Weak Heart

Product Information

Julian smiles. A real one. I think I get what he meant about kind cheeks when he smiles. I don't think I have them, but he definitely does. Kind cheeks and mussed up hair and messy beauty, clutching a chipped mug and trying to look happy. There is a light is a beautiful story set in Edinburgh about two very broken people and how they end up connecting. I loved how this book took a look at second and eight and twentieth chances. When you are broken and life is messy but in the imperfection, you are still worthy of love. While Isla is the spunky, brave, and inexperienced in being human selkie shines a light of hope for the other characters, especially for Thomas. Isla is positive and dives head on with her belief even when the person she recruits to help (Thomas) annoys her a lot. Isla’s character development for me is the most memorable as she is the catalyst that started the story and eventually became the one that ends it all. The relationship Isla established with all the characters in some way endearing as Isla isn’t afraid in placing her trust. Even though she is careful on who she trusts she still follows her instinct more than her head, but thats what makes Isla a good character that balances out Thomas. Isla’s relationship with Tanis felt a bit instantaneous it was done in a way that made sense. It is a cutest meet cute I have ever read honestly. FYI: This book has a LOT of Scottish slang. If you are a simple midwestern farmer like I am, it'll will take time to get used to the slang. I actually really like the slang as it really brings you into the setting! You just may want to reference Urban Dictionary now and then (It took me an embarrassing amount of time to figure out Pants means Underwear haha!) Meet Thomas. He's had strange visions for years, but they’ve gotten worse recently, bleeding into reality until he doesn’t know which is which, paralyzing him with the accompanying migraines. Having tried solutions from therapy to exorcism, all to no avail, Thomas is on the brink of leaving for America to search out a cure when a stranger bangs on his apartment door and launches herself into his life.

Edit: I wrote the above after reading the first complete draft, when it was still in its awkward teenager stage. This update is my third read—the first time reading the finished, published version—and it’s still all true. But now the gangly promising teenager has grown into their own, and it’s so incredibly lovely. While the mystery and setting of Weak Heart lend themselves to the creepily atmospheric mood, the author manages to seamlessly weave in the perfect amount of humor, romance, and found family. The characters are fully developed and colorful, and I missed each and every one of them the second I was finished. It all pulls together to form a wonderful read that’s nearly impossible to put down. i like that the ending was happy and yet open and left things resolved bc that's life. life always throws shit at you and keeps throwing shit and you and you never know how things will turn out and what would happen next and how things will be resolved bc those goddamn ups and downs keep happening. but you keep going anyway and figure things out as you go bc that's life. and with the people you love at your side, you want to keep going and figuring out things together. feels so much more true to life than a "and they lived happily ever after"

I will say: I don't think this is for everyone. The pacing is quite slow, and, honestly? Not much happens in this book. We simply follow Jamie and Jude as they go through a couple of months in their life, dealing with their personal issues, becoming friends and, eventually, falling in love. With everything in this book, it still has this overarching sense of hope. Its never too late to start trying and keep trying. There is a light. Remember that.

If he appeared as some misshapen creature, I think I could handle it. But the strange rot that’s lurking inside me knows nothing scares me more than the fact that I miss this. I miss him.” So yeah, obviously I love and recommend the book! Sit down with a cup of tea on a rainy day, or wait every Wednesday and Sunday for the updates. I honestly think the latter is a great option, because as it is fast paced, this does stretch it out and I think the tension will be even more well done. I'll definitely be rereading it this way! Such a beautiful little gem of a book! It truly warmed my heart and gave me such hope – no matter how broken you are, there is always a second chance to love!it sees how difficult it is to ask for help. how love is not enough to miraculously fix everything. but this book says: let others in, and you can help each other while working on yourself. that life is horribly terrifying but you can find safety with each other.

When Jamie gets a job at Jude’s family bookstore, Jamie immediately falls for Jude, but can they find a way of living and loving in their messy lives and not be too much or too little to each other. LGBT Representation! There's tons of it and everyone has a purpose! No one is there just as a token extra. They all have a point to their existence. Weak Heart isn’t a weak book. It is a strong self published debut. The sheer quality of the story is impressive as Gilmartin writes a neat, emotional, and well structured plot of a book. The story itself is unapologetically queer and shows a deep level of tenderness in representing the vulnerability and love shared between multiple characters. It is not just a fantasy story with a bit of mystery following queer characters, it is a story with heart and depth. you can’t say you’re living for others and simultaneously hide from life and hope it won’t find you. other people can be your push, but you have to do it yourself. you have to face your life and take control of it. you have to try.

eBook Details

Isla is a selkie who has only recently taken human form. She’s cold, hungry, miserable...and dead set on discovering what has happened to her best friend. She knows that Thomas could help solve the mystery, if only she could convince him to join her. Unfortunately, Thomas has absolutely no intention of doing so...until she tells him that the person she's seeking might have a cure for his visions. This has to be one of the most unexpected books I’ve ever read. I went in it with very little knowledge of what it is actually about and I feel like it only enhanced the experience. Okay so this book was actually one of the best things I've read in a Very Long Time. I'm bad with words, so I'm gonna make a list. The way this book show representations of LGBT I found so lovely, it never felt like one-note. They have a purpose and are all beautiful souls. Although I feel like these are human emotions and there is something for everyone to relate to. But that’s what you get when you make complex characters with complex issues. Absolutely brilliantly written and I can not express how much I admire the craft and skill behind this.

As a selkie, Isla has always wanted to stay in the sea and doesn’t really understand the impulse that her mother and brother have had to give their pelt away and stay on land for love. All she needs is her herd and her yearly day with Kit. However, things may start to shift when she meets Tanis, who is very hot and also a powerful shapeshifter, oh and runs the local pub that has amazing food. Their relationship was truly perfect and everything I wanted from it and it brought a little bit of light to the overall dreariness of the story. Complex issues and emotions were dealt with so tactfully and gently, this was like a book for everyone , there is almost a part that everyone can relate to. These issues are brought up in the characters that you can understand how it goes on in their heads and you can understand it, and you can feel what the characters feel.Jude says that Jamie is always affectionate when he's drunk, and comes home to poke Jude's cheeks and play with his hair, but *we* never really see any previous mention of this Both of their character arcs however mirror each other in the way they slowly learn to let their walls down. This however still comes with important discussions about boundaries and especially those that come with trauma. This was a grownup version of a Pixar movie—a rollercoaster of happy and sad, funny and emotional—and I absolutely loved it. Jude (or Julian) Pujari, one of the two main characters (my favourite), is a depressed college student mourning his mother and generally just breathing. Over the course of the book, Jude falls in love, makes loads of tea, and tries living. Atmospheric and neatly woven queer story that will place you in the middle of the Scottish Isles feeling weak in the knees. Ban Gilmartin serves quality and tenderness in their emotional self published debut!