Being a teenager is tough. It always has been – it was almost certainly tough being somewhere between 12 and 20 even before teenage-ness was invented. Whatever society thought young people of that age should be doing (working in mines and factories, marrying and starting to provide heirs or getting a good education) the hormones have, surely, always been there. In the 1500s they, presumably, expressed their angst by sobbing into their virginals or writing rather pointed poetry and in the Victorian era fainting and consumption were popular responses: teens in the late 20th and early 21st centuries have the option of YA novels centred around death. Some focus on murders, and some on suicide, sudden death is also a common theme but some of the best known centre on a young person with a terminal illness or condition. It might seem an odd sort of trend to an adult reader (even though we may all have felt a frisson of something when we read about Helen Burns’ death in Jane Eyre…) but it is a genuine phenomena which helps many younger readers to learn about life and death. But, sometimes, I wonder where the fictional youngsters who survive their traumas, their cancers and illnesses are? What happens to the ones who, against all the odds, do get to grow up? Stephanie Butland gives us the story of one such person – Ailsa Rae. She has spent her entire life, all 28 years of it, coping with a congenital heart defect. She has had to make allowances for it, missed out on things other people do without thinking and, in recent years, she has blogged about it under the name Blue Heart. While waiting for her transplant she comforts and supports Lennox – her former boyfriend and close friend – who never gets the liver transplant he needs. Now that Ailsa has her new heart she has a lot to learn: how to live with the loss of Lennox, how to gain her independence from her mother without irreparably damaging their relationship, how, in short, to live now that she isn’t going to die. She starts by learning how to tango…

I really enjoyed this book – it is a light romance novel but also had me thinking quite seriously about how it must feel to both be waiting on an organ transplant list and to recover from such a major operation*. I liked Ailsa’s blogging persona – again she was very informative but without blinding us with medical language – and the way that she used blog polls to help her make decisions. We see Ailsa grow up – her condition meant that she had to be looked after for 28 years, she couldn’t get a job, couldn’t live alone – and lose the air of perpetual adolescence. Finally we also see her learning the lesson which many adults never do – working out both who is worthy of love and how to be loved herself.

I really enjoyed this book. An interesting concept combined with complex emotional relationships. some heart rending themes but also a lot of joy within.

I loved this book, it tells the story of Ailsa Rae, who has waited many years for a heart transplant..... she gets one but now she has to learn how to live a normal life.

I enjoyed the style that this book was written in, a mix of the past, present, blog posts and emails. all perfectly capturing the emotions that the author is trying to convey. There is happiness, sadness, family drama, romance and humour all brilliantly combined together - with a Tango thrown in too!!

It was great to see how Ailsa developed throughout the book and I must say that I'm sad that the story ended..... I'm hoping we get to hear more from her in a sequel.

Fro the beginning of this story, you cannot help but love Ailsa Rae. From her bed in hospital hoping for a long awaited transplant to an astonish and uplifting tale of what life can give you are determined and brave enough to grasp it. I know Edinburgh well and followed her on every step through this beautiful city and of course the rest of the journeys that she takes. Uplifting, heart-warming, inspiring, funny, sad, I felt as if we should be applauding at some of the events and adventures that Ailsa undertakes.

Thought provoking. Woven into a fictional story we were made to consider many things. I would highly recommend it.

Ailsa Rae lives in Edinburgh. She has spent her life having operations and restrictions because of the faulty heart she was born with. At twenty -eight it looked like the end of the road . Then the miracle happened-she had a heart transplant. Instead of working out how to die she found herself trying to work out how she could live and repay the debt she owes to the original holder of 'Apple' (her new heart).

Ailsa has lived a lot of her life through her Blog and has got into the habit of holding online polls to make her decisions and she continues to use this method to explore her new life. As we follow Ailsa through the year following her transplant. I could picture the characters and the places very clearly.
I really didn't want this one to end. I wanted to know what happened next!

This was a wonderful story of strength of character. Ailsa was someone you could imagine you would really get on with. Her mother, Hayley, also made a big impression on me. It is often a lot harder to watch someone you love endure medical difficulties than for you to do it. It also brought home how important transplants are. If you have not signed up to donate your body bits & had 'that' conversation with your loved ones please do so! There are so many like Ailsa who would like to learn how to live.

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book. It will stay with me for a long time.

Funny, moving, uplifting and shining with the positivity of life! Life is for living is the message I took away from this book. Sign up to be an organ donor.

