"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."

A very moving story about a young lady who is desperate for a heart transplant and the book maps her journey from being young and ill, countless times in hospital waiting and eventually getting her wish.

Now she has to learn to properly live and it was a true depiction of someone being given a second chance and grasping it and doing everything Ailsa had always wanted to explore/experience.

Such a beautiful book... I never knew you could combine a heart transport with acting and write a life affirming, romance book with lots of pathos. Well worth a read.

Makes you truly grateful for your life, reading this. A heartbreaking and heartwarming piece of work. Really inspiring.

I loved this book a lot. It was beautifully written and a wonderful story. The characters were great and the book kept my interest and was read really quickly. I would recommend to my book friends.

Really well written chick-lit about a girl wish a disability.

Very quirky book and gave plenty to think about

Highly recommended

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for ARC

A unique chick-lit read that held my interest and really touched my emotions in places. Apologies for the delay in reviewing, not sure how I missed it!

Loved this so nice to read great fun warm characters a nice story.i liked the book from the first few pages it was hooked was pulled into plot a great book

An interesting concept of a young woman who has lived all her life so far as an invalid, protected by her Mother, unable to do lots of things that young people usually can. Then she undergoes a major operation that means she can now lead a normal life and she has to grow up and change completely how she lives. I wasn't entirely convinced by everything in the book but overall enjoyed it and found plenty of food for thought.

The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae won me over with it’s quirky title and cute cover. Living with a disability, I’m very into any book with chronic health issues in its plot.

The novel had me gripped from the start and I was immersed in Ailsa’s experience of being in hospital and her fight with a heart condition.

She tries to make the most of every moment and is an active blogger even when she is in hospital.
Lennox has been her boyfriend since she was 17 and he’s fighting for his life in hospital. When he dies her whole world is shattered.
After surgery she decides to live her life again, live the best life she can for her. No one can replace Lennox.

Whether it’s blogging, dancing or meeting new people, Ailsa knows she is happy to be alive. She’s only 28 but has been through more than most.

Ailsa, Lennox and Seb are all determined and positive but go through so much too. Ailsa meets Seb during a radio interview in London and they get talking then email each other afterwards. Seb has his own health hurdles after a cornea transplant and so the theme of transplants is present through the book as Ailsa’s only hope for life was a heart transplant and Lennox was waiting for a liver transplant when he lost his battle with life.

Each person has their story and they are all important to Ailsa.
The dance group was fun and I was glad Ailsa found things she could do after the transplant. There’s always the threat of her new heart, which she names “Apple” after a survey for her blog readers, is rejected by her body. She takes precautions like losing weight which is not easy because of her medication and eating healthier.

Her blog readers are a virtual support system for any burning doubt, question or decision she has to make in life that she does not want to, or can’t, ask her mum or friends. I liked this idea and it was interesting to find out the results of each poll on her blog.
The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae is a celebration of life, love friendship and triumph over adversity that makes a lasting impression and is realistic and touching.

Stephanie Rutland writes in an engaging, sensitive and human way and I loved this novel. I’m looking forward to more novels by her.
Thanks to Stephanie Butland and St. Martin’s Griffin for my ARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

4 stars

Tender, sweet and emotional. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking to affirm there is good and kindness in the world.

I really enjoyed this story. It was nice to read a book that was Character driven rather then story line driven. Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book

The Curious Heart Of Ailsa Rae by Stephanie Butland is a powerful contemporary novel about living with a heart transplant. It is beautifully and poignantly written. The reader becomes intimately acquainted with Ailsa Rae and her new heart as the novel is written from her point of view.
The novel is cleverly constructed with a narrative peppered with emails and blog posts. We really learn what makes Ailsa Rae tick. We hear her hopes and dreams, her fears and failures. We see what life is like when you do not know if you will have a tomorrow.
Tentative steps are taken following the transplant as Ailsa Rae begins to live with tomorrow ahead for the first time. The reader cheers her successes and ‘walks’ the road beside her.
Death is a part of life. Not all those who are waiting will get transplants. When death hits, it hits hard with far reaching arms as we are consumed with grief when we least expect it.
There is a tight mother/daughter bond. Having protected Ailsa Rae for twenty eight years, it is hard for her mother to relinquish control and take a step back and begin to live life for herself once more.
Stephanie Butland has created a wonderful set of characters that are easy to relate to. I instinctively warmed to Ailsa Rae with her positive outlook on life.
I really enjoyed The Curious Heart Of Ailsa Rae. It was sensitively written whilst highlighting the importance of organ donation. At times it was highly amusing and at others I was reaching for the tissues.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

The curious heart of Ailsa Rae by Stephanie Butland is a quirky and heart warming tale with an emotional pull that keeps the reader glued to the pages.

