Wooooosh WOW!!! SHOOK!!! ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! I HAVE NO WORDS...THIS BOOK IS EVERYTHING AMAZING!!! Soul searching, love twists, sorrow, deep sadness,grief, tragedy,etc etc etc. I've never read anything like this...what a great tribute to the veterans!!! Conquering disabilities...tear jerking!!!! I can't wait for book two!!!

With the way things were left in book 1, I wasn't sure where we were going or how much my heart could take. Emma took these characters to the places they needed to be. There were a couple of things I saw coming but still enjoyed the ride just the same. I appreciate that Autumn was able to figure out what she wanted to do and actually do it rather than follow in what she thought everyone else wanted her to do. I was also glad that Wes had people in his life to tell him how it really is rather than placate him. His mom was a piece of work and a half but I think she finally mellowed out herself.

It was a wonderful duology, full of a million different feelings. Definitely need the tissues with this one.

Long Live The Beautiful Hearts is a fitting end to the duology. The story made me happy and sad and angry. It's an emotional but beautiful story. If you are a romantic even the slightest bit read this book. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I’m just going to jump into this review. I had a really hard time with this book. I absolutely did not like how everything went down. My anger was mostly with Ruby the best friend and Conner. Yes... I was upset with Weston. But... not as much as I was with them.

The secret went on for far to long. It was just aggravating. After everything.... you would think that Conner and Westin would tell the truth.

But then everything was finally revealed really late into the book. And I really couldn’t stand the best friend Ruby! She was no best friend. Conner was so selfish. He messed with Autumn just to make other people happy.

But the whole Ruby thing really got to me. I couldn’t past it at all. It made me not care about how it all ended. Like one big happy family. Nope.. sorry. I just couldn’t.

I’m just going to leave it at that. I don’t think this book was for me

*ARC provided by the author via Netgalley*

While I love all of these characters (even Connor and Ruby, though they pissed me off at times) Weston Turner owns my heart and my tears! Wes' grief, heartbreak, bitterness, and love dominate this story but it took all of that pain to give him his beautiful HEA. Please prepare to cry, mentally yell at fictional characters, and then cry all over again at the ending of a tragically beautiful duet.

I need tissues and to hide under my covers for a week. This duet broke me in the best way. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc of Long Live the Beautiful Hearts! I can’t wait to read more by Emma Scott!

This book starts with Connor and Wes in Syria fighting for their lives and dealing with the aftermath of their decisions.

Both Connor and Wes come back but also not whole. And both have to deal with that aftermath on their own.

Once returned Autumn starts to learn the truth of Connor and Wes and it breaks her heart but eventually she starts to befriend Wes again and fall for the real him not just his words. But this is not an easy journey for both of them.

Here are just a few examples how this book stole my heart:

"Stay with him. And keep holding his hand, Autumn. No matter what happens. Don't let go of him."

"Is this some kind of pep talk?" "Straight talk," he said. "The universe doesn't make mistakes."

"My God, Wes." he said. his voice cracked. "Nothing to fight for? Fight for you. For who you are. At long last, fight for yourself and what you love. Who you love."

"But here is the secret: every Once Born is a Twice Born who hasn't yet discovered their strength. I've seen your heart and heard your words, Wes. You will survive this. You're a poet encased in warrior's armor. You will come out the other side, but you must take the first step forward. There is no other way."

" . . . Take a fucking chance at being happy for once in your life."

" . . . In my mind, Wes, that has always been the fault of our armor; you have built it so strong that it doesn't protect you so much as it hurts you to carry its impossible weight."

"I've loved you for so long. Meeting you in the library that first time felt like a reunion. I've loved you in a thousand lifetimes. Do you feel it?"

"You owe me nothing. The only thing I want from you is to live your life with truth, honor, and respect for the dreams and talents of your heart."

I loved that what happened to Wes didn't define him, and was only just another challenge for him. He already had enough burdens and this didn't become another instead it forced him to fight all his demons and let go of his armor. Which gave him the opportunity to truly live freely and be able to love and be loved in return.

From what I gather this duet was written in the before and after of the author's personal tragedy and you can feel the pain and emotion in her writing and its moving and beautiful. This duet was so much more than a story. It's something I think everyone should have to experience. It took my breath way the depth of emotions it stirred up in me.

