Book Review: Fierce Fragile Hearts by Sara Barnard

I loved the beginning of Fierce Fragile Hearts because it really sets the scene of where the characters are in their lives. It’s been two years since the ending of Beautiful Broken Things and Fierce Fragile Hearts opens up with Suzanne moving back to Brighton and her looking forward to the new chapter in her life. I loved how Suzanne, Caddy and Rosie were still in each other’s lives and still friends.

I thought it was great to read from Suzanne’s point of view because you get to see all the parts of Suzanne’s life that Caddy (the main character in Beautiful Broken Things) never really seen. In Beautiful Broken Things we are told about Suzanne’s history with her parents and the abuse she suffered as a child but in Fierce Fragile Hearts we actually see the full effects of that because Suzanne is the main character. This is her story and those parts of the book were very emotional to read.

I loved Dilys and the way her and Suzanne were introduced. I really enjoyed reading their interactions with each other and I wanted to read more of them. I thought Dilys’ background was very interesting and I loved the bond that grew between Suzanne and Dilys, it was nice to read about these two characters finding a companion in each other.

One of my favourite things about the first book (Beautiful Broken Things) was the fact that there was no romance in it and it focused solely on friendships but in Fierce Fragile Hearts I felt that it strayed from that point. I felt that a lot of the story in Fierce Fragile Hearts focused on Suzanne and her new relationship with Matt (a new character introduced in Fierce Fragile Hearts) and it made the friendships that were so wonderfully built up and explored in Beautiful Broken Things feel like a side thing.

I didn’t like how distant Caddy and Suzanne were in this book. I understand that years have passed since the first book and it would be unrealistic to expect things to not have changed but I was shocked at how much Caddy’s character felt like a stranger to me which was weird since she was the main character of Beautiful Broken Things. The special bond of Caddy and Suzanne felt almost nonexistent in this book which made me really sad.

Overall I liked how we get to see more of Suzanne’s life and history in Fierce Fragile Hearts and I loved reading about her bond with Dilys but at the same time I was disappointed at how much the book focused on the romance and less on the main friendships. I still enjoyed the writing a lot and liked how we get more closure on Suzanne’s life.