Book Review- Heartbeat

I just finished reading Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott for an Around the World ARC Tour. (there is no cover image yet)

From Goodreads:

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?

Looking back over my reviews for books by Elizabeth Scott, I always seem disappointed.  I always go in wanting the book to move me and make me feel and often times I don't.  So this time I didn't know whether or not to get my hopes up.  But I really enjoyed this story.  It's my favorite of hers yet!

The moral question of the plot just pulls at your heart.  A pregnant woman dies.  Do you keep her alive to save the baby?  So many sides to think about.    Although really, until you're in that situation, you never really know what you'd choose.

I really liked all of the characters.  Emma was so sad and lost. Her world and everything she thought she knew was turned upside down.  But I liked that there was a teeny tiny bit of hope.  That she let Olivia (an awesome best friend) in and didn't shut her out much.  And Caleb, the bad boy but with a complex background.  Who completely got her.  I even liked Dan, Emma's step-father.  He truly seemed to love her and even though she would disagree, I never felt like his action made it seem otherwise.

This book really makes you think and feel.  Just what I like out of my books!

I gave this book a rating of 4/5.

Heartbeat will be released on August 27, 2013.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2013 150+ Reading Challenge: 26
2013 ARC Reading Challenge: 18
2013 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 22
2013 Standalone Reading Challenge: 6
2013 Quick Fix Challenge: 10

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.