The Artisan Heart

Dean Mayes

Sep 2018 · Central Avenue Publishing

About this ebook

Fans of The Artisan Heart are saying "such a good book, I didn't want it to end", "small town charm at its finest" and "a feel good, heartwarming story".

Hayden Luschcombe is a brilliant paediatrician living in Adelaide with his wife Bernadette, an ambitious event planner. His life consists of soul-wrenching days at the hospital and tedious evenings attending the lavish parties organized by Bernadette.

When an act of betrayal coincides with a traumatic confrontation, Hayden flees Adelaide, his life in ruins. His destination is Walhalla, nestled in Australia’s southern mountains, where he finds his childhood home falling apart. With nothing to return to, he stays, and begins to pick up the pieces of his life by fixing up the house his parents left behind.

A chance encounter with a precocious and deaf young girl introduces Hayden to Isabelle Sampi, a struggling artisan baker. While single-handedly raising her daughter, and trying to resurrect a bakery, Isabelle has no time for matters of the heart. Yet the presence of the handsome doctor challenges her resolve. Likewise, Hayden, protective of his own fractured heart, finds something in Isabelle that awakens dormant feelings of his own.

As their attraction grows, and the past threatens their chance at happiness, both Hayden and Isabelle will have to confront long-buried truths if they are ever to embrace a future.

Be sure to also read Dean Mayes' other novels:
The Hambledown Dream
Gifts of the Peramangk
The Recipient

Ratings and reviews

3.5 stars--THE ARTISAN HEART by Dean Mayes is an adult, contemporary, stand alone romance story line focusing on ER paediatrician Dr. Hayden Luschcombe, and artisan baker Isabelle Sampi. Told from third person perspective THE ARTISAN HEART, set in the small Australian town of Walhalla, follows Dr. Hayden Luschcombe in the wake of both personal and professional disasters. On forced leave from the hospital, Hayden returns to his hometown, searching for the peace that has long eluded our story line hero. An easy-going and well-respected paediatrician, Hayden Luschcombe, is lost and struggles to make sense of where it all went wrong. A welcome home by the locals is met with disdain by artisan baker Isabelle Sampi, a woman Hayden remembers from his childhood days. What ensues is the building relationship between Hayden and Isabelle, and the potential fall-out as Isabelle’s past comes looking for revenge, and Hayden’s past comes looking for a second chance. On the surface, Hayden Luschcombe is the perfect man with the ability to do and fix anything with exception of his personal life. Years as a doormat for his ambitious wife pushes Hayden one final time until the realization of what was, and what will never be forces our hero back home. Isabelle Sampi is a struggling, single mother to a deaf, seven-year old daughter, a precocious child who captures Hayden’s attention from the very start. Isabelle remembers Hayden from their childhood days, memories that Isabelle had hoped to forget, along with a darkened past that threatens to her present and future. THE ARTISAN HEART is a slow building story line and thusly a slow building romance. Family secrets are revealed; the past is revisited; lies, manipulation and revenge threaten our story line couple. THE ARTISAN HEART is a predictable story of family, love, betrayal and vengeance. The colorful people of Walhalla mean well but tend to gossip and know everybody’s business. Hayden’s wife Bernadette is nothing short of bitchy and manipulative, eliciting neither sympathy nor tears for her behavior and end result. The premise is enjoyable; the romance is sweet and affectionate; the characters are broken, real and uncomplicated.

About the author

Dean Mayes is an Intensive Care nurse who is fascinated by the paranormal, so his stories weave an element of magical realism with deep humanism. He grew up near Melbourne, Australia, and now lives in Adelaide with his family and dog, and enjoys cooking, Star Wars, and a good joke.

Dean is the author of four successful novels:
The Hambledown Dream
Gifts of the Peramangk
The Artisan Heart
The Recipient