5 Emotional stars!

Weston and Autumn have one of the most realistic relationships. Even with all the drama their feelings for each other jump off of the page. They are probably more forgiving than most people, but what makes their story good isn't the tragedy or their love, but the feelings they have for each other. Even before they admitted their feelings to each other their friendship was something to aspire to and root for. The only complaint I have about this book is that Connor plays a huge part in the first book and mostly disappears for this sequel. I want his and Ruby's story too!

I was somewhat intimidated to finish this series. But I couldn’t NOT want to read the conclusion to Beautiful Hearts duet. Bring Down the Stars was powerful enough through it’s depiction of a love triangle. We were left feeling EVERYTHING AND MORE. WILL THERE BE A HAPPY ENDING FOR EVERYONE!? Long Live The Beautiful Hearts delivers on a grand scale. So much more than I anticipated. Left me feeling awestruck and wandering.

I am going to be vague because you need to witness this story yourself.

At the center of the story is our heroine Autumn who is always seemingly finding that sliver of hope or silver lining in a clouded gray sky. She has more courage and resiliency than I have read from another lead in quite a while. You can’t help but admire her ability to stride forward endless heartache and tragedy.

I said in my previous review this is a duet you CAN’T miss. It’s addictive and captivating till the very last page. Is is crazy to admit that I held my breath during several paragraphs? There were a few times I had felt a queasiness and my own heart seemed to gallop through each and every word. And then crash afterword?

This story delves deeper into the meaning of tomorrow never comes. It’s full of missed chances and impulses and what if’s that are so intense, you can practically feel the regret and sorrow. It’s also full of hope that somehow everything wrong will be righted. ATTENTION: have tissues on hand again.

It’s incredible. This duet will be put on my favorites list forever. I have a deep admiration for Emma Scott and her story. Don’t be too intimidated to read this duet or you will miss out on such a inspiring story full of everything we want and don’t want and sometimes need.

I received the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Netgalley and the publisher.

Long Live the Beautiful Hearts is the follow up to Bring Down the Stars and the second half of the duology. Of the two books, LLtBH definitely skews more dramatic and dark, which certainly makes sense in the aftermath of the events at the end of book one.

Scott provides a lot of really wonderful representation and real-life consequences of something as large and pervasive as war. I have not read a lot of books that go much farther than PTSD as a result of war, so to see her really show what people go through, was well-done.

As one can guess, secrets from BDtS make their way out in the open as Wes, Connor and Autumn deal with the end of their college careers and what lies ahead of them in their adult lives. The relationships between all of theme are messy, complicated and very real.

There are plenty of happy scenes that left me smiling and feeling light, but there are certainly a number of dark scenes based on the very serious life events some of the characters are going through.

Overall, it was a good ending to the series and cemented my absolute enjoyment of Emma Scott books. I can't wait to see what's next!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to.

How did I know that this book would mess with my heart? The ending of the last one set me up and I had no idea what was going to happen next. I just knew that my heart would never be the same. And it wasn't. But at least it didn't break me. This story may have wrung out every emotion I didn't even know I had in me, but it didn't break me. It was beautiful in its pain and stunning in its angst. Still not your typical love triangle but it had plenty of drama.

I don't even want to get into the plot of this one because it will spoil it for those who haven't started this journey yet. I don't want to give away what happens after the end of book one. Just know that it's hard. It's tough. It's heartbreaking. It's gorgeous. It's surprising and glorious and full of so much heart. The love that binds these characters together is something that should be shared amongst everyone. If we could all find family and friends and soulmates the way these people had, the world would have no choice but to be a better place.

Emma Scott gifted us a story that personifies romance. I cried and smiled and prayed for this woman who explained to her readers the understanding of 'Before' and 'After'. I'm grateful to this woman who got me to actually enjoy a story involving a love triangle.

It's hard to describe my relationship to the Beautiful Hearts series. It's a sort-of love triangle inspired by Cyrano de Bergerac, yes, but it's much more than that. I fell in love with Emma Scott's writing with IN HARMONY, and after finishing this duology, I can say with certainty that I'll read anything she publishes.

I honestly don't know how to say this but I was quite disappointed with this one especially with how the story ended on the first book.

