Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott

Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott
Series: N/A
Source: Netgalley
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: January 28, 2014

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?

History is full of death, and I've had enough of that.

I really liked Heartbeat. I was very hesitant to start it, because I didn't really know much about it... just that it was by Elizabeth Scott, one of my favorite authors! Turns out I should have been worried - I was captured from the very first chapter. There's something about a mother being kept alive to birth a baby that horrifies and interests me at the same time!

Honestly, I feel like understand both sides of the argument - on one hand... it's just kind of sick to keep someone alive artificially so that they can give birth. It skeeves me out a bit, that's for sure! Obviously, it's a part of Dan, and it's a part of her... so he wants the baby. But Emma doesn't - and I understand that as well, because like I said... it's kind of despicable. I long for the days when everything was black and white. There's too much grey in this world!

I liked Emma's character growth throughout this book - obviously she's going through some tough times, but I think she's stronger for that! She's learning how to deal with things her own way, and maybe she isn't always right - but she's growing up, and that's the important part. I especially loved Caleb and her together - my heart just broke for them. I feel like sending them a love hug - they're just so fragile!

Speaking of Caleb... I knew that I would like him from the moment I read his name. He's so broken, but he still such a sweet guy. I mean, he wants people to leave him alone - but I understand that. He was so gentlemanly and kind of chivalrous... I'm not going to lie - I might be a little bit in love with him.

Normally, when I say "I'm lost", it means that I don't understand how I got from one place to another. But in this case, that was actually a good thing - a couple of times, I got so lost in the writing that I just didn't pay attention to where it was going. It was... beautiful, in it's own way.

All in all, I really enjoyed Heartbeat. I loved the romance - and I loved that the characters grew. Handling such a tough subject is hard, but Elizabeth Scott makes it seem easy - as always!