Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Cross My Heart.

Cross My Heart...was not good.

And let me tell you why:

1. Rosie is your stereotypical cliche of an unreliable main character; a lonely woman whose self worth is dependent on a man. But seriously, she has issues and why isn't she speaking to a therapist?

2. Lack of suspense and drama, and definitely not fast paced unless you love to read tedious filler and repetitive monologuing.

3. The narrative is full of filler; exposition about main and supporting characters, epistolary excerpts, poems?!? Really? Were those parts necessary? Rosie's flashbacks into her past, monologuing on her past and present. OMgawd, make it stop!

4. The constant Taylor Swift references and comparison to Sylvia Plath was corny and flat-out ridiculous. Taylor Swift popped up so often I wondered if the author got a quarter for the 'product placement.' It read as pandering, like the author is hoping to attract a younger reader fan base. Not with this type of narrative.

5. Unoriginal premise with cliche, stereotypical, unlikeable characters.

I've read a book by the author before and was not amused.

I liked the premise, hoping for something dark, but after reading this, I can firmly conclude this author isn't for me.

I really enjoyed this novel.. at first I thought I knew what was happening.. but then a twist I didn’t see coming until the end! It was fast paced and keep my interest! Read this book in the plane to and from my vacay and was pleasantly pleased!!! Thank you!!

Ohhh myyy! his book grabbed me from the very beginning and kept me completely captivated until the very end!

The characterization was some of the best I have ever come across. While the main character, Rosie, takes obsession to new level, I couldn't help but relate to some of how she felt when she was dumped by the man she thought she had a future with. While she hadn't stopped loving him, he had already moved on.

I also loved the mystery itself. There were more than a few red herrings along with some twists and turns that were totally unexpected, so I was very concerned for Rosie's safety. When an author takes me to a place where the action almost seems like it is could happen in real life, and I am concerned a character is making a move that could be dangerous, I can't put the book down.

Well done Megan Collins

CROSS MY HEART reeled me in, sunk its claws in and refused to let go until I reached the shocking conclusion. 😱

I’ve never been so invested and completely HOOKED on a book before! CROSS MY HEART is a thriller that had me feeling so many emotions that made my heart race (pun intended) We follow main character Rosie a year after her heart-implant and go through her many different phases in life, including connecting with the husband of her donor on an anonymous app called DonorConnect.

This is possibly the BEST thriller book I’ve EVER READ. Rosie’s POV and the possible factor that she may be an unreliable narrator had me hooked. Furthermore, the suspense and plot twists in the novel had me putting my fictitious detective-hat on.

This book showcases the obsession, ugliness and hope of human nature.

I honestly think that CROSS MY HEART would make an excellent TV or Movie Adaptation!!

Cross My Heart was definitely a thriller where I was just along for the ride with no thoughts just vibes. I had no solid idea where this book was going at any moment and it was a lot of fun.

There was such a good mix of thriller and thought provoking writing going on here. The suspense was amazing and the mystery of who the stalker is was creepy and engaging, but there were also very interesting moments of self reflection and introspection from the main character that made the ending really stand out because the question of is she falling back into her same patterns or not, becomes prevalent. There were so many ways this story could have gone it was hard to pinpoint what was going on and made for great suspense. Is Rosie an unreliable narrator? Is this all a story Morgan has written? I couldn’t tell for quite a while.
I loved the plotline of the potentially evil husband preying on women and their stories, who is suspected of killing his wife by some. It added an extra layer of drama in this already dramatic and suspenseful read.

This was my first read by Megan Collins but it won’t be my last!
Thank you so much to Atria Books for this eARC via NetGalley.
Pwwublication date 1/14/25

Rosie Lachlan becomes entangled in a dangerous obsession after suspecting her heart donor was the late wife of author Morgan Thorne, with whom she feels destined to be. As she uncovers unsettling truths about Morgan’s past, Rosie must confront whether her connection to him is love or a fatal mistake.

