I was drawn to this book, because it seemed to have a lot to offer. An ailing teen, romance, a mysterious death - I predicted tears and smiles from this one, and I did indeed cry and smile.
Pro: Leah was quite wonderful, and Hunter did such a fantastic job conveying her emotions. After having accepted her imminent death, Leah was trying to adjust to the possibility of a future, something she never thought she would have, and this prompted her to contemplate who this "new Leah" was.

•Pro: The romance was so sweet. From their first interaction, I was shipping these two. This was the second chance they never really thought they would get. After years of missed connections, fate puts them in each others orbit and also gives them quite an interesting thing to bond over. I must admit, the romance was probably my favorite part of the story, because, well, I love romance.

•Pro: Matt had quite a few swoony moments, and I liked that Hunter wrote him to be so sensitive. This was the boy I wanted for Leah. She had a tough time and deserved someone who was wonderful.

•Pro: Leah's doctor stole my heart. She was such a wonderfully written character, who shared quite a bit of wisdom with us during the story.

•Pro: Kudos for the present YA parents. Leah's parents were top notch. Maybe a little overprotective, but in all fairness, their only child was dying.

•Pro: There's a bunch of grieving in this book, and everyone knows how much I like that. The healing process was not one-size-fits all and I thought the exploration of the different characters' grief was quite honest.

•Con: I was not the biggest fan of the mystery element. It was ok, but honestly, I just wanted to be in the middle of the romance between Matt and Leah, because I liked it so much.

•Pro: I think the mystery was supposed to get my emotions all heightened, but it was actually Leah's health that did that for me. I cared about her so much, and needed her to be able to enjoy some sort of life without constantly thinking about dying.

•Pro: I liked that Hunter showed us that even with a transplant, life is not easy. There are complications that can occur, and some limitations, but she also reminded us that every moment is precious and to savor them all.

•Pro: I am a registered organ donor and my daughter has been directed to donate my body to science, so I was all over that part of this book. I really like this topic getting a little attention.

•Pro: I shed a few tears during this story, but the tears really fell as I read Hunter's afterword. When reading the story, it was obvious that Hunter was very passionate about organ donation, but when I read why those happy tears that I love so much started falling.

Overall: A heartwarming story, that combined grief, romance, and mystery, and left me with a whole lotta wonderful feels.

I really wanted to enjoy more this book... And let's say the later half was more of a 2.5, but that would make it a 2.25, so it's still 2 stars.

Leah has always been into Matt, whom she felt was out of her league even before she fell sick, was presented an artificial heart and an expiration date. Until one day he's tutoring Math to her one moment and they are kissing the next... Except he never calls again. A month later, Matt finds out his twin brother Eric and best friend is dead. Thanks to his talk with Leah before he convinces his mother to donate the organs. He just didn't expect they would be given to Leah of all people. Now they are connected by Eric's heart and feelings, a scream that the case of his death is far from closed. And yet, they just have each other to talk about it.

Phew, this was long. No, I don't mean the summary. The book was too long. Not only literally long for a YA novel but it also felt like the chapters wouldn't end. In the beginning, I'd read 15% and fall dead tired, because they had felt like 40, 50%. I do feel I'm partially to blame, I started this book looking for a lighter read, so you can see I wasn't on my most patient moment. But this needed serious editing.

To be honest, lack of a better editor sums up my complaint. I didn't love any characters but they didn't have any major flaws in my opinion—I do wonder about Cassie's line of thoughts but that's something else. I think the beginning and the conclusion were also okay. The focus on donation, on how much good it can do and also on Leah's feelings and treatment, that was all amazing—and in the end, I found out Hunter has had to deal with it in her family, so no one can ever accuse her of not knowing what she's talking about.

I'd say my favorite part was the mystery. That kept me wondering about the ending enough not to give up on the book. Plus, the resolution wasn't dumb—I can't opine on details like the police work and all, but I did think pieces fell into place.

