The Heartbeat Thief

Sensa Fyne hates death up to the point where she would sell her soul to avoid it. After living for about a hundred years and looking forever 18, she realizes that she's lived for long enough and accepts death. Thanatos then brings her back in time and she lives her life like a normal person without her fear for death.Welp, that's the summary of this approx. 300 paged book. I thought it was a little boring and extremely slow. Nothing happened really. I was always hoping for something big to happe [...]

This could have been spectacular. It missed some amazing opportunities, though, and was poorly written, and unfortunately that impacts my rating and opinion of the book. Along with the ending.Unless it is based in some mythology or folklore I've never heard of, the author created a new kind of vampire. Dead/undead, unkillable, stealing heartbeats from others to take the place of those no longer stirring her own heart, Senza Fyne is perpetually eighteen years old. Once so afraid of death that she [...]

For some reason, when I first started reading this book, I was reminded of a favorite painting of mine. There was something about the wording, sentence structure, description all just came together in one masterfully written novel. The Heartbeat Thief is a timeless tale of endless beauty, love and loss, sorrow and joy. I loved following Senza's journey through time as she learned to cope with a gift given to her by a mysterious stranger. In a lot of ways this novel reminded me of The Portrait of [...]

I got a copy of this book to review through NetGalley. I really really loved this book. I enjoyed the Victorian setting and the beautifully flawed characters, as well as the premise behind the story. The story is set in Victorian times and is about an 18 year old girl named Sezna who has everything but is absolutely terrified of death and losing her beauty. Then a beautiful stranger strikes a deal with herhe will give her the ability to stay young and beautiful forever, the catch is that she mus [...]

Find this review and others on my blog Lekeisha The Booknerd How far would you go to avoid death? Would you make a deal with the devil himself? Drink some magical potion to live forever, never changing? Well, Senza Fyne makes one heck of a choice to avoid the thing she’s most afraid of – death. I love the amazing writing of this story. And while I enjoyed that aspect, I was somewhat disappointed in the scarceness of Death himself.Senza Fyne is a young woman of privilege in 1860 England. Beau [...]

*New Adult/Paranormal/Speculative Fiction*Up until I got to the very end of this book, I kept thinking a good way to describe it would be a YA/NA "alternate" vampire book. Senza Fyne is young and beautiful with her whole life in front of her, but that's not enough for her. After her grandmother and later, her best friend, die, Senza becomes terrified of death. Cue mysterious stranger who offers her eternal youth. Similar to a vampire, Senza must feed, but not with fangs. In order to sustain hers [...]

Not sure if it's because I'm going through the ebbs and flows of finding myself after my own mother's death. But I really enjoyed this philosophical take/spin on discovering what it means to live your life to the fullest and to not be afraid of Death in the end. And have to say that the heroine more than learned about that particular lesson. Because once she achieved her "Dorian Grey-esque" dream of evading death and remaining young and beautiful forever. She realized just how even more trapped [...]

Occasionally, a book is written that not only tugs at your heartstrings, but also squeezes your brain. This is one of those books. Instead of being a light fantasy, filled with frivolity and quests, this is a deep look at death, its dark doorways, never-ending paths, and painful connections. This is a book that addresses not only the fear of dying, but also the consequences of living. It is beautiful, thought-provoking, heart-ripping, and is so visceral it will stay within your own heartbeats fo [...]

In my honest opinion, I feel like The Heartbeat Thief was written for me. It is right down my alley – a dark, historical fantasy – and it couldn’t have been more brilliantly done. The originality was outstanding, and Ash Krafton’s style added a perfect poetic feel to this novel – very reminiscent of Edgar Allen Poe.First of all, the play on vanity in this novel is something that always fascinates me. Senza is a character perfect for today’s times. She is obsessed with staying young a [...]

The idea of taking something from a person to keep oneself animated is not a new one in the fantasy genre; vampires drink blood, demons suck souls and zombies eat brains!The Heartbeat Thief is an original take on this idea as Ash Krafton's protagonist, Senza Fyne, pilfers heartbeats from those around her in exchange for her eternal youth.At the beginning of AJ Krafton's new adult fantasy novel, I found it difficult to like Senza. She appears vain, conceited and uninterested. Despite this, I was [...]