Cross My Heart is the first book I’ve read by Megan Collins. The intriguing premise initially drew me to this thriller. The story is told through Rosie’s perspective, interspersed with emails between them in DonnerConnnect, and other emails Morgan sent, which added an interesting layer to the narrative. The characters were all unlikable, unreliable, and unhinged, making questionable choices that effectively added to the story’s tension. However, I found Rosie, the main character, to be particularly daft and annoying. While the story started off strong, it began to drag in the middle becoming repetitive and overly focused on Rosie’s monotonous overthinking. The writing leaned more toward telling than showing which lessened some of the impact. That said, a couple of unexpected twists sparked my interest with the plot. Overall, it was an entertaining three-star read.

Cross My Heart by Megan Collins
Rating: 4 stars
Pub date: 1/14

Thank you so much to Atria Books for my advanced copy!

Megan Collins delivers an addictive and twisty thriller with Cross My Heart, a story about love, obsession, and some seriously complicated emotions.
This one is about Rosie Lachlan, a heart transplant recipient, as she becomes fixated on Morgan Thorne, the husband of her heart donor, Daphne. What starts as a quest to learn more about Daphne turns into something much deeper—and darker.

The emails between Rosie and Morgan through DonorConnect are easily one of the best parts of the book. Their conversations feel so raw and personal, and you can’t help but get sucked into the growing connection between them. But as Rosie digs deeper into Morgan’s past and Daphne’s death, things start to get a little wild. Rosie’s obsession takes over, and some unsettling truths about Morgan and his late wife come to light.

I really liked Rosie’s character, even though she was a bit much at times. She’s flawed, but that’s what makes her so interesting. The first half of the book is especially strong—it hooks you right away with the mystery and tension. The second half takes some unexpected turns that didn’t totally work for me, but it was still entertaining enough to keep me reading.

Overall, Cross My Heart is perfect for fans of thrillers with messy relationships and a good dose of drama. If you’re into stories about heart transplants, heartbreak, and some seriously questionable decisions, you’ll want to give this one a try. Four stars from me!

Rosie’s not supposed to know who donated the heart that saved her life. But thanks to a scoop from her nurse BFF, Rosie suspects that the donor was the wife of a famous author. And when she speaks with the donor’s husband via the anonymous DonorConnect platform, her suspicions are confirmed. Always prone to obsession, Rosie becomes fixated on the author, who she’s decided would be the perfect partner for her. Her friends warn her not to get in too deep, but she’ll stop at nothing to make him fall in love with her.

There is so much more to the plot than that, let me just say that the twists in this one are fantastic. Just when I thought I knew where the story was going, something would happen that would make my jaw drop. Rosie is deeply flawed but also sympathetic and likeable, which makes her a fun character to follow.

I highly recommend this one to thriller fans!

Cross My Heart by Megan Collins is a gripping psychological thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat. The story revolves around a woman caught in a tangled web of secrets, lies, and betrayal, and the suspense never lets up. Megan Collins does an incredible job of weaving in unexpected twists and keeping the reader guessing about what’s real and what isn’t. The characters are complex, and the emotional stakes feel incredibly high. This book is perfect for fans of thrillers that are both mysterious and deeply psychological—definitely a page-turner!

Rosie works in a bridal salon and wants desperately to be in a relationship. Her last relationship ended abruptly and left Rosie crushed. Now, she has had a heart transplant and starts corresponding with Morgan through DonorConnect. Morgan is an author that Rosie is obsessed about. She dreams of a relationship with him. Rosie likes to see the world through Rose colored glasses and wears her heart on her sleeve. I enjoyed her character so much as she was flawed and just wanted to be loved.

I enjoyed the mixed media to give you different perspectives. My head was spinning trying to figure out who was behind it all. Rosie begins to question how Daphne died after rumors fly that Morgan did it.

The twist that kept coming as I was hooked and couldn't flip the pages fast enough. This pulls you in emotionally as you get invested in Rosie and just want to see who did it. I did not figure it out and was surprised by the ending.

Thank you Atria for granting me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own and are not influenced by the publisher.

I love that this combines two of my favorite genres - RomCom & Thriller! It starts off like a RomCom reminiscent of "You've Got Mail" but quickly takes a dark turn into a psychological thriller. Both MCs are walking red flags, which made for a fun and twisty read. I was NOT expecting that ending!

Spoilerish...

