Lost For Words by the same author was one of my top five books of 2018, so I was more than enthusiastic to read this. I think Lost For Words is a hard act to follow. I didn't gel with this quite so much. That said, it was written with the same wholesomeness, so despite my misgivings, it is still an enjoyable book.

Ailsa Rae, aged 28, has a heart transplant that saves from very near death. Twenty-eight years of catching up to be done now. Where on earth is she going to start? Her health, up to now, has made all the decisions for her, so her head struggles to take on the task. So she runs polls on her blog to help her. Her mother finds it hard to slacken the reins of protectiveness for her sick daughter, whom she's looked after single-handedly. The love of her life missed out on a transplant…and died. Her future should be easy now, but it's all so hard.

Whilst this was all about Ailsa, I felt this was a little too much about Ailsa...not far off self-indulgence and as a consequence, I thought it was about a hundred pages too long. The present tense narrative didn't work for me either. It was still a good read, however, and I'm glad I read another book by this talented author.

I expected this book to be a 'life is great, lets go live it' type of book- given what i had just gone through personally with losing my husband at the age of 28; i decided to postpone reading it, for me life wasn't great! It was brutal, unfair, painful and at hopeless!

HOWEVER- this book surprised me:
Ailsa, a women who has never really experience life despite being 28, due to a serious and life ending heart condition, upon receiving the Heart Transplant she needs to survive, she finds herself at odds with what really living is.
It involves making big choices to the most mundane- and for Ailsa this just too difficult! She resorts polling her choices on her blog and yet she wants to break free of her over bearing and over protective mother, she wants to find her father. Put simply she has to navigate a world with a life she never really expected to have.

I enjoyed the non-standard structure of storytelling- using emails, newspaper articles etc to relate Ailsa's story, its a story that for me touch a raw nerve and yet helped me realise that life is precious. The book deals with some really interesting and pointed current issues, it is touching without becoming cliched and it seemed real.

It doesn't get five stars as its compared to other books, like 'Eleanor Oliphant', which if you read this book you could drive a coach and horses through that comparison. Poor Genre matching in my humble opinion.

I'm afraid I couldn't really get into this, despite what should have been an emotive subject. I found it a bit dull and couldn't see where it was going story-wise.
Thanks to the publisher for a review copy.

This is the story of Ailsa Rae who receives a heart transplant at the age of twenty-eight. The book chronicles what it is like to live with a chronic illness then secondly how to adapt to life when the 'crutch' of illness is taken away. Ailsa writes a blog about her journey and you really feel like you get to know her. The timeline seems to jump back and forth which confused me at times but I did like the blog extracts. At times the book was extremely emotional but it was balanced out with some happy moments too.

This is the story of Ailsa Rae who was born with a faulty heart. She is 28 and only a transplant will keep her seeing her 29th birthday.

Now then, even though the synopsis left me thinking that this would be a sad read, the story that comes out is one that gave me a feeling of the exact opposite. Even though there are moments that are sad, this book is uplifting and heartwarming giving an insight into the life of a person being on the waiting list an also of a transplant patient.

Ailsa has a blue tinge to her, this is due to her heart not working properly, she uses this to refer to herself as Blueheart as she creates and runs a blog. It is a way to keep people up to date with how things are going, but importantly is a guide for people who are in a similar position to herself and for those who may need advice in the future.

The story is mainly of Ailsa and her journey after the transplant and how she comes to terms with starting to live her life. It involves a change in everything and I hadn't even considered how a person would have to adapt their whole life to basically begin again. I had not really thought that much about how such a restriction on a person's life would essentially be that person's life, and that all they had known would have to be changed. This is where the book really worked for me as it opened my eyes to an area that I wasn't really aware of. I don't personally know of anyone that has needed to have a heart transplant, so even though I sympathise (this doesn't feel like the right word to use, but I hope you get what I mean) I really had no idea of the enormity of the changes required. Ailsa has been protected all her life by her mother, wrapped up in cotton wool. It means that Ailsa is not as mature and worldly-wise as you would expect of someone her age. It means that when she starts to live a healthy life she has to grow up, she has to do things for herself and not be so reliant on her mum. So essentially not learning how to live but also to live as an adult.

