Blog Tour: In A Heartbeat by Loretta Ellsworth

Welcome to the In A Heartbeat blog tour! Today I'm excited to host Loretta Ellsworth! Let's start with her guest blog!

Thank you, Alea, for asking me to be a guest blogger. My blog post today is about cellular memory. When I first started researching heart transplants, I’d never heard of the theory of cellular memory, which is the idea that memory is stored not just in our brains, but at the cellular level. If every cell in our body has its own mind and if you transfer tissues from one body to another, then the cells from the first body will carry memories into the second body.

I read about many cases of heart transplant recipients who felt as though they’d inherited new memories along with their new hearts. I read about a woman who’d received the heart of a young man who’d died after being stabbed in his lower back. After the surgery she experienced shooting pains in her lower back. Her husband reported that during the night she’d have nightmares and wake up screaming, pointing to her lower back. I read about people who experienced profound personality changes, who suddenly started liking different types of music and food than before, and others who dreamed of their heart donors. In his book The Heart’s Code, Paul Pearsall described the case in which a young girl received the heart of a murdered girl and who had nightmares about a man attacking her. Her description of the man was so detailed – the time, the weapon, the place, the clothes he wore, that her psychiatrist decided to call the police, and they were able to arrest the man based on her description.

Candace Pert is a scientist who has been studying how chains of amino acids, called neuropeptides, send messages back and forth between the brain and the body. It used to be thought that neuropeptides only existed in the brain, but now they’ve been found throughout the whole body, especially in the heart. And the heart has been found to have its own complex nervous system, which influences the communication between brain and heart.

What scientists don’t understand is why some people claim to have these memories and others don’t. Many doctors feel that these experiences are just side effects of the immunosuppressive drugs that patients take. In some online blogs I read, patients stated that they don’t tell their doctors about these feelings even when they do have them. I doubt there’s enough known about cellular memory to draw any conclusions at this time. But it does warrant more research and transplant patients do need validation of their feelings.

After reading these accounts, I knew that this would be the bridge for my two characters – a heart that would connect them in more ways than just as a donated pump. Eagan, who is so different from Amelia, helps her learn to live life to the fullest by the personality traits she passes on to her. And those newfound traits end up leading Amelia back to Eagan’s family.

If you’re interested in learning more, here’s a link to a video about cellular memory and heart transplants:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK6iPXHY_Nc

And if you’re interested in organ donation, here’s another link:
http://www.donatelife.net/

Thanks Loretta! Onto my review!

Amazon.com:

When a small mistake costs sixteen-year-old Eagan her life during a figure-skating competition, she leaves many things unreconciled, including her troubled relationship with her mother. From her vantage point in the afterlife, Eagan reflects back on her memories, and what she could have done differently, through her still-beating heart.

When fourteen-year-old Amelia learns she will be getting a heart transplant, her fear and guilt battle with her joy at this new chance at life. And afterwards when she starts to feel different—dreaming about figure skating, craving grape candy—her need to learn about her donor leads her to discover and explore Eagan’s life, meeting her grieving loved ones and trying to bring the closure they all need to move on.

Told in alternating viewpoints, In a Heartbeat tells the emotional and compelling story of two girls sharing one heart.


In a Heartbeat was a fascinating book about love, life and making changes told from the viewpoints of two teen girls, Eagan and Amelia.

I love how both Eagan (an ice skater that hits her head on a board during a performance and dies) and Amelia (a girl with a bad heart that receives Eagan's heart) have such different lives and never actually meet but compliment each others stories and learn from each other. It's a beautiful story that is made all the better but the short chapters that switch back and forth from both of their viewpoints.

If I was asked to compare this book with another I would say it has a few similarities with The Everafter, at least when it comes to Eagan's story. They both reflect back on someone's life and look forward into the everafter.

I love how one heart, Eagan's heart brings these two families together and changes both girls for the better. Eagan is able to let go of her regrets and past and Amelia is able to blossom and start her new life with her new heart. It's a wonderful book that I would definitely suggest!

In A Heartbeat was released on February 2nd!
Genre: Young Adult
4.5/5 Stars
ARC provided by author for tour
Loretta Ellsworth's website

And something really exciting, a chance to win a signed copy of In A Heartbeat!

Here's how to enter to win a signed copy of In A Heartbeat!

Fill out the giveaway entry form here.

The giveaway is open to addresses within the U.S. and Canada only.

The giveaway will end February 23rd at 6:59 pm Central Time.