I kind of hoping for more angst, instead what I got was sweetness. Too sweet in fact, to the point of cheesiness.

Even though everything wrapped up perfectly in the end, it was just too perfect. I don't believe it. Sure, this was fiction, but still, a little tantrums and unacceptable of the situation perhaps was more realistic IMHO.

I'll admit I lost interest in reading so I skimmed a bit. The exciting part was around 70% which I devoured, but then some OTT situation join the bandwagon so yes... I rolled my eyes. Not to mention the cliche' after that. My eyes rolled non stop.

What I loved the most and what deeply touched my heart was how Professor O. reaches out to Weston. How he go beyond what is expected from him just to encourage him to move forward and to not give up.

This is the conclusion to the Beautiful Hearts duet and should be read in order.

Copy provided by Publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn't really sure which avenue this author was going to take for the second part of this duet. She could have chosen so many avenues, because at the ending of first part of this duet, we were literally left in the unknown. I will say that, this is most definitely not your average duet. Nor is it your average ending. I have never seen anything remotely close to the second half of a duet. It is so different, but more unique than anything I have ever read. It is one of those things that shows you that, your happily ever is what you choose it to be, no matter what your circumstances are.

The second half of this duet was hard on me. I normally read to escape reality, to live in a fictional world, and this book was like living reality. A very hard reality. It shows you no matter what life throws at you, no matter what obstacles you face, you choose your fate, your own reality. Emma Scott's writing is so profound, and heartfelt that it almost makes it unbearable to read. It is brutal, but beautiful. Raw but challenging, so damn challenging. I literally have no words. Life is so unfair to so many deserving people, and most of us do not even take the time to notice that.

This book has challenged me to be more aware, more humble. I am not going to say more, because this book, ahh this book needs to speak for itself.

Do I recommend it?? Absolutely.

Where do I begin? This book was amazing! I am talking like I wanted to hop on a plane and find Emma Scott and just hug the heck out her lol of course in a non stalker kind of way! Emma Scott should be on everyone's radar! She is an amazing writer and when I finish a book by her I'm like omg she keeps out doing herself!
Long Live The Beautiful Hearts continues the story from Bring Down the Stars and wow I am seriously at a lost of world. The emotions that Emma made me feel was amazing. Though my husband got a good laugh at my ugly cry face. All I can say is these two books are amazing and a must read! #Perfection

Long Live the Beautiful Hearts by Emma Scott is the follow-up to Bring Down the Stars, and let me just say, this duet is a MUST-READ (just in case all the other reviews and the hype for these books didn't already convince you).

I don't know how she does it, but Emma Scott shatters my heart before she carefully pieces it back together in such a way that I am reluctant to leave her characters behind and continue to think about them even after I've moved on to other books.

And I was very reluctant to finish this book. I wanted to race through to see what would happen, but at the same time, I never wanted it to end. Ever.

Moving, inspiring, stunning: an absolute masterpiece.

I cannot WAIT to see what she has in store for us next.

***I voluntarily read and reviewed an e-copy generously provided by the publisher via NetGalley.***

Long live the beautiful hearts begins where Bring down the stars ended with Connor and Weston in Germany.
When the path becomes more twisted, the hardships seemingly impossible to overcome Weston learns to accept his fate in life. He grows to become a fighter and a survivor.

In the before: The silent guy thought he was unworthy of love because of his own inner demons.
In the after: The silent guy found his worth by finding love.
In the Before: The silent man based his worth on the failings of an absentee father who should have loved him.
In the After: His Love was replaced.

Story: The poems were truly beautiful. They gave me chills and leaky eyes.

These characters continue to strive for purpose and worthiness in the high expectations placed upon themselves. They want to be relevant and lived meaning lives.

Overall: Emma wrote a different story than the first, yet still just as poignant and beautiful. The poetry continued to add an element of passion. The aftermath of the army was extremely intense. I loved how each character adjusted, transitioned, reformed, and emerged through the changes. Reading about their strengths and weaknesses was rewarding.

Man you guys, I BLEW through this book and the previous one (Bring Down the Stars) in two days. This is unheard of for me at this point in my life. I just don't usually have the time available to dedicate to reading so much in a row. But I read about 6 hours in one day as we took a day trip to a wedding three hours away. But I couldn't stop reading this book. From the cliffhanger from book 1 to the beginning of this one.