What a beautiful book this is, I loved it! I have read a few of Stephanie Butland's titles and enjoyed them immensely but this one just edges out in front as my favourite so far. I found Alisa's journey from despair and death to hope and life fascinating and her education of the realities of normal life she has always dreamed of poignant and lovely. The storyline really got under my skin and I found myself desperate to get back to it when I had resume normal life for a bit and I read it in two days straight and then regretted that I hadn’t savoured it more. I went through the whole range of emotions with this book, but also felt I’d learnt something by the end and I’ll hopefully be more aware in future when I come across people who have had something wonderful like a heart transplant happen to them, that there’s more to it and the adjustment isn’t always easy. Just a wonderful read, I am recommending it to everyone.

The Blurb:
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 and she wants to find her father.

Have her friends left her behind?

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

She barely knows where to start on her own.

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 . . .

This is a brilliant book. It’s unlike anything I’ve read before. No spoilers at all from me. 5*

I found this a hard book to review - I didnt dislike it, but I didnt love it either so its a bit middle of the road for me. The concept was interesting but I just didnt gel with Ailsa herself unfortunately.

I enjoyed this book and the use of the blog to get feedback.
It gave an interesting perspective of how a organ receiver has to change their attitude to live and how they have more opportunities.

Although I enjoyed this book, and loved the character of Ailsa Rae, this book left me wanting more. I wanted it to be more than it was. It was a bit predictable, and what started out as inspirational and unique, it ended in the same way most books of this genre did (I'm being vague deliberately to avoid spoilers). I adore Stephanie's writing, but I guess I expected more from a book that started out so gripping and emotional.

A heart-warming (sorry) story that entertained and held my attention. Ailsa is a likeable character who you root for from the off. Her relationship with her mother was spot on; they have a close relationship because of Ailsa's heart condition, but the desire to break free from the nest feels realistic. The book tackled important themes and I hope it makes people think about the gift of donating organs, and the impact it can have on people's lives.

I was sent an uncorrected manuscript of The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae by Stephanie Butland to read and review by NetGalley.
To begin with I thought that this was quite an interesting read, focussing on the protagonist Ailsa Rae who had had major heart problems since birth and her thoughts and feelings whilst waiting for an urgently needed transplant. I must admit I wasn’t totally keen on the way it was written as there were several different styles within the book that didn’t quite seem to fit together. Another frustration for me was that, presumably because it was an uncorrected manuscript on the Kindle, there were times when some of the paragraphs were muddled and sometimes even finished in mid-air! The story itself was nice, if rather predictable, and very much a ‘chick lit’ novel full of romance. I personally found it a bit tiresome at times and felt it lacked a certain tension. I feel that this novel is ideal for the teen market or perhaps those who would just like an uncomplicated easy holiday read.

A difficult subject written about in a way which is both informative and entertaining. I enjoyed Ailsa's story. I wanted her to be happy. It seemed both implausible and yet right that she would get together with Seb. He is an actor, current celebrity, and yet down to earth, concerned for his own health and that of others. He genuinely seems to care about Ailsa. I did spend some time wondering if she was being fair to her mum, who has devoted her entire life to Ailsa's health and very survival - it must be very difficult for her to adjust to a new "normal" and to accept Ailsa is now an adult with her own life to live. I felt there was a great deal of realism, comedy and sadness, especially when Ailsa is thinking about Lennox. I enjoyed the story set in Edinburgh particularly the depiction of the madness of the Festival. While this wasn't a book I had to finish to find out what happened, it was one where I enjoyed making friends with the characters and didn't want to leave them behind when I finished.

Really enjoyed reading all about Ailsa and how she coped with her transplant by relying on her blog for decisions. Realising that her life was basically just starting was both a very entertaining and an emotional journey . I thoroughly enjoyed this story and I hope it makes readers think about transplant donation and how it can affect people's lives

I started this book expecting a good read as I had enjoyed a previous book by the same author. I found the subject very emotive and hard to get into so I put it down a few times before I was caught by the blog and wanted to read more. This must have been a difficult book to write as it surely needed a lot of research and courage to attempt writing on such a specialised subject.

A beautiful story! Ailsa has always been preparing for the end of her life - but now with her heart transplant she can do so much more. Writing her blog helps her decide what to do, and helps her keep busy while she grieves her friend Lennox. The world that lies ahead contains so many possibilities- an independent life, trips away, dance classes... and could her new heart have the capacity to love? A lovely light read.

The novel surrounds Ailsa and her new heart – literally. In her late 20s, she’s lived a protected life while waiting for a heart transplant. When she receives it, she can launch into proper adulthood.
I enjoyed this book while reading it, but it’s not one I’ll rave about to others. For instance, Ailsa depending so wholly on her blog readers when making decisions seemed wearisome.
But a good subject (heart transplants) to delve into.

I struggled to associate with any of the characters in this read.
I am afraid I did not enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed Lost for Words.