**Copy provided by the author**

Hardcover vs Paperback 67

Hardcover

Paperback

Amazon.com:

If you can't be a mega teen superstar sensation then maybe you'll be lucky enough to join her entourage.

Devon -- one name only, please -- is the latest and jail-bait-est pop star to hit number one on the Billboard chart, and she's making her big-screen debut in Juicy. But after her stint in rehab, the studio isn't so sure she's their girl anymore. If they cut any more of her lines, she'll be a silent film actress! Can Devon regain her star status? She needs to watch her back and make sure that flash doesn't catch her causing a scene, and we don't mean the kind you can yell "Cut!" after.

Livia has lost the weight and gained the attitude in the Hollywood party scene. Her dad's an Oscar-winning producer, and with a hot Beverly Hills boyfriend on her arm as well as her photos all over the pages of Gosizzle.com, Livia looks like she has a perfect life. But looks can be perfectly deceiving....

And there's fresh-faced Casey, who left a job bagging groceries at the Piggly Wiggly to play personal assistant to her best friend...and Devon's rival. She's got the biggest crush on the biggest star of the film -- a hot Brit known for loving and leaving. Will Casey stay true to herself while trying to find a place in his universe?

Stars. They're just like us. But what does that mean for the rest of us? Stay tuned, people.

Tie. Most definitely a tie. I read this in hardcover and loved how the cover was a wrap around and you could see the other two girls on the back, but i guess if you haven't held the book in your hand you wouldn't know that. The paperback gets across the point that it's about all 3 girls equally which is important, but it's a little busy.

I can't wait for the next book!

Hardcover or Paperback?

Have you spotted a Hardcover vs. Paperback you would like to contribute? Send me an email!

Winners of My Soul to Save

The winners of My Soul to Save are:

Jennifer
Jessy
Carol

I have emailed you guys, please respond with your full name and mailing address by Thursday February 11th! Thanks!

A Novel Idea by Aimee Friedman

Amazon.com:

Required reading has never been so hot.

Once upon a time there was a Brooklyn hipster named Norah. Unlucky in love, and short on extracurriculars for her college apps, Norah decided to start a book group. She knew the perfect locale -- a local indie bookstore with a crush-worthy cutie manning the soy latte counter.

When the first meeting arrives, Norah gets a page-turning surprise. The attendees may be bookish, but there are also a few hotties! Most noteworthy: sweet, literary James. He's like a modern Jane Austen hero.... Only, how to snag him?

Ever the romantic heroine, Norah devises a secret plan. And if it works, Norah may just find her "Happily Ever After" love story. The End.

I have been collecting the Simon Pulse Romantic Comedies over the past year or so and I'm happy to say I've finally picked up one an read it and I sure started with a great one!

The premise of A Novel Idea sounds promising a shy bookish girl starts a book club at a local bookstore/coffee shop to bulk up her college resume and hopes to find a cute boy in the process. And holy cow the book did not disappoint. It was as sweet, bookish, and nerdy as I hoped it would be!

Norah was very easy to relate to, she's well read (with a secret love of romance novels) and has two outgoing and fun best friends Audre and Scott. And of course her wish comes true of a sweet and nerdy book boy in her book club in the form of James. James is the ultimate nerdy cute boy, I would totally go for that. I thought their semi-relationship was sweet and how they were both too shy to really do anything until Norah hatches a plan with the help of one of her romance novels... hilarity ensues!

As promised the book is funny and romantic and I can't wait to read more from this series!

A Novel Idea was released on December 20th 2005
Genre: Young Adult
4/5 Stars
Mooched on Bookmooch

Start Me Up by Victoria Dahl

Amazon.com:

Lori had always planned to get out of tiny Tumble Creek, Colorado, but when her late dad left her his beloved auto body shop, she'd stayed. Now, according to her crazy best friend, Molly, what Lori needs is some excitement, in the form of hot, no-strings-attached sex…and lots of it.

Quinn Jennings has buildings on the brain—not love and romance. A serious architect, he's delighted to discover that Lori is willing to skip dating protocols and head straight for the sheets. And aided by the steamy books on Lori's bedside table, he's busy indulging both of their wildest fantasies. But when life in Tumble Creek takes a dangerous turn for Lori, Quinn's protective instincts kick in.

Suddenly he cares. More than either of them ever expected….

Start Me Up is a step up from Talk Me Down, the first of the Tumble Creek series from Victoria Dahl. While I didn't dislike Talk Me Down, Start Me Up really started going in a direction I was hoping for character and plotwise.

