The characters are likable, Henry is wonderful and his family is a great picture of a happy/healthy/stable family. Can Henry help her to overcome this new devastation, or will it tear them apart forever? What I loved: Just when it seems he might be genuine in his friendship, tragedy strikes, threatening everything Kate has worked so hard to gain. Kate finally decides to trust Henry’s intentions, opening her heart to him. What else would the gorgeous, popular boy from her past want with her? Kate can’t figure out what game Henry is playing with her - for surely it is a game.

He returns to find the bright, funny, outgoing girl he had known now timidly hiding in corners, barely speaking to anyone around her, suspicious of even him. Henry Jamison moved away six years earlier, just as he and Kate had begun to develop feelings for one another. Her refusal to stand up for herself makes her the recipient of her classmate’s taunts and bullying. At school, her second-hand clothing marks her as a target. First, the blurb:ġ7-year-old Kate has lived her whole life in abject poverty, with an alcoholic father and drug-addicted mother, who severely abuses Kate. This is a high-rated indie book on Goodreads, and after reading it I see why! In my experience, this indie book reads closest to a traditionally published book. In my quest to read more self-published books, I clicked up (like picked up, but for digital books) a copy of Heart on a Chain by indie author Cindy C Bennett. Basically, I am just reviewing this book because I liked the book :) I receive no compensation for anyone purchasing the book from the above links. Full disclosure: I was not paid for this review, nor did I receive a free copy of the book in exchange for a review.

Heart on a Chain by Cindy C. Bennett