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Louisa Keller
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Guarded Hearts Kindle Edition

by Louisa Keller (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 out of 5 stars 137 ratings
“Nobody has ever made me feel like this.”


Blaise: I only took a summer job lifeguarding because I wanted something to do in the last few months before heading off to college. Cue Forest Ethridge—my prickly, defensive coworker. I’m drawn to him right off the bat…despite the fact that he seems to find me more of a nuisance than anything else.


I fall hard and fast, despite his warnings that I should guard my heart carefully. Just as he’s opening his own heart to me, Forest disappears without a trace, leaving me wondering what exactly went wrong. Ten years later I’m still grappling with the repercussions of my first devastating love…and that’s when he shows up again. Can I look past my own pain long enough to find out what happened? Or is it better to move on with my life?


“I have one rule: don’t let anybody in.”


Forest: As a teenager, I learned the hard way that nobody except my sister Faye can be trusted. Still reeling from our parents’ abandonment, we’ve figured out how to fly beneath the radar. For years I never let anybody in…until I met Blaise Lancaster. He’s kind and funny and full of hope. Making out with him is a mistake, and promising to take his virginity is an even bigger one. But before I can make good on my promise, Faye and I are thrust into chaos once more. It’s time to leave my hometown once and for all—and there’s no time for goodbyes.


A decade later I’m still wary and defensive. My solace at the end of each day is listening to Blaise’s award-winning podcast. When I find out that he’ll be visiting a local bookstore on a promotional tour, I decide to go and skulk in the back of the room. Then our eyes meet, and I realize that my feelings for Blaise have never truly flickered out. Is it too late to rekindle my first love? And will Blaise be able to forgive me?


Guarded Hearts is a standalone enemies-to-lovers gay romance featuring a whole lot of mutual pining, a second chance at love, and an HEA.
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  1. Print length
    317 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    October 26, 2018
  4. File size
    2.7 MB
  5. Page Flip
    Enabled
  6. Word Wise
    Enabled
  7. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07JYH93PN
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ (October 26, 2018)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 26, 2018
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2.7 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 317 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 out of 5 stars 137 ratings

About the author

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Louisa Keller

Louisa Keller

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Louisa Keller is a queer adventuress who has spent most of her life living in New England and the Pacific Northwest. While her academic background revolves mainly around French Studies and Philosophy, she has strayed from these considerably in her professional pursuits. Over the years Louisa has been a tutor, goat farmer, concierge, and freelance copywriter. She has also hiked hundreds of miles across northern Spain, volunteered at a medical clinic in Honduras, and spent many a summer living in small cabins and platform tents. When she’s not off gallivanting, Louisa can be found with a whiskey-ginger ale in one hand and a Philip Pullman book in the other.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
137 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers praise the book's character development and emotional depth, describing it as a heart-wrenching love story.

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4 customers mention "Character development"4 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the character development in the book.

"...Can they rekindle those summer feelings? I found both characters well developed as well as some minor characters...." Read more

"...ever and heart wrenching love story with incredible story and character development...." Read more

"...This is a very heartfelt book that was a painfully beautiful story where I was routing for them the whole way!..." Read more

"...Both of our MC's are very likable and you will be rooting for them. Blaise and Forest will win your hearts and you will love their connection." Read more

3 customers mention "Emotion level"3 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the emotional depth of the book, describing it as a heart-wrenching love story with tender moments.

"...There were funny moments and tender times. Most funny was when Forest and Blaise were practicing CPR during their training...." Read more

"...This is a very heartfelt book that was a painfully beautiful story where I was routing for them the whole way!..." Read more

"...Life is often beyond our control. This is a beautiful story of find love with the love of your very young heart and the heartache that comes with..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • BrianKM
    5.0 out of 5 stars great fast read with good character development.
    Reviewed in the United States on November 1, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Forest and Blaise met at the age of 18 just after High School ends. Although they have some common interest, they come from very different backgrounds. AS circumstances change, Forest leaves without any word to Blaise. Forest's upbringing and Blaise's loss of his first love weigh heavily on both.

    Part two of the book starts 10 years later when Forest finds Blaise is in town. Can they rekindle those summer feelings? I found both characters well developed as well as some minor characters. Although wrapping the chapters in quotes from Voltaire's Candide may not appeal to everyone, the subtle use of that classic really adds some interesting thought to the book.

