Stone Heart is a second chance, forbidden romance by Susan K. Hamilton. Lauren Stone has skyrocketed in her music career, far surpassing the expectations of her friends and family, but it has been at a cost to her mental and emotional health, finally causing her lyrics to suffer. Most importantly, she’d left behind her first love, Danny Padovano, and the unresolved feelings from the experience caused her to spiral into addiction before her band members helped her stop using drugs. Years later, Lauren is still in recovery, but she has vivid dreams about Danny, so when she moves back to New York and Danny’s niece, Cole, contacts her, a surprise reunion is orchestrated by a representative, with hopes that Danny will attend with his niece. To her dismay, Lauren finds out Danny has been married for the past thirteen years, but she soon learns that his marriage is rocky.

The story moves along at a medium pace, but Susan K. Hamilton keeps her readers engaged with bits of humor from supporting characters and the steam from Lauren and Danny’s affair. Early on, it was clear that Danny was Lauren’s muse, as her most successful songs were about him. Hamilton feeds the fire of any reader’s mind when they imagine their regrets with past lovers, but the book dives deeper than the affair, showing Lauren’s exceptional growth as she begins to accept the circumstances for her past and present decisions. The notes of steam between Lauren and Danny are strong, but they come to a boil when the two of them finally consummate their long-awaited reunion. I recommend Stone Heart to mature readers, as there are sexual scenes within its pages.

Stone Heart By Susan K Hamilton follows Lauren Stone, a successful singer in the band the Kingmakers, who has plenty of heartbreak in her past to draw on. Years ago, she was in love with a man called Danny, but things ended badly. But a chance encounter with her now married ex, rekindles old flames. They have both grown and changed, but does that mean they can be together now, or are they still a disaster in the making? Lauren spent a long time trying to move on and if she gives in to her feelings now, she could end up destroying her life completely.

Susan K Hamilton has written an entertaining book with Stone Heart. Lauren and Danny really struggle with how things turned out and the people who were hurt along the way. But they are still in love and it is hard to let that go. The story moves at a good pace as Lauren tries to work on her new album while reflecting on her past with Danny. Nothing about their situation is easy and while some stories might gloss over certain issues, the author does deal with the real emotions and hurt that happens when two people get involved and one of them is married to someone else. It is well written and thought-provoking. I think that contemporary romance readers would enjoy this book. I would recommend it.