I had absolutely no idea what to expect when I started this one (especially since I never learn my lesson and usually go into books blind), and what a wild ride this one was!!!!

after reaching out to her heart donor’s spouse, rosie goes a little off the deep end to get to know morgan 😅 and right from the start, I said to myself “this girl is obsessive” as she started to dream about having a whole life with a man she’s never met….

I was absolutely invested in this train wreck of a story, as I knew it was only going to get worse before it resolved! and boy was it a hot mess express 😳

I will say that the plot twists were a bit predictable and I did guess them all far before the reveal, but I also chalk that up to me simply reading so many thrillers… I did binge the entire story in two days as I couldn’t look away from the unlikable characters, the messy relationships, and of course the whodunnit mystery

thank you to netgalley and atria books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review! this one’s out next year!

rating: 3 stars
wine pairing: sonoma coast chardonnay

This was my first read by Megan Collins. I really like her style of writing. This book felt pretty fast paced while reading. I overall story was really good, I was engaged throughout the entire read. I was a little annoyed with the choices of the main character, but in the end it wrapped up pretty good and I did not see the ending coming. I loved that multiple twists that there were and thought it worked really well with the story.

I LOVED this. I had no idea where this was going. I loved the drama and tension and all the characters.

Wow! I was not prepared by how many twists and turns there were in our storyline! I predicted some of them, but the way this book was written - fast-paced, detailed - made reading about them much better than what I pictured when predicting it. I loved our unreliable narrator Rosie and the entire story’s premise was a hit from the start. Will definitely recommend to anyone looking for a suspenseful read! 4.75/5

Thank you Atria Books for the ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

Cross My Heart has love, obsessions, stalking and TWISTS! You might think you understand who loves who and who is obsessed with who and who is stalking you, but you don't! Rosie has struggled with heart-break and heart issues, but thinks she may have found her soul-mate, but does her soulmate know?! And what exactly are all of the other characters roles or motives in her life? The author brings a variety of characters together in ways that you can't predict. This was a good read, and a good story!

#CrossMyHeart #NetGalley

SYNOPSIS
- Rosie, a heart transplant recipient, uses DonorConnect to anonymously connect with her donor’s husband, Morgan.
- Rosie works at her parents’ bridal salon, and she lives an apartment above her parents’ garage. She has had a bit an ✨interesting ✨dating history. She loves love & relationships, and she wants to find her person.
- Morgan is a famous author. His wife, Daphne, was a poet, and she died about a year ago.

MY THOUGHTS
- OMGGGG that was so good!!
- Realistic & well-developed characters.
- Loved the different perspectives. We get Rosie’s POV, the DonorConnect messages between Rosie & Morgan, emails from Morgan to his friend (which are more like diary entries), a few voicemails from Morgan, & excerpts of Daphne’s poems.
- Expertly plotted & paced.
- Satisfying ending.
- Impossible to put down. Lots of infatuation, obsessing, & unhinged behavior.
- At times, Rosie reminded me of Joe Goldberg in You, but why was I also ready to fight for her?! My girl was delulu, but I loved her still.
- Unreliable narrators everywhere.

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️READ THIS ASAP!! OMG SOOOOO GOOD.

Thanks to Atria Books & Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchanges for an honest review. This book will be published on January 14, 2025.

This was soooo good. I could not put it down. Loved the twists and turns. Lots of surprises. And the ending - chef's kiss!

really surprisingly great thriller from Collins! i didn’t expect it to have such an emotional layer to it, and that’s really what made this book strong for me - i found myself really resonating with Rosie and her issues with relationships. the story itself is fast paced, bingeable, and a unique premise, but it’s definitely the characters that set it apart from an average thriller.

Heart transplants that come with a whole lot more. Cross My Heart written by Megan Collins brings a suspenseful story with twists and confusion, perhaps too many. A woman with pink hair and an obsessive personality has a heart transplant after a break-up. Slowly we learn all the things she did prior to getting sick and it shows she needed help to cope better with the curve balls being thrown at you each day. Fast-forward to learning her heart came from the wife of a famous author, and she died under somewhat strange circumstances. Collins brought in so much drama with double identity and hidden agendas, it became hard to follow when two characters, in some ways, had the same name. Readers can keep track of it, but you still want to know what's really happening. So I found myself both loving and not loving the plot. Otherwise it was a good read, just not clear/clean enough to match the author's prior caliber. Will continue to read more from her tho.

Fast-paced and great premise.
Not my favorite of hers but still a decent read.
Lil too much romance for me, and ending a bit wonky.
Despite not being my favorite, i will still read EVERYTHING Collins writes.
I received an ARC from netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for giving me this arc!
I so loved this book! We follow Rosie, who may or may not be a crazy stalker.Thank you, Netgalley, and the publisher for giving me this arc!

