Thursday, January 30, 2014

Review: Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott


Title: Heart Beat
Author: Elizabeth Scott
Series: n/a
Publisher: Harlequin TEEN
Publication Date: January 28, 2014
Source: received from publisher via NetGalley
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

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Life. Death. And...Love? Emma would give anything to talk to her mother one last time. Tell her about her slipping grades, her anger with her stepfather, and the boy with the bad reputation who might be the only one Emma can be herself with. But Emma can't tell her mother anything. Because her mother is brain-dead and being kept alive by machines for the baby growing inside her. Meeting bad-boy Caleb Harrison wouldn't have interested Old Emma. But New Emma-the one who exists in a fog of grief, who no longer cares about school, whose only social outlet is her best friend Olivia-New Emma is startled by the connection she and Caleb forge. 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?
 A couple years ago I read Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott and I really liked it. So when I saw Heart Beat on NetGalley I couldn't resist.

I would honestly give it about a 3 ½ stars. I did really enjoy it but Emma got on my nerves a lot. You see the problem with reading young adult sometimes, is the mature side of you wants to slap these teens silly. I think I liked Between Here and Forever a little better, but once again Scott didn't disappoint. I could not put this one down, even though Emma drove me nuts.

To an extent I could see where she was coming from. This is an interesting situation. Her mother dies while pregnant. Her body is being kept alive to sustain the fetus until it is old enough to survive outside the womb. Emma does not believe her mother would have wanted this and she harbors a whole lot of hate towards her step father for making that decision without her. Well, obviously her mother would want that. Maybe it's obvious to me because I'm a mother? Not only does she have this unhealthy anger towards her step dad, she refuses to acknowledge that the baby is her future sibling.

Pretty much the whole story is her working out her feelings over her moms passing. Which is very hard to do when she's still visiting her moms body. How do you find closure doing that? It's not very easy I'm sure, so that was her only saving grace in my eyes.

Heart Beat isn't all doom and gloom though, along the way Emma builds a relationship with a boy she probably never would have talked to had all of this not gone down. They understand each other and the love that blooms between them is sweet.

I did really like Heart Beat. Reading this reminded me I have a few more of Scott's books on my shelf that I should really get to sooner than later.




Elizabeth Scott
About the author:

.
Hey there, I'm Elizabeth. I write young adult novels. I live just outside Washington DC with my
husband and dog, and am unable to pass a bookstore without stopping and going inside. All right, and I can't leave without buying at least one book. Usually two. (Or more!)

Find Elizabeth:

Website | Twitter |Goodreads

16 comments:

  1. Every review I've read of this books seems to really be agitated by Emma's behaviour. I get that she's a teenager and she's going through a lot, but she seems to be quite the brat and I think that'd really grate on me while reading! I can't stand whiny, self-indulgent characters

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    1. Oh my gosh, she was horrible. I thought about giving it 2 stars just because of her, but I liked the story idea, the whole her mom being kept alive for the baby. It was different. I wish Emma would have been less of an A hole.

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  2. I really liked Love You, Hate You, Miss You so I've been wanting to read this one ever since I heard of it. Plus it sounds really emotional.... But hopefully I'll click more w/ Emma bc I don't like annoying m/c's :(

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    1. I haven't read that one. you may like this one but most every review I have seen, they feel the same way about Emma. :/

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  3. Meh to an annoying, bratty MC. As a mother I know I'd want the baby to survive!

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  4. I am reading this one right now. I agree Emma gets on my nerves but I try to keep in mind she is a teenager and she is full of anger. So I think its realistic for her to feel the way she does. I don't like it but it felt real. That may have to do wih the author's writing too. she has a way of getting emotions through realistically. Great review.

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  5. I haven't read this story -- or any of Scott's other books -- but something similar happened here in North Texas recently (http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/tarrant/Erick-Munoz-discusses-his-familys-heartbreaking-ordeal-242326941.html). It would be a difficult ordeal to face, and I can understand why Emma's character would be so angry. I think it would make her character hard to relate to but that much more realistic. I hope to fit this one in soon. Great review, April!

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    1. Dude, I saw that on the news. I was freaking out telling Brian how much alike it was to the book. I should have added a link in the review. Crazy.

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  6. I'm glad you liked this, April! I unfortunately had issues with it, but I still was invested because somehow, the protagonist annoyed me, but I needed to make sure the ending was what I thought, you know? I was disappointed, but I think I'll read the other book you liked better! Great review!

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  7. I totally understand your dilemma. Unfortunately, I'm not so kind. I am not a mother, or even close to that. But Emma's behavior was rather unacceptable in my opinion.. My review was very rant-y and it was all directed towards Emma. Everything else about the story was great, though! Haha.
    Great review (:

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  8. This sounds like an interesting book and different then anything else I have read. I will look into it. Thank you for your review.

    --Ivy

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  9. I was so excited for this book but when I read it, I was let down MAJORLY. Emma's behavior was totally unacceptable to me and this is coming from someone who is EXTREMELY close to her mother. I didn't buy the romance either. It just seemed too convenient. Maybe I am just a cynic, but I really didn't like this book.

    I am glad that you enjoyed it though April.

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  10. I gave this book four stars as well because of Emma's behaviour. I mean, it was quite a beautifully written story, but every time there was an interaction between Emma and Dan I couldn't help but rage. She was so selfish and unreasonable! I did enjoy it overall though, probably because of the romance :)

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    1. I felt the same. I liked the story over all, but the rage.. Oooh the rage, that girl had me seeing red.

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  11. It's an interesting story about love, life, and death. They wrote this book quite beautifully. I really enjoy this article. Thanks for sharing. Now it's time to avail shutters in birmingham for more information.

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  12. I like your novel. It's really filled with full of suspense. I really enjoyed to read. The author thoughts about love , life and death is unique. Thanks for sharing this with us. 25th island of Greece

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