Review: Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott

Heartbeat 
by Elizabeth Scott
Released Date: Published January 28th 2014 by Harlequin Teen
Pages: 304
View/Purchase: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N

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?
(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)

My Review:

Heartbeat is a definite must-read for anyone out there that is looking for a heart warming story of forgiveness and acceptance. When I first looked at the cover and the title, I was immediately pulled in and had to read it. I have only read another book by Elizabeth Scott and it was great, so I didn't hesitate to read her latest book. 

From the very start we meet Emma, a high school girl who has lost her mother and in a way her stepfather. It is evident right from the beginning that her relationship with her stepfather is not easy and she is angry at him for what he did (and is still doing) to her mother. Emma's mother is brain dead and being kept alive by machines for the baby growing inside her. But having a mother kept alive by machines is difficult for Emma to handle and more so now that her stepfather decided to do that to her without asking Emma's opinion makes their relationship that much more difficult. Now she resents her stepfather for destroying her mother and not letting her go all because of the baby. Emma struggles to forgive her stepfather and turns to her best-friend Victoria to keep her from losing herself completely. Victoria represents the life that she could have outside her home, while her house represents unhappiness and anger. But it isn't until Caleb walks into her life that she feels safe and understood. 

Both of them have struggled deeply in their lives and together they support one another and give each other the comfort that they need to keep going. As the story unfolds, they start to feel more for one other and that's what eventually saves them. 

I really enjoyed reading Heartbeat, the book deals with difficult issues that you just don't see every day. The story wasn't overshadowed by the romance, although the romantic scenes between Emma and Caleb were really sweet. The overall book was more about what Emma goes through to accept her new life and to understand each relationship that she has. The writing was really good, it goes from present to past most of the time. Is is mainly Emma's character that is remembering what happened before with her mom and recalling memories. I would have liked to see more of Caleb's story, and perhaps some type of resolution to his problems, that would have made the story that much better. But overall, the story was great, the ending was satisfying and I highly recommend it.

*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

My Rating: 4.5/5