A sweet but undemanding book about twin sisters who have been pulled apart by health issues in the one of them – namely Megan needing a heart transplant. The sisters go on a round-the-world trip to fulfill the bucket list of the young woman who donated her heart to Megan.

I enjoyed the sister’s relationship but parts of it didn’t feel authentic – that they were twins but had grown so far apart. Just as parts of the trip didn’t feel true to life. They whisked from one major tourist destination to another, seemingly without all of the hassles that most tourists face.

Not one I’ll gush over.

The novel is well-written and engaging, with likable characters and a touching storyline. Harrel's descriptions of the various European locations are vivid and transport the reader to each destination. The novel also touches on themes of forgiveness, healing, and the importance of following your heart.Is a delightful and uplifting novel that will leave readers feeling inspired and hopeful. It is a must-read for anyone who loves a good story about sisterhood, self-discovery, and the power of the human heart.

Thank you NetGalley for providing this book for an honest opinion. I enjoyed this story. It was a sweet story of the journey of two sisters. I loved the characters and would definitely recommend.

Twin Sisters. A Bucket List. A Life-Changing Trip Around the World.

Author Lindsay Harrel has crafted a unique and fun story with these elements and so much more. Twin sisters, Megan and Crystal, are barely acquaintances when the story opens. Each has led a very different life. Each sees something in the other that they perceive they lack.

I loved the way these sisters find their way back to connection. And the travel adventures. And the relationships that are deepened through the story. And the diary. I loved the writer of the diary that begins the whole journey! And the romance. The men who care for each sister are enough to leave a grown woman sighing.

Harrel does a wonderful job of making each locale come alive. Reading as each sister interacts and learns something about themselves and each other adds fun and depth to the story.

After a bit of a slow beginning, the story picked up and found a good beat with my heart.

With a little romance woven into a women’s fiction sister-story, The Heart Between Us, will touch hearts of many readers. If you like redemptive stories that weave in adventure, romance, and restoration, this is a book you will love.

***I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for this reader's copy. In exchange, I am providing an honest review.

I've all but given up Christian Lit. It's predictable, unrealistic, and because of those two things - a bit dull. I kept this one on my list because I requested it and because it sounded like it might be a little different than the predictable and unrealistic. It was, kind of, until it wasn't.

Megan and Crystal, twins, are 32 years old and living very separate lives. When they were 8 Megan was diagnosed with a very serious, life-threatening heart condition. For the next 20 years, Megan spent the majority of her life in the hospital and Crystal lived a relatively normal childhood. By the time we meet the sisters Megan has been living with a new heart, thanks to an organ donor, for 3.5 years and Crystal is living in NYC with her husband of five years and climbing the ladder of her architect firm. But both sisters are stuck in their lives. Megan, despite her new and healthy heart, is scared to live and Crystal, despite her seemingly incredible life, is in physical and emotional pain. After meeting her donor's family, Megan decides to embark on a bucket list adventure. The bucket list was created by her donor, 18-year-old Amanda who was only able to complete #25 on her list before her life ended unexpectedly. Crystal joins Megan on this bucket list adventure in hopes that their relationship can be repaired and the twins set off to complete Amanda's bucket list. What they don't know is that Amanda's bucket list is as much for them as it is a way to honor Amanda's life.

I enjoyed the story until about 65-70% in and then Harrel really dialed up the Christian aspect of her story. And I got annoyed. I'm of the mindset that God is in all things, whether they are set apart as sacred or not. So I find it unnecessary to really pound home the idea of him. I'm also super annoyed that Christian Lit presents such an unrealistic of life and relationships if you "accept" God. Like all of a sudden life gets magical and smooth. It doesn't. And Christians will protest and say that of course it doesn't but then they act like it does and if you are living a life that isn't all magical and smooth then you must not believe in God enough or are in sin or something. BS. I've lived my entire life in the church and church life and the Christian bubble. Those platitudes about life is better if you just "accept" God is not true. This isn't a criticism of God, it's a criticism of people. But I digress. The story was fine but I am pretty sure this is the last Christian Lit book I read.

A heartfelt novel; it was a perfect “light” read when you need a distraction without becoming heavy. I can’t wait to read more from Lindsay Harrel.

This was a really sweet, fun story about sisters and I enjoyed reading about the dynamic between the family members and following along on the bucket list. Perfect summer women's fiction!

This was cute and a lot of fun! The setting was great, the characters were well written and developed.

Gorgeous cover, compelling premise, and a story full of interest. I was skeptical at first because I don’t always like contemporary fiction (it can get so angsty) but the idea of the bucket list was quite an attraction to convince me to read the story.

Overall I did enjoy it. The sisters both had issues and hadn’t spent time with each other in years. I liked that they were in a situation where they had to work through the issues in their relationship. I also liked how they took hold and decided to look at life in a new way.