That said, I don't think many people would have enough patience to go through it all. The book never really decided if it's a teenage romance (it even includes lots of safe-sex talk), if it's a supernatural story (although it is wonderful how Leah starts dreaming about Eric's death, it never gave me enough thrill), if it's a family story (I loved the moments with Leah's family, Matt's and Eric's love toward each other and their mother, but it hardly sustained a book), if it's a mystery thriller (possible murderer, lots of question, but the plot twist and the action scenes were beyond weak)...

In other words, it could have been great since it has substance, but it does a poor job in entertaining, because it aimed everywhere

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this book. It wasn’t you’re typical love story, because it involved a young girl with a chronic, life-threatening health issue (heart transplant). This was a first, and though I don’t suffer from any chronic health issues, I’m sure some that do appreciated the representation in such an honest, true-to-life way. I kept thinking to myself that this must be something close to the author’s heart, only to read at the end that her husband received a kidney transplant.

I enjoyed this story and found it hard to put down. It was well-written, with a sad-yet-sweet love story, some mystery, and a little bit of supernatural (is that how you’d refer to the whole dream aspect?). Well worth the read!

I would give this book and C.C. Hunter more than five stars if I could. I've always been a fan of Hunter, but this book for me took her writing to a whole different level. It brought out a side that I hadn't previously seen from her before and it was wonderful. There are so many emotions to be felt while reading This Heart of Mine that it's hard to describe all of them. One of my favorite things is the dual POV. I've always loved when books are dual POV because it allows you to see the story from more than one side. The love story that you get to see unfold between Matt and Leah is touch and raw with everything they have been through. I will be recommending this book to everyone I know.

This Heart of Mine is such an interesting story and the story is about Leah and Matt and Eric's heart. Matt and Leah have gone through tough situations, Matt lost his father and not even a year later he lost his twin brother for apparent suicide. Leah lost the heart she was born with to a virus and the artificial heart that is keeping her alive is just not cutting it and she knows that she needs a new heart otherwise her days as a living, breathing human being are counted.

From the horrible situation that Matt is going through, Leah gets a new chance at living and she knows who she owns that new opportunity to. And so does Matt. He knows who got his brother's heart, and even though he doesn't blame Leah, at first he is mourning so it is hard for him to accept that his brother is dead, but his heart is still beating in someone else's body.

But that doesn't last long because he knows, he is one hundred percent sure his brother didn't kill himself, but nobody believes him. He needs a friend, someone that believes him and that understand what he is going through, and that is how he and Leah become closer friends and their adventure begins.

Honestly I loved the story, both characters are still high schoolers and C.C. Hunter was able to capture the essence of what it is to be that young and be dealing with such horrible situations, and how a real normal teenager would react. A teenager with great determination and moral values that is.

This Heart of Mine also captures the deep connection that exists between twins and family itself. It captures the grieving process and how hard it is for family to deal with suicide, or apparent suicide in the case of this story. There is always denial and how sometimes that can drive people crazy and how important it is to have someone by your side when you are going through such denial, someone to trust and someone that believes you until the moment you come to peace with what happened.

The story is an inspiring, romantic, and an altogether great read. Anyone who is looking for a romance with a twist of adventure and self discovery has to read This Heart of Mine for sure.

The best part of this story is that it really captures what it's like to be a teenager and having to deal with life threatening illness, losing two of the most important people in your life, and still be able to breath and kind of piece your life together little by little. It is a very real story.

The only thing I would say that was a little disappointing and probably the reason why it got only four stars instead of five, is how much time the whole, "my brother didn't kill himself somebody killed him" drama went on and on. For all the truth to be reveal within like two pages. I feel like those chapters where the "did he do it, did he not" questioning happened could have been used better in describing what happened when the truth was revealed instead of just saying what happened with the case with just like four paragraphs.

Over all if you couldn't tell by now, I truly enjoyed This Heart of Mine and I will probably read it again. Totally recommend it!

