Wow, wow, wow!!!

This is such a different but emotive read, so moving! It tells the story of Alisa Rae, who was born with a genetic heart condition that could have killed her within days of being born. However, repeated operations and treatments mean she's now twenty-eight years old and needs a heart transplant to save her life. Her experiences are shared via blog extracts, emails and first person narrative. The whole experience is brought to life in this brilliant story.

If you'd live your life for 28 years having to protect your malfunctioning heart, what would you want to do if it was replaced? This story shares Alisa's emotions and experiences in the first year from having the transplant as she cautiously but with growing courage endeavours to live with her new heart. It is a superb tale of growing up, learning not to be protected, daring to make plans for the future, trying new things, loss and love. It is a dire situation but it is explored with humour, determination and hope, making this a very moving and positive read, one that I hope will encourage everyone to discuss things with their family and go on the donor register to help others like Alisa and Seb should something happen to you.

I requested and was gifted a copy of this superb book and this is my honest review after choosing to read it.

I love when a book comes out and snags you in to the story in a way that you will not forgot.

As a double corneal transplant recipient, I was drawn to the store I’d a heart transplant recipient. Little did I know that a cornea transplant recipient would be a character also. I loved that this book brought attention to the need for organ donors.

I loved every part of this book. I was not familiar with this author but I am a fan. Butland has a rich, wonderful way with her writing. So much of this book felt so rich and flowed so smoothly.

This book will definitely be one of my favorites of the year. I will be anxiously anticipating future projects from Butland.

With all the medical drama on TV and even on Netflix, stories about a heart transplant abound. But, the story stops after the successful surgery and the patient is saved. The audience is left to deduce that the patient lives a happy and healthy life. But, do they?

In “The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae,” author Stephanie Butland relates that a heart patient’s happily ever after is more than just getting a new leash on life… it is actually starting a new life.

In this poignant story, Ailsa Rae is trying to reconcile her past life with her new life. From an almost homebound person who was also denied of strenuous activities like dancing or clubbing, she needs to adjust to a world wherein she can enjoy life like everyone else in her age group.

But there is also survivor’s guilt. Why did she survive, and others did not? In this brave new world that Ailsa Rae has found herself in, she has to find a balance to so that she can truly live her proverbial happily ever after.

An easy read, “The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae” tugs at your heartstrings from beginning to end. There will be times when you feel you will cry. And perhaps you will. Whether you do or not, one thing is certain, Ailsa Rae might be a fictional character, but she is one brave woman.

“The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae” is Rated T for Teens. Parental guidance strongly advised.

The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae is the first novel by Stephanie Butland that I have read but it will certainly not be the last. Ailsa is a chronically ill young woman who is learning to live life as the recipient of a successful heart transplant. While she spent much of her life cautious and sick her mother devoted herself to her care and Ailsa managed to have as much of a normal life as possible-including her first love and serious relationship with Lennox-who passed away waiting for his own transplant. Ailsa has chronicled her transplant journey on a blog and now that she is recovering she wants to start her life independently-but how does she do that without Lennox? And just where does her biological father (who she has never spoken with) fit in to this new life? Butland weaves a heartfelt (no pun intended) story that captures the right amount of emotion and humor. Looking forward to her next novel already!

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Emotional, uplifting and oh so wonderful, Stephanie Butland’s latest novel The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae is a fantastic read that made me laugh and cry. A brilliant tale about taking chances, starting over and having the courage to take a leap of faith, The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae is a fantastic book that has sensational written all over it!

Ailsa Rae has wanted to be normal and ordinary for as long as she can remember. With her mortality always in question until a last minute heart transplant that had saved her life, for the first time in her life, Ailsa doesn’t have to look over her shoulder for the ever hovering Grim Reaper, but she can finally do all the things that were previously impossible. From dancing all night long to falling in love again, the world is her oyster. There are no more stumbling blocks standing in her way nor is her health holding her back and preventing her from doing whatever strikes her fancy, but before she can become the mistress of her own destiny she needs to take a deep breath, square her shoulders and start putting one foot in front of the other – which Ailsa realizes is easier said than done!

Ailsa’s mortality might no longer be a ticking time bomb, but life is a battlefield regardless. She is still single, has a less than ideal relationship with her mother and is absolutely desperate to meet her father and get some much needed answers to her questions. Ailsa also has to deal with Lennox, the man she had been crazy in love with whom she had always thought that a future was out of the question with. But is that still the case? With her life stretching endlessly ahead of her, will Ailsa throw caution to the wind and go after what she wants? Will she dip her toes in the water? Or is she going to sit on the shore and wait until her life passes her by?

