Thank you to Netgalley, Stephanie Butland and Bonnier Zaffre for my ARC of The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae.
Title: The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae
Author: Stephanie Butland
Page Count: 416 Pages
Publication Date: 19th April 2018
Rating: 5*
Cover:
Summary
It's only been a few months since Ailsa found out that she wasn't going to die after all. Born with a heart condition which gave her 3 instead of 4 chambers in her heart, Ailsa's prognosis had gone from bad to worse, until finally she gets her heart transplant. But now, having been convinced she was going to die, Ailsa has to learn to live again. This novel is Ailsa's story of getting back on her feet and learning not only to live with her new heart but to love with it too.
Review
This is the second novel I've read by Stephanie Butland and she is fast becoming one of my favourites. Her characters are so raw and real you become truly engrossed in them. I love that chance to really fall into a novel and become the character and both Loveday from Lost For Words and Ailsa from The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae are those sorts of characters. Compassionate but oh so strong as they face the things that others think makes them weak. Well that's one thing they're not. Ailsa proves that in her determination to get a job, climb a mountain and even learn to tango.
Having a blog myself I loved the addition of Ailsa's blog and how it carved out her life for her, while I understood her mothers protestations I also understood the need for her to allow other people to make choices for her and I think that was explored really well. Stephanie's novels are incredibly touching and inspiring. I am an organ donor already but I urge other people to sign up as well, you don't need them when you're gone but you could save somebody else's life.