I might be a hero to our small town, but to Mackenna Haven, I’m just the heartbreaker who left her behind.
She was my best friend…my first everything. But when duty called, I answered, leaving behind the only girl I ever loved. She refused to be a distraction that could cost me my life, so I let her cut me loose.
But I never forgot her. Or the marriage pact we made before I left.
Ten years is a long time to wait for a second chance. Long enough for everything to change—except the way I feel about her.
She might not be the same girl I left behind, but the chemistry between us hasn’t faded. Being forced into a one tent situation proves as much. The spark between us has turned into a wild fire I’m desperate to be consumed by.
But fear is holding her back…unsure of where she fits in my plans. I have to somehow prove to her she is the plan.
I’ve spent a decade fighting for my country, and now I’m ready to fight for her. Because I lost her once, and I’ll be damned if I lose her again.
*This book was originally published as Captain Heartbreaker in 2020 and significantly edited and updated in 2025*
| Title: | Heartbreaker (previously Captain Heartbreaker) |
| Author: | Brighton Walsh |
| Series: | Havenbrook (Book 3) |
| Pages: | 325 |
| Category / Genre(s): | Contemporary |
| Trope(s): | Second Chance Romance Small Town Romance Temporary Relationship |
| Point of View: | First Person, Past Tense, Dual Viewpoint (H & h) |
| Location: | Havenbrook, Mississippi, USA |
| HEA: | ✔️ |
| Release Date: | 6 March, 2025 |
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Mac and Hudson get their second chance
We’re onto book three of the Havenbrook series about the four Haven sisters who live in small town Mississippi. This is Mac/Kenna’s story as her lifelong best friend and one time love, Hudson comes back into town and is ready to make good on the marriage pact they made 10 years ago. Each book in the series follows a different sister and stands completely alone from the rest. This has been reworked since it was originally published as Captain Heartbreaker in 2020 – although I didn’t read it in its original form – I understand the biggest change is that it’s now in first person.
Mac popped up in the previous two books about two of her sisters – and I liked her personality although we didn’t really get to know her in and out. This time we did and I still liked her, but now I felt that I had a lot in common with her, too. If you’ve ever felt yourself overlooked and under appreciated, you’ll also feel a kinship with Mac. She was competitive, fierce and fun – but it felt like she was a little lost.
Hudson is in the army and is back in his small town, on leave, for just a few weeks before he returns to active duty. And he’s determined to convince Kenna (which is what he calls Mac) to give them a chance while he’s back in town. I think that this was what bothered me most about Hudson. I felt he was quite selfish in his attempts to get Kenna to go back into a relationship with him – knowing it would be temporary and knowing that she was reluctant to get her heart broken again. Oh he was a good guy – and a soldier, to boot! – but I was just irritated about him on occasion.
“[Brighton Walsh] builds life in the small town of Havenbrook, Mississippi, in a way that makes me want to live there…”
Having been best friends since they were tiny, Hudson and Kenna definitely have chemistry. They have an ease when they’re with one another that shows they’re a perfect pairing – but there’s also that delicious snap of sexual chemistry which I always like to see. They know each other well enough that Hudson manages to show Kenna just how loved and appreciated she is – which is nice, but I’d have preferred her to show a little more gumption about her life.
The story is really about Hudson and Kenna getting reacquainted with each other after so many years apart. Hudson is clear about what he wants but Kenna is more reserved. Hudson broke her heart before and since she knows he’ll leave again for the army – she’s got her walls built sky high. Over the course of the book, Kenna finds confidence in herself and in her relationship with Hudson – while Hudson realises that what he’s been chasing his whole life might just be the thing he walked away from all those years ago.
This book was written in Brighton Walsh’s eminent style and as always, she builds life in the small town of Havenbrook, Mississippi, in a way that makes me want to live there with its cast of interesting characters. I didn’t feel the story was as gripping as I did the first in the series (Charmer) – but I still loved seeing another of the Haven sisters finally get her man. 4 stars but still an enjoyable and likeable small town, second chance romance.
* I received this book in exchange for my honest review
Award-winning USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Brighton Walsh spent nearly a decade as a professional photographer before taking her storytelling in a different direction and reconnecting with her first love: writing. When she’s not lost in her own made up worlds, she’s probably either reading or shopping—maybe even both at once. She lives in the Midwest with her real life hero of a husband, her two kids—both taller than her—and her dog who thinks she’s a queen. Her boy-filled house is the setting for dirty socks galore, frequent dance parties (okay, so it’s mostly her, by herself, while her children look on in horror), and more laughter than she thought possible. Visit her online at brightonwalsh.com.
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Havenbrook Series:
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