Thank you to Atria Books for the ARC of this novel!

I’m not usually a mystery/thriller sort of girl, but the premise of this one intrigued me immediately so I gave it a shot and boy am I so glad I did. This one was a WILD ride. I read it in one sitting cause I couldn’t put it down. There were so many twists; each time I thought I knew where it was going, something new was revealed and it shattered that prior expectation. In particular the reveal at the end of the first part shocked me (IYKYK). By the time I got to the final 30 pages or so, I could predict the final reveal (hence the 4 stars rather than 5), but I still was impressed enough by the earlier twists and found the ending satisfying enough that it didn’t bother me.

I enjoyed the incorporation of the emails between Rosie and Morgan and Morgan and Blair, especially the way they factored into a major plot point later. I also enjoyed the little Taylor Swift references scattered throughout the novel! Although I seem to be the in the minority on this one, I found Rosie compelling and *mostly* endearing (minus the stalker tendencies, of course).

I’m going to have to check out Megan Collins’ other books! If they’re anywhere near as gripping as this one, I’ll be in for a real treat.

I have read most, if not all, of Megan Collins' books, and they have NEVER EVER disappointed. In fact, I think her books keep getting better and better. "Cross My Heart" is no exception.

Rosie has had a rough couple of years. She falls into a deep depression after a terrible breakup. While battling her depression, Rosie begins to have some pretty significant health issues, and everyone attributes it to her declining mental health. After some time, it is actually determined she has cardiomyopathy and needs a heart transplant. Over the next year, she begins to heal both mentally and physically. It has helped moving back in with her parents for additional care and going back to work at her family's wedding dress shop.

When Rosie's best friend, Nina, reveals she thinks the heart donor was the wife of Rosie's favorite author, Morgan Thorne. With this seemingly innocent revelation, a twisted series of events rapidly unfolds. Rosie begins to talk to Morgan via DonorConnect, an anonymous way for an organ recipient to talk to the family of the donor. She finds it so easy to talk to him, partly because she is anonymous to him but knows who he is. She knows a lot about it. Will this come back to haunt her in the end? And what about the rumors surrounding Morgan's wife's death she keeps seeing as she dives deeper into the world wide web to know more about Morgan?

Let me just say this....I gasped at the end of part one. I would do that many more times throughout the book. I loved the use of multiple POVs, emails to push the plot further, and the deeply hidden twists. The use of strained and sensitive relationships I think really helped with the twist, at least for me anyway. I honestly thought I had it all figured out....just to find out I was really, really wrong. Also, as a heart warrior myself, I knew instantly I wanted to read this book. I definitely could feel the rawness of Rosie's emotion in dealing with her delicate health, not only with herself, but with her loved ones as well. Megan did an amazing job portraying the range of emotions that can come with this, which is not easy to do. Such a great read!

This was riveting! There were so many quotes in this book that spoke to me. Have you ever compromised so much of yourself in a relationship to where you didn't even know who you were anymore? I know I've done that, and our FMC Rosie has too. Always giving all of herself, wearing what her friend Nina calls her "Rosie colored glasses" to describe how she sees the best in people while overlooking the flaws & obvious red flags of those around her. She just wants to find love and when she finds out that the donor of her heart transplant was the wife of one of her favorite authors, Morgan Thorne, she can't help but reach out. She wants to learn more about the person whose heart is now beating in her chest & more about the one, Morgan, that loved it. As she gets closer to Morgan, she has to wonder about the unusual circumstances in how his wife Daphne died.
Is she getting closer to danger or to her happily ever after? Def enjoyed reading this.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for my eARC of Cross My Heart by Megan Collins. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

I really enjoyed Cross My Heart by Megan Collins. We're following Rosie, a heart transplant recipient, who is communicating with Morgan, the husband of her heart donor and local author celebrity. Things become complicated for Rosie when she becomes determined that she and Morgan are meant for each other--and rumors begin circulating that he may be the reason for his wife's death.

This thriller was a nice quick read and kept me wondering what was going to happen next. There were a few twists I saw coming, but also some that I didn't see coming. I liked the unreliable narrator we got with Rosie. That's one of my favorite tropes and Collins did a good job with this. There were several characters that we were following but I didn't have an issue with keeping up with who was who. I also appreciated that we got the backstory of our character and felt like I understood motivations, etc.

If you like thrillers, mysteries, and unreliable narrators, this one is for you. I definitely recommend it.

Thanks Atria!

This was a very entertaining thriller with a unique concept!