This Heart of Mine is a lesson that we should enjoy life without forgetting the past, for it has led us to what we are today....

This was a heartwarming (no pun intended) book. It really had me invested and the different view points was great towards the growing romance in the book. Though the book coverers some very heavy topics and handles a lot on loss and grief there is still a great love story built in with survivors as the main characters. There is also an undertone of supernatural connections, but in a well thought out non-supernatural type of book. So basically it wasn't cheesy and too much for a contemporary love story because it made the relationship stronger and ended up help solve the biggest question in the book, but wasn't the sole solution to it. Overall was a super cute fast read. Side note my favorite part was when Eric told Leah to go back and it wasn't her time.."I'm the good-looking twin" ahh heart eyes I'm a sucker for a good contemporary

This is one of those rare times when I finish a book and I’m left with conflicted feelings it doesn’t help that the authors note at the end made me cry leaving me to add a star and tip the scales in its favor.

“This Heart of Mine” follows Leah, a high school senior in desperate need of a heart transplant who finds herself crushing on a boy she used to like, Matt, feeling hopeful and wanting a chance to have normal teenage experiences while also living in fear that her time is running out. All of this is put on hold when Matt’s brother dies by an apparent suicide and his heart is given to Leah resulting in conflicted feelings of jealousy and love as he tries to tackle the fact that he had to lose one person he cared about to save another. When Leah and Matt start having strange dreams and acting out of character they team up to try and uncover if Eric’s death was a suicide like the police say or something more sinister.

The concept itself is great and as someone who has watched a friend go through a similar situation it was nice to see how realistic the after care was and the fear of the body rejecting the only thing keeping Leah alive, however everything around that left a bit to be desired.

This is more of a story about learning to accept the idea of having a tomorrow when all you are used to knowing is the now and less about solving the mystery. Yeah it’s there but it’s more of a background conflict that paves that way for Leah’s growth and Matt’s healing and unfortunately the answer is something you pick up on pretty fast making the reveal so anti climactic. I’m not sure if that was done on purpose to psyche out the audience for a moment later in regard to Leah, but to me it was just disappointing.

The characters themselves are okay I didn’t really feel attached to any of them and sadly the only relationship I cared about was Leah and her doctor everything else felt pretty bland in comparison.

Also and this is more of a side note because it might just be the formatting on the copy I received but there were a lot of moments when I had to go back and reread entire pages because the point of view would switch without any warning like a page or chapter break and I would have no idea what was going on or who was in charge of the narrative until a pronoun or name was used.

Anyone looking for an easy read that deals with romance, grief and learning to take a chance on life will probably enjoy this book, unfortunately it just wasn’t for me.

**thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

A truly beautiful heart wrenching read that will have you on the edge of your seat until the very last page! This book had it all. Mystery, suspense and raw emotions! I literally couldn’t put it down. Highly recommend you read this book.

I would actually give this one 3.5 stars. C. C. Hunter has written an enjoyable story of mystery and romance with a healthy dash of medical thriller. Seventeen -year-old Leah has had a crush on Matt since 7th grade. She is surprised when he turns up at her door as a substitute for her usual tutor. Leah knows that she is dying. She is being kept alive by an artificial heart while waiting for the transplant that she doesn't expect to happen. Leah has relatively rare AB blood. Leah decides that since she expects to die she might as well finally kiss this boy that she has crushed on for so long. The kiss is everything she imagined it might be. Matt tells her that he has AB blood and if he could donate a kidney he would. Leah boldly gives him her phone number but a month goes by and he doesn't call. She doesn't much blame him for not wanting to get involved with a dying girl. Then, amazingly she gets the call that a heart is available for her, but she discovers the heart is that of Matt's twin brother Eric who is believed to have committed suicide.
After the transplant Leah begins to have vivid dreams of someone being chased through the park with a gun in hand. She discovers Matt has never accepted that Eric committed suicide and is having similar dreams. The two join forces to try to discover what really happened to Eric. Even as Leah falls more in love with Matt and is determined to help him, she hides fears that her body may reject the transplant. My thanks to NetGalley for permission to read an advance copy in return for an honest review

I was sold on this book from the get-go because even though I don't suffer from the same heart condition that the MC does, I do suffer from a heart condition and I know how scary that can be. I was unsure if this would be a trigger for me and I was a little nervous going in, but it ended up being just fine. I feel like I could relate to the MC's feelings but it didn't cause me any anxiety at all and again, I think that's because my heart condition is so drastically different.


