This was a fantastic ride! I have not read from Megan Collins before, but this will definitely not be my last book of hers. A heart transplant recipient becomes infatuated with her donor's husband and finds out all she can about him. The pace was perfect for this- I was never bored- and I also never knew who to trust. This had the perfect amount of entertainment and depth- I just wanted to hug our main character! Great read.

Rosie is a heart transplant recipient, she’s curious about the donor of her heart. DonorConnect is an email service, where donors and transplant recipients can connect. Rosie soon discovers, her heart belonged to the wife of a local well known author named Morgan. As they exchange emails, Rosie starts to feel a connection with Morgan. Rumors are starting to surface, what really happened to Morgan’s wife?

This book will definitely keep you on your toes, wanting and needing to know who did what. The plot twists were crazy, kept you wanting more. I will say I also loved all of the Taylor Swift references!

Thank you Megan Collin’s, Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC!

Okay first off I read this book in one sitting which involved me staying up wayyyy late into the night racing to finish!! This was a fantastically fun thriller that keeps readers guessing and on their toes. Multiple times I thought I had figured it out but boy was I wrong.

This book explores themes such as - the dangers of fantasizing a relationship and how women are often labeled as “crazy” but what drove them there? How far is too far in the passionate game of love and war?

Also I highly enjoyed all of the Taylor Swift references. “Alexa - play The Prophecy.”

Thank you so much to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Cross My Heart:⁣
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Thank you so much @atriathrillers and @simon.audio for my gifted copy! #AtriaPartner ⁣
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“Because words are how I dress my wounds.”⁣
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Holy twisty turn. Definitely a bingeable book for sure. I really felt like it was a “But wait, there’s more.” that truly kept you guessing until the very end. I had a constant rotation of 3 people that did it, and I was pretty unsure of myself until the final reveal. ⁣
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Rosie is a heart transplant recipient. She connects with her donor’s husband online and starts imagining a new future with him. But, is he all that he seems? Well, is she all that she seems?! This is such a good read of obsession, power, guilt, it was just juicy. Also, super unlikable characters, but the story is worth it. ⁣
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Now on to the audio. I couldn’t do it. If I didn’t have the print version, this would be a DNF. It was just.. whiny to me from both narrators. I’m a big listen while I clean, and the laundry just didn’t get folded because I needed to read and I wasn’t putting this one down. ⁣
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Overall, recommend print version! Another great Megan Collins hit! Out January 14th!⁣ ⁣
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PS Also an @aardvarkbookclub pick and definitely one to grab!

Buckle up, Swifties, this thriller’s for you!
Our main character, Rosie, is a recent heart transplant recipient and she looks in people’s windows, wants a love story (someone, please say yes!), and believes the husband of her donor belongs with her.

I ate this book up! It’s full of twists and turns I didn’t see coming. While being suspenseful and fun, it’s also a great exploration of desire and longing, and the lengths we will go to feel loved.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC!

This is the fourth book I've read by Megan Collins so yes I'm becoming a fan.

Description:
She has his dead wife’s heart; the one she wants is his. The author of The Family Plot brings her signature prose to a twisty novel about a heart transplant patient who becomes romantically obsessed with her donor’s husband.

Rosie Lachlan wants nothing more than to find The One.

A year after she was dumped in her wedding dress, she’s working at her parents’ bridal salon, anxious for a happy ending that can’t come soon enough. After receiving a life-saving heart transplant, Rosie knows her health is precious and precarious. She suspects her heart donor is Daphne Thorne, the wife of local celebrity author Morgan Thorne, who she begins messaging via an anonymous service called DonorConnect, ostensibly to learn more about Daphne. But Rosie has a secret: She’s convinced that now that she has his wife’s heart, she and Morgan are meant to be together.

As she and Morgan correspond, the pretense of avoiding personal details soon disappears, even if Rosie’s keeping some cards close to her chest. But as she digs deeper into Morgan’s previous marriage, she discovers disturbing rumors about the man she’s falling for. Could Morgan have had something to do with his late wife’s death? And can Rosie’s heart sustain another break—or is she next?

My Thoughts:
I liked that this book was quirky and unpredictable. Who falls in love with their heart donor's husband - just weird. I felt bad for Rosie being dumped the way she was and working at a bridal shop watching all those future brides getting ready for their weddings. Had to be hard for her. Morgan raised a lot of questions for me and many red flags. I did like some of the twists and surprises - I think I liked most the fact the book was unpredictable and I kept thinking "Oh wow! I didn't think of that." There's a lot of drama here so I recommend anyone who likes drama, quirky and unpredictability.

Thanks to Atria Books through Netgalley for an advance copy.

I needed a few hours to process this book. what an absolute wild ride. I finished this book and I was like what?! I had to sit with my thoughts for a while and discuss it with others who were currently also reading this book.

