Romance Readers Retreat: Review: The Heartbeat Hypothesis by Lyndsey Frydman

****4 Stars****

This book was not what I was expecting, I’ll admit and say that I chose to review this book based shallowly on the cover and what I got was a rather deep, intense, angsty read dealing with death and grief at its core.

Audra is a college student and the recipient of a heart transplant, in dealing with her acceptance of her second chance at life she wants to learn about her donor so reaches out to the donor family and in doing so meets Jake, the brother of the donor. What follows is an intense friendship blighted by death, grief and secrets and Audra’s thirst for information about Jake and his sister. Jake is a guarded character that you can’t help feel for and at times I wanted to tell Audra to back off too.

I expected to be more emotional reading this book but for some reason it just didn’t happen and I’m not sure why as I liked the characters. This could be read as a YA book as things never progress sexually between the main characters though it is quite heavy on the subject matter of grief.

I think the author has done a great job with this as a debut book and I will definitely be looking out for more from her in the future and wish her every success.

Reviewed by Vikki Ryan

Audra Madison simply wanted to walk in the shoes of Emily Cavanaugh, a free-spirited teenager who died too young. After all, Audra wasn’t supposed to be here.

Thanks to Emily, Audra has a second chance at life. She’s doing all the things that seemed impossible just two years ago: Go to college. Date. Stargaze in the Rocky Mountains. Maybe get a tattoo. You know, live.

Jake Cavanaugh, a photographer with mysterious, brooding gray eyes, agrees to help chronicle her newfound experiences. She makes him laugh, one of the only people who can these days. As they delve into each other’s pasts – and secrets – the closer they become.

But she’s guarded and feels like she can’t trust anyone, including herself.

And he’s struggling with the fact that his beloved sister’s heart beats inside her.