Description:

For fans of Josie Silver’s One Day in December, The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae is a wholly original, charismatic, and uplifting novel that no reader will soon forget.

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.

But first, she has to put one foot in front of the other. So far, things are as bloody complicated as ever. Her relationship with her mother is at a breaking point and she wants to find her father. Then there’s Lennox, whom Ailsa loved and lost. Will she ever find love again?

Her new heart is a bold heart. She just needs to learn to listen to it. From the hospital to her childhood home, on social media and IRL, Ailsa will embark on a journey about what it means to be, and feel, alive. How do we learn to be brave, to accept defeat, to dare to dream?

From Stephanie Butland, author of The Lost for Words Bookshop, The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae will warm you from the inside out.

Review

Ailsa is struggling. She has had multiple surgeries throughout her short life. And now, with a heart transplant, she can start living. But, can she do it? She has been sheltered and kept at home. Can she actually start living the life she has always hoped for?

Ailsa is a blogger. She has blogged about her multiple surgeries and her heart transplant. She is asked to do an interview about the importance of the transplant list. This leads her to Sebastian. She and Sebastian become good friends. And then they become more. But, because her medication, Ailsa has put on some pounds. The internet and journalists bully her on line because for her weight. No one can believe Sebastian would be dating her.

There are multiple story lines in this novel…The mystery of Ailsa father, her life as a transplant patient, and her life as a “sort of” celebrity. Her strength and resilience are astounding. Her ability to overcome and keep going through ALL her issues really amazed me.

A heartwarming novel of courage and tenacity. Do not miss this one!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

Author Bio:

STEPHANIE BUTLAND lives with her family near the sea in the North East of England. She writes in a studio at the bottom of her garden, and when she’s not writing, she trains people to think more creatively. For fun, she reads, knits, sews, bakes, and spins. She is an occasional performance poet and the author of The Lost for Words Bookshop.

Book-buy link: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250242174