Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting access to this book in exchange for my honest review.

Megan Collins has done it again!! She is back with another fantastic thriller. This is a thriller that could probably be considered for the list of best thrillers of 2025 (and yes I know it is early to say this, but just trust me). If you are looking for a fast paced thriller, I highly recommend this book.

Additionally, if you enjoy audiobooks, check out the audiobook narrated by Gail Shalan and Chris Andrew Ciulla,,,I definitely am planning to listen to this one...the book is just that good.

What a fantastic thriller... I can't recommend it enough!

Thank you to NetGalley, the Publishers, and Megan Collins for an ARC of Cross My Heart. I was truly obsessed with this book. Honestly genius plot for the story and this can be read in one sitting because you’re hooked from the first page. I honestly thought I was going crazy during the book going wait what?? I can see this easily being picked up as one of the best books of the 2025 year. Anytime I was away from the book I was thinking about it like what is going on?! Don’t forget to take off your Rosie tinted glasses before reading this!

Rosie Lachlan, a heart transplant recipient, manages her family's Boston-area bridal shop and desperately wants to find "the one." She believed she had found love with Brad, but it was not to be. Through an anonymous service called DonorConnect, she is corresponding with the husband of her heart donor, a woman who died in an accident at home. After uncovering his identity, Rosie starts falling for Morgan, a thriller writer. While Rosie tries to learn more about Morgan, who she has become obsessed with, she finds online gossip about him and digs deeper into his life and marriage. Despite all the warning signs, Rosie pushes forward believing that she and Morgan are destined for one another. Will Rosie get her happily ever after, or is tragedy going to strike again? 

I've read Megan Collins' last four novels, and she consistently delivers a highly suspenseful, effective thriller. Her latest nail-biter, Cross My Heart, features Rosie, a great character. She's kind, a hopeless romantic, and often misguided. Rosie sees life and relationships through "Rosie-colored glasses." It's no wonder she frustrates her friends and family, who all care deeply for her. Some creative plot twists will catch you off guard and keep you on edge. 

4.25 stars.

Look what you made me do 🫀
Thank you, Atria Books, for the gifted copy of Cross My Heart by Megan Collins {partner}

Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Format: 🎧📖
Pub Date:  1.14.2025
Pages: 313
Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆.5

"Some days, love makes you look in the mirror and admire your own reflection; others, it makes you a monster in the glass."

After a tough few days, I needed something to take my mind off things. Thrillers are my go-to when I need a pick-me-up, so I decided to dive into Megan Collins' latest novel, Cross My Heart. And guess what? I was instantly hooked! To be honest, the author's note at the beginning really grabbed my attention 😉

There's something so hypnotizing about a story with an unreliable narrator that they grab me and refuse to let go. I love figuring out the direction the book will go; an unreliable narrator makes that almost impossible. Then, can you add in a few red herrings? It's like cat nip to me. And Cross My Heart had both. I can't tell you the number of times that I knew I had it figured out, only to be proven entirely wrong. 

There was something endearing about the FMC Rosie, albeit a bit unhinged. She ultimately pulled me into her world and took me for one wild roller coaster ride. Cross My Heart felt like an ode to Taylor Swift's "Look What You Made Me Do." 

Read if you enjoy:
👏🏼 Twisty AF
🤯 Unpredictable & Unreliable Narrators
🤔 Red Herrings
💻 Stalker Vibes

Behind the Red Door has always been my favorite book from Collins, but Cross My Heart has taken that spot. You'll want to add this one to your 2025 reading list.

This one was GOOD. Slow to start, but then once I got going I was hooked! This was on the lines of Megan Collins's first novel which I loved. Great job, Megan!

Cross My Heart is such an interesting read. It’s about a woman named Rosie who gets a heart transplant and starts semi-stalking her heart donor’s husband, who is a handsome yet known-to-be-clueless-about-women thriller author whose wife died under mysterious circumstances. All red flags aside, Rosie is going through a breakup of her own and works at a bridal salon (brutal), wanting nothing other than a loving relationship of her own.