Well I think I have just found a new favourite book of all time!!

In this book we meet Ailsa who from a baby has had a fatal heart defect, her whole life has been about her illness and knowing she is going to die. Alisa finally gets the long awaited heart transplant and is finally able to live her life, she discovers a herself and what normal means a long the way.

This book is fantastic, it deals with the issues of heart defects very well and is full of raw emotion that really rings true to life! I felt so much emotion with Ailsa and her mother Hayley, I could really feel what they were going through and see both points of views it was very well researched, well written and very dignified. There are also other issues within this book that are dealt with wonderfully well such as fat shaming and the issue of family.

This book has a mixed media format where we have some blog posts from Ailsa and e-mails between characters and I felt this worked really well in the book and made me fly through it all the more.

Overall this is a heart wrenching beautiful tale of a girl who has spent her whole life waiting to die learning to live again!! I challenge you to read this without shedding a tear!

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgally for sending me a copy of this book for review.

Firstly, I would like to thank Netgalley and the publishers for my free ARC.

Ailsa has reached the most significant moment of her life - the moment when she has to learn to live. Stephanie Butland has written an enchanting story that really touches on the reality of living with a heart defect and the new perspective that opens up after a transplant. I found the story very moving, heart-warming, delightful and easy to read.

I felt this was written for a much younger audience (YA?) than me and quickly lost interest in it. It's potentially a lovely story about heart transplant and for anyone that's been through it probably very poignant. However to me it was just quite irritating - sorry!

I am currently purchasing books for our secondary school library for our senior students. I am trying to provide a balance of genres and periods and really try and introduce them to a wide range of modern fiction. This book would definitely go down well with a hypercritical teenage audience as it has a bit of everything - great characterisation and a narrative style that draws you in and keeps you reading whilst also making you think about a wide range of issues at the same time. I think that school libraries are definitely changing and that the book we purchase should provide for all tastes and reflect the types of books that the students and staff go on to enjoy after leaving school. Ailsa Rae is the kind of book that you can curl up with and totally immerse yourself in and I think it will definitely go down well at my school. I think that it was the perfect blend of page-turning fiction with a strong message about humanity and the kind of people that we think we are I think it would be a big hit with our seniors and will definitely recommend that we buy a copy as soon as we can.

This isn’t usually the kind of novel I go for, but there was something really appealing in the blurb, so I thought I’d give it a go. And what a lovely book it is – I’m so glad I decided to read it.
When we hear about people who have had serious illnesses and then are offered hope, we assume they should be grateful, and Ailsa is grateful, but it isn’t as simple as that. There’s also a feeling that things should now be plain-sailing, that everything is wonderful, but Ailsa has been ill all her life, and now everything is changing. It’s fantastic but it’s difficult too. She needs to find out who she is and what she wants.
This is such an interesting idea for a novel, and Ailsa is a lovely main character. I felt really involved in the story and was really rooting for her. The things she has been through, the doubts she has, her relationship with her mum (which is a fabulous portrayal of the mother-daughter dynamic) and her burgeoning relationship with the gorgeous Seb, makes this a compelling, character-driven read. It’s hopeful without being unrealistic, sweet without being sickening and just a lovely book.
There were some elements that stretched belief a little, but I didn’t care, to be honest. I just really, really liked it.

I really enjoyed this light hearted read. A little predictable but all of the characters were likeable and it kept me interested until the end.

This was a different read for me. I didn't know what to think when I first starting reading it, but soon got into the story.
I liked the idea of the blog as it told of the insecurities Ailsa was going through on her new journey.

3.5 stars