A darkly beautiful tale!Writing dark, poetic masterpieces is AJ Krafton's specialty. I was captivated by Senza's tale right from page one! But, beware, this story is not for the faint of heart. In fact, I had to put the book down for a brief time because it was so bleak! My absence didn't last long, however, since I couldn't get the characters out of my mind and I just had to know what happened next. It's a compelling, mournful story. Ms. Krafton's writing is filled with luscious detail and vivi [...]

Okay. I really wanted to like this book but I got half way thru and I wanted to throw it across the room. Except I was reading it on my ereader and I was on a plane. If I'd had it in physical form I would have looked at the end so I could at least pretend to have finished it but I could not. This book had so much potential and then it was ruined by the main character and the fact that 151 pages in I could find the plot. I finally realized that I could stop reading and almost cried in relief. I n [...]

I love how this book gives you a piece of history with every turn of the page along with Senza's life starting in the 1800's all the way to the 80's. I couldn't imagine living that long watching everyone I know pass right before my eyes and never being able to touch someone intimately or lovingly. Never growing old or having a family of her own, I'm not sure how she endured it. This book is packed full of love, loss, and loneliness. A.J. Krafton did an excellent job bringing this book to life.I [...]

I just finished reading this book i haven't even taken the time to reflect so this review is quite raw!I very much enjoyed this story i felt many things for Senza throughout this literary journey. I was sad for her many times, often feeling so deeply that tears threatened and a lump formed in my throat.The story was slightly dark but how could it not be?The writing is brilliant and I am so glad I requested an advance copy for reviewis is not normally my kind of book but I took a chance and wa [...]

This story was simply breathtaking. Having read quite a bit of Edgar Allen Poe in high school and in college, I really appreciated the author's nod to his work, and the way she used so much imagery to allow Senza's growing fears of death to take on such a demanding physical presence as if it is truly a threat that lies in wait to capture unwilling victims without hesitation or even mercy. It's amazing to me that the author was able to take this fear of death and allow that internal conflict to c [...]

I’d participated in the promotional blitz for this book and the author’s notes on the research she’d done about English High Society intrigued me enough to make me eager to read it. It was refreshing to read about a young woman, brought up to embrace and embody the virtues of polite society, dedicated to upholding its foundations even while questioning her place within it all. The constant tide of spunky, opinionated, feisty, untamed rebels without a clue was getting pretty tiresome. It wa [...]

**You can see this full review and more at Book Briefs: bookbriefs**The Heartbeat Thief by A.J. Krafton is a new adult supernatural standalone that was uniquely different than anything else I have read this year. First, can we just gush over the cover for a moment? Holy cow, it is just so ethereally beautiful. I love the colors, I love the background choices- everything is just perfection in my opinion. The Heartbeat Thief , though classified as new adult, but completely clean and would be appro [...]

“And now was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death. He had come like a thief in the nightAnd Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.” – Edgar Allen Poe, The Masque of the Red Death*It’s 1860, and in Surrey, England, the unmatchable beauty, Senza Fyne, is finally out to society. Her life is balls and luncheons, every day like the next, and the more it goes on the more she becomes disenchanted with it all; being passed from suitor to suitor as if a pri [...]

I received a free ebook copy of this book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.Deliciously poetic and hauntingly dark – The Heartbeat Thief by A. J. Krafton takes you on a journey through time and an extremely long life to show you the real nature of Death.There is a period in everyone’s childhood when we are afraid of dying. That fear is so palpable, so real that even the mere possibility prevents you from sleep… because what if you never wake up again? This [...]

This an ‘arc” copy eBook supplied by Netgalley. I am not receiving any monetary benefit or any kickback for this review. I received this arc for an honest review. This review is cross-posted on , and given directly to the publisher.This book caused me to have a book hangover. I just couldn’t stop thinking about it. The heartbeat thief just hooks you in and doesn’t let you go until the last sentence has been said. The theme is well expressed and constant throughout the book. The theme is [...]