It’s everything you want in a thriller, but it’s mostly about heartbreak. A few women in this book change themselves to be lovable to men who don’t deserve it. I’ve never understood pretending to like something for someone else, especially a man. I know why people do it because it’s instinctual to want to be liked, but we don’t have to be shapeshifters. Trying new things is one thing but making someone else’s hobbies or life or job or fill-in-your-blank your whole personality is another. I’ll get off my soapbox now because I also know wanting companionship and keeping it even if the guy is the worst, but this is a thriller so the wanting expressed here is... homicidal, ha. Individuality is never a bad thing and is there anything worse than someone else trying to be you? Let’s just say someone has their eye on Rosie while she has her eye on red-flag author and they like what they see.

5/💓💓💓💓💓 It’s a very well-executed whodunit and I loved how the present affects the past and affects the future. It’s an interwoven mystery that would keep any reader’s attention, and it does keep you guessing until the very end. I would love to see this onscreen! The themes are so relatable and all my thriller girlies would love this one. The ending made me tear up! Just a reminder: you don’t have to be the “cool girl,” you already are! You are also never alone.

Cross my Heart comes out on January 14, 2025! Don’t miss it. Thank you so much to Netgalley and Atria Books for the e-arc!

I thoroughly believe @megancollinswriter wrote this book specifically for me. I loved everything about this book - I loved the Taylor Swift and Friends references! (I knew exactly what episodes she was talking about) I loved the story telling using emails, and text messages. I loved the YOU vibes it gave, and the twist!!! So good!!

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for this read. This was good. I felt like it was quite detailed in places making it a slow burb but fast in others. It worked which I don’t find in a lot of books. This book gave me the creeps many times. I was sitting there with my eyes wide open many times. This was a fun read ( in parts) :).

Holy cow...I was completely absorbed in this book from the moment I picked it up.

I loved the perfect way Ms. Collins misled, misdirected and "red herring-ed" us all over the place as we tried to decide if we were dealing with an unreliable narrator, the least lucky donor recipient in the world, or one just knew too many people who were Cookoo for Cocoa Puffs. You'll have to read to find out but what a fun ride.

I love, love, loved it.

Thank you to publisher for gifting me this 5-star gift. All opinions are honest and my own.

This one kept me on my toes. I really thought I had things figured out but nope!

So many twists and wow… I loved Rosie. I’m still reeling from how this one ended.

I loved this book so much; it was such a great read. There were so many twists and turns and it was fantastic. Some of the twists were so much fun and I was completely shocked by how they worked out. I was so addicted to this reading experience. It was so unique. The mixed media was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed the conversation back and forth between Rosie and Morgan. It really helped add to the intrigue of the story and sucked me in. I have enjoyed other books by this author a whole lot, but this one might be my favorite. I think they truly get better with each book that they write and I cannot wait to see what they come up with next.

If you’re looking for a gripping thriller that doesn’t let up until the very end, then you need to check this one out.

4⭐️

I really enjoy Megan Collins' writing style and her previous thrillers. She always keeps me guessing, and just when I think I've figured everything out, I discover I was completely wrong. This book was no exception.

In this story, we follow Rosie, who has recently undergone a heart transplant. She begins to connect with the husband of her donor, leading to a darker twist on the premise of "You've Got Mail." The narrative is presented in a mixed-media format, which I found to be a refreshing touch that made the book stand out. I also appreciated the clever Taylor Swift Easter eggs sprinkled throughout the story.

I found the characters, especially Rosie, to be quite unlikable. Rosie often takes things too far and reacts impulsively in various situations. However, I didn't mind that I didn't connect with the characters, as I believe that was intentional. Rosie isn't meant to be level-headed or particularly lovable, which adds to the complexity of the story.

I would recommend this book to most thriller lovers especially ones that enjoy mix media Elena's elements. Megan Collins will continue to be a go to author for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for this advanced reader copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

This book was a banger!!

Rosie has had a hard year. From being dumped in her wedding dress to having a heart transplant. She is hoping her year will start to look up by connecting with the husband her heart belong to.

This book was so fast paced the book entire time. I could not put this book down until the very last page. I could not decide how stable Rosie is because she was an amazing unreliable narrator.

I was on the edge of my seat and needed to see how this story would play out. I could picture every scene so vividly.

This was a fresh new take on a thriller that didn’t feel dry or overused.

