Hearts in Darkness
Hearts in Darkness is about two strangers, Makenna/MJ and Caden who become trapped in an elevator, or lift, if you’re British, for a number of hours, encased in the tiny metal box in complete darkness.
It starts when MaKenna, or Red to Caden as he had no idea who she is, literally falls at his feet into the elevator. His amusement at the situation suddenly takes a turn for the worst when the lift jolts and stops and they are thrown into darkness. For a heavily tattooed and pierced guy, he’s trapped in his worst nightmare, the dark and confined spaces remind him of the secrets of his past.
Makenna seems fine with this situation, doubling over in laughter as her day has just gotten worse for her. Trapped with a stranger, the only thing she saw of him before everything happened was the Dragon tattoo on his hand.
Throughout their ordeal, they begin to talk, first with the game 20 questions and it suddenly flies into their past, with Caden sharing his scars especially now as MJ has helped him through his fear of confined spaces and the darkness by just being there with him.
The pitch black darkness hides their imperfections and insecurities and allows them to be themselves, without the other person knowing what they look like and being rejected. They can express themselves emotionally to one another. This only fuels their chemistry and you can literally feel the sexual tension steaming from the book.
But once out of the elevator, will their chemistry and soul baring closeness remain when the lights are back on?
The author did a great job in writing both characters, especially the POV from Caden and MJ as you got a feel of what they were both thinking throughout the darkness and about each other, which carried on once they were free. She also backtracked a conversation or action so we could see what the other person was thinking while it has happening.
You got to see that Caden wasn’t your ‘tough’ guy, as you would expect from his appearance, he was actually completely sweet and shy and at times he was vulnerable, especially when he had an panic attack in the lift and when he kept asking MJ how far he could go or if it was okay to do this or that. He was such a sweet character to read, and it was a great turn of events that he never lets anyone in, but around MJ, she had this aura to her that he just needed and wanted to be around her all the time.
MJ was a great read as well. She has an amazing sense of humour, which helps Caden out in the worst of it all. From having the worst day of her life, with the elevator topping it off, she’s attracted to Caden, despite not seeing his face until they get out of the lift. She’s intrigued by his tattoos and she absolutely loves his piercings, which turns Caden on as he was afraid they would turn her off. It was so nice to read that MJ was the one helping Caden through everything, as normally it’s the damsel in distress being rescued, but it showed her soft side and her caring side which was lovely to read.
Now this book doesn’t come without a lot of sexual chemistry and tension in the lift and of course you get drawn into it too. Although they don’t have sex in the lift, things do happen and you’ll have to wait and see what happens after they are released from the lift.
It was such a different book than I normally read, but it was great to read something where the characters can’t see each other but they are definitely attracted to one another literally based on being stuck together for a few hours, the answers to their questions and the little touches they give that really heats up the situation they are in.
I definitely recommend this book.
By Zoe Pope