This is such an emotional story and such a lovely read that I was drawn completely in. I loved the way that the author added blog posts and emails intermittently through the story. The use of the blog was a great way of seeing how Ailsa looked at the world as she interacted with her followers as she asked for advice. 

There are so many more things I could mention about this book but I have decided to stop here. There are interactions and friendships, hard choices and decisions to be made that make this quite an emotional book to read also peppered with humour and a lighthearted ness at times. It gave me a chance to see a different perspective to life and how it can be so very different to my own. 

If you are after a well written a beautiful heartwarming, eye opener and heartbreaking book then do please read this. I was hooked from the very first pages and did not want this story to end. This is a book that will stay with me and one I would most definitely recommend to readers.

About the Author

A fascinating read that is both lighthearted and bold. Ailsa Rae is relatable and aspirational, which makes her the perfect reading companion.

What a great lead character. What a challenging life she has lead. Was rooting for her and her mother every step of the way. Not sure I’d be able to cope with such aplomb. Not sure I’d want my life choices determined by a blog either but each to their own.
An enjoyable, inspiring read.

I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I struggled with the uncorrected proof initially. It was a little fragmented but I am sure this would be sorted for the publication. On starting the book I did think it was going to be another boy meets girl chic lit beachy read. However, the more I read, the more I realised it was sooo much more.
Ailsa receives a heart transplant at 28 years. The novel details her life after and how she is struggling with being just ordinary, after being 'special' (well, if you count being at death's door special) for 25+ years. Yes, the love story is grand, but it is not just about relationship love, it grapples with parental love, in fact, there are lots of folks grappling with emotions, Ailsa, her mum, Lennox's family and Seb, but it somehow all works, with an honesty very rarely found. The book is tender, sweet and thought-provoking. I feel that every copy bought should have a Donor Card taped to the inside.

This is an unusual book but one that i enjoyed. Ailsa has been waiting for a heart transplant most of her life. She always been on the brink of death and then she discovers she needs to learn how to live but its nt always as straight forward as she thinks its going to be

This book was so cleverly written and gives you plenty of food for thought. Ailsa hsd lived with a chronic heart condition all her life.we get an insight into what life is like with a serious illness and the sorts of things you focus on.
A heart transplant totally transforms her life- but it still comes with reflection on the issues that totally consumed her life before. I enjoyed the different ways that the story is delivered and the relationships and worries that are explored.

Bitty and confusing, I was tempted to reading this novel by its comparison to Eleanor Oliphant which I loved. However, I found myself confused by the back and forth narrative style and just when I became interested in an element of the story found myself lead elsewhere. For me, this structure spoilt the flow and therefore my enjoyment. Probably I’m the wrong generation to appreciate the blog style and especially the idea of Ailsa making life changing decisions based on polling her readers!

With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the book in exchange for an honest review.
The book is about a woman in her late twenties who is fortunate to receive a heart transplant whilst her friend Lennox was not so fortunate and died. This is a journey about finding how you live your live when you are free of the illness of heart disease that has up until then ruled your life and your mother’s lives.
It is about the choices that you are now able to make for yourself to live an independent live.
Interesting book.

The story of Alicia Rae who has been waiting years for a heart transplant. This book made me equallly happy and sad, laugh and cry. I felt sorry for Hayley, Alicia’s mum who has spent her life worrying about Alicia and who now had to give her space to ‘start’’ her life with her new heart. Alicia was so brave and I enjoyed every step of her adventure.