We follow heart transplant recipient Rosie Lachlan as she embarks on a correspondence relationship with her heart donor’s husband, local famed author Morgan Thorne. Rosie starts developing feelings for Morgan. Has Rosie found her soulmate?

There were plenty of twists and turns in this book. Rosie made a lot of questionable decisions! I couldn’t put this book down because I was so interested in where the story was going to go!

It was also interesting learning more about heart transplants and the everyday difficulties that exist for a person who has had a heart transplant. I really sympathized with Rosie and her daily struggles.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves twisty thrillers that keep you constantly guessing about what’s going to happen next. Every time I thought I could predict an outcome, something else would happen that would throw me off completely!

Thank you Atria Books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Publication January 14, 2025

When I read this book's description, I knew I had to pick it up. It’s about a heart transplant recipient convinced she’s destined to be with her donor's husband.
Rosie, the main character, is utterly unhinged. Her actions and the twisted rationale behind them were so delusional that I couldn’t look away.
I love an unreliable narrator, and this book hooked me from the very start. I foujd myself flying through part one.
When I got to part two, I found myself dragging a bit. The phrase "Rosie-colored glasses" felt overused, and the conclusion turned out to be a bit predictable.
That said, if you're looking for a quick, binge-worthy thriller with a unique storyline, this one is worth checking out!

| RATING | 3.5

| FOR READERS WHO LIKE |

• Mystery Thriller
• Unreliable Narrator
• Obsession
• Blurred Boundaries
• Secrets and Lies
• Psychological Unraveling

| FAVORITE SCENE |

When Rosie agrees to meet Morgan's best friend at her house so they can confront the librarian they suspect of being involved in the murder.


Thank you so much NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced copy of this beautiful book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a unique and wild ride.

Part 1 had me thinking Return to Me (one of my favorite romance movies from the early 2000s starring Minnie Driver) meets a thriller (my favorite genre). Rosie receives a heart transplant and through Donor Connect connects with the widower of the heart she received, and she finds out his identity before he finds out hers (are you picking up the Return to Me vibes yet?? Megan did you find inspiration from this movie or am I just picking up things? lol). You see their connection growing not only through these exchanges but also the emails Morgan wrote to his best friend. There is speculation that the famous author Morgan had more to deal with the death of his wife than meets the eye and as Rosie dives deeper into her feelings for Morgan and her self-investigation into the death of Daphne (that resulted in saving her life with the donation of her heart) you are left with yet another death! The murder of Morgan that is called in by Rosie herself.

Part 2: oh the twists and turns you have in the second half of this book! I was left clinging to every turn trying to figure out who to believe. The growing unreliability of Rosie, the borderline stalking as more light is shed on to the emails of both Donor Connect as well as the ones sent from Morgan himself. You are left trying to figure out who killed Morgan and the character I thought was responsible from the start---let's just say I was shocked when the truth was revealed.

I will be thinking of this book for a while and will definitely be recommending it to those who loves thrillers as much as I do.

Also side note- as someone who has been frequently called too much...it was nice to read about a character who deals with the same (although maybe to a more extreme nature ;) )

After receiving a heart transplant, Rosie begins corresponding with the widower of her donor via an anonymous online portal. She starts to fall for him, but then she begins to wonder if his wife's death was an accident. Engrossing and twisty! I enjoyed it a lot.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC!

This was my first 5 star read of 2025. This fast past thriller had love and intrigue throughout. The man Rosie messages at night is a writer named Morgan. His emails are golden after all he has written many thrillers. With her new heart, she falls in love. What she doesn’t know is what parts of her have fallen, and what he doesn’t know is her little secret, for now. Thanks for netgalley and Megan Collins for an advanced copy read.

In this twisty thriller, Rosie is recovering from both a heart transplant and a broken heart from a failed relationship. She connects with the husband of her donor through an online service called Donor Connect, who is a famous author. She finds that they have a surprising amount in common and begins to wonder what a future with him might be like.

This book is full of twists, turns, and red herrings and moves at a fast pace. Just when you think you know what’s happening, you realize that you are completely wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed the Friends and Taylor Swift references sprinkled throughout, as well as how the author integrated the crazy ex girlfriend theme into the story in multiple ways. The unreliable narrator comes into play in this story as well, which I always enjoy in thrillers. My advice is to go in blind and enjoy the wild ride!

Thank you to Meghan Collins and Atria books for the arc and opportunity to be an early reader and reviewer.

