Review: A heartbreakingly beautiful story of two broken souls who in each other find their reason to live.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 5, 2013
Wow. I'm sitting here with tears in my eyes and goosebumps all over my skin. This book absolutely took my breath away. It was by chance that I stumbled upon this author, winning a contest of hers from a blog I follow, and when I told her how much I couldn't wait to read this story she sent me a copy for review. When I started it, I had no idea that I was going to be completely swept away and that my heart would be taken captive. Sometimes, you just know that a book was put in front of you for a reason, and just when you needed it the most. I needed this metaphorical breath of fresh air just to wonderfully take me away and make me feel so completely. In a Heartbeat is a heartbreakingly beautiful story of two broken souls who in each other find their reason to live.In a Heartbeat centers around Stella, a person who has dealt with her fair share of heartbreak and loss, and now to top it off has been in and out of hospitals trying to rid herself of cancer. Stella is a strong character and she immediately captures your heart because you feel for her and all that she has been through in the short amount shes been alive. She cares about others more than she cares about herself and she has this wonderful heart of gold. She decides to visit her cousin in Genoa for a carefree summer where no one knows all that shes been through and she can just feel normal, and its here that she meets Max, the gorgeous lifeguard that steals her heart from the moment she lays eyes on him. Oh boy, Max is a dream. I loved him so much I can't even think of words to explain it. His personality is infectious. He's caring and fun and flirtatious and protective and intense and passionate, and just so wonderful that you can't help but smile whenever he's mentioned. His love for Stella is so beautiful and all-consuming and I just adored absolutely every little thing he did to woo her. The book also switches back and forth from Stella to Max and I loved that we got to see things from both of their perspectives. As much as they try not to fall in love, they helplessly do and its an absolutely breathtaking ride for the reader. You feel absolutely everything that they do and you read late into the night to find out how this could possibly end well for either of them. And as much as this story centers around Stella and Max, there is an amazing cast of secondary characters that you come to love as though they are your very own friends and family. They all have things going on in their lives that make for nice additions to the story. I absolutely refuse to tell you anything about how the story plays out because this is a book that you have to experience on your own, without any spoilers. But I will tell you that there are secrets kept and secrets revealed, hurdles for everyone to overcome, and serious choices to be made that will affect both of their futures. The end is what brought me to tears. It is beautiful, and emotional, and just the most absolutely perfect ending anyone could have hoped for. It doesn't leave anything out and you get a peek into what happens to everyone down the road.I can't thank you enough Teodora. This book has just completely turned me into a crying mess, but in the most beautiful way. It's rare for a book to do that to me, but you've done it. For anyone that is debating reading this, I can promise you that it will not be a waste of your time. I can't promise that you won't laugh, or love, or hurt, or even cry throughout it, but I can promise that it will make you just completely feel. And lots of times that just exactly what you need from a book.I'll leave you with a quote that perfectly sums up the message in the story:"Dont exist. Live."