Rosie wants to find the “one”. She’s been through some traumatic things in her life, a heart surgery and a break up. She starts talking to the husband of the donor who she now has her heart. Her friends think this is a bad idea but Rosie think it’s meant to be. She’s thankful for a second chance at life. She starts digging more into his life and finds out he’s a famous author but others think he’s involved in how his wife passed away.

This. Book. Is. wild.

This book will be released on 1/14/25 and I recommend giving it a read.

Thanks netgalley and publisher for the chance to read this book for free in return for my honest opinion.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I wish I could have rated this 4 stars but the main character got right under my skin from Chapter 1. I understand that she had a heart transplant but she comes off as being so needy, that she has to be loved by whomever comes into her life. She really doesn't come to the realization of who she is. I wish Jackson a lot of luck...

📚 PRE-PUBLICATION BOOK REVIEW 📚

Cross My Heart By Megan Collins
Publication Date: January 14, 2025
Publisher: Atria Books

📚MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

📚MY REVIEW:

Cross My Heart has been all over Bookstagram lately, with everyone raving about this incredible psychological thriller. And let me tell you - the raves were absolutely spot on!! If you're a fan of twisty thrillers like me, those books with plots in which you simply will not see the next twist coming --- you are going to want to add this one to your TBR as soon as you can!

The story is told with a mixed media style, which includes a narrative from the potentially unhinged female main character, Rosie, as well as emails and messages between Rosie and other characters in the book. The way these elements entwined in this read really made for one captivating and fast story!

After receiving the donor heart of a woman who experienced a tragic death, Rosie connects anonymously online with Morgan, the donor's husband, through the donor match program's message board. As the two communicate, Rosie begins to wonder if maybe she and Morgan could fall in love and have a future life together - she knows it would be a story of romantically epic proportions. What we learn throughout the read is that Rosie has a tendency to obsess over things and let her imagination run wild, often to the chagrin of her family and friends. What follows is a tale of unreliability and uncertainty as the reader tries to determine what's really going on in this storyline.

This book is split into two parts, and as the first part ended and the second part began, I loudly and audibly gasped -- much to the astonishment of my seat neighbor on the plane. I had to go back and re-read the last couple pages to be sure I really read what I thought I read. This twisted plot left me guessing, and the second half of the book became a little more of a whodunnit storyline. I was riveted as I tried to figure out what was going on and what was ultimately going to be revealed. This ending did NOT disappoint and its conclusion left me wondering, which is one of my favorite ways for a story to conclude. A thrillingly fun read for every fan of psychological thrillers, mysteries, and unreliable narrators!!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this advanced e-copy of the book in exchange for my honest review! Don't miss this one when it comes out on January 14th!

#CrossMyHeart #MeganCollins #AtriaBooks #NetGalley #NetGalleyReviews #ARC #thrilleraddict #thrillerlover #mustreads #booklover #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookrecommendations

Rosie Lachlan is still reeling from being dumped at the altar, but after a life-saving heart transplant, she’s determined to find her happy ending. Working at her parents’ bridal salon, she becomes convinced her donor was Daphne Thorne, the wife of local author Morgan Thorne, and starts anonymously messaging him through DonorConnect, supposedly to learn about Daphne. But Rosie has a secret—she believes that having Daphne’s heart means she and Morgan are destined to be together. As their connection deepens, unsettling rumors about Morgan surface, making Rosie question everything….Holy crap, this book was a wild ride! Suspenseful, juicy, and full of twists—one caught me completely off guard but was so well done. The longer chapters flowed thanks to the emails and text messages. As always, Megan Collins delivered an unforgettable thriller.

Thank you to @atriabooks , @netgalley and @megancollinswriter for a copy of this book for a review!

I kept seeing so many people post about this book and I just knew I had to read it.

This book was *painfully* relatable. I liked Rosie and I sympathized with her. Her plight with love was at times painful to watch and again…. Relatable.

For me this was a story about love, about what it isn’t. It was about obsession, and what happens when you can’t let go.

This story went somewhere I didn’t see it going so that was delicious.

I love to be fooled and Megan…. You fooled me.

I did wish for a different ending for Rosie but…. Maybe it’ll work out 😉

"She has his dead wife’s heart; the one she wants is his."
What happens when a heart transplant recipient ends up obsessed with the donor's husband? This book drew me in because of the author and this amazing cover. I was turning pages and guessing who did it until the very end. The author wrote this so well and all of the twists and turns were amazing. I enjoyed the characters in this too. The book was such a wild, suspenseful ride that you do not want to miss. I highly enjoyed this read and would recommend it to any reader who loves thrillers. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this suspensful read in exchange of my honest review of Cross My Heart by Megan Collins.