    I found the a good read, with dynamic characters well seated in contemporary America.
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  • Mainely Stories
    4.0 out of 5 stars Heartbreak, slow burn and a second chance that was long in coming.
    Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    A second-chance, slowest burn ever and heart wrenching love story with incredible story and character development.
    Forest and his sister Faye had an extremely difficult childhood, at the best of times, but at age 15, they were faced with the fact, “inescapable and devastating” as it was, that their parents had quietly abandoned them in the middle of the night. From that point forward, staying alive, not freezing or starving while staying together was their primary focus. They managed to stay alive but their emotional growth was stunted, their ability to connect and participate in life, broken.
    Shortly after graduating from high school while starting a new summer job, one of two Forest had to keep himself and Faye housed and fed, he met Blaise.
    Blaise, also starting a summer job as a lifeguard at the rec center, had an entirely different childhood, a self-described charmed life. When he came out to his parents and older brother, they became his biggest supporters. He took the job at the rec center to have something productive to do; so different from Forest who was there to for life’s necessities. Blaise was so innocent and sheltered that he had no concept that Forest could possibly living in such a desperate situation. He did know one thing. Blaise knew that Forest was skittish and he would need to be patient. Meeting him was life-changing and Blaise wanted Forest to be his first everything, first kiss, and that wanting was mutual, until Forest suddenly disappeared.
    I don’t want the reader to think that this story was entirely tragic. There were funny moments and tender times. Most funny was when Forest and Blaise were practicing CPR during their training. You must read this story.
    The brief period of time Blaise and Forest spent together, as innocent as it was, changed both of their lives forever. If there were a soundtrack to this story, the theme would be heartbreak.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Sutter14
    3.0 out of 5 stars A little disappointed
    Reviewed in the United States on November 1, 2018
    I received an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
    Blaise and Forest met the summer after high school. For Blaise it was love at first sight. Forest, however, fought his attraction to Blaise from the get go. Forest and his twin sister, Faye, were abandoned at fifteen. They decided it was just the two of them and they could not let anyone else in. Forest (and Faye) work hard to earn enough to keep a roof over their heads and food in their bellies. Forest gradually starts to let Blaise in and falls hard. Forest and Faye get some news that makes them decide that they need a fresh start. Blaise is heartbroken and Forest feels guilty, but life goes on for the two.
    Fast forward ten years and both men have, unsuccessfully, tried to move on from their first love. Fate intervenes and Blaise is going to be in Portland, where Forest and Faye moved to. They reconnect and decide to try to give a relationship a shot after Forest explains why he ran ten years before.
    I felt that Faye was the biggest cause of their break up and I just wanted her to take responsibility for her part in their destruction. There were so many questions not answered and I felt let down by this story.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • J. Lynn
    5.0 out of 5 stars Sweet and heavy emotion ❤️
    Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    The title sums up this book well. Two young lovers struggle to find themselves and accept each other coming from two starkly different worlds. Too difficult for their youth, they get a second chance to try again.
    This is a very heartfelt book that was a painfully beautiful story where I was routing for them the whole way! So perfect for each other- truly an opposites attract 💕
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  • Dixiecowgirl060
    4.0 out of 5 stars Second Chance with love.
    Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Second Chance with love. Loving and growing up are so difficult. Life is often beyond our control. This is a beautiful story of find love with the love of your very young heart and the heartache that comes with it. Years later another chance and you have to work to make it happen.

    This story is laden with emotion, honesty, and angst. Both of our MC's are very likable and you will be rooting for them. Blaise and Forest will win your hearts and you will love their connection.
    Helpful
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  • Mary
    5.0 out of 5 stars a wonderful story of first love and second chances!
    Reviewed in the United States on November 1, 2018
    I LOVED it!
    I love Louisa Keller writing style and all her MCs.

    This is a wonderful story of second chances and first love. Even though at first I was a little bit skeptical about MCs getting together after 10 years of not seeing or talking with each other, it turned out to be really believable. I fell in love with Forest at the very beginning and then I just loved him more and more when he was struggling with his feelings for Blaise. This story showed not only two young boys falling for each other, but also two completely different worlds colliding. Forest and Blaise come from different families, has absolutely different life experience and yet the chemistry between them is almost palpable, it is clear that they are meant for each other.

    The pace is FAST and I couldn't stop reading. I wanted to know everything.
    This story is lovely, sexy and very emotional. The only thing that annoyed me was Forest smoking weed all the time but I think I can understand him. I was truly happy to finally see him happily in love.
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