The Book of Heartbreak

Renowned book blogger and booktok content creator Ova Ceren’s debut romantasy opens with a tongue-in-cheek hierarchical angelic structure and a map of Istanbul. It is a deeply personal, intricately layered and meticulously researched exploration of the pangs of love, grief and heartbreak. Metamorphosing into a story inspired by her Turkish heritage, her diasporic background, the iconic symbolism of The Maiden’s Tower of Istanbul, her sense of the afterlife and the concept of women scarred by inter-generational trauma, it is also a cautionary tale about the vagaries of love. With a look at how love can be poisoned by betrayal, control, desire, guilt, obsession and revenge, the book breathes the importance of forgiveness.

Ceren’s fragile protagonist Sare is struggling with the marks left upon her by a traumatic childhood and a terrible curse that has tainted her life. It has caused her to live in fear and affected her ability to love and trust. When tragic circumstances result in a sudden move from Cambridge to stay in Istanbul with her emotionally distant grandfather Muzaffer, she meets Leon, a charismatic seer. Drawn to the isolated and enduring Maiden’s Tower and the mysterious writings of Sufi Chelebi she wonders if there is a way that she can open her heart after all in spite of the fervid entreaties of her ethereal friend Munu pleading with her not to risk heartbreak and death.

Like The Arabian Nights Entertainments, The Book of Heartbreak becomes a story within a story as each chapter is prefaced by an extract from one of the three books of Sufi Chelebi providing an insight into curse breaking. The reader joins Leon and Sare in trying to unravel the mystery following the revelations throughout. When constructing the casebook, Ceren was influenced by her research into the Ottoman Empire, the role of the Müneccimbaşı (the Sultan’s Chief Seer) and the journals of explorer Evliya Çelebi.

The Book of Heartbreak is an ambitious novel by turns a contemporary fairy tale, a love song to the cadences of the city of Istanbul, inspired by the poetry of Orhan Veli, a vivid study of emotions and an urban fantasy. Theatrical, melodramatic and intense, it addresses important themes, while weaving in Turkish folklore and customs.

Where it strikes a discordant note is the inclusion of angelic emails, which, although quirky, tend to pull the reader out of the story in places. It gets a bit goofy towards the ending which also requires suspension of disbelief. It will appeal to fans of Becca Fitzpatrick, Stephanie Garber and Laini Taylor, but it is gentler, with its own authentic, tender, heartfelt voice.