To be honest, this is the first time I considered giving a book a 3.75 because I was so undecided between 3.5 stars and 4. The more I think on it, the more undecided I am. I really did like a lot of the story, but it left me feeling a little unresolved. I'm not sure if this was due to the murder mystery aspect of the story or the health condition aspect of the story. But either way, I was left feeling like the story didn't truly end, but not in the way that an open ending would. Just more of a build up build up build up...and then fizzle. I really loved the MC, Leah, and her family a whole lot. I enjoyed reading from both the perspectives of Leah and Eric. I liked seeing her interact with her old life as the new Leah and really enjoyed her interactions with her cardiologist.

Review will go live February 20th on my blog and on Goodreads.

It's been a while since I've read a damn good contemporary. But that all changed with this book. This Heart of Mine by C.C. Hunter made me laugh, it made me cry, but most importantly it taught me a lesson that is so easy to forget.

This book follows Leah, a high school student with an artificial heart. She carries her heart around in a backpack until one day she is fortunate enough for a transplant. Enter Matt, the charmingly handsome boy who's twin brother Eric's heart Leah was fortunate to receive after Eric committed suicide. After Leah gets her transplant, she starts to have dreams hinting that it may not have been a suicide after all. She and Matt bond over this unsettling notion, because like Leah, Matt is also having dreams and feeling's regarding Eric's demise. Leah promises to help Matt get to the bottom of what really happened to Eric...after all, she did get his heart, and the fact that she's falling for Matt doesn't hurt.

This book was way more than I ever hoped for. There's love and passion, mystery, fear, and above all else, hope. Hope to get to the bottom of what happened to Eric. Hope that Leah's body won't reject her new heart. Hope that Matt and Leah's relationship really is the real deal. And an underlying but ever present hope for tomorrow. This book teaches us to not give up that hope, and to take advantage of what time we are given. Life is too short to waste it worrying about what could happen rather than actually living our lives. I sound like a complete cheese ball, but really this book was incredibly cheesy and I wouldn't have it any other way. As a 28 year old, it takes a lot for a YA contemporary to touch me, but this one not only touched me but violently grabbed at my heartstrings and pulled until I was drained of all emotion after both laughing and crying my way thorough this book.

And to top it all off, not only is this just about the best contemporary I've ever read, but it's an own voices novel! The author's husband had a kidney transplant that saved his life, so all the emotions, both hope and fear, packed into this novel are 100% genuine.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

A huge thank you to St. Martin's Press for allowing me early digital access to this book. This Heart of Mine by C.C. Hunter releases on February 27th, so be sure to pick up a copy!

The best way to summarize how I felt about this book is just that I was so disappointed that I didn't like it because I thought this was going to be a very moving book.
There were a lot of things that I did not like about this book starting from almost the very beginning, only 15 pages in and the two main characters who barely know each other were already making out. After that, I didn't have high hopes for the rest of the story, but I wanted to continue hoping that the story line revolving around the replacement of the heart might be worth it. Sadly, that whole story line fell flat for me, and for the most part I did not enjoy the rest of the book. I didn't like the romance from the beginning, so the fact that most of the book ended up being about that made it unenjoyable, and I felt like the mystery plot just did not fit with everything else.
While there were many things that I did not like, one thing that I appreciated was when the mom found out the MC wanted to be on birth control she did just say no to it because she didn't think her daughter should having sex, but instead made sure that her daughter knew how to be safe if she did decide to have sex (while also saying she did not encourage it, but she knew it was a possibility). I think that is something important that I have not really seen in any YA, and I appreciated that being in this book.
Also, something random that I appreciated was the fact that there was a dog introduced in the beginning of the book, and it popped up multiple times throughout the book. There are so many books where a pet will be introduced once and then never seen again, and as someone who owns multiple pets, I always get so mad when one is mentioned then totally forgotten about, because I know that they would be present in the characters life.