Ailsa is about to go on a rollercoaster journey where she is about to learnt the most valuable lesson of all: life is short and it’s up to her to make every second count. Will she finally start living? Or is she going to continue to merely exist?

Quick! Somebody call Hollywood because The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae needs to be an uplifting weepie that will smash all box office records. A wonderful story that touches the heart and warms the soul, The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae is brilliantly written, wonderfully emotional and so fantastic that you will buy a copy for all your friends. Stephanie Butland has knocked it out of the park with The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae and penned a joyous, irrepressible and outstanding tale that you will not be able to forget.

A five star read that will cheer even the darkest and most dismal of days, miss Stephanie Butland’s The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae at your peril!

This was a decent read, but if I'm being honest it put me to sleep several times. Sadly this book just wasn't for me. I wanted to love it, the summary sounded great, but it just wasn't for me. The beginning was very slow going. I will say this is very well researched and you can tell that through the writing.

This is a beautiful book around second chances and learning to live again.

Ailsa has lived with the threat of death hanging over her head for years. She could never participate in things that most young adults took for granted. She spent hours in the hospital – which while not the best moments, did give her the opportunity to learn how to love but also the pain of loss when she loses her first true love. During this journey, she started a blog to document her story but she also used it as a platform to ask questions and make decisions about her own personal life based on those answers.

When she is given a second chance at life with a heart transplant, it is an overwhelming moment for her and all that follows. She gets to do all those things she never did before but she is left wondering how and what should she do first. She is lost at times (perhaps afraid and guilty?) and turns to her blog and readers for advice – which seems to drive her family crazy and I don’t really blame them. You want Ailsa to know that she is the lead in her life and she can make decisions and that is alright if they are the wrong ones. You just want to reach out and give her a hug to let her know that it is okay to be afraid and unsure.

When she has the chance at love again, my heart is sore for her. She sounds so scared. Will she be able to let herself go and allow her to love and be loved? She is nervous about her scars which she should never be – she should be proud of the battle that she fought for those.

This was a beautiful story from start to finish. It was a bit slow at the beginning as we learned her history but is worth every moment. It is that excellent reminder that we all need to live in each moment, to never take anything for granted and have the confidence in ourselves to accept our faults but to push past them. That it is okay to make mistakes and to feel like failures as this is the beauty of life. A fantastic read that will make you laugh, cry and hope.

It was an interesting book. Truthfully I didn't love it. I enjoyed the plot and the main character and her relationship with her mum but it felt a bit flat for me. I wanted to love it especially because it was a clever storyline but the characters were mostly two dimensional and I struggled to finish it. Favorite thing and great job to author about was the relationship between Ailsa and her mother! I would give it a 3.5 stars

Ailsa is getting her heart transplant after being ill since she was a child. How will her life change? Can she be whole again?


Ailsa now has a new life, one with new struggles but also a life of hope and new experiences. She has to now face the loss of a cherished friend and lover, grieving for the person who donated her the organ and a broken relationship with her mother. She also now has choices about the rest of her life. Will she climb a mountain? Find love again? So many small details that we sometimes overlook as just part of life, Ailsa reminds us not to take one of those moments for granted.


I found this book fascinating. Stephanie Butland did an excellent job in capturing the story of a transplant survivor leaving out no small detail. You are routing for Ailsa and at the same time you are being informed about all the steps required for a transplant before and after surgery. I also loved Ailsa's blog and how it helped tell her story along with the news articles and letters she wrote. A Brilliant book you don’t want to miss. Thank you so much to St. Martin’s Press, Stephanie Butland and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book to read and review.

A moving and heartfelt story! I loved this “inside look” at life after a chronic illness. This was an easy, charming read with likable characters. It started off a bit slow and it took me awhile to engage with the characters but I flew through the last half. 3.5 stars. Thank you to the publisher for the advance reader in exchange for my honest review.

If you’re looking for a book to get lost in, I’d highly recommend the new release The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae by Stephanie Butland. Touted as “…a wholly original, charismatic, and uplifting novel that no reader will soon forget.” Spot on. Released on October 29th by St. Martin’s Press, I was privileged enough to be provided with an Advance Reading Copy, that once again, I finished up just after publication. (Too many books, too little time…)

My thoughts on this novel are generally positive – it wreaked havoc on my emotions making me laugh, cry, and generally content. It provides a gripping fictional account of a heart transplant survivor who needs to learn how to live again. It tackles the frailties of being a patient staring death in the face, the emotional repercussions of survival, and the nuances of relationships after a literal life-changing event -sussing out the events life and love, family and friends. It’s the telling of Ailsa’s journey to ordinary after an extraordinary experience.

