TTT: Top Ten Author Duos You’d LOVE To See Write A Book Together

This feature is hosted by the lovely ladies over at The Broke and the Bookish.

I wasn’t sure how easy or hard this topic would be, but I wanted to give myself a challenge. Go check out my dream parings.

Emery Lord & Jessi Kirby
-If these two ever wrote a book together, I would need to stockpile a LOT of kleenex to get through their book-

Sarah J. Maas & Marie Lu
-These two write badass ladies and have beautiful writing. Imagine how amazing their collaboration would be –

Mary E. Pearson & Renee Ahdieh
-Okay, someone needs to make this happen. Badass ladies again plus fabulous world building-

Christa Desir & Courtney Summers
-I have a feeling if these two EVER wrote a book together, I’d need a drink to calm the hell down-

Tamara Ireland Stone & Courtney C. Stevens
-These two write characters that are wonderfully & heartbreakingly real. I would lose my crap if they ever wrote a book together-

Brandy Colbert & Tess Sharpe
-Two of my favorite & most underrated authors. Both of these ladies wrote books that broke my heart, and pushed the envelope on those tough topics-

Francesca Zappia & Katrina Leno
-These two wrote about mental illnesses in heartbreakingly real ways and they both exceeded my expectations when I did read their beautiful books-

Becky Albertalli & Amy Zhang
-This is a bit of a wild card pick, but Amy’s writing is stunning and Becky’s first book was quirky and adorable. I’d be thrilled if they wrote a book together-

Trish Doller & Peggy Kern
-These two authors have written some of my favorite books. Books that have been hard to read at times, but awesome books nonetheless. If they wrote a book together, it would probably be raw, realistic and amazing-

Abigail Haas & Amanda Panitch
-These ladies are the QUEENS of mind fuckery. My goodness, if they EVER wrote a book together, I’d probably spontaneously combust-

If you did a TTT post this week, leave me the link in the comment section. If we have any of the same picks, don’t forget to tell me.

Review: Things We Know by Heart by Jessi Kirby

Book Title: Things We Know By Heart

Author: Jessi Kirby

Published Date: April 21st, 2015

Publisher: HarperTeen

Genre: YA Contemporary

Standalone

Book Link: Goodreads

Pre-Order Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads:

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.

Disclaimer: I received this e-ARC from HarperTeen via Edelweiss in exchange for my honest review.

Review:

This review is likely to be chock full of gibberish because I loved this book. Very rarely does a book hit me this hard, but when it does, I know it’s a special book. 

There are so few books about organ donation, and I am really bummed about that. It’s a cause I believe in completely, and it’s one that I may face at some point in my future. I have a bad heart, have had it since birth and if there’s ever a point that they’ve done all the surgeries, procedures et cetera for me, then I’ll be in Colton’s position. Sick, and desperate for a heart.

I related to Colton better than I have ever related to a male character before, and it’s because of what he’s been through. Even though I haven’t been through the emotional & physical roller coaster of getting a heart transplant, I’ve been through 5 heart surgeries, I’ve been tied to medication since the day I was born. So many times I wanted to just stop taking my medication and just forget that I have a bad heart. Sure it’s great that I haven’t needed a transplant, but being tied to medication really isn’t fun at all. 

I related to Colton, he wanted so much to just move on and not think about the simple fact that someone had to die in order for him to live. That is such a heavy thought, and it’s one I know so well. He also deals with survivors guilt. It wasn’t mentioned in the book, but I knew the feeling and I knew that was part of the reason that he never answered Quinn’s letter. He felt guilt that he was alive while someone else was grieving the boy she loved.

Was Quinn perfect? Of course not, she made mistakes, but I can’t fault her for them. She just wanted to meet the boy who had received Trent’s heart. Should she have followed him? No, that’s stalking, and ordinarily, that would piss me off, but she was grieving and she was not coming from a malicious place at all, just a curious place.

The way things came to light was completely relatable, Colton’s reaction was understandable, I am pretty sure I would have had the same reaction if I were him. I did feel crappy for Quinn though. She had finally allowed her heart to open up to the possibility of falling in love again, and then in an instant, he was gone, possibly forever.

This book was about taking risks and learning to love again. Quinn needed to believe that she could fall in love again, and Colton helped her heart open up to love. It was a slow burn, which I absolutely loved. Colton knew without asking that Quinn had suffered some heartbreak, but he didn’t rush to get the information out of her. He waited patiently until she was ready to tell him the story.

This book was very personal to me and it was very special. Kirby did an amazing job with this subject matter. She clearly took the time to research the topic, which really excited me. I loved this book and it’s getting 5 stars from me.

TTT: Top Ten Books I’m Looking Forward To In 2015

This feature is hosted by the ladies of The Broke and the Bookish

This list was one of the easiest & hardest lists I’ve ever had to compile. I definitely went over ten books with this list, and probably could have gone up to 20 if I hadn’t stopped myself.

Proceed to the list I’ve created for today!

 Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge

-Yes, yes, YES. I am so excited about this book. I ended up really enjoying Cruel Beauty and was super excited to hear about this book as well. Glad I have an e-ARC-

Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke (Prisoner of Night & Fog #2) by Anne Blankman

-I loved, LOVED Prisoner of Night and Fog so when I got an e-ARC of the sequel I was so excited and happy. I cannot wait to go back into this world that Blankman created-

 Return to the Dark House (Welcome to the Dark House #2) by Laurie Faria Stolarz

-This book ended up surprising me in a really great way, so I’m excited to see where the author takes the story in book 2-

Ensnared (Splintered #3) by A.G. Howard

-Cannot wait for this book. I’ve loved the first two books of this trilogy and given how book 2 ended, I cannot wait to see what happens next!-

 The Devil You Know by Trish Doller

-I am forever grateful to my Secret Sister who managed to nab an ARC of this book for me. Not only do I have it in my possession, it’s personalized by Doller for me. I have enjoyed Doller’s previous books and am excited to see what this book holds-

A Court of Thorns and Roses by S. J. Maas

-Um, just LOOK at that cover. Absolutely stunning. I haven’t read Maas’ previous books, but I definitely want to at some point in 2015. I am so excited about this book. I can only hope the inside matches the gorgeousness of the cover-

 Things We Know By Heart by Jessi Kirby

-GIMMIE! Oh wait, I have an e-ARC of this one. I love books that have organ donation as a plot. It’s a personal thing as I have serious heart problems and may need a heart transplant someday-

Made You Up by Francesca Zappia

-I got drawn in by the cover first, and then I read the synopsis. I love books that feature mental illness. I hope it depicts it accurately or I’ll be disappointed-

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

-Gorgeous cover alert! I am so excited about this book and I think I’m going to love this book. Cannot wait to get my hands on it-

Making Pretty by Corey Ann Haydu

-Whatever this woman writes, I’ll be excited to read it. Plus, that cover is really cool- 

What You Left Behind by Jessica Verdi

-Yet another author whose book I’ll always read. This book sounds EXACTLY like something I’ll love. I cannot wait to get my hands on this one-

The Wicked Will Rise (Dorothy Must Die #2) by Danielle Paige

-I loved Dorothy Must Die and I am so excited to get my hands on this sequel. I can only hope it is as awesome as the first book was-

The Orphan Queen (The Orphan Queen #1) by Jodi Meadows
-This book looks amazing. I read the sample I got from Edelweiss and was obsessed with it. Now I need the full version. Plus, look at that cover, guys?-

So what books are you really looking forward to in 2015? If you did a TTT, leave me the links so I can go check out your list.