The Queen of Hearts – Kimmery Martin

Happy release day to this beauty!

Thanks to Berkley Pub #PRHPartner for the copy in exchange for my honest review.

THE QUEEN OF HEARTS – Kimmery Martin (out today!)

Let’s all agree here, this would be a total cover buy for most people browsing through a bookstore. How could it not be?!

My Thoughts: 5/5 stars!

Going into THE QUEEN OF HEARTS by Kimmery Martin, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. To be honest, I thought it was going to be a retelling of sorts and so did my partner reader (clearly we went based off the title and not the synopsis!) I was pleasantly surprised by this incredible and beautifully written debut novel about navigating the medical world and trying to maintain friendships while harboring secrets.

Zadie and Emma are best friends and have been since medical school. Both have been through a lot with each other – surviving the intensity of med school and trying to make it through different relationships together. Now both are married with children and have thriving careers. Zadie is in pediatric cardiology and Emma is a trauma surgeon, despite how chaotic their lives can be, they’re both content where they are.

One day all of that is threatened when a former colleague of theirs, Nick Xenokostas, reenters their lives. Nick had an important role in Zadie’s life at one time – as the chief resident during medical school he became the center of her world both professionally and personally. His reappearance makes them both reflect back on some of the hardest decisions they’ve had to make and begin to wonder if they really know each other like they think they do.

Told in alternating perspectives, Emma and Zadie in the present, and then Zadie back in her third year of medical school (when Nick was so prevalent in her life). The way that Martin writes and presents both characters was so well done – there was no confusion as to which perspective we were in and both Emma and Zadie had their own unique voice. This was an engrossing and compelling read and it was a peek into a world that I know very little about. The struggles that those in the medical field experience in trying to juggle their home lives and professional lives while trying to live up to that high standard that is expected of them.

Kimmery Martin will be an insta-buy author for me and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next! If you like a good medical drama/fiction novel, then you need to pick up THE QUEEN OF HEARTS. The beautiful and fluid writing will have you hooked from the beginning.

 

Check back for the #allthebookreviews thoughts 🙂

–Jess