"Good…because this is the part where you fall in love."
--Jessi Kirby, Things We Know By Heart
Genre: YA Contemporary
Genre: YA Contemporary
Publisher: Harper Teen
Pages: 304
Publication Date: April 21st, 2015
Source: eARC provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review
Previous Books in Series: Standalone
Previous Books by this Author: Golden
Previous Books by this Author: Golden
Goodreads Description
When Quinn Sullivan meets the recipient of her boyfriend’s donated heart, the two form an unexpected connection.
After Quinn loses her boyfriend, Trent, in an accident their junior year, she reaches out to the recipients of his donated organs in hopes of picking up the pieces of her now-unrecognizable life. She hears back from some of them, but the person who received Trent’s heart has remained silent. The essence of a person, she has always believed, is in the heart. If she finds Trent’s, then maybe she can have peace once and for all.
Risking everything in order to finally lay her memories to rest, Quinn goes outside the system to track down nineteen-year-old Colton Thomas—a guy whose life has been forever changed by this priceless gift. But what starts as an accidental run-in quickly develops into more, sparking an undeniable attraction. She doesn't want to give in to it—especially since he has no idea how they're connected—but their time together has made Quinn feel alive again. No matter how hard she’s falling for Colton, each beat of his heart reminds her of all she’s lost…and all that remains at stake.
When Quinn Sullivan meets the recipient of her boyfriend’s donated heart, the two form an unexpected connection.
After Quinn loses her boyfriend, Trent, in an accident their junior year, she reaches out to the recipients of his donated organs in hopes of picking up the pieces of her now-unrecognizable life. She hears back from some of them, but the person who received Trent’s heart has remained silent. The essence of a person, she has always believed, is in the heart. If she finds Trent’s, then maybe she can have peace once and for all.
Risking everything in order to finally lay her memories to rest, Quinn goes outside the system to track down nineteen-year-old Colton Thomas—a guy whose life has been forever changed by this priceless gift. But what starts as an accidental run-in quickly develops into more, sparking an undeniable attraction. She doesn't want to give in to it—especially since he has no idea how they're connected—but their time together has made Quinn feel alive again. No matter how hard she’s falling for Colton, each beat of his heart reminds her of all she’s lost…and all that remains at stake.
Jessi Kirby’s Golden was an instant favorite of mine, made me look at my life objectively, and made me aware of one of my most favorite quotes of all time. So, when I saw Things We Know By Heart on Edelweiss, I immediately downloaded it and was super excited to read. Unfortunately, it wasn’t everything I was expected. Lemme break this down.
I loooove the idea of falling in love with the recipient of the donor heart of your previous boyfriend. As tragic as the situation is, it is terribly romantic to me. I’m a friggin’ sap, we all know this.
The Writing
This novel reads effortlessly and you can see yourself in Cali kayaking and watching the sun set and being under the sun. Kirby never disappoints you in making you feel like you are in the setting itself. I loved feeling like I was right on the beach the entire time. It was a quick read and I was interested in knowing what would happen kept me invested the whole time.
The Romance
Like I stated above, the romance aspect was intriguing. This was a ridiculously adorable teenage romance and Colton brings some swoons. I loved his vulnerability and openness with Quinn even if she constantly shut him down.
The Good?
The PremiseI loooove the idea of falling in love with the recipient of the donor heart of your previous boyfriend. As tragic as the situation is, it is terribly romantic to me. I’m a friggin’ sap, we all know this.
The Writing
This novel reads effortlessly and you can see yourself in Cali kayaking and watching the sun set and being under the sun. Kirby never disappoints you in making you feel like you are in the setting itself. I loved feeling like I was right on the beach the entire time. It was a quick read and I was interested in knowing what would happen kept me invested the whole time.
The Romance
Like I stated above, the romance aspect was intriguing. This was a ridiculously adorable teenage romance and Colton brings some swoons. I loved his vulnerability and openness with Quinn even if she constantly shut him down.
The Bad?
The PlotWhile the idea of this novel is unique and extremely romantic and creative to me, the rest of the novel fell flat. I felt that it was really generic and I knew exactly how it would all play out in the end. It felt very cookie-cutter to me and I wasn’t excited to get to the end, I was basically just waiting for the inevitable climax of the conflict to occur so I wasn’t really able to enjoy the romance fully because I knew the bomb was coming.
General Admission/Standing in Line Outside
If you’re a fan of young adult contemporary, fluffy novels, and an easy read…this book is for you. If you’re looking for something different with more meat, I would skip this one.
I'm totally with you on this! I was really expecting and hoping that this one would hit me in the feels. I just wasn't as emotionally connected as I expected to be. It kind of fell flat.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a while since I've visited your blog and I love your review format! Especially the quote idea at the top. It's beautifully done. That's disappointing. This one looks like it could be promising, but I'm not a huge contemporary reader. Maybe it's best to skip this one!
ReplyDeleteI know the feeling! I rated this 4 stars, but honestly I just bumped it up because Jessi Kirby's writing is so gorgeous. It was really more of a 3 star read for me. There was something about Quinn that was just too... blah for me. She was kinda boring! But I did love Colton (naturally).
ReplyDeleteAw I'm sorry this one fell flat to you because I loved this one. Sure, it was predictable but I find a lot of contemporaries to be that way since it's usually leading to that HEA one way or another. And I just love Jessi Kirby's words so the journey was worth it.
ReplyDeleteYes, I was definitely expecting to have more of an emotional connection with Things We Know By Heart. While it still has that Kirby charm, it was just an okay read (though it did make me want to visit California after reading all of her depictions of the place).
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