Wreck Your Heart by Lori Rader-Day

 Synopsis (via Goodreads): Dahlia “Doll” Devine had the kind of hardscrabble beginning that could launch a thousand broken-hearted country songs, but now she’s the star of her own stage at McPhee’s Tavern. As part of Chicago’s—yes, Chicago’s—country music scene, Dahlia is an up-and-coming singer in spangles and boots of classic country tunes. Up and coming, that is, until her boyfriend Joey up and went, taking the rent money with him.

So Dahlia is back to square one, relying on Alex McPhee—again. Alex helped her out of a bad situation when she was a kid living rough with her mother. Now he’s part landlord, part band booster, all-around rescuer. It’s just that Dahlia wishes she didn’t keep giving him reasons to have to do it.

Just as Dahlia suspects she’s scraped rock bottom, the mother she hasn’t spoken to in twenty years shows up with something to say. The next morning, a distraught young woman arrives at the bar, asking after her missing mother—Dahlia's mother, too, even if the missing suburban PTA mom the girl describes sounds pretty different from the one who let Dahlia down all those years ago.

Though no one is using the word sister any time soon, Dahlia lets herself be drawn into reuniting the family that might have been hers. But when a body is discovered outside McPhee’s Tavern, the crime threatens not just the place Dahlia has made into a home, but everything she’s believed about her past, her dreams for the future, and the people she was just, maybe, beginning to let into her heart.

I guess I understood family, though. Family made itself out of whatever materials it found. Out of scraps, if necessary. Out of strays.

I stayed up well past midnight finishing Wreck Your Heart. I hit the point of no return around 85% and absolutely had to know what happened next. The plot was plotting, the mystery was mystery-ing, and I needed to know that Dahlia—and everyone else—was going to be okay.

I thought the author did an amazing job setting up this story, and I really enjoyed Dahlia as a character. As a product of the foster care system, she carries understandably jaded feelings toward the mother who was unable to care for her. Seeing her suddenly reappear after twenty years was jarring enough, but learning she also had a sister was something Dahlia was completely unprepared for. Even so, I felt her reactions were realistic, and she handled the situation with as much bravado as she could muster given the circumstances.

Dahlia struggles to let people in, whether in friendships or relationships. She prefers to live lightly and keep things carefree, believing that’s safer than risking disappointment or abandonment. Music is her passion and the anchor that’s held her together over the years, and Alex has been a steady presence in her life—one she’s starting to feel conflicted about relying on so heavily. Their dynamic is complicated, but I thought the author handled Alex’s neurospiciness incredibly well. It came through clearly in both his limited dialogue and his actions.

While Wreck Your Heart firmly centers on Dahlia, I also really enjoyed the supporting cast—Sicily, Alex, Oona, and the Jims all stood out. Dahlia herself was deeply relatable: someone who doesn’t fully understand what it means to love or be loved, but who is genuinely trying her best in a world that keeps pushing back against her fiery spirit. Her reactions and realizations felt earned, and I appreciated that she paid attention when things felt off—even if she sometimes had to convince herself to do so.

The twist at the end caught me completely off guard, and I was pleasantly surprised by how everything played out. I did feel the ending was just a bit rushed (a very minor complaint), and I would’ve loved more time spent fleshing out the predicament and how it was resolved. The epilogue was hopeful, but I found myself wanting a little more closure for Dahlia.

Those small things are the only reasons I’m giving this 4.5 stars instead of a full five—but I’ll be rounding it up on Goodreads. Definitely keep this one on your radar this year! (★★★★⋆)

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.