Ailsa Rae is 28 and she’s been in hospital for the last four months awaiting a heart transplant. She is almost at the end of the road when she gets the news. A donor has been found...
After Ailsa receives the heart transplant, for the first time in her life she has to learn how to live it to the full and her illness can no longer be her crutch. But as much as she’d like to be impulsive and unmanaged, she isn’t fully recovered. She has to test out this new heart both physically and emotionally. “When you might be dead next week, what you’re doing with your life isn’t really an issue...it’s just about the next breath”.
Ailsa feels that when you’re waiting for a transplant the course of your life is, basically, the toss of a coin and so she decides to put some of her life’s choices to the vote on her blog. One of the first things she asks her readers to vote on is what to call this new heart of hers - Apple or Amber and Apple wins the vote with 64%. The blog grows in popularity and wins an award. This in turn leads to an invitation to appear on a radio show where she meets Seb, an actor. But Ailsa is still mourning the loss of her boyfriend, Lennox, who’d died less than a year before, whilst waiting for his own transplant.
Meanwhile she’s breaking her Mum’s heart by wanting to fly the nest and because she wants to meet up with her Dad, who abandoned them at her birth. With a second bite at the apple (if you’ll excuse the pun), she should be grateful, she should be ecstatic, but is loving your life ever that simple?
This is an insightful and well-researched story that combines fiction with what it’s like to go through a major life-threatening illness and the supreme challenges faced by the individual concerned and those closest to you. It has a good authenticity about it without being a depressing read and the storyline is different/dissimilar enough to keep you interested throughout. The characters and their relationships were a definite strength and particularly so the intensity of the mother/daughter relationship after everything they’d been through together. The only relationship that felt a little lukewarm for me was the Ailsa/Seb one, which needed the blue touch paper lighting to add a touch of excitement from my point of view. I endorse the book’s important message, which underlines the need for a cultural shift in organ donation.
Many thanks to Netgalley, Bonnier Zaffre and Stephanie Butland for the opportunity to read and review The Curious Heart Of Ailsa Rae.

An interesting read that may make you think twice about donating your organs.
Ailsa was born with a heart condition and has grown up in hospitals and not being able to have a normal life because her body just wont let her. She connects with "normal Stuff" by writing a blog, asking others to make decisions for her. Ailsa finally gets the heart she's been waiting for, its going to have to work hard for her, she's dealing with the loss of a close friend, finds a father she's never heard from, falls in love, as well as finding a job and a hobby to keep her busy.

This book is well written and researched.. I felt empathy for all the characters.

The story of Ailsa Rae and her heart condition. The author Stephanie Butland has tackled the subject of heart, the science behind it with humour and empathy. Ailsa has lived with a failing heart for most of her life. The relationship between her mother and Ailsa till she recieves a heart transplant and how it develops after the transplant..Ailsa's struggle for independence to live her own life. Falling in love with Seb and how the author uses the current method of courting by email and incorporating a blog into the book etc is sure to connect with the social media readers.
It was interesting how the relationship of Lennox and Ailsa was woven into the story as the past. I was left with a sense of happiness at the end of this heartwarming book. I thank Net Galley for a free copy of this book for my honest opinion.

I loved ‘Lost for Words’ by Stephanie Butland but this book I just thought was a bit so-so and just kind of plodded along.

After 28 years with a defective heart, Alisa receives the news she has been waiting on - a heart transplant and so her life can begin. We follow Alisa in the first year following her transplant when she tries to lead the life she has missed out on ... living alone, falling in love, getting a job and dancing!!! Whenever she has a decision to make she asks her blog readers and goes with the majority.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. I really enjoyed the story of Ailsa Ray and having read about real-life heart transplant cases, the waiting Ailsa and her mother endured was convincing. I felt so sad about Lennox and the effect this had on Ailsa. However, this was not a depressing tale but an uplifting one where Ailsa becomes the person she wanted to be.

Not my usual read but I really loved the story of Ailsa, a woman who receives a heart transplant and blogs about her experiences. The characters are thoughtfully depicted and multi faceted and while the story is gentle and relatively uneventful, you care too much about the characters to mind.

After 28 years of waiting, Ailsa receives her new heart. This moving story takes you through a year of Ailsa's journey where she has to learn to start living again. A really enjoyable read. I really hope there will be a follow up!