Strange Shape of Love
Romantic Suspense
by Herta Feely
In this twisted story of revenge porn, aspiring reporter Charlotte Cooper has two weeks to find the person who threatened to post five nude photos of her online if she doesn’t submit to their demands. Her secret past has come to haunt her and rob her of her recent on-air TV reporting job, her lover (reunited after six years), and the home she’s made in London.
Charlotte Cooper, a thirty-year-old New York journalist, is assigned to London—a place steeped in memories she’d rather forget. A second chance at professional fulfillment and personal healing seems within reach, especially when she reconnects with Rafe, the artist she once loved. But just as her life begins to stabilize, Charlotte receives an anonymous envelope containing explicit photos of herself from years past. The message is clear: abandon her career or face public humiliation. With two weeks to uncover the source, Charlotte must navigate buried secrets, the powerful men who seek to control her, and the difficult truths that could cost her everything.
Feely’s novels read like a blend of the riveting, suspenseful fiction of Jodi Picoult, Liane Moriarity, and Harlan Coben.
REVIEW
4 out of 5
This was a chilling tale of revenge, mixed with a bit of mystery, and love. The story starts off with a hint of what’s to come, then takes us back to before the threat arrived. I enjoyed the descriptions, they bring each unique setting to life. My heart really went out to Charlotte, her life uprooted first by her job, then this threat of revenge porn being released. The flashbacks give us further insight into Charlotte, and her life. I loved how art was woven into the story, it was a nice contrast to the darkness. That said, the story overall is quite dark, but not in a bad or cliché way. If you enjoy dark romantic suspense stories, then you’ll want to read this!
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Herta Feely (also published as Herta B. Feely) is an award-winning writer and editor (Chrysalis Editorial). She is the author of two novels, SAVING PHOEBE MURROW and STRANGE SHAPE OF LOVE (due out September 30, 2025). Both fall into the category of suspenseful women’s fiction and deal with the dark side of social media. Her short stories and memoir have been published in anthologies and literary journals. In the wake of the James Frey scandal, Feely edited and published the anthology, Confessions: Fact or Fiction? She was awarded the James Jones First Novel Fellowship and an Artist in Literature Fellowship from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. A graduate of UC Berkeley and Johns Hopkins University, Feely is the co-founder of Safe Kids Worldwide, an organization dedicated to saving children from unintentional injuries. She founded Chrysalis Editorial in 2007. She lives in metro Washington, DC, with her husband and orchids.
