Book Review: Things We Know by Heart by Jessi Kirby

Title Things We Know by Heart

Author Jessi Kirby

Page Count 304

Publishing Date April 21st 2015

Publisher Harper Teen

Genre YA, Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction

Find Goodreads | Amazon

I came across this book by chance. I had never read anything by Jessi Kirby before, but after reading Things We Know by Heart I certainly will read her other books. This book was a rollercoaster of emotion

When Quinn Sullivan meets the recipient of her boyfriend’s donated heart, the two form an unexpected connection.

After Quinn loses her boyfriend, Trent, in an accident their junior year, she reaches out to the recipients of his donated organs in hopes of picking up the pieces of her now-unrecognizable life. She hears back from some of them, but the person who received Trent’s heart has remained silent. The essence of a person, she has always believed, is in the heart. If she finds Trent’s, then maybe she can have peace once and for all. 

Risking everything in order to finally lay her memories to rest, Quinn goes outside the system to track down nineteen-year-old Colton Thomas—a guy whose life has been forever changed by this priceless gift. But what starts as an accidental run-in quickly develops into more, sparking an undeniable attraction. She doesn't want to give in to it—especially since he has no idea how they're connected—but their time together has made Quinn feel alive again. No matter how hard she’s falling for Colton, each beat of his heart reminds her of all she’s lost…and all that remains at stake.

The story line is something we have all seen before, but this is truly something special. It is a story about moving on, letting go, and relationships both romantic and not.

I really enjoyed Jessi Kirby's writing style, it is truly bewitching. She made you feel fear, sadness, anticipation, heartbreak, joy, happiness, and above all love. You experienced everything right along with Quinn which made you relate to her on a different level. 

Jessi made you feel like you were right there with the characters. The setting and atmosphere she created were great. You could almost taste the salty air, feel the sand between your toes, and hear the waves crashing into shore. 

I thought the story was great, it was very raw and inspiring how deep the characters were. Jessi was great at depicting how Quinn dealt with her grief, or how she didn't for a long time. Also the relationship that formed between Quinn and Colton is amazing, the way they learn from each other and how they help each other deal with a crap time in their lives was beautiful and to get to experience that with them was wonderful.

Jessi is able to break you down and build you back up within 300 pages, honestly within the first few chapters I was crying which was a first for me. The story had a lot more substance than most YA novels have and it was a great change.

The only thing I didn't particularly like was the ending. I would have preferred to have a little more of a grip on what happens in the future, but I guess the ending it did have was special in the way that you can fill in the blanks yourself.

I would recommend this book to anyone who can read. Jessi is such a gifted writer and it is truly a privilege to read her book. I thought it was raw, honest, inspiring, breathtaking and beautifully written props to Jessi Kirby!

Book review: A Passionate Love Affair With a Total Stranger by Lucy Robinson

Author Lucy Robinson

Title A Passionate Love Affair With a Total Stranger

Page Count 434
Published January 31st 2013 by Penguin Books Ltd

Find Amazon | Goodreads

While I was browsing the aisles of a quaint little bookshop, or rather the great world of the internet, I came across this book and eventhough it sounded increadibly cheesy I decided to take the plunge anyway. So confession time, I was extreamly surprised by the book and author.

Charley Lambert has put considerable effort into achieving a perfect life. She has The Job. The Wardrobe. And The Flat. Her womanising, junk food-loving housemate Sam lowers the tone a bit but that aside, things are peachy.

Then she breaks her leg in three places, watches her unrequited love propose to someone else and - worst of all - is forced to hand over her job to her nasty deputy while she recovers. Workaholic Charley fears that she will soon go mad.

Desperate for something to do, she discovers her talent for helping the lovelorn online. And then William arrives in her inbox. Within hours of his first email, her world starts to change. Helpless, she watches herself fall in love with this man and begins to realise that she's not who she thought she was.

But will she be brave enough to turn her back on her old life - all for a total stranger? 

