Ailsa Rae received a heart transplant and now faces what life is made of outside o being sick. The book deals with seriousness of recovery, losing a loved one who is waiting for their own transplant weeks before she receives her own, and finding balance in her newfound independence. The book had a strong romance plot that at times seemed to take over the story, but the author found a way to bring it back to Ailsa’s new life each time. 

A strong and easy read that is worth giving a chance. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

Ailsa Rae is learning how to live. She's only a few months past the heart transplant that--just in time--saved her life. Now, finally, she can be a normal twenty-eight-year-old. She can climb a mountain. Dance. Wait in line all day for tickets to Wimbledon.

Ailsa Rae’s relationship with her mother is at falling apart, she needs to find her father, her friends left her in the dust, and she just had a heart transplant.  And then there's Lennox. Her best friend and one-time lover who was also sick.  He didn't make it.
  
Ailsa is trying to figure out how to move forward without Lennox or her family support.  Ailsa deals with poor health and getting used to the restrictions on her lifestyle.  She starts a blog about her life as a coping mechanism.  The timeline got confusing as this story jumps back and forward a lot.  I liked how the author used Ailsa’s blog as a device for telling the story.  This book is about friendship, health, grief, and recovery.  Overall the story was ok but fell flat.

Thank NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

3 Stars

A powerful book with a powerful message.  Emotional and heartfelt this is a story that will tug at your heart and leave you fulfilled.

St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae. I voluntarily chose to review this novel and my opinion is freely given.

Ailsa Rae had been living under the shadow of her heart condition, but can a transplant give her a new lease on life? No longer dependent on her mother, will both women be able to look forward to Ailsa's future?

With a title like The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae, I was expecting the book to be more about how her donor's life is infused into the organ and shapes Ailsa's future. This is not what the book is about, as it is more about how the young woman has to change her way of thinking about her infinite future. I am on the fence about this novel, as the book misses the mark for me. The author really glosses over the seriousness of transplant, especially in the health and care of the person afterwards. The novel is more concerned with the romance than really developing the characters. The inclusion of the best friend/first love angle did not carry as much weight as it should, especially given the transplant situation. The author does not really convey one of the central aspects of a transplant such as Ailsa's, that she physically feels better in every part of her life. A normal heart, after living with a failing one for years, gives a person strength. The author misses the opportunity, though the dancing that Ailsa takes on, to explain and express this notion. I liked The Curious Hear of Ailsa Rae, but did not love it, so I am hesitant to recommend it to other readers.

The author is new to me, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. It’s the story about a young woman who was born with heart complications. She’s had a heart transplant and is trying to adjust to her new life. Interestingly, using blog posts, e-mails, etc. to tell the story really worked.

I enjoyed this book very much and am thankful to the publisher and NetGalley for the free e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

As someone who lives with a chronic illness, I'm always interested in reading stories that feature a character with medical challenges. Plus, I recently traveled to Scotland and LOVED it, so I'm eager to read books set there and pretend I'm back in that magical country. This book did both well, and I thoroughly enjoyed both Alisa Rae and Edinburgh.

I laughed, I cried, I swooned. The Curiou Heart of Alisa Rae was such a fabulous read! I enjoyed reading Stephanie Butland's The Lost for Words Bookshop last year so I was eagerly anticipating getting my hands on a copy of her next book. It did not disappoint!

I love the premise of the story and the character development however the pacing seems a little to plodding at times it was quite difficult to get into the story.  It does give I think a good background about people who have gotten transplants or waiting for one.

This book was everything I needed and more. I really connected with Ailsa's  character and loved the focus on chronic health/illness. While I am not a transplant recipient, I was born with a disability and spent a lot of time in the hospital. On that same note, I also, like Ailsa, started a blog to document my experiences and therefore fully understand the catharsis of sharing your story in order to help others. I also enjoyed Butland's exploration of Alisa's relationship with her mother. Mother-daughter relationships can be strained in general. When you add in chronic health issues, it creates a whole new dynamic. I also loved the development of Alisa's relationship via email. It brought back butterflies of the early days of my own relationship. I wish there had been more exploration into Alisa's friendships and I wanted to know so much more about Lennox's character. All in all, wonderful read for fans of Jojo Moyes and Christina Lauren.

The Curious Heart of Alisa Rae is a captivating tale that explores what happens when you get a second chance at life. Having had a heart transplant, Alisa is determined to seize all that life has to offer. Journeying with her through blog posts and other correspondences is a surprising funny and warm adventure.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this. I will be posting a full review to Goodreads, Amazon, and Instagram.

A charming lovely read.Alisa Rae twenty eight has finally had the heart transplant she’s always needed.Now she’s ready to start living to make up for everything she’s missed,She’s warm snarky funny really enjoyed getting to know her.#netgalley#st.martins

Ailsa wasn’t supposed to survive, with three quarters of a heart her life expectancy was short. At 28 a heart transplant saved her life. Now she mist learn to live without the medical barriers holding her back. 

