This is an ingenious book. Part romance, part thriller, it keeps the reader off balance the whole time. While you wonder how reliable your narrator is, you flip between whether to love her or hate her, and wonder if she has learned anything at all. The twists in this were expertly executed. I consider this my first 5 star book of 2025.

A dream novel for all the Swifties who love a little chaos in their lives.

Megan Collins pays homage to all the women who have been called "crazy" with subtle name drops in the classic easter egg way. The story kept me entertained and engaged throughout as I kept guessing what would happen next! I feel like the characters were so relatable which helped progress the story along.

I definitely plan to read more of Megan Collins works in the future!

Wow, this was my first book by this author and I would for sure read one. What a ride! I enjoy the suspense and the pacing throughout.

As a thriller lover, this book had everything I wanted and more. I was hooked from the very start. I loved all the Taylor Swift references. Rosie was a mess but I also loved her character. I was truly drawn into her personality and really wanted to know the full story of what happened with her ex the whole time I was reading. I enjoyed how her best friend seemed specious. I really thought she was up to something. It was fun to read, like town gossip about all of the "friends" Rosie met in the book. Who end up maybe attacking her? The only thing I will say it that it did drag on a bit. Other than that, this was a really enjoyable read.

I really enjoyed this book thriller. The beginning took me a little bit to get into, but once I did I flew through it. When part 2 started I was completely caught off guard by the twist. I saw the second twist coming, but still thoroughly enjoyed.

I really enjoyed Rosie's story and the premise to CROSS MY HEART.

Rosie gets in touch with the widower of the woman whose donated heart is now keeping Rosie alive. And from there the plot thickens....

The widower is an author and I enjoyed the various books-within-this-book viewpoint.

I thought the story was a bit slow for the first quarter of the book, but then it became fast-paced with a few twists and turns.

I love a good unreliable narrator and Rosie certainly fit the bill.

Most of the twists were surprising, but there were a couple I figured out.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for an e-copy of CROSS MY HEART to review.

I rate CROSS MY HEART four out of five stars.

Cross My Heart is a pulse-pounding thriller! I barely glanced through the synopsis before reading and it was so fun to just be along for the ride as the story moved through the chapters. I never knew where it was going next! This is a bookish thriller featuring an author and I loved that extra bit of literary twist. Readers of Shari Lapena will love this1

3.5 stars!
I really enjoyed this book! While it started off a little weird and I was not exactly sure where it was going, I ended up hooked and reading it fairly quickly. There was one twist I did not see coming. For me, the ending was not super shocking but I already had my suspicions about who had done it. Overall, a very good thriller that kept me interested. This is my first Megan Collins book and I look forward to reading more form her!





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

Well this was a wild ride.
Book opens to emails sent back and forth through Donerconnect. Probably not the best place to fall in love, but Rosie does it anyway.
I feel like I could spoil the twists so easily with a thorough review, so I’ll just say this…
In a reading slump? Read this.
Need a fast paced thriller? Read this.
Want something just a little different? Read this.
Loved it. Thank you netgalley for the ARC!

Definitely a fast moving suspense story. Loved the idea of the heart donor and meeting the family of the donor. And there were plots within the plot . I loved the twists and turns really kept me guessing. My first by Megan Collins definitely not my last. I questioned every character and loved that fact that the story kept me guessing. Rosie was a character but can she be trusted?

The vibes in this one were giving me the heebies. Our main character is dealing with a lot rn including a heart transplant and while she's not completely healthy physically she's also not completely mentally healthy. She's obsessed with the man who was married to her heart donor for one. Actually I'm not going to say more than that because spoilers but if you want a cat and mouse story where everyone and their mothers are a suspect or at least shady af then try this out.

I liked the plot, I hated all the characters and enjoyed the writing style.

Thank you to the publisher for the advanced copy!

I thought this one had a slower start but it ramped up for me and turned into a book I had to keep reading to find out how it was going to end. I've read other books from the author and she doesn't disappoint.

I was so intrigued by the premise of this and I have enjoyed other books by this author, but this wasn’t my favorite. I didn’t really care for our MC or her friends, and the chapters were a little longer than I usually like. The ending kind of went off the rails a little bit, not necessarily in a bad way if you like crazy twisty endings.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Wow this book ! If you love absolutely unhinged reads this is definitely for you!! I LOVED the format of this book. It is split between Rosie’s present day POV, email exchanges between her and the donors husband, excerpts from a thriller authors book, excerpts of poetry and a journal style emails sent from the author to his friend. The different formats flow so well together weaving an overall picture of the story as it plays out in real time.