This book is a tearjerker, at least for me., but that being said I also really enjoyed this book.
It was heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. It also had it fair share of humor so not all doom and gloom and tears.
It was easy to follow and the characters were easy to relate to as well likeable.
Overall I can say that it is one of those make you feel good books that make you ugly cry .
I rate it 5★ and recommend

This heart of mine is the best book I have ever read and I have read lots of books. All I can say is this book will be in my top 5 books for 2018!

This book will teach you a lesson. A lesson that you know you should live and stand by but you don't. This book is about love, hope, faith, fate, lies, murder, betrayal, and falling in love.

While reading this book I was a hot mess for two reasons: first I am a mother and I understand that nothing can come close to the love for your child. Second is because this storyline hit a little close to home, in a way.

Leah is a strong girl with a bad heart and I don't mean she is a bad person,I mean her heart is dead. She has an artificial heart that is keeping her alive for the time being. Well that is until she can receive a new one.

Matt is the popular guy in school but it is has a twin brother Eric who shines in that spotlight too. Their father just recently passed away and Matt is not wanting to do anything or be with anyone. Eric is struggling with his girlfriend and their mother is like a walking zombie.

Then the unthinkable happens and Leah gets a call letting her know that their is a heart available and she needs to go to the transplant hospital ASAP!

I will stop right there becauseI don't want to spoil the story for anyone.

Although I will tell you that even the authors note will get your heart racing and tears in your eyes!

Overall this book was phenomenal and like I said before one of my top reads for 2018 and it is only January!

This Heart of Mine is about a girl called Leah who has an artificial heart and is in desperate need of a heart transplant. She thinks her chances are impossible, when she gets a call saying they have a heart for her, but after her transplant she discovers a boy from her school, Eric Kenner, has killed himself. Whilst Matt, the twin brother of Eric, is in denial about his brothers suicide, Leah and Matt come together to find out the truth of the heart and Eric's death.

I was expecting it to just be a generic romantic contemporary, but it wasn't! Although there were of course adorable romantic aspects, there was also the murder mystery aspect which made it so different and so exciting!

I think Leah is one of favourite main characters. I often find the main characters slightly irritating and cliched, but Leah was strong and loving and really great to read about. I loved her development from 'Old Leah' to 'New Leah' and how much confidence she grew and she learned to stand up for herself and for what she believes. I also loved the character of Matt, he was so driven and motivated, and never gave up trying to prove his brother was killed. He was incredibly passionate, both about his brother and about Leah, and I very much loved him as a character. They worked really well as a couple, and I was rooting for them so much.

The friendship and family dynamic was also brilliant. It's not often in YA literature that you see such a strong friendship as Leah and Brandy, and it's so amazing to see a character like Brandy who is so supportive and caring of Leah, I loved their friendship so much. Similarly, the parents in YA literature are also underdeveloped and dull or horrible, however Leah's parents were an important part of the novel, and - like Brandy - were supportive and caring towards Leah, and the whole dynamic was wonderful. Not just with Leah but also Matt, a large part of the story revolved around the Kenner family, and the love was just so clear through the writing.

The plot was fantastic, the romance, friendship and mystery were weaved together so skillfully, I loved the writing and the progression of the story. The mystery surrounding Eric's death was built up throughout the novel, with things being gradually revealed, meaning I was constantly intrigued and could not stop reading, I just had to know what had happened!