It’s clever and charming with a streak of no BS and I absolutely loved all the characters. Each one has flaws, personality, and something to love. The novel as a whole is both uneasy and affecting. You will feel everything Ailsa feels. The author has done a remarkable job of taking a serious issue and making it lighthearted, yet impactful.

Reader discretion advised for: language (it’s not all squeaky clean) and a couple of other elements. I could definitely look beyond them in the greater scope of the novel – maybe not necessary, but they were just little blips on my radar thinking that others in my book-reading network are pickier than I might be.

Overall, this one didn’t follow my typical formula and perhaps isn’t even something I would have picked up off a library shelf. That said, it was a definite win and I’m glad I took a chance when requesting it for a preread. Delightful from cover-to-cover.

I was provided with a complimentary early digital version via NetGalley with my thanks to the publisher and author. All opinions are my own.

For anyone who has either experienced firsthand serious medical issues, or witnessed a loved one go through the uncertainty, reading The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae will feel authentic.

Ailsa Rae's life has centered around her need for a heart transplant. She blogged through her experiences, bringing awareness and providing support to those on a similar journey. A key practice of hers is to put forward choices in the form of a poll, allowing her readers to make decisions for her. When she receives her transplant, she continues to update her readers on her life, as well as following their dictates.

I found this novel an example of what it looks like to grieve, even when life seems to be steadying. What does it mean to strike out on your own, to seek a future, to choose to love again? How do you make peace with your new normal when others don't have those same possibilities?

Butland's strong suit is characterization, and this is no exception. The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae brings up questions on what it is to be grateful for a life-saving act, while also wrestling with the realities of a future you didn't know that you could plan for.

3.5 stars

(I was given a digital ARC from St Martin's Press via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.)

Ailsa Rae is an Irish blogger in her twenties with a fatal heart condition. If she doesn't receive a transplant soon, the self-named Blue Heart blogger won't live to see her next birthday. She's been chronicling her journey to educate those who don't know about left heart syndrome, and so that those with it don't have to exhaust themselves trying to explain their condition to well-meaning family and friends.
Then, a miracle happens while Ailsa is staying at the hospital, losing hope. They have a heart for her! And with her new heart, Ailsa is overwhelmed by choices. What should she do with her new freedom? She polls her bloggers. Take up dancing the tango! This inadvertently leads to a part in a play of Romeo and Juliet for a summer festival.
And while doing a challenging radio interview for her blog, Ailsa meets a rising star actor who had to temporarily step away from his career due to needing a cornea transplant. He's undoubtedly handsome and seems mutually interested, but she fears whether or not he's the playboy the tabloids proclaim. To complicate matters more, Ailsa is still mourning a bit for her first love, Lennox, whom she lost due to his not receiving a transplant in time.
Funny, intelligent, and very human in the rises and falls of emotions, difficulties, and triumphs, The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae will make you laugh out loud, shed tears for your lost loved ones, and stir you to question why more people don’t donate their bodies so that others might live.


I received this book in exchange for my honest review from Net Galley. All opinions expressed here are solely my own and do not reflect the author or publisher.

This was an unusual book. I've never read anything on how to process being a transplant recipient. This story is how Ailsa Rae is born with a heart defect and how her mother fought valiantly to keep her alive. This journey also includes Lennox, who was her first boyfriend, but lost his battle for a transplant. Even though she is 28, she has never been treated like an adult. It is about growing pains. Finding a job, finding your purpose in life. In the midst of finding herself, she meets Sebastian. He is an actor and famous. What he loves about her, is that she has no clue who he is. They can be just 2 people getting to know each other. I love how they are together. Show biz can be brutal and nothing that is ever recorded is lost. Can they get past this recording? To err is human, to forgive is divine.

Moving, inspiring, and heartfelt!

The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae is a pensive, tender novel that takes us into the life of the courageous, optimistic Ailsa Rae who after living a sheltered, timid life due to a congenital heart defect is struggling to recover, adapt, relearn, and become more adventurous after a heart transplant saves her life.

The writing is direct and sincere. The characters are charming, authentic, and amusing. And the plot using an intriguing mixture of narration, letters, newspaper articles, blog posts, and emails is a delightfully witty, bittersweet tale about life, love, loss, family, friendship, self-discovery, happiness, and taking chances.

Overall, The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae is a thought-provoking, romantic, touching tale by Butland that does an exceptional job of highlighting the demand, necessity, and importance of organ donation, and has just the right amount of laughs, tears, endearing characters, and heartfelt storyline to be completely absorbing.