I so loved this book! We follow Rosie, who may or may not be a crazy stalker. She recently had a heart transplant and started messaging with her donor's widowed husband, Morgan. And she starts fantasizing about a life she could have with him. He's handsome, funny, and a successful author. However, Rosie has a past of seeing things through "Rosie colored glasses," as her friend Nina says.

This book was a wild ride from the first page. It really kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. It was full of twists and turns I didn't see coming. I was questioning everything and everyone in this book. It had me going back to see if I missed things, but no, the author was really clever with how one of the big twists happened.

I also liked Rosie as the protagonist. She isn't perfect, and let's you know from the get-go. She knows she has problems but just wants to be loved so bad. In fact, the whole theme of the book is about loneliness and heartbreak. But also overcoming the bad stuff and growing and learning to love yourself first

I really enjoyed this book! It started off seeming like a romance story to me. There’s a lot of emails back and forth and gushy stuff. But I was into it! The main character is a bit obsessive and at times she kind of annoyed me because she wrote off every single red flag. But then the suspense and thriller aspects come in! It was a twisted story with a lot of twists, crazy revelation after crazy revelation!! I really enjoyed it! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Thank you Atria Books for the gifted digital ARC!

I have really come to love Megan Collins as an author, her books just get better and better for me. This one was sooo twisty and fun, with a main character I *almost* didn't want to root for.

Once the twists started getting unraveled they just kept coming, which I loved. There was one twist I did guess but for the most part I did not see the ending coming and that is always such a huge plus with me when it comes to thrillers.

Collins has definitely cemented herself as an auto-read author for me!

Cross My Heart pub date is January 14.

It's been a while since I enjoyed a thriller and boy this was quite a ride! I devoured this in one day. Every time I thought I had it figured out, a new twist would emerge and keep me on my toes.

We follow our main character Rosie who starts to fall for her heart donors husband. Rosie thinks she is living her dream rom com fantasy only to discover things are not what they seem. Rosie has to take off her rose colored lense and try to distinguish what is fact or fiction. Will she figure it out in time or will her dream romance end like a horror novel?

Highly recommend and if you're a Swiftie, there's some fun references for you too.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for an ARC of this book.

This was a fun, twisty read. The concept is engaging: a recipient of a heart transplant starts a relationship with the husband of the woman's whose heart she has received.

The novel often reminds you that you're reading a fictional novel rather than permitting you full escapism into a believeable world. Part of that is due to the nature of the plot and its sometimes epistolary delivery--which is creative and inventive. However, that also stopped me from a fully immersive reading experience with this one.

Final thoughts: This would be a great beach read; it will keep you turning the pages!

What challenges might arise when a heart transplant recipient becomes infatuated with the husband of her donor? The narrative unfolds with numerous twists and unsettling events. Rosie is determined to discover her one true love. However, as she conceals certain secrets from Morgan, the object of her fixation, he harbors his own unsettling surprises from the past that could pose a threat. This is a story you won't want to miss!

Cross My Heart from Megan Collins is Return to Me, a movie with Minnie Driver, but ....dark.

Convinced she has the heart of Morgan's wife, Daphne, Rosie sets out to connect with him on DonorsConnect. After a few email exchanges with Morgan, Rosie is in love. That's all she wants, to be loved. It's her favorite thing.

BUT, Rosie is out of her mind. She will do anything to get with Morgan. Liking the same hobbies he does. Liking the same movies. Etc Etc. Girlfriend is doing way, way too much.

As expected, things spiral in a dark way. But....who is at fault here? Is Morgan the dream man that Rosie thinks? Is Rosie off her rocker?

Megan Collins has written an excellent take on organ donation and the after effects. People may have good intentions or .... people might be just....good-hearted goofy women who think too much of love.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

What a ride! This book was nothing like I expected, in the very best way. During the first half of the story I thought the plot was going one way, when suddenly part two hits and we’re completely reversing course. I love when a suspense novel is able to “fool” me.

Rosie is such a multi-layered MC. She’s empathetic even while you’re screaming at her actions. I really enjoyed her POV - I felt like the author did a great job putting us in her head to see how she handled her heart transplant, family dynamics and friendships, her work, and that elusive thing called love. The mystery element was an added bonus, and this story kept me hooked from start to finish.

I think we’re all a little bit Rosie - a little bit naive, a little bit crazy (unhinged), worried about being alone, worried about not meeting everyone else’s expectations, just wanting to be loved. You just can’t help rooting for her!

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I love stalker-y vibes in a thriller, and this book delivered!

Rosie had a heart transplant a year ago, and she’s convinced she knows whose heart she received. She becomes fixated on connecting with the donors husband, who is a well known mystery writer.

This book will keep you on your toes! I loved the way it was told, the chapters were perfectly paced and kept me intrigued. I definitely recommend the read!

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted ARC

I enjoyed it! The first half had me on edge, and the plot twists were well done. The ending felt a little predictable, and I would have loved to see more dual POV, but overall, it was interesting.