Thank you NetGalley, for this uncorrected ebook ARC of 'Cross My Heart' by Megan Collins, in exchange for an honest review - expected release date 01/14/2025. This is my 4th Megan Collins book and I just noticed that I've rated them all 3 stars.

'Rosie-colored glasses' was such a cute phrase used to describe how the main character, Rosie, saw life and viewed people around her. She's endured heart breaks + a heart transplant + loneliness, yet she still continued searching for love and friendships. Her tendency to take things too far or misconstrue things definitely made her seem unhinged, rather than seeing the best in people though...

The concept of the book sounded great, I couldn't wait to see how it all played out. While I couldn't connect with Rosie, or any of the other characters, because their relationships all felt off/odd/superficial, the book was still a decent read.

I wish the author wouldn't have had Rosie start that same creepy list thing with Jackson at the end of the book, it would've been nice for Rosie to have moved on from that vibe to start fresh after all the other stalkerish things that came previously.

I didn't see the Blair twist coming and I didn't really like that ending BUT I guess it is another good example of how love can make someone do crazy things (as if all the examples of Rosie's actions weren't enough).

Another twisty thriller from Collins that will keep you guessing. I didn't love it quite as much as some of her other books, but I tore through this book in a short amount of time because I needed to know what happened. There are definitely twists you will not guess, parts that will make you cringe for sure, and characters that you will love to hate. All of Collins' books have been very different, and I cannot wait to see what she writes next!

I thought I knew exactly where this book was headed …but nope I was very very wrong pleasantly so… part 1 ends very unexpectedly to say the least !.. I loved the idea of the heart transplant patient connecting with the husband of the woman whose heart kept her alive … and all the “crazy in love” women

4.5 ⭐️

OMG, this book was like a total rollercoaster of drama and obsession! Picture this: a girl gets a shiny new heart (literally, a transplant) and then sets her sights on her donor’s hubby. Um, yeah, sounds bananas, right? But trust me, it works. 💔✨

Rosie, the main chick, is equal parts sweet and completely unhinged. Like, you’ll wanna hug her one second and scream, “Girl, NOOO!” the next. The whole thing starts kinda slow, but once it picks up, whew, it’s all twists, turns, and “Wait, did that just happen?!” moments. Honestly, some parts had me clutching my non-transplanted heart because the drama was that real.

The vibe is very “love meets obsession meets danger,” and it totally had me questioning everyone’s motives. Like, is the guy dreamy or creepy? Is Rosie being extra, or is she onto something? No spoilers here, but the ending? Chef’s kiss. 👩‍🍳💋

There were moments where I was like, “OK, this is a bit much,” but honestly, I didn’t mind suspending disbelief because the drama was just that juicy. The writing? So sharp and punchy, it kept me flipping pages like a madwoman.

Overall, if you’re into twisty thrillers with messy-but-relatable characters and just enough crazy to keep things spicy, you’ll love this one. Four stars for a wild ride! 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion 😘

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I've read Megan Collins' work before, and I enjoyed Cross My Heart somewhat more than her last book I read a few years ago.

Cross My heart features a sweet, somewhat naive or unlucky in love narrator, Rosie Lachlan, who is recovering from a heart transplant she had a year ago. She connected anonymously with the surviving spouse of her donor, a local author, Morgan Thorne. While she easily figured out the identity of the heart, whe remains somewhat cagey or wary in her email correspondence with him- or does she?after a accidental meeting in a coffee shop near her job, we wonder if things progress to another level with Morgan.

Rosie's curiosity about Daphne and her work as a poet, and the "accidental" circumstances of her death give us a window into her thoughts, but we are seeing Morgan's emails to his friend Blair. While I felt a little tricked, the 2nd half of the book picked up steam from the first half after a reveal I was not expecting. What Rosie does afterward puts her in danger from a possible killer and as a potential suspect. I didn't trust her best friend Nina or a few other characters, but the red hearings were fairly successful.

The themes of the book deal heavily with both the stigma of mental illness (the word crazy, the idea of obsession and stalking behavior) and with rejection by intended romantic partners. Having had a couple of breakups before meeting my husband, I can understand the hurtful feelings. Rosie is under pressure for her shortened life expectancy with a heart transplant. Everyone around her seems to have paired up while she's alone. Her most recent boyfriend who dumped her prior to her health problems included, although it reminded me of scenes in Friends, where Rachel answers the door in her wedding dress to the guy she was dating. In the end we see Rosie fixated on someone new, but will she be brave enough to pursue him?