It was the first time I had picked up any of Lucy Robinson's books and I came to really love her writing style. I was snickering along while reading the book, and the breezy but consuming writing kept me turning the pages at lightning speed. I found the pace really enjoyable, very upbeat, if a little fast but with the well-planned plot it worked out great. The plot was more complex than I had initially predicted. A certain plot twist had me gasping outloud.

I really loved the main character Charley, primarily because I could really relate to her. Although I don't have the highbrow job, nor the amazing apartment, granted I have an acceptable wardrobe. Despite all that, what I could really relate to was her perfectionism. The need to have everything go the way you planned, to always be on the straight and narrow. At the end of the novel she learns to let go, this gave great insight into how liberating and freeing that must feel, and it inspired me to maybe let go a bit more.

I really enjoyed the topics this book brought to attention. Such as online dating, I can imagine how terrifying and exhilarating that must be. Also being a ghost-writer how fun would that be. I, too liked the family and friend relationships she has in her life, especially that with her unkempt and slightly scruffy housemate Sam. Although he was a womanizer and not the most conventional housemate, he was very sweet and caring towards Charley when she had her accident and broke her leg. Deep down he truly has a golden heart.

Overall, the book was very enjoyable. It was everything you would expect from a chick lit, it was hilariously funny, adorably romantic, very light and breezy, and slightly quirky. I loved it and read it in one go, also I will be sure to check out other works from Lucy Robinson. A total winner in my books. I would recommend it if you like light and romantic love stories that make you feel all the feels.

Book Review: The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks

Author Nicholas Sparks
Title The Longest Ride 
Page Count 398
Published September 17th 2013 by Grand Central Publishing 

Find: goodreads | amazon 

I was casually browsing YouTube, as you do, when I came across a trailer for the movie The Longest Ride. Since we are all being honest here I clicked on it because I thought the actor was hot, and I certainly didn't regret my decision. As I was watching the trailer I noticed it was based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks and immediately order the book.

The book is about two couples and their pursuit for love. The first is about Ira Levinson, who crashes his car down an embankment. Seriously injured and fighting to stay alive he relives his memories of his beloved late wife Ruth. As he relives the memories of their lives together we get to go along for the ride and see the unique love they had for each other, and experience how they got together and stayed that way through all the hardships life has thrown at them.

The second follows Sophia Danko, a senior at Wake Forrest University, and Luke Collins, a cowboy and professional bull rider, and the story of how they fell in love. A few miles away from Ira, Sophia and Luke meet at a local bull riding competition. Though from different worlds they are both a breath of fresh air for each other, but their exponentially different lives are trying to tear them apart.

They are two couples who have very little in common and are separated by a life time of experience, but their lives will intertwine in some unexpected ways.

I found the book very funny, especially Luke. At first I couldn't really get a good feel of him but I got to appreciate his dry humor after all and laughed out loud a couple of times, which got me some odd looks. At the same time as being funny I found it heart wrenching, I must admit I cried, alright make that sobbed and rather unattractively I must add, a few times. Some of the things both of the couples went through were utterly heartbreaking. It was also very real not some fairytale about how all is well. This all made it a very touching novel.

Out of the characters I particularly loved Ira, he showed that it's the little things in life which are important. Everything you learn about his life with Ruth seems real, not some sugarcoated love story. It showed the hardships they plowed through and the happy memories they shared, it demonstrates that through hard work and irrevocable love their marriage survived.

I love Nicholas Sparks' books because he has the brilliant skill of sucking you into the novel, I find that experiencing the story through different points of view gives you the ability to really relate to it which makes the characters truly come alive.

But even though I loved it I found it took quite a while for the story to actually start, but it was still a very gripping book and it kept me turning the pages. Quite literally actually, I read it in one go it was just that good.

An extremely romantic and touching novel which will leave you sobbing at the end, like all Nicholas Sparks novels do. I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys love stories or who is a hopeless romantic.