Book Review: Heart of the Hydra by A. Mangina

Heart of the Hydra by A. Mangina will take you along with Nick and Harper on their quest to find true love, even though they both feel like aliens among humans.

​Harper isn't your typical girl, and Nick is nowhere close to your typical boy. At least, that's how they feel about themselves. However, through their inner dialogue, it's safe to say they are just as normal as anyone else on this planet with desires and fears that have too much control over their choices. 

Harper's inner struggle is her fear that she's unlovable due to her personality. Nick believes he's undesirable because of a rare physiological condition (the cover gives it away) and a deep emotional scarring event from his childhood. ​

What I liked:
I could relate to both characters (especially Nick) in their struggle to accept themselves while yearning to make that singular connection with another. There are some great moments of sarcasm and biting humor that I believe all of us go through at one point in our lives. I enjoyed reading NIck's POV because I've also struggled with the idea that I'm not worth loving because of a physical "flaw" I see in myself, though others have told me otherwise.

What I didn't like:
Harper is not a girl I'd want to hang out with (and not because she's "too funny" or "funnier than most boys" as she describes herself) because of her overtly crass and profane personality. It's one thing to make a flippant or pithy joke about the world around you, but quite another to see life with such disdain and self-pity. I found myself reading through the book for Nick's sake.

Also, while the author has some excellent one-liners and beautiful prose throughout the book, at times the literary prose seemed to go on (quite unnecessarily) for several paragraphs and pages in some cases.

I give Heart of the Hydra a solid 4 Stars.

I want to thank Cara Fluky @ Fluky Fiction Publishing for sending me the beta print for my honest review.