Kindle Edition Amazon Ash Krafton, Speculative Fiction Author Ash Krafton, Author Category:  Fantasy Publisher: Red Fist Fiction ISBN-10:  150887915X Type: Fiction Pages: 318 Copyright: June, 2015 ISBN-13: 9781508879152 Price: $3.99 (eBook) The latest in dark fantasy from Ash Krafton...It's a little bit Jane Austen, a little bit Edgar Allan Poe, and a whole lot of stealing heartbeats in order to stay young and beautiful forever...  "A talented writer can convince a reader that fantasy is real; a gifted author makes it look easy from the opening scene. Such is Krafton's brilliance in The Heartbeat Thief." --Rachel McClellan, Author Haunted by a crushing fear of death, a young Victorian woman discovers the secret of eternal youth--she must surrender her life to attain it, and steal heartbeats to keep it. In 1860 Surrey, a young woman has only one occupation: to marry. Senza Fyne is beautiful, intelligent, and lacks neither wealth nor connections. Finding a husband shouldn't be difficult, not when she has her entire life before her. But it's not life that preoccupies her thoughts. It's death--and that shadowy spectre haunts her every step. So does Mr. Knell. Heart-thumpingly attractive, obviously eligible--he'd be her perfect match if only he wasn't so macabre. All his talk about death, all that teasing about knowing how to avoid it... When her mother arranges a courtship with another man, Senza is desperate for escape from a dull prescripted destiny. Impulsively, she takes Knell up on his offer. He casts a spell that frees her from the cruelty of time and the threat of death--but at a steep price. In order to maintain eternal youth, she must feed on the heartbeats of others. From the posh London season to the back alleys of Whitechapel, across the Channel, across the Pond, across the seas of Time... How far will Senza Fyne go to avoid Death? The latest in dark fantasy from Ash Krafton...It's a little bit Jane Austen, a little bit Edgar Allen Poe, and a whole lot of stealing heartbeats in order to stay young and beautiful forever...

Redefined Thinking Person's Paranormal
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 somewhat morbid about death. It is then she meets Mr Knell, who with magic, offers her a deal: she can have eternal life and remain her beautiful self for eternity. There is only one catch, which she finds out as she becomes committed: she prolongs her life by stealing increments from others, in the form of what are described as "heartbeats". (She does not need to steal a beat for every time her heart beats, but they are consumables.) The story then follows Senza as she experiences immortality, at the price of stealing life from others. Each day, as she wakes up, she is exactly the same as the previous waking. If she cuts her hair, it is uncut. If she was wounded, she is repaired.

The book is well-written, its style is restrained, although the descriptions are somewhat lush. However, the descriptions of death, and of Senza's watching all her friends age and die, are compelling. Senza knows she cannot marry, as she cannot inflict her youth on a husband, and she cannot have children, because she returns to yesterday's self each morning. The book offers social commentary of the period from mid Victorian to close to the present, and makes some points for those who want to think about what they have read. Well done.

A death deying adventure!
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 carry the entire story. It affected every relationship Senza could have or would have had. Though it would be easy to dislike Senza for her childish vanity where her beauty and youth are concerned-these vanities are some underlying reasons behind not just her fear of death but her fear of growing older-it is obvious that her upbringing and the importance her mother placed on her daughters beauty is something we must fault the mother in and not the daughter. And even though Senza finally comes to understand the irrational fear of growing old and dying it is understandable that she might find the idea horrifying considering her worth was sacrificed upon the alter of all things superficial in nature. It helps the reader join in that journey of discovery on Senza's part though she spends much of it fleeing from a happiness that might have been all consuming.
I noticed a reviewer described the author's writing as boring and mediocre. I think this reviewer must not have been the right audience for this book, and simply wasn't interested in the subject matter because the writing is anything but mediocre or boring. Besides it being technically flawless in every way it holds so much symbolism within the prose as it gives a reference to Poe’s work and the style of writing that requires a little digging within ourselves to pick out the message and theme interwoven within the lines of this truly poetic narrative. It's meant to not only entertain, but to give the reader a little food for thought which is something I loved about the literature I read in college. Thought provoking material that stretches you just a little should never be dubbed mediocre simply because a particular reader might have been looking for something light and fluffy.
Senza's development was memorable. She went from debilitating fear in the presence of death to complete acceptance of it when she had the opportunity to give everything she had to someone who was going to die either way. Such a selfless and self-sacrificing gesture she never would have considered previously, and though it took her quite some time to mature, her progress was obvious and measurable in a way that was both compelling and engrossing.
The secondary characters were beautifully weaved into the story, and I find it incredible that I was able to fall in love with every one of them even though many of them were only part of the narrative for a short time. It's the mark of a talented writer who allows us to care for so many characters in one book, especially when they play such minor roles, Mary, Piotr, that young man she finally opened her heart to...all of these people added to Senza's moment of discovery and helped to teach her some important life lessons. I was delighted with the author's take on Jack the Ripper as well. Clever to weave that in, and so on point with the dark theme of the story. It was also a wonderful moment for Senza's courageous spirit and loving heart to shine through as she took care of Mary and then faced off with the Ripper. Good stuff, that.
I'll admit to wishing that more had happened between her and Mr. Knell in the end, but I think it ended exactly how it was meant to with a full life of love awaiting her and even more love to follow in death. I was pretty much rooting for Mr. Knell all along, never once believing he might be the villain he seemed simply because of his actions where Senza's well-being was concerned, and in the end he gave her one of the most precious gifts of all, that of perspective. An immortal life lived in fear shut off from the world around you can never be better than a mortal life filled with love, family and those every day activities that might not seem like much at the time, but collectively are so precious to everyone in the end. Basically, Mr. Knell is my new book boyfriend, and I kind of want a whole book devoted to him getting his own happily ever after even if it is dark in nature. I think his story would be the most fascinating one of all.
I loved this book, the author's voice and style and the author's mastery of such a difficult topic as death and what awaits us on the other side. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in a thought provoking fantasy with some wickedly entertaining paranormal elements.

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 vivid descriptions combining to portray an emotionally haunting story. Her writing is emotionally haunting. Senza is filled with curiosity, melancholy and a driven determination to not live the life her mother has chosen for her. With the assistance of the mysterious Mr. Knell, Senza becomes what I like to call, a vampire-like creature, who feeds off the heartbeats of others to survive. It's a unique concept, which I truly enjoyed reading. And personally, I connected with Senza on her obsession with death. It may be one of the reasons I needed to step away from this book. I don't admit to many, but death lingers often in my thoughts because I lost my mother at a young age. I understand that mortality is fragile and brief and those who are left behind are the ones to suffer. If only there was a way to cheat Death, to live forever… Although, Senza's particular thoughts and actions might have been different than my own, I could definitely sympathize which made my reading this story so much more raw and heartfelt. This one is, by far, one of my most favorite and memorable books written by Ms. Krafton!

P.S. I just LOVE the artwork on this cover! It's gorgeous!