There were so many other aspects of This Heart of Mine that I loved. Obviously as an avid book reader, the reading aspect that was heavy throughout the book was awesome. I loved that Leah read, and that she started the book club in her school, but I also loved her justification of reading after she was shamed for reading romance. She's right, you should be able to read whatever you want because reading isn't just about education.

Finally, another important message from this novel is about organ donation. The note at the end from the author about the inspiration behind the story and how important organ donation was to her and her family was lovely, and the story gave a great message about organ donation (so as well as just reading the book, you should definitely also sign up as an organ donor!)

I can already tell that this is going to be one of my favourite books of 2018, and it's only January, but I adored it and it definitely deserves the 5 star rating I gave it!

This book starts with Eric being dumped by his on/off girlfriend Cassie and then wandering into his Dad's office and finding the gun. It then jumps back to a month prior and we meet Leah who is on the heart transplant list and living with an artificial heart carried in a backpack. Leah normally is tutored by Ms. Strong, but one day she calls in sick and Matt comes in and tutors her in Algebra instead. Years ago, back when Leah was healthy, she had the biggest crush on Matt, and we learn that he has always thought she was pretty hot too. Fast forward after the accident and Leah learn she is getting a new heart, but it isn't until she is lying in the hospital recovering after the surgery that she discovers the truth of where the heart came from. The heart turns out to be none other than Matt's twin brother Eric. Leah soon starts to have dreams and nightmares of what looks like Eric's last days and his life, can Leah help Matt who is trying to piece together what happened to his brother as he doesn't believe it was a suicide in his last hours? Will the truth pull Matt and Leah together or will it push them apart? Will Matt look at Leah like he would his brother or will he look at her as the girl who he loved? Find out in C.C Hunter's new book which is a different direction from her more popular series "Shadow Falls."

Noteworthy experiences while reading this book: This book is one that shows you to live each life to the fullest.

Check out author's other books? YES
Recommend this book? YES

Notes and Opinions: I so didn’t know what I was getting into with this title. But man was it amazing. I do wish that the mystery would have been found before the very last chapters. As it kind of felt slightly anticlimactic. I would have loved to see Leah and Matt do some intense mystery thriller of breaking into Cassie’s house and just really get in deep with finding out what happened with Eric, Matt’s twin. Although the story was terrific and the fact of it was that the mystery was not the point. (At least that’s how I felt)

This book is one that shows you to live each life to the fullest. Never give up even when things look down and don’t shut love and risks out of your life. It was very uplifting, and with my oldest daughter’s newest diagnosis of, type 1 diabetes this is a book that I’m giving to her next to read. I think it will really show her that her life is not over. Being diagnosed with something like diabetes or even something worse like aids. They are diseases that can take over your life. But you shouldn’t let them. Yes take precautions but live your life to its fullest!

The other thing I would like to say about this book is that it makes the excellent point to become a donor. One person donating their organs can save multiple lives. Myself, as well as those in my family, are all donors and I wouldn’t think twice about donating to save someone else.
You can find more about signing up here.

Go Into This One Knowing: The Mystery is not the central theme of this book.

This book was reviewed by Jessica P.

This is a young adult fiction book so need to keep in mind that the writing is geared toward young adults. I had to remind myself of that at times because of the more juvenile writing. I don't say that it in a critical way. The book is labeled YA.

Organ donation has always been of interest to me. The idea that someone would be willing to donate their organs to help someone else is such a big gift. I am a blessed recipient of a cornea donation and I am getting ready for my second transplant. In no way do I have the challenges as other organ recipients. I do often think of my donor and their family. This family is never far from my mind especially at holidays and special occasions. Now the idea that a second family will experience a tragic loss is a bit hard to handle.

Leah's and Matt's stories were well developed. I understand why the author had the plot with Eric's murder but I felt that could had been avoided. I don't feel that it added that much to the story. To me if felt too much like filler for the real story.

Personally I don't agree with some of the choices that Leah & Matt made about their relationship etc but that wasn't the theme of the book. Living each day and taking nothing for granted is a good reminder for everyone.

I received an ARC of this book for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.