There are some big twists which come as a SHOCK but there’s nothing that excites me more than a complete 180 in a book plot where I’m left racing to figure out just exactly what is happening before the author reveals it to you.

Overall I LOVED this book, it’s the kind of book you fight between savouring and taking your time with or racing through all the pages because you’re desperate to see how it ends.

This book takes you on a wild ride and I loved every second!! I love Rosie’s character because she makes you feel like it’s okay to be a little crazy sometimes!

Title: Cross My Heart
By: Megan Collins
Pub. Date: January 14, 2024

Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Psychological Thriller,

Red Flags:
Domestic Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Murder, Mental Illness, Toxic Relationship, Stalking
*A few pages of sexual content throughout the novel. Begins in Chapter 9.*

Summary/Review:
A heart transplant offers love in a whole new way. Rosie, is the recent recipient of a heart transplant and thanks to donor connect she can reach out and thank the donor’s husband. Morgan is grateful to connect with Rosie online, and appreciates their connection. However, soon the connection becomes more than he bargained for, a novel with unexpected suspense.

I felt this novel was okay, the twists and turns were predictable for me, except for one. The most important twist felt out of place. The writing leading up to and after didn’t work for me, and left me wondering what was going on with the plotline. Some readers may enjoy this type of read, however, it didn’t work for me. I did like the main characters, and the overall premise for the novel. For this reason, I am giving it three stars.

Thank you to Megan Collins, Atria Books, and NetGalley for the Advanced Readers Copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

#AtriaBooks
#reluctantreaderreads
#advancedreadercopies
#NetGalley

This is a gripping, fast-paced, addictive thriller you must read!!

I was hooked from the very first page! Megan Collins’ use of emails within the text add so much to the story. We get a second POV without having a second narrator.

This story is actually so unhinged and everybody in the book is a bit delulu but we absolutely love it. These characters add so much to the story.

The twists were twistin. I gasped about 100 times while reading this. Every moment, character and detail in this book are relevant and draw you in. I was unable to put this book down.

I really enjoyed Cross Your Heart. It’s a juicy, crazy tale and I thought that the plot was clever. Rosie is a heart transplant recipient who begins to correspond with the husband of her donor, a famous mystery writer. In a twisty tale, she begins to question whether what happened to his wife was an accident. The plot has several layers but it’s better to go in with less info! I enjoy reading a thriller that doesn’t follow the same cookie cutter storyline and I thought that the pacing and length were perfect. There’s also some mixed media elements in the writing that I really liked.

If you’re looking for an easy read that keeps your attention, this is for you! Thank you to Atria Books and Megan Collins for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review!

What an excellent thriller! I was drawn in immediately, and I was sorry to see the story end. It was my first exposure to the author and now she joins my to be read list.

Rosie has undergone a heart transplant, and the one she received belonged to the wife of Morgan Thorne, a popular author. So when she has the opportunity to connect with him via Donor Connect, an anonymous messaging platform, she starts sending messages and he responds. She becomes convinced that they have the potential for the real thing.

Rosie has a history of a sort of relationship obsession and her best friend Nina, and also Rosie’s parents, are concerned that it could happen again. The writer does an absolutely masterful job of weaving messages in and out of the narrative, and for quite awhile I wasn’t sure about which ones were real. This was artfully done and served to enhance the suspense.

The mysteries keep on coming at first, and I could hardly wait to get back to the book each time. There are multiple twists! The ending was a little weak after such a strong beginning, but I still heartily recommend the story.

I’m giving this one 4.5 stars, rounded up!

Thank you Altria Books and NetGalley for the e-ARC of the book.

Romantic Rosie just recently received a heart transplant and decides to connect to her donor’s husband through anonymous service. The more they communicate the more Rosie is convinced that the widower is a famous local author and his wife’s death might not be an accident.

What a journey this book was for me. I loved how it made me to second guess all characters motives and their personalities. Is Rosie really that naive or is she crazy stalker? Did Morgan kill his wife or something else happened there? First part of the book was a little slow for me but with one twist I had to go back in the book and reread couple of chapters because the situation shifted.

This was such a fun and twisty thriller!! Definitely recommend for someone that’s a fan of cat and mouse chases and a slightly unreliable narrator!! I had a feeling about the killer and I love being right, but I’m more so love how we got there!! if you’re in the mood for a quick thriller, that’ll keep you guessing this is a good one