The Book Keepers Blog: "Listen to the Heartbeat" by Liliana Soare

Goodread’s synopsis:

“When two powerful business tycoons clash over an orphan’s love, one’s interests will endanger her life while the other’s will keep her alive. Which one will achieve what he wants?

Andrew Langston focuses his life on taking care of his mega-business, hence his irritation when he must become the legal guardian of orphan Lucy Whitfield for five months until she turns eighteen. But his discontent melts away when he meets his beautiful pupil. Not even the fact that Lucy is madly in love with business tycoon Peter Randall will stop Andrew from attempting to reach his goal. He takes advantage of the guardianship agreement provisions to keep the two lovers apart. His efforts eventually start turning the wheels until one day Lucy realizes that she’s in love with two men. They both desperately want Lucy and are not willing to back away. Their goals will turn her life upside down when they clash. But while one’s personal interests will endanger her life, the other’s will keep her alive. One of them will ultimately achieve what he wants. But which one?"

“Listen To The Heartbeat” excerpt:

The stale air steamed in the room, which was saturated with a week’s worth of humidifier mist. Lucy fought back the urge to wipe the sheen of perspiration that coated her forehead. A quick dab with her silky handkerchief would do. But that would definitely qualify as a slap on father’s face and would most assuredly stick her with an hour-long sermon on her miserable failure to have turned into a refined beau monde mademoiselle. “Educated young ladies never display disrespect for the basic needs of the ill and frail,” he would say, struggling to breathe as the humidifier only provided small relief. Her father had made a considerable investment in her expensive education, and expected—no, demanded—a high standard of behavior as part of the dividend.

Lucy stole a quick glance at him. Edward Whitfield looked a lot frailer today than any other day in the past few weeks. His thin body, once athletic and stalwart, now was that of a wrinkled child. It would not be long before the cancer would consume the last part of him, but Lucy had no doubt that the very last part claimed would be his caustic tongue. His eyes were glazed by fever, and he’d just finished spilling his guts into an enamel bowl. But even at this very moment, Edward still had enough breath left in him to huff at his team of doctors over poor medication choices. At his current tempo, there seemed to be only two options left, she mused. Either spend his fortune on the creation of a new anti-spew potion, or find a new medical team overseas after having sacked all available U.S. oncologists.

“Strength is derived by ignoring the weaknesses of the human physique and relying on the infinite power of the human mind,” Descartes had once said. Maybe that’s how her father’s spirit was still strong as a bull, even though he had one foot in the grave and the other one firmly on the edge. Her father quoted those damn Descartes teachings day in and day out. Additionally, he had her read them aloud to him, what seemed like one hundred and one times a day. The motto of existentialism, he called it: “Je pense donc je suis. Cogito, ergo sum. I think, therefore I am.” No wonder she woke up in the middle of the night, chanting like a lunatic.

“Je pense donc je suis.” “Cogito, ergo sum.” “I think, therefore I am.”…

That must be how cults hypnotized people and turned them into lifelong puppets.

Websites where the novel can be purchased:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Listen-To-The-Heartbeat-ebook/dp/B00B2Q5H6S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1362301319&sr=8-1&keywords=Liliana+Soare

Barnes&Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/listen-to-the-heartbeat-liliana-soare/1114176475?ean=2940016016733

Shelfari: http://www.shelfari.com/books/32775268/Listen-To-The-Heartbeat/readers-reviews

Musa Publishing: http://musapublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=35_29&products_id=511