I thoroughly enjoyed this crafty psychological thriller. It has an original and compelling plot with a sufficient number of red herrings and twists to keep it exciting enough in the first half of the story to carry it through to the end. It was a quick and entertaining read. I would definitely read future books by this author and recommend this book to all suspense seeking mystery/thriller fans.

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for giving me the opportunity to read a DRC of this gripping story in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own. I will be posting my review immediately to my Goodreads account and to Amazon and Barnes&Noble on the publication day.

This was my first book by Megan Collins and I really enjoyed it! It’s a mystery/thriller about Rosie Lachlan, who has had a history of being a little obsessive in her relationships. She ends up having to have a heart transplant and starts communicating with her donor’s widower. History is starting to repeat itself as she becomes obsessed with knowing every detail about him and becomes more than a little...unhinged.

The book is told in two parts. I felt like part one hooked me from the very beginning, was super fast-paced, and was wild how unhinged Rosie is as a character. You also start to realize she may not be the only unhinged character as the story goes on. Part two was a little bit slower paced for me as it turned more mystery than thriller. For the first few chapters into part two there’s a twist where I was like, wait….what??? So you need to very, very carefully read part one :)

Overall I thought this was a solid mystery/thriller and if you like unhinged female characters in your thrillers I think you’ll really like this one!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was so unhinged!!! Could NOT put this book down. I mean, with that premise you know you are in for a wild ride. I'd love to know what the audio is like for this one!

Rosie is determined to live her life now that she has a second chance. After a successful heart transplant and back working in her parent's bridal salon, she is focused on finding her forever. Breaking up with her boyfriend/fiance Brad left her heartbroken-and then her heart truly broke-leading to a transplant. A year after the transplant, donors and recipients are allowed to connect online. Rosie quickly realizes she's received the heart of a very popular writer's late wife. While they're supposed to leave out personal details, Rosie and Morgan soon dive deep into their personal lives and Rosie seems convinced she and Morgan are meant to be together. However, some details emerge that cause Rosie to think Morgan may have been responsible for Daphne's "accidental" death. When Rosie's friends and family express concern for some of her behavior, it is clear Rosie has always been very fixated on her boyfriend's-to an unhealthy extent. When shocking events occur, Rosie finds herself in danger-and nearly alone-as her family and friends start to suspect the worst. Told through alternating perspectives, readers will discover some crazy twists and turns and also question Rosie. This was a fast read and the Taylor Swift playlist was a fun accompaniment, 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

This had good pacing and lots of twists and turns, but it deviated from the synopsis a lot, so it wasn’t really what I was expecting. Still kept me engaged and the ending was great.

There were so many disturbing moments here and some that were relatable to finding The One (or who we think is The One at least). Full of creepy disturbing moments and moments that made me laugh.

I've read all of the books by this author before, and while this one wasn't my favorite (that would The Winter Sister), it was a fun, character-driven read! Swifties will appreciate the nods to Taylor Swift's themes and songs, and there's a great twist about halfway through the book. It feels modern and touches upon some important ideas in how we as a society frame women in relationships that ultimately fail. It got a little too cliche-y with some dialogue towards the end during the reveals, but overall, it's thoughtful thriller with a flawed and lovable main character.

Cross My Heart by Megan Collins
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Yes!!! This book blew my mind. I was so hopelessly hooked and it kept me turning the pages during my road trip. I have loved and liked previous works by this author, but this one hit it out of the park. I loved the way the book was formatted with both text and email conversations, which were easy to read but provided a lot of information. The only thing I think I would have loved to see was a viewpoint chapter from the heart transplant donor herself. Maybe in a flashback entry or something.
Either way, what a top-hit thriller 👏

#qotd I've been out a bit - and will continue for a couple more days here. I just had to drop in and review this book!
What have you been up to this past week?

#megancollins #crossmyheart #bookreview #sogood #review #netgalley #atriabooks #atria

Thank you NetGalley!
This is a book about a unique woman who had a medical procedure who changed her life. It was a little slow at times but I liked the suspense and mystery. It was a little unbelievable but I don’t mind that with thrillers. I would recommend this book to people who want an interesting thriller with an unreliable narrator.

What a twisty read, book peeps!! Lots of unhinged females in this one too!! Maybe a few too many? 😅

The twists were great though, and I didn’t figure out who our bad guy/girl was until the very last moment! Definitely recommend this twisty thriller! 👏

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria, and Megan Collins for the opportunity to read the eARC in exchange for my honest review!! ❤️