Stephanie Butland ‘s The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae is an amazing unique book. “Ailsa Rae is learning how to live,” the opening line of the description is a true sum of this story but yet it is even more. The story goes back and forth in time, before and after the heart transplant with most of the focus on Ailsa. However, it is not only Ailsa that is changed; her relationships, her blog followers and her family are also changed as she boldly goes forth in her new life adventure. Her life touches so many others.

Well -written to be a gripping read with what must have involved intensive research the is the in best women’s fiction. Realistic and yet upbeat, it should not be missed.

An ARC of the book was given to me by the publisher through Net Galley which I voluntarily chose to read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae is a sweet, easy-to-read story about Ailsa, a 28 year old who had been living with serious heart complications. She finally receives the heart transplant she's been waiting for, and so ensues this heartwarming tale of her not only adjusting to normal life, but learning to live her life to the fullest.

I wasn’t expecting how emotional The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae made me. I knew, going into it that it was a book about life after a transplant. The physical limitations, the medications that need to be taken, and don’t forget, the mental adjustment is enormous. The author did a fantastic job of showing that all.

The plotline for The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae was well written and well researched. There were a few times where I wished that there was a glossary for different medical terms. I liked the pacing of the book too. It wasn’t too fast, and it wasn’t too slow. It was just right for me to get settled in and read.

I liked Ailsa. The strength that she showed during the book was unbelievable. I mean, she had a heart transplant!! I loved her sense of humor and her determination to have a healthy life. There were things about her I didn’t like. She was too trusting and wore her heart on her sleeve. She battled her mother about her biological father. And then there was Seb….sigh.

I wasn’t a fan of the blog inserts. I get why the author wrote them. It gave additional insight into how Ailsa’s mind worked. It showed how her mindset evolved from right before the transplant to the end of the book. Still, I wasn’t a fan. I had an issue transitioning between the POV. It went from 2nd person (the blog posts) to 3rd person. Also, while I am on it, I wasn’t a fan of the articles written about Ailsa and Seb. To me, those articles show everything that is wrong with today’s society. No wonder Ailsa freaked out. I would have too.

Ailsa’s relationship with Seb was cute until the end. Then it got confusing. After that sound bit was released (and yes, it sounded awful), I wasn’t sure what they were. That last email between them only muddied the waters for me. I hate being confused!!!

I do want to mention that a lot of British and Scottish slang is used. I did have an issue with the Scottish slang. Mainly being that I only read historical Scottish romances and modern-day slang isn’t allowed. Again, it would have been handy to have a glossary included.

The storyline with Hayley, Ailsa, and her biological father broke my heart. I was with Ailsa at first. She had every right to learn about her biological father. I couldn’t understand why Hayley wasn’t so forthcoming. Then, at the end of the book, everything was revealed, and I understood. I won’t say much more about it except that Hayley handled everything like a BOSS!!! I loved her!!

The end of The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae was emotional for me. There was confusion about Seb and Ailsa. But it was the final chapter that had me sobbing. I loved it!!

I was intrigued when I read the blurb for The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae by Stephane Butland and I am so happy decided to read it. This was such a heartwarming story about a woman discovery her path. Ailsa’s life has changed so much in such a short time. After being sick for a long time, she finally gets a transplant that changes her life. Her friend and lover died before he could get his transplant and she is at a standstill with her mother. Her best form of coping is her blog, but now that she has a second chance, how does she move forward? The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae by Stephanie was a story about second chances told in unique ways.

Happy reading!

Title: The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae
Author: Stephanie Butland
Genre: Women’s fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5

Ailsa Rae was born with a heart that didn’t work right. Her whole life was spent in protecting herself, being sick, and praying for a transplant—not really living. When she was 28, that wish came true, and now she has a new heart. What she wants is a new life.

Ailsa lost her best friend/boyfriend Lennox when he did not receive the liver transplant he so desperately needed, and sometimes it feels just wrong that she has a new lease on life and Lennox…doesn’t. So Ailsa talks to her blog and asks it for help making decisions, and she talks to her new heart, Apple, as they learn to live together. Ailsa’s rock has always been her mom, Hayley, but some of the dreams Ailsa has are things her mom doesn’t approve it.

Ailsa knew dying was hard, but she never imagined that just living was even harder.

I enjoyed this book so much! I know a good amount about kidney transplants (family history + my job) and a bit about pancreas transplants, but next to nothing about heart transplants. Ailsa was so much fun to read: her voice, her attitude, her just-like-everyone-else-but-afraid-I’m-different hopes and dreams. She’s incredibly strong from her experiences, but she’s been sheltered her whole life, so she’s like a colt taking its first wobbling steps into the world. An excellent read!

Stephanie Butland is a breast cancer survivor and an author. The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae is her new novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.)