level not all authors achieve.

The only good thing about finishing this book is the realisation that there will be another one!

I predict that this book will become an enthralling best seller. (You heard it first here, folks!) if I could give it more than 5 stars I would! This book will stay with me for a very long time. - Emma McLeod

It’s a beautiful love story, so engaging that makes you totally drawn to the book only after a few pages. The richness of details really transport you into the captivating story, making you eager for more each page you read. The characters are very interesting and complex, and as the story unfolds, there are so many lessons on the importance of friendship, gratitude, acceptance, family and kindness. Lovely book that I highly recommend! - Flavia Godoy

I feel connected with each character in the story—I share both their pain and their joy. It’s clear Angie has poured her heart and soul into the creation of this novel. - Isabel K.

The palpable sensuality between the characters opened me up to what is possible—to what I, too, wish to experience. - Johann L.

Awakening Hearts is very well-written. The dialogue is fresh and the scenes very readable. I whizzed through the story! - Victoria Holmes, Author

Follow two souls as the passionate dynamics of romance continue from a past lifetime into the present. Angie has written a book that delights, engages, illuminates and raptly captures the readers' attention as two young women grapple with the burning intimacies and complications that arise from the dueling forces of love and social constraints. It's a book you don't want to put down! - Luis A.

I was fortunate that the author gave me an opportunity to read this before publication.

This usually isn't my genre, but I was surprised. There was no shooting, aliens, or zombies but it pulled me in and kept my attention. The thing I REALLY enjoyed was the exploration of a forbidden relationship in the 1860s. BUT if you think Awakening Hearts is just a story of Way Back When, think again. The story also runs a line in the present day. Then, they merge! HOW? Well, that's another reason I like it. Get this book before you get caught up in the Holiday Rush! - James R.

It's not the right time until it's the right time.

It wasn't the right time then but will it be the right time now or must these starcrossed soulmates wait for yet another lifetime?

I've never read lesbian fiction or any same sex romance before so I had to open my mind and heart to an unfamiliar genre and was blown away by Angie K. Love's debut novel.

Awakening Hearts deals with universal relationship themes (fear, vulnerability, angst, abandonment, acceptance, timing) and does it amazingly well. It goes in depth about the fear of consequences (then and even now) specific to a "taboo relationship": family and religious judgment, shame and/or being ostracized weighed against fears of never loving like this again, settling for an easier, unfulfilling path and/or ending up alone and brokenhearted.

It tells the parallel stories of two lesbian couples, set in rural 1862 and present day northern California and the challenges these lovers face. One woman in each couple is the romantic, so sure of what she wants but can she build a happy, fulfilling life regardless of the other's choices? The other woman is the realist, the questioner, the one inclined to settle because she thinks she has to. Were the past and present characters perhaps the same souls in different bodies and timelines?

In both the past and present, a cast of well developed side characters add richness, acceptance and perspective.

I'm not ruining any surprises here. That's not what this book is about. We all know how limited choices were back then and how much more evolved and free women (and men) can be today to live the lives they choose, if they are strong enough and brave enough to choose them. The best surprise here is how deeply beautiful, universal and well written this author's first book is! It leaves me wanting more. - Kimberly S.

Awakening Hearts is a story of two souls connected through time, continually helping each other through life’s trials, hardships, and joys. It is a love story (two, actually) of these souls meeting in two separate timelines. The connection between them is deep, and the characters in both timelines are inextricably drawn to each other, recognizing someone they love deeply at first meeting. And thus begins their respective journeys in the two timelines, helping each other grow through their current struggles in 1862 Ohio and present-day California. Though the characters share similar story arcs and themes in both timelines, the stories are truly unique with their own plot twists, intrigue, social issues, and character development.

1862 Ohio brings us Lizzy and her beloved Claudia, a sweet but traumatized young woman looking for peace and healing. Lizzy’s vivacious energy and optimism shines through every scene, as does her intense emotion. Forbidden love at its finest forces the girls to grow through difficult times. Their love is sweet and passionate as it is heart-wrenching. We get to experience desire, heartache, grief, growth, and love with Lizzy. Both characters eventually find peace and happiness, albeit in unexpected ways, so there is a solid feel of resolution to their stories. Two male side characters, Lizzy’s brother James and their friend and vet Jack are endearing and supportive of Lizzy and made wonderful and surprising additions to the story. The very end of this timeline had my favorite scene of the whole book, with Lizzy looking back on a life well lived with great love, wisdom, and emotion.

2014 California finds Sage meeting Alex, a ball of energetic sunshine who is deeply conflicted about what she wants in life. With calm compassion and a deep desire to care for and heal, Sage draws Alex into a more honest life, providing her a safe place to explore her sexuality and heal from past trauma. Alex’s religious and family life intervene, tearing her in multiple directions. Sage admirably fights for Alex to be true to herself as much as she fights for their romantic relationship. Their struggle with their individual beliefs, goals, experiences, and perspective on life is poignant and heartfelt. Sage’s best friend Trish wins the award for BFF of the year, and provides a strong, humorous voice that only enriches the story. Through introspective Sage's mind, we experience a story equally filled with love, loss, and hope for a better future.

Souls destined to love each other are sure to meet again in this life and the next, so who knows where and when we might see them again! You’ll be hoping for your own soulmate to follow you through every lifetime to love and support you as you grow into a better version of yourself.

Recommended for anyone who appreciates stories filled with growth and struggle, enriched by beautiful romantic relationships. - Caitlin L. 

Contemporary romance isn’t my normal genre, but I was glad I took a chance on Awakening Hearts. Angie K. Love’s time spanning novel about two souls whose love is eternal, is beautifully and sensitively written.

In 1862, Lizzy knows she’s attracted to women in a way her family and church would not condone. But God is love, and Lizzy, growing up in a loving family environment, is comfortable with her choice although she knows she cannot be open about it. She dreams of moving from the family farm to the city one day and living independently, making her own way in an exciting world. Not for her the expected marriage and family.

Then Claudia, a young widow with a tragic but undisclosed past, comes to live at the farm and Lizzy’s heart is captured, forever. Claudia has no idea such love can exist between women, until her heart is awakened. But when other life issues must be taken into account, the future happiness of each woman is very much under threat.

Meanwhile, in the current day, Sage is openly lesbian with supportive friends and family who understand and make no judgement on her life choices. But life proves as difficult for modern day Sage as it does for 19th century Lizzy when Alex comes into her life. Church-going Alex, whose conflict between her ‘unnatural’ urges and her beliefs turn her own and Sage’s life upside down. Poor Sage! I felt for her with every ping of her phone! And could have strangled Alex more than once!

Lizzy’s and Sage’s turmoil takes the reader on an emotional rollercoaster of a journey. The writer tells their stories (or story?) from their points of view, which means we see Claudia and Alex’s heart-wrenching struggles through their eyes. This is a very clever and subtle bit of writing, which sensitively and with some depth, portrays the conflicted characters of Claudia and Alex just as keenly as the struggles of Lizzy and Sage. - Cheryl Burman, Author