****Reviewed for Reader's Favourite*****Krafton's The Heartbeat Thief was not at all the book I expected. Now, that can be a good thing or a bad thing. In this case, it was a very good thing. It is a story of the greatest of loves, of sacrifice, and of lessons harshly learned. It is a story of the dangers of letting one's fears guide one's choices, and of learning to face those fears.Senza Fyne is a young lady of Victorian society who suffers two devastating losses shortly after making her debut [...]

Originally posted on Powder & PageThis was a darkly beautiful novel that really explored death in a way that I’ve never seen done before. I found it to be relevant to readers without being cliché, though Death ended up being a rather handsome fellow. That’s totally not a spoiler, right? I knew immediately that Mr. Knell (I see what you did there!) was Death, or a related entity, so I’m going to assume that most anyone that reads this will pick up on it too. This book, to me, was elega [...]

Austenesque with Wilde Overtones that hit all the right notesSenza Fyne is a privileged young beauty living in mid-1800’s England. Like all young women of her ilk, her only purpose in life appears to be to land a suitable husband in order to make a successful marriage. Given Senza’s unsurpassed beauty, her coming out ball is an unparalelled success as all the young men are smitten with her and her prospects for the successful marriage her mother is determined to orchestrate for her are withi [...]

4 StarsDark and Poetic, Our main Character Senza Fyne, terrified of death would sell her soul for eternal life. And thats exactly what she does without a second thought. We see what it really means when people say be careful what you wish forGeneral CommentsThis book was an interesting read and an interesting take on death and becoming immortal. We follow senza’s path and watch her figure out immortality might not be all what its cracked up to be. For the most part I enjoyed this book I liked [...]

This is described as being for "new adults". Apparently there is a new genre for those in their late teen and twenties. This novel follows the adventures of Senza, who appears to be 17 years old, and in the mid Victorian period, because of her wealth, she is about to "come out" into society. She is beautiful, and her mother wants her to be successfully married, for that is the only significant objective for a young woman of the time. However, shortly her grandmother dies, and Senza becomes somew [...]

AJ Krafton in my opinion after reading this book a genius. I started reading this book believing it would be a carbon copy of almost every other young adult book. I know that technically this book is NA Spec. Fic. I wasn’t sure how much different young adult and New adult would be but regardless I could not put this book down. I was surprised every step of the way. The imagination that brought this book alive was intense. I am fairly positive a few heartbeats reading this book, a price I was w [...]

I received an advanced copy of this book for an honest review.True to its word, "The Heartbeat Thief" is part Jane Austen, part Edgar Allen Poe. The author revives the best of the style of writing found in the classics: the introspect of characters, lovely allusions comparing characters to nature and life, beautiful alliteration and prose. Mixed with this is a deep foreboding of death, a macabre sensation that follows Senza throughout the story. AJ Krafton not only tells you a story, she makes y [...]

This book surprised me. I was a bit weary when I first received the copy because it was New Adult and the only New Adult books I have read were contemporary romances. So, I wasn't really sure on how The Heartbeat Thief was going to go. But I ended up really enjoying this one. And it could easily be read by Young Adults for sure. It didn't have the same vibe as some of the other NA books that I have read.This book is set in Victorian Times and reminds me of all the classic Gothics like Edgar Alla [...]

Senza Fyne is the belle of the ball, but she has an irrational fear of Death. It haunts her waking hours and strolls through her dreams. When she meets Mr. Knell, her heart is lost to the devastating handsome man who teases her that there is a way to cheat Death. With each fleeting meeting they have, Senza is drawn to him until she can stand it no longer and asks him for the secret. What she doesn't realize is that the wish she wants may not be what she thinks it is.The is an wonderful and intri [...]

This was a tricky book to get into - mainly because I couldn't 'relate' to Senza at the beginning. For all she was 'cream of the crop', I mainly thought her to be self-centred. As the story progresses, she does change as she faces certain realisations and events. Once you do get into the story, you will be turning the pages with interest as she goes through different experiences and meets with various people who make impacts upon her life. Now, this may sound wrong, but I absolutely loved the la [...]