First, the title of this book is brilliant. It ties in effortlessly with the backbone of the story. I was also humming, Cross My Heart and hope to die the entire time I was reading it. Which was not a long time since I made it my mission to fly through the pages. My heart keeps time with every word. I love Megan Collins books. There is always a sharp edge to the story that keeps you on your toes. The dark twists, leading to an even darker cave of shocking turns. I love the constant anxiety I felt as the story revealed itself. I found myself jumping from one suspect to another. Who is telling the truth and who is the killer?

Rosie's life is finally taking an upturn. After a near death experience that has left her with a new heart. Not only did she have health issues, but her fiancé also left her at the last minute, turning her life upside down. The only bump in the road is that she manages her parents' bridal salon, it is her job to work with women that are on cloud 9 and dreaming of their beautiful day. Rosie is left at home and reaching out to the husband of the woman's heart she has beating inside her chest. He writes the most amazing emails, and she is hooked. Rosie can imagine her life with Morgan, the talented novelist he is. As they exchange more emails, Rosie finds herself falling faster and faster. Will he be the man of her dreams or the person who is making the hair on her neck rise?

I love how mixed up this story made me. There were so many different directions this book went in, and it was all tied up at the end. There was stalking, obsession, Rosie colored glasses, murder, and the list goes on. This is a fun read that I will be recommending to everyone. Thank you to Megan Collins and Atria Books for my gifted copy.

Come for the thrill but stay for the unexpected theme of self-love! Rosie Lachlan had a heart transplant a year ago. Feeling lonely and curious, she reached out using a chat feature, Donnor Connect, which allows anonymous contact between the recipient and the donor's surviving family. She realizes that her donor is the spouse of hometown famous writer, Morgan Thorne. Although she knows who she is messaging through the DonorConnect site, Morgan does not know who she is. Against the advice of her best friend, Rosie continue to correspond with Morgan. After reading comments online that insist Morgan is responsible for the death of his wife, Daphne, Rosie sets out to discover the truth. Was Morgan a loving husband or a murderer? Will Rosie let her "Rosie-colored" glasses put her in harm's way?

This is a twisty suspenseful novel. I read it quickly because I needed to know whodunnit! I'm pleased to say that I didn't figure it out until near the end. While this is definitely a thriller, it has depth to it that a popcorn thriller lacks. Roise's character is well-developed. She is a 30-year-old romantic who is seeing everyone around her find their happily-ever-after yet love alludes her. Although I'm not a true Swiftie, the song Mad Woman by Taylor Swift kept playing in my head, which added to the experience!

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria for this suspenseful, satisfying ARC.

Looooved this book! From the first page I couldn’t get enough. The storyline was so fascinating and entertaining even when it was slightly unbelievable at times I had so much fun reading it!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC.

I wanted this book to be more, so in the end it didn't live up to the hype.

Was it twisty and entertaining? Yes... So why only a 3.75?

Rosie was unredeemable to me. She was super immature and I just couldn't root for her. All the characters really were, they were wild. It just made it a little too far fetched and really toxic stuff was forgiven too often.

I also didn't love the heart transplant storyline. I know it was supposed to make Rosie a more sympathetic character but instead it made her immature more wild to me.

This was totally Taylor Swift breakup album coded for sure. But in story format it's a bit too wild to be a five star read.

I really enjoyed the multiple POVs and mixed media format in this one. The main character, Rosie, is super unhinged in the best way. I found myself multiple times shaking my head at her thoughts 😂 While I did guess the ending, the premise was unique and twisty. This one definitely had me hooked from the beginning.

This book was so binge-able, I devoured it! Collins’ writing is great, and easy to follow along. I really enjoy multi-media writing and hers was so fun, from the texts, emails, comments & emojis! I loved all of the unreliable characters and not knowing who to trust. And that twist in the middle?! Mind blown! Overall I really enjoyed this book & look forward to reading more from Collins!

Some suspense readers might find Cross My Heart a bit far-fetched but it's perfect for readers who love stories about obsessive love, like You by Caroline Kepnes.

Through a big coincidence the main character finds out the identity of her heart donor and becomes obsessed with the donor's husband, an author. Then things get weirder! With some surprising twists and a nod to love and obsession, Cross My Heart is entertaining and fast paced.

I don’t do well with psychological thrillers and yet I persist - sometimes it is a god thing. Totally frustrated with the first part of the book I began to see and appreciate the brilliance of a very good writer and a well plotted story. Megan Collins had me tripping over all of my misconceptions and embarrassing me on each page. She really nailed it.

When a character imparts the words “I’d like for us to be honest with each other.” - Look out, run the other way and turn everything 180 degrees. Collins has done all this and more. Near perfection keeping what is coming hidden until it smacks you in the face. Really well done.

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for a copy.