The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae cover art

The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae

A heartwarming novel, perfect for fans of Katie Fforde

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The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae

By: Stephanie Butland
Narrated by: Cathleen McCarron
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Ailsa Rae is learning how to live.

She's only a few months past the heart transplant that - just in time - saved her life. Life should be a joyful adventure. But . . .

Her relationship with her mother is at breaking point and she wants to find her father. Have her friends left her behind? She's felt so helpless for so long that she's let polls on her blog make her decisions for her. She barely knows where to start on her own.

Then there's Lennox. Her best friend and one time lover. He was sick too. He didn't make it. And now she's supposed to face all of this without him.

But her new heart is a bold heart.
She just needs to learn to listen to it . . . Coming of Age Contemporary Contemporary Romance Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Romance Women's Fiction
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Critic reviews

I loved it so much, I couldn't put it down. I wish I hadn't read it so quickly, really, then I'd still have it to read!
It felt completely authentic and was really interesting as well as moving, funny and romantic. I also want to take up tango.
Utterly engaging from the first line to the last . . . impossible to put down
Utterly wonderful . . . quirky, heart-warming and emotional . . . loved it!!
A funny, heart-wrenching and life-affirming story that's brave and beautifully written. And made me want to dance the tango. Bravo!
It completely knocked my socks off - I devoured it in a single sitting! Wow. Just wow
If you loved Lost for Words you'll be pleased to know that Ailsa Rae is exactly as warm-hearted and compassionate as you'd expect
I loved it so much . . . the thing that most struck me was the sheer human-ness of that moment after the crisis . . . It rang incredibly true
A lovely, heartbreaking story of given second chances. Her characters are so vulnerable, so unsure of themselves and at the same time so lovable. I love this unusual story
Loveday is a marvellous character and she captured my heart from the very first page . . . and her bookshop is the bookshop of readers' dreams.
Loveday is a compelling character, you love her in the way you love a cat who always scratches but you love it anyway . . . this book is quirky, clever and unputdownable. I really enjoyed it.
Loveday is so spiky and likeable. I so loved Archie, Nathan and the book shop and the unfolding mystery
Burns fiercely with love and hurt. A quirky, rare and beautiful novel, one you'd be delighted to unearth in any bookshop. And Loveday Cardew is a character who leaps from the pages into our hearts.
It is such a beautiful read and Loveday's voice is so compelling . . . an exquisite story that I couldn't put down.
Beautifully written and atmospheric. Loveday is an endearing heroine, full of attitude and fragility. The haunting story of her past is brilliantly revealed.
What an absolute stunner of a book. I LOVED it and cried like a motherf***er. If you care about books (or humans) read it!
A beautiful, touching, moving, sweet treat of a book. Sad, intriguing, cleverly plotted, sometimes shocking, compelling read. I was with Loveday all the way. I absolutely loved it
I just finished. I can totally see why you fell in love with it. What a unique, beautiful novel that cleverly builds to a heart-stopping climax. Any book lovers out there would be mad not to adore the quirkily drawn character of Loveday who pulls you in right from the get go with her distinctive voice!
Wonderful. So many beautiful one-liners too!
All stars
Most relevant
Easy to listen to, an inside perspective on a tricky subject. Not a lot seems to happen and at the same time it does. We go from the past to the present and back on this journey as the life story of Ailsa unfolds. And there's tango!

The blue 💙 blog

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Great narration by Cathleen McCarron... I could listen to her lovely accent all day.
The story gets off to a slow start with possibly too much 'information' pushed at the listener/reader. However, this settles into a lovely story. The central character is easy to relate to and I do care about her (a good sign that it is well written).
I would recommend this book to others... and advise them to stick with the first bit because the rest is worth it.

After a slow start, this becomes a lovely story.

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Ailsa is only a few months past the heart transplant that, at the eleventh hour, had saved her life. As this happened only shortly after she had lost her best friend and former lover the new regained prospects arrive as a surprise call back to life received while she started drifting into oblivion. While the relationship with her mother is at a breaking point, she would like to meet her biological father is, who cowardly left the young mother with her disabled daughter shortly after her birth. Feeling quite helpless and isolated Ailsa uses polls on her blog to obtain hardly needed advice on any key decisions. She barely knows where to start on her own. However, it turns out that with her new heart she grows ever bolder and quickly regains lost ground in terms of self-confidence and determination. This is where the story turns from the initially gloomy to a tentatively optimistic and increasingly confident tone and assumes its main subject - how to kick start an independent life from scratch with all but unhelpful experiences and a very incomplete idea of her own identity....

This gripping story is beautifully narrated by providing different voices to its numerous characters. Unfortunately, this great narrating performance by Cathleen McCarron fails to make up for some weaknesses in the development the peripheral characters, who, unlike Ailisa and her mother, are at time lacking in depth and credibility. As otherwise this book boasts with an admirable attention to detail conferred in an expressive and engaging language, this lovely audiobook is a warmly recommended listen to anybody interested in contemporary fiction.

Gripping story, most beautifully narrated

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I loved this book from start to finish. I will be Listening to it and reading it again.

A page turning great read.

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If I had read the Blurb I probably wouldn't have listened to this book because recently in December 2017 I lost my sister it was the hardest thing in my life. This book was so sad, happy and all different emotions to me but I'm so glad I didn't read the Blurb and I just listened to the story because I absolutely loved it, it was a beautiful story.

wonderful

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