Review: Deep and Real!!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 11, 2013
Happiness is discovering an author who's work you haven't read before and falling in love with the characters they have created and the story they have woven. So after reading In a Heartbeat, I am very happy indeed!!!In a Heartbeat started with me having a huge smile on my face. Stella is part of a wonderful happy family. But within a few pages of starting this my face no longer contained that smile. Things fell apart very quickly. From one thing to the next Stella endures way more than any girl her age should have to deal with. Cancer being one of those things. After her latest round of treatment, Stella decides to get away for a few months and go to Italy to spend time with her Cousin Lisa and her Aunt Niki. Somewhere where she's not known as the girl with cancer.Not long after arriving, Stella is on the beach when she catches sight of the incredibly gorgeous lifeguard Max. Stella is completely captivated by him. And it turns out that he is her cousins friend and they will be spending plenty of time together. After fighting their feelings for each other it soon becomes impossible to ignore and a beautiful romance blossoms between the two of them. But always in the back of Stella's mind is the possibility of her cancer returning.My favourite character hands down was Max. He starts out as a flirt and readily admits to the amount of girls that he's been with. But his feelings for Stella are like nothing he's ever felt before. He was so loving and sweet and caring. It was impossible not to love him. And he's definitely going on my list of book boyfriends.Stella was an incredibly strong character. Once she set her mind on something she was pretty hard to sway. And while I loved that about her, it was also something that frustrated me at times. I found myself silently begging her to change some of the decisions that she made.The supporting cast was fantastic as well. I loved Stella and Lisa's mum's. They were so supportive and loving and giving. ANother character I adored was Beppe. He is Max's best friend, a complete out and out flirt but so incredibly fun and adorable!!!Another plus for me was the inclusion of soccer (Football). Man, how much do I love that sport!!! And Liverpool like Stella to boot!!! I loved her passion for the game. Her knowledge of the sport. So wonderful to read about one of my absolute passions in a book that I loved!!Oh and I did a little squee every time that the title of the book was used throughout the story. I love when an author does that!!While there is an amazing amount of wonderful romance in this book. It was so much more than that. FIlled with so many deep and real situations, In a Heartbeat was such a great, well written read. I will definitely be reading book two in the series.4.5/5 I Love Max Stars!!This book was gifted to me for an honest review.