Coming to terms with the loss of a childhood friend, opening her (new) heart up will be difficult, but in order to feel alive she needs to be courageous. 

I loved this book. From the unconventional story telling to the beautifully written characters. Oh my goodness did I cry?!

Thank you netgalley and publisher for the early copy.

I checked out this but could not connect with the writing style.

The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae was a fun read that moved quickly yet also dealt with difficult themes. We come to know the story of Ailsa Rae through her blog, emails, flashbacks and 3rd person narration. We meet her right before she receives her new heart and so are with her as she navigates what it means to be given a second chance at life. I did not know a lot about organ transplant and enjoyed seeing the impact they make for those needing them. Ailsa Rae is cute and funny and while having the maturity of a twenty-eight year old also had a naiveness to her. Now that she knows she will be around for a long time she learns more about relationships and begins forming deeper ones while also taking time to learn about herself.

I received a free e-copy of The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae from NetGalley for my honest review.

Ailsa Rae, who is 28 years old, hasn't really lived yet.  She was born with a congenital heart defect, and wasn't expected to live past her teen years.  Now, Ailsa has a new heart and has to learn live a life worth living for.  

I loved being able to see Ailsa grow and develop as the story develops.  The strength she found to believe in herself and grow as a person was such a wonderful journey.  I enjoyed how the story also went from past to present so we learned so much about her.  

A joy of a read!

“ The Curious Heart of Alisa Rae” by Stephanie Butland was a surprising read to say the least. Going into it, I admit, I didn’t know what to expect. Let me first state that this book is nothing like ‘Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine”. I don’t know where that comparison came from, but the two books are nothing alike in my opinion. This was an easy read. It flowed effortlessly and you could tell that the author really did a lot of research, which I always appreciate.
    I absolutely loved how the story was told. The use of emails, blogs, interviews, and more was simply brilliant. I loved that aspect. I found the character enjoyable and likeable although Alisa herself acted younger than twenty-eight. Overall, this was a multilayered read with a good message. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future. 

* I received an advanced digital copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

Born with a once fatal heart defect, Ailsa Rae is in desperate need of a transplant in order to make it past her twenty-eight years. Ailsa’s blog, her window into the outside world, has kept her company throughout countless extended hospital stays. BlueHeart, as she is known to readers, is a reference to the color of her skin a pale blue for most of her adult life. When Ailsa finally gets the heart she has long been dreaming of her mother Hayley tells her that her life is about to begin. Now for the first time in her life Ailsa needs to think into the future. Never before has she been allowed to consider long-term goals or plans having been an inch from death her whole life. While most of her peers have long since checked off their typical life firsts - jobs, apartments, babies - Ailsa now has to ask herself “What do I do now?”. “The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae” was a sweet, warm-hearted (pun-not-intended) read that really opens your eyes to what it’s like for transplant patients after the the dust settles and life begins. With the book set in Scotland you will have to navigate some language and euphemisms that may not be familiar to the reader. (Nothing a true Outlander viewer couldn’t handle.) If you are looking for a feel-good read that has a bit more substance than the traditional boy-meets-girl story then add this to your TBR list. Big thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, Ailsa is finally living a life beyond illness after having a heart transplant at age 28. She has chronicled her journey on her blog, where she is known as BlueHeart. But now that she's free to live a "normal" life, she's finding that maybe she isn't sure how. Moving from a life of day-to-day to one that is full of possibilities is both amazing and confusing.

Though she is 28, Ailsa reads as though she is more of a teenage character in the beginning of the novel. This is fitting given the life she has lived up to this point and the fact that she hasn't lived a real adult life beyond being ill. She leans heavily on her mother for everything, but now she is trying to become more independent. It's an awkward shift. I did appreciate that this evolved over the course of the book, showing that there was substantial character growth as the narrative moved on.

There is a bit of a tangle in language use within the narrative that caused me some pause here and there. A merge of Scottish, British English, and American English, the terminology and euphemisms used weren't always clear and sometimes felt conflicted. It was likely a silly personal issue, but it did detract from the "real" feel of the novel.

I also took some issue with the Ailsa/Seb angle. I'm not a fan of what feels like "insta love" in the beginning. I did eventually warm to the situation, but the initial creation of their interaction/relationship felt a bit too rushed.

The writing of this novel is mostly comfortable, other than the aforementioned language conflicts, and I did appreciate the evolution of the characters as the plot developed. Though there was certainly plot movement, the book did tend to lean more toward a character driven novel in my experience.

A decent read with some good messages, I did enjoy this one. I will admit though, the ending was solid, but lacked the impact I was hoping for.