3.5 stars rounded down. Release 1/14/25.

This really threw me for a loop! The first 30-40% was a little slow but the last half is more steady. I feel like Rosie, Edith, Blair, and Daphne really show the whole "crazy girl" stigma. I was really looking for a huge twist at the end because of the one in the middle, but it was a little anti-climatic. Some of the chapters were a little long, sometimes 40-30 minutes long and could have been split up a little more. A few of the story lines were a little predictable (like Rosie's engagement) but overall I enjoyed this!

I ate this book up. It was such a unique plot that I couldn't stop myself from reading to see how it would all play out. I read this in one sitting and it was the perfect thriller to keep me interested and motivated to knock out the rest of my reading goal for the year.

⋆✴︎˚｡⋆ "𝓗𝓮𝓻 𝓯𝓪𝓬𝓮 𝔀𝓪𝓼 𝓼𝓸𝓯𝓽 𝓫𝓮𝓽𝔀𝓮𝓮𝓷 𝓶𝔂 𝓹𝓪𝓵𝓶𝓼, 𝓫𝓾𝓽 𝓪𝓼 𝔀𝓮 𝓭𝓮𝓮𝓹𝓮𝓷𝓮𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓴𝓲𝓼𝓼, 𝓘 𝓯𝓮𝓵𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓼𝓱𝓲𝓯𝓽 𝓸𝓯 𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓳𝓪𝔀𝓫𝓸𝓷𝓮, 𝓻𝓮𝓶𝓲𝓷𝓭𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓶𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓫𝓮𝓷𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓼𝓸𝓯𝓽 𝓼𝓴𝓲𝓷 𝔀𝓪𝓼 𝓪 𝓼𝓴𝓾𝓵𝓵 𝓼𝓸 𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓲𝓵𝔂 𝓬𝓻𝓾𝓼𝓱𝓮𝓭." ⋆✴︎˚｡⋆

Thank you to Maudee Genao over at Atria for bringing this little gem to my attention. I heard the Swifties are gonna love this one 😉

Idk if I was supposed to find dark humor in this, or if I'm just a psychopath lol but I adored the FMC especially and found all of her 'techniques' super entertaining.


₊⊹⁀➴ Rosie, our FMC, a transplant recipient, receives a brand-new heart and becomes intrigued by its previous owner. Through DonorConnect, a website that facilitates communication between transplant recipients and their donors, Rosie discovers that she is emailing with a renowned author named Morgan.

The heart belonged to his late wife, Daphne. As Rosie and Morgan exchange emails, she develops a profound connection and believes that fate has brought them together. However, her love for Morgan is tested when rumors emerge about his wife’s death, raising suspicions about the true circumstances surrounding Daphne’s passing.

This was so good. I honestly had no idea where this was going - for the entire book lol. I was basically just there for the ride and it was a fun one.

The writing was spectacular! The author's prose was smart and punchy. It'll keep you on your toes. Some of the events are a little bit much lol, but I didn't have an issue suspending my disbelief here and there for the enjoyment.

The pacing was great. I did hit a little bit of a lull at about 3/4 of the way through.. but it resolved quickly.

I'd definitely recommend this book if you enjoy thrillers with unexpected twists and a great cast of female characters. Chef's kiss! 👩‍🍳💋

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ Stalking, murder mystery, romance. 😍

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ Expected Release Date - 01/14/25

✨ Many thanks to Atria Books for gifting me with an advanced digital copy via NetGalley, all thoughts are my own. ✨

Great thriller! The first twist gave me whiplash 😵‍💫. The ending was sort of predictable, but I really enjoyed the book overall.

I think there was a missed opportunity to dive deeper into the idea of a donor organ recipient gaining the interests, feelings, or characteristics of their donor. That concept was the hook that drew me in and I was a little disappointed in its execution.

However, I would recommend Cross My Heart. The plot and character development was good and one of the twists really got me, which is always a plus! Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to receive an advanced copy!