Genre: Thriller
APK: Ebook
Pages: 320
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Series or Standalone: Stand-alone

Thank you Atria Books for giving me a free copy of Cross My Heart for an honest review. 💜💜

After reading/hearing Megan Collins's pitch her book on social medial as a Taylor Swift Rep vibe thriller, I knew I immediately needed to read it!

Rosie just wants to be loved by someone who'll love her back the same way. A year after her heart transplant, she may have found the one in the form of her heart donor's spouse. Writing messages to him on DonorConnect, she instantly clicks with him and wants to know more about who the husband truly is. She knows that they are meant to be together and she'll go to any end to make sure he knows this too. Yet, when disturbing comments begin to pop up on his instagram page claiming he killed his dead wife, she begins to question everything. She crosses her heart to find the truth, one way or another.

Cross My Heart had me gasping and turning the pages of my kindle as there was one shocking thing happening after another. After hitting that 60% mark, I thought I knew EVERYTHING and even crossed my facts! While not correct, I found this novel to be one that'll leave you wondering if people truly do try to connect once more with their organ donors or other twisted ways of fate. I enjoyed the Taylor Swift references and the message at the end about truly loving yourself before anyone else out there.

3 stars.

This book kind of confused me a little bit. Not really sure how else to explain it. Might have to do a reread.

3.5 stars rounded up.

A year after Rosie's heart transplant, she reaches out to the husband of her heart donor on DonorConnect, an anonymous messaging service meant to allow organ donors and/or their families to connect to recipients. When he writes back, Rosie is quick to see a potential romantic connection and quickly becomes a little obsessive. That brief premise doesn't do the book justice, though, because there's so much more going on here--stolen identities, murder allegations, heartbreak (literal and metaphorical).

This was a very twisty plot--I was convinced that I had figured out one of the major twists halfway through the book but wasn't even close. The author was good at building suspense and adding in unpredictable surprises. I did find Rosie's character to be a little naïve/annoying at points and didn't love her narration, but overall the book a was still an enjoyable read and recommended for fans of psychological thrillers.

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

Thank you to Atria Books publishing for providing me an ARC copy via Netgalley for my review!

Oh man this book! I wasn't sure I would like it just because I'm not typically a romance kind of reader in any way, and domestic thrillers aren't my exact cup of tea. However, I loved this one. First, the fact that it revolved around a heart transplant recipient was unique and genius. Second, I could not put it down, I needed to keep reading. Third, this book had me guessing the entire time, I would think I had it figured out, had my theories, and yet couldn't piece it together in the end. So I appreciate the constant guessing and second guessing of my predictions. Definitely kept me very interested, and was a quick, easy read. All the characters were a little wacko, but I think it really just emphasized the story. A great read! Definitely recommend!

Rosie Lachlan works in her parents bridal salon. She went through a devastating breakup a year ago, then dealt with serious heart problems that required her to undergo a heart transplant. She decides to go on DonorConnect to message her donor’s family. She suspects her heart was Daphne Thorne, the wife of a successful, local writer named Morgan Thorne. As Rosie and Morgan began exchanging messages, Rosie convinces herself they are meant to end up together. Rosie starts looking into Daphne’s life and Morgan and Daphne’s relationship after she hears rumors that Morgan may have had something to do with her death. Rosie seems to go through life looking for The One and as her friend puts it looks at everything through “Rosie colored glasses”. This was a good paced book that keeps you guessing what will happen next. The characters were well written and really drew you in. You can’t help to see Rosie’s flaws but still love her and root for her to find happiness in life and be happy with herself. I highly recommend this book. I give it 4.5 stars which I’ll round up to 5.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on January 4, 2025.

This book was SOOO good. Like seriously, Megan did her thing with this one! I loved the sprinklings of emails. I had a suspicion of what the ending was going to be, but I was also so surprised by so many parts of it. This is a read in one sitting book for sure!

I have read all of Megan Collins' books and have loved them all! This one, however, was not my favorite... The premise started off really intriguing and I was very anxious to see where it would go. I DID love the first twist that was about mid-way through the book. But after that, it kind of turned into a different book altogether. Megan Collins writes beautifully and she remains an auto-read for me, this one just wasn't a hit.