Special thanks to the author for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

TL;DR: I didn’t think I would feel a little weepy reading Change of Heart but that’s how much I loved these characters and their romance. Canterbary somehow manages to do this to me every time and let’s be real: I would willingly let her keep doing it, too! I adored Henry and Whitney and their relationship journey but as much as I loved Whitney and her boss energy, I LOVED Henry! Oh, my granola, this man had my heart ready to burst with his acts of service, loyalty and big golden retriever energy. Help, THE FEELINGS! Also, I’m 100% here for the Grey’s Anatomy vibes and I sincerely cannot wait until Canterbary gives us more of this hospital crew because they are amazing.

If it’s not obvious by now, I’m a huge fan of Canterbary’s romances because they always make the butterflies erupt in my tummy and make me feel all manner of things. Change of Heart managed to work the same magic on me! The story is told from dual POVs and starts (almost literally) with a bang. I loved Whitney and Meri and their summer singles adventures crashing weddings and having all the sexy fun.

Whitney was amazing with her brand of boss energy and this is a sentiment I repeat often throughout this review. Canterbary knows how to write strong, smart, capable women so well and Whitney embodies all of that perfectly. I admired her character and was honestly a little jealous that these residents got this badass woman as their mentor because can I have her too, PLS? 🥹 Despite being very emotionally walled off, she’s compassionate and caring when it comes to looking out for the well-being of the hospital staff, especially the new residents, and the people she loves even if it’s to her detriment. She has a complicated and often frustrating relationship with her younger sister Brie, who wields emotional knives with deadly accuracy when it comes to Whitney. As an older sister, I related to the complexities and the sometimes fraught but forever love that comes with sisterhood. This complex relationship and their rough childhood meant Whitney allowed herself to feel very little, and certainly not something like love, and she also didn’t allow herself to rely on others, but neither did she know how to do so. She had a lot to work through and I wished that aspect had been given a bit more focus since it played the main role in the third-act conflict, but I was happy with how her arc progressed overall. Her relationship with Meri was also wonderful and I hope that Canterbary blesses us with her story in the future (this is me asking, please)! 🥺

Then there’s Henry. HENRY! This man had me melting throughout this read. Probably one of my favourite things about Canterbary’s romances is the way she writes her men. They’re tenderhearted stubborn cinnamon rolls but when they’re all in, wild horses couldn’t tear them away from being there for the women they love, respect and admire. Even as the women pull away and try to emotionally detangle themselves “because love isn’t real”, these men never give up while still giving their leading ladies the space they need to process their feelings and eventually come home to them. It’s just… so swoony and romantic and it’s one of the main reasons I ADORE this boo because Henry was ALL OF THAT! He’s this lumbering bear of a man with major golden retriever energy who won me over very quickly. He’s so loyal and ugh, his journey to finding and keeping Whitney in his life? Melted me. I was completely done. 😭 I loved the simplicity and genuineness of his love for her. The way he just wanted to be in Whit’s orbit no matter what—even if it meant spending hours standing in the OR viewing room watching her slay her surgeries and be a total boss. I loved the way he valued her badassery, how in awe he was of her skill and passion, and how he made sure she knew how much he loved everything about her. His devotion to her was so swoonworthy and the way he also took care of her after long and hard days at the hospital made my heart melt. HENRY! 🥹

Their romance does have a third act, the reason for which I found a little frustrating and is why I lowered my rating a bit. Obviously, you could see the third act coming from a mile away because once they got together, everything was too good, smooth, and happy. But the way they reacted during the fight felt out of character to me, especially for Henry. Ngl, his reaction was a little baffling considering what we know goes on in his head about Whitney! I’m glad that the riff didn’t last long though and honestly, it was worth it too because Henry gave the most swoontastic “get her back” declaration that had me weeping right alongside Whitney. 😂 This is a forbidden workplace romance where the stakes are low because the characters are sensible, so just be aware going into this, if that’s not always your vibe. That said, just because the stakes were low does not mean that the sexual tension was missing because there was a whole lot of that (and it’s something the author excels at delivering).

Lastly, I can’t not mention how much I loved Henry’s work family because they were hilarious! I loved this found family and how real they felt as supporting characters. Tori, Cami and Reza had me cackling with their shenanigans and it’s clear they loved each other so much! 💜 Basically, Canterbary won again with this romance and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it.

Have you read Change of Heart or is it on your TBR?

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