#Review: The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae by Stephanie Butland @under_blue_sky @BonnierZaffre #AilsaRae #TheCuriousHeartOfAilsaRae #BoldBlueHeart

Release date - 19th April 2018
Book length - 432 pages
Publisher - Zaffre
Book Depository - www.bookdepository.com
Amazon UK - www.amazon.co.uk
Amazon US - www.amazon.com

I want to thank Emily from www.zaffrebooks.co.uk for providing me with a copy of this book for review.


ABOUT THE BOOK

Ailsa Rae is learning how to live.

She's only a few months past the heart transplant that - just in time - saved her life. Life should be a joyful adventure. But . . .

Her relationship with her mother is at breaking point.

She knows she needs to find her father.

She's missed so much that her friends have left her behind.

She's felt so helpless for so long that she's let polls on her blog make her decisions for her.

And now she barely knows where to start on her own.


And then there's Lennox. Her best friend and one time lover. He was sick too. He didn't make it. And now she's supposed to face all of this without him.

But her new heart is a bold heart. 

She just needs to learn to listen to it . . .

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MY REVIEW

There are not enough words to describe just how amazing this novel really is but I will try my best to articulate it as best I can.

Ailsa Rae has never really had control over her life as she waited for a heart transplant, as she lost her closest friend, and as she watched those who love her suffer on the sidelines. And then a miracle happens and Ailsa receives a heart in the nick of time but now she has a new dilemma - what exactly should she do now with a life that she never thought she would have? As her blog followers have always been with her through her illness, now she turns to them to help her make decisions on her future, which doesn't always seem like the best idea. And as Ailsa bravely steps back into the world will she be able to discover who she really is and where her heart can take her?

THE CURIOUS HEART OF AILSA RAE by Stephanie Butland is an emotional rollercoaster of a story with characters that nestle into your heart and will never leave. I felt so much emotion for Ailsa and Hayley as they struggled to find their feet with their new reality and relationship as soon as Ailsa receives her transplant. The blog entries and the letters scattered throughout the book are a wonderful touch and really make the story relatable.
 
Organ donation is not something that I like to think about because it means death and grief for those who have lost their loved one but this novel really makes you stop and think about it and opens up the other side of the coin of organ donation - the person who gets a chance to live a full life because of transplants, a gift that cannot ever truly be measured.

THE CURIOUS HEART OF AILSA RAE by Stephanie Butland is brimming with hope, drama, friendship, love, and new beginnings and I read this book from cover to cover in one evening. This book is stunning and special and everyone should read it as soon as possible, so move it to the top of your TBR pile and get cracking on it!!

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AUTHOR BIO

Stephanie Butland is a writer, who is thriving after breast cancer. (She used to say she was a survivor, but that was a bit lacking in joie de vivre.)
Although she’d never have chosen it, her dance with cancer has changed her life in many positive ways. Now she is happier, healthier, and more careful with her precious life and the precious people and things in it.

Her writing career began with her dance with cancer, and now she is  a novelist.

Aside from writing, she works as a speaker and trainer, and she works with charities to help raise awareness and money in the hope that cancer will soon be about as scary as a wart.

She lives in Northumberland.

For more information:
Twitter - twitter.com/under_blue_sky
Facebook - www.facebook.com/stephaniebutlandauthor/
Instagram - www.instagram.com/stephaniebutlandauthor/