Lori was a realistic and spunky character, I just liked her. Her problems seemed real and she took her life serious but was able to realize she needed more fun in her life and went out and found it. Quinn was so sweet and nerdy *swoon*. Together they had a wonderful chemistry and I loved the push and pull of their relationship, was it going to turn out to be more than a fling or not? Was Lori going to turn her life into something she had dreamed of?

The *intimate* scenes in the book were of a bit of a different nature from the first book because of Lori's love of reading romance and erotica. So they take it a bit hardcore turn.

I also liked the mystery more so in Start Me Up (I like that both of the books have had mysteries!). What had really happened to her father all those years ago and who was vandalizing her shop and why? The culprit was a bit hard to figure out for me, which I liked. Their name crossed my mind but only for a brief second so I think that was really well done.

Just yesterday I got a copy of Lead Me On, the third and final book in the trilogy and can't wait to pick it up. I would definitely call myself a Victoria Dahl fangirl now!

Start Me Up was released on July 1st 2009
Genre: Contemporary Romance
4/5 Stars
Purchased at Library Bookstore

This Week In Books Or I'm Back Did You Notice I Was Gone?

Sunday:

Lessons in French by Laura Kinsale
Nobody's Baby But Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Vision in White by Nora Roberts
Bed of Roses by Nora Roberts

While I was gone:

Someone to Watch Over Me by Lisa Kleypas
Lady Sophia's Lover by Lisa Kleypas
Catch of the Day by Kristan Higgins

From Bookmooch

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and illustrated by Camille Rose Garcia

From Amazon

Snapped by Pamela Klaffke
Lead Me On by Victoria Dahl

From Amazon Vine

The Smart Aleck's Guide to American History by Adam Selzer
I Kissed A Zombie, and I Liked It by Adam Selzer
Token of Darkness by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
After by Kristin Harmel

For review

Wherever Nina Lies by Lyn Weingarten

Sample copy for a future contest I'm hosting

Lookalikes 87

Heartsinger by Karlijn Stoffels

Amy by Any Other Name by Maureen Garvie

Definitely a tie for me. I like the soft addition of color in Heartsinger but like the wide open white in Amy by Any Other Name.

Which do you prefer?

Thanks to Yan and Becky for pointing out this lookalike!

Have you spotted a Lookalike you would like to contribute? Send me an email!

GIVEAWAY: Dream Life

I'm really excited to check out Lauren Mechling's Dream series and would love to give you a catch to win your own hardcover copy of the second book, Dream Life!

Amazon.com:

Claire Voyante's first semester at Henry Hudson High School was eventful, to say the least. As she heads into her second semester, things are calming down a bit. But Claire has a few secrets that are getting harder to keep. Her biggest secret of all? The onyx and ivory cameo necklace her grandmother gave her for her 15th birthday. Ever since she started wearing it, her dreams have been coming to her in black and white and turning out to be oddly prophetic.

Becca’s been hanging out with her old prep school friends and never seems to have time for Claire anymore. And soon, Claire discovers why—there’s a secret group of society girls with a mysterious identity. And, turns out, a mysterious enemy who’s out to get them. The second she sniffs out trouble, Claire jumps on the case. But is it someone close to Claire who’s in danger again—or could it be Claire herself whose life is at stake?

Here's how to enter to win a hardcover of Dream Life!

Fill out the giveaway entry form here.

The giveaway is open to addresses within the U.S. and Canada only.

The giveaway will end February 18th at 6:59 pm Central Time.

**Copy provided by the publisher**

"Waiting On" Wednesday 68

Paper Wonderland by Michelle Romo

Amazon.com:

This is a collection of super kawaii-like paper toy templates--ready to be cut out, built and played with or displayed. So sweet they make your teeth hurt, Michelle Romo’s cute style can be summed up as Japanese-influenced cuteness with mid-century modern flair. Her characters can be brought into 3D life with only an X-acto knife and some glue. Besides people and animals, the collection also includes an adorable house, a sweetly spooky ghost and moustaches that can be assembled and worn.

Released May 18th 2010

So I've been talking about crafts more and more lately but one thing I may not have mentioned is my obsession with paper toys from a few years ago. I think I had made probably 30 when I was done and even designed one of my own! I think this book is going to revive that obsession, they are just beyond cute!

What can't you wait for to be released?

"Waiting On" Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine!