Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott

Synopsis

Does life go on when your heart is broken?

Since her mother’s sudden death, Emma has existed in a fog of grief, unable to let go, unable to move forward--because her mother is, in a way, still there. She’s being kept alive on machines for the sake of the baby growing inside her.

Estranged from her stepfather and letting go of things that no longer seem important--grades, crushes, college plans--Emma has only her best friend to remind her to breathe. Until she meets a boy with a bad reputation who sparks something in her--Caleb Harrison, whose anger and loss might just match Emma’s own. Feeling her own heart beat again wakes Emma from the grief that has grayed her existence. Is there hope for life after death—and maybe, for love?

Heartbeat is Elizabeth Scott’s heartbreaking, heartwarming and heart-healing new novel about the ties that bind--and the ties that free.

Review

I couldn't really get on with this book to begin with. It felt slow and repetitive and I kept wondering when it would move forward. That said I did understand what the author was trying to get across and that was the all consuming grief that Emma is going through, and that grief doesn't just leave you.

The concept of this book did grab my attention however and that was Emma having to deal with her Mother's death, but not being able to grieve properly for her as she is still being kept alive by machines, so that the baby inside of her has a chance of survival.

I did feel incredibly sorry for Emma, but at times she was not the most likeable person and I think this was part of the reason I found it hard to get on with this book.

However towards the end made the book pick up for me and have more meaning and I really liked how the author ended it. The ending felt like a breath of fresh air and all the weight that I did not realise I had been feeling whilst reading it seemed to lift.

This isn't a read that will cheer you up because it isn't meant to. It is a story with a lot of emotional depth and it is extremely heartbreaking and it greatly questions the ethical side of things. It is definitely a story that will get you thinking.

3.5/5

Heartbeat is available from Amazon UK