But the bucket list flew by at a dizzying pace and with scant detail at each spot (usually just focus on one or two things in each place, without much context or mention of how they got there); I really wanted more than one chapter at each place. The romance was pretty much all long distance, so it was hard to even count that as part of the plot, even though I wanted the ladies to have happy endings in that respect. And I felt that the constantly changing scenery, framing one new place with one step forward in the sisters’ relationship, felt more formulaic than natural. In all, I felt that the scope ended up being a bit ambitious for a regular-length novel and that it tried to be too many things at once. But I did still enjoy it and I loved the resolution at the end.

Content: skinny dipping, scene with heavy married innuendo

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free reading copy. A favorable review was not required.

I apologize but I didn’t realize at the time this is a Christian based story. Because of that I won’t be reading this but I’m sure there are others who this is good for.

A story about sisterhood, sacrifice, forgiveness and identity. Thoughit feels like a contrivance that puts heart transplant survivor Megan and her estranged twin sister Crystal together to complete a travel-centered bucket list, by the novel's end the sisters have convincingly come together and worked through their issues, both personally and as a pair. I was a little disappointed that as the travels were taking place, there wasn't always enough detail to make you tangibly aware of each unique setting.

At first I wasn’t quite sure what I felt towards the book – as it started kinda slow for me. I needed a bit of adaptation to the english words that were flowing my brain rather than my usual french ones. I kept reading past that, and soon enough in their travel, I got filled with freedom – and the urge to go visit all thoses wonderful areas of the world we live in. But also.. emotionnal as to how close the sisters are growing their bond between them, emotionnal as of the root of the story – being a message in my mind of some sort for the organ donation that I can totally relate to in Crystal’s perspective with my mom. Upon reading Megan’s specific accomplishment of the bucket list item of going skinny dipping despise her transplant scar, id really really love to pass this book to mom for her to read it. As we had many conversations of how unhappy she feels towards her chest and belly being filled of scars caused by dialysis & transplant – thoses very much needed for her to stay alive. Unfortunately, she’s not as bilingual as I am – and I swear that if this book get translated to french someday, I need to buy it and gift it to her to read.

Travel, bucket list, reconnecting... these all made for a wonderful tale, but I never felt that connected to the storyline. Just an okay read for me. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader’s copy of this book.

Is a story about two sisters, twins, Megan and Crystal. Megan has been sick for many years, in and out of hospital with a weak heart. At the start of the story she has gotten a new heart and after meeting an old friend, is encouraged to meet with the parents of Amanda, her heart donor. This meeting leads to her reading about Amanda’s hopes and dreams and the bucket list she made and Megan makes the decision to complete Amanda’s bucket list.
Crystal on the other hand finds herself consumed by work, finding herself at odds with her husband at times and not able to visit her family, while dealing with the guilt of being the healthy one. When she is told about the trip her sister is making she is encouraged to use the trip as an opportunity to reconnect with her sister, although growing up together their different experiences in life had caused a rift between them.
The journey brings them out of their comfort zone in many ways while they reconnect, air out grievances and hurts and draw closer to each other as well as to God and bettering all their relationships.
It was a delightful read and in many ways I found I could relate with either one of them in a number of their struggles as they are real struggles that people go through today.

This title was not something that I think my audience would be into. That being said I know that I enjoyed this book very much. I will definitely recommend it to someone I think would like reading it, but overall I don't think that it fits my general audience.

This was one of the most emotionally gripping novels ive read in awhile. The writing was spot on and really kept you wondering what was happening next. Loved it!

This story is about twin sisters. One of the twins has always been healthy, while the other has always been sickly. The sisters are able to bond on a trip that involves a bucket list.
I loved the travel parts of the book. This was an easy, quick read.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The characters are rich and the story draws you in until you can't put the book down.

This was such a sweet and important story. It was nice, personal and such a great journey for two sisters to go on. I loved the family dynamics and the relationships that happen throughout. Such a sweet ending too. Would recommend to my friends,

I'd heard so much good about it, and knew that this was one I had to read!

Traveling the world is one of my dreams, and so this book appealed to me on more than one level!

Megan is an amazing character. The more I got to know her, the more I identified with her.

She's the recipient of a donor heart, and has always had to be concerned about her health. Now, it seems the sky's the limit. When she's given a journal containing a bucket list compiled by the girl whose heart she received, it seems only fitting that she honors her memory by trying to complete that list

In the process, she reconnects with her twin sister Crystal, and the journey they take (globally and relationally) is so incredibly amazing.

I loved the way the author describes the different settings as they travel.

I also loved the depth that is shown between the characters. Between the sisters, and then, well, yes, there's also a romance between....well....don't want to give the story away, so I'll leave that one for now. Suffice it to say that it's a charmingly sweet romance.

Excuse the pun, when I say this really is a 'heart-tugging' story. It will run you through the whole gamut of emotions.

I especially love the way forgiveness and redemption are portrayed here. Hope. Love. And much, much more.

This is one of the best contemporary fiction novels I've read all year, and I look forward to reading more from this author!