It's almost impossible to discuss this book without getting into the land of spoilers. I'll do my best. I mean the description is so vague that you don't know who even came back from war. So...how do I even discuss this book?

Where I struggled with knowing inevitable conflict was coming in Bring Down the Stars, I felt like I was passed the hardest part because the damage had already been done. Now it was just about unraveling the lies in time and seeing how Autumn would handle them. Yet in so many ways, the struggles were only just beginning by the time we start Long Live the Beautiful Hearts. If there's one thing I wish I could change about this book it would be that Autumn had discovered (or been told) the truth sooner and that she would have had time throughout the book to recover from the lies in a slower manner. While I wasn't entirely unsatisfied with how everything was handled, the resolution and forgiveness did feel a bit like a switch was flipped and she changed from sad and hurt to happy and forgiving a bit too jarringly to feel realistic.

I was so impressed with the poetry actually featured in Bring Down the Stars. Specifically, the last/main poem of the book. And so for that to be the case, I found myself a little disappointed with the poems included in Long Live the Beautiful Hearts. They weren't bad, but I just didn't find them as striking.

What was striking though was the difference in the Before versus the After--especially when considering the real-life events that Emma Scott was dealing with. She lost her daughter, Isabel, in between books to a massive heart attack due to a rare complication she'd had since birth. These two books being one complete, thought-out story with every piece being perfectly executed and planned from the beginning makes the Before and After of the books mirroring Emma Scott's own Before and After poetic and heartbreaking. Real life imitates art imitating real life. As a mother, my heart breaks for Emma Scott and what she's gone through even more than these beautiful characters that she's written about in this story.

I honestly had mixed thoughts about the disability pieces of the story-line. On the one hand, it was so refreshing. I can say I've probably read only other book with a main character that had a similar disability. I imagine Emma Scott researched tons about these types of disabilities before making any decisions for her character, but I don't have that luxury or knowledge base. So there were some things that I just have no knowledge base for. Other aspects were so heartbreaking to think that I've never thought about these things before. And it opened my eyes to the need for more compassion and consideration from me.

Favorite quotes (that aren't too long or spoilers):
-Was there any greater gift from one human being to another than understanding?

-"In my mind, [...], that has always been the fault of your armor; you have built it so strong that it doesn't protect you so much as it hurts you to carry its impossible weight."

Long Live the Beautiful Hearts was a beautiful end to a wonderful story. I started this series fearing how the retelling would be handled, but Emma Scott worked it so well. And the reasons that our characters felt unworthy of love are so much better and deeper than some big old ugly nose. I want to say so much more about this book and this series, but I just can't spoil it for any potential readers. This book and the series weren't completely perfect so I'm not giving this book 5 Stars, but it heartily deserves 4.5 Stars. Have you read Long Live the Beautiful Hearts? What did you think? Let me know!

3.5 stars.
“Long Live the Beautiful Hearts” is a very melodramatic take on the young wounded warrior trope. Even if I prefer the strong, stoic hero, I enjoyed this more vocal hero and his story, and found myself morbidly fascinated by Weston’s eloquence (sometimes verbosity) about his personal tragedy, his feelings of inadequacy, rebellion, and rage, and the impossible love triangle he got involved in.
I really appreciated the depiction of the paraplegia; I found it realistic, well-researched, not avoiding the disagreeable details and the hard recovery. Kudos for author Emma Scott’s rendering of very insightful descriptions of how paraplegics reach orgasm.
There’s a certain alluring, poetic justice and beauty when we watch Weston’s path from despair and grief to acceptance and peace with his new physical condition and much of it has to do with consolidating his vocation/destiny as a poet.
But perhaps being a wounded warrior, a former Marine, a poet (a Whitman’s admirer, no surprise here), a racer, a lover, a friend, a son, is too much for a sole hero. While I enjoyed (sometimes reluctantly) the highs and lows of the story’s emotional rollercoaster, I also found the love triangle plot a bit over the top, based on a tangle of lies that could have been dealt with or brought up earlier (and the story would have been much shorter).
I didn’t care much about the heroine, Autumn (and I really didn’t need to know so often what she was wearing), nor the secondary characters, sometimes some of them felt a bit stereotyped and the dialogue contrived.