I would give this book more stars if I could! It was heartfelt, engaging, page turning, and completely lovely. The characters are well-written, the plot is very unique and I only wish I could have continued to read about Emery, Nick, Bonnie, Colin and the others for a longer time. I think Ms Hunter treated so many themes, gay marriage, serious illness, death, divorce, and love, with a gentle hand that still managed to get the message through. After reading this and her debut novel, One Moment, I will always pick up one of her books to read.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and author for this ebook arc to read. All opinions are my own

I spent last night processing this book. This book is unlike any other book I’ve ever read, although I will say just like any other book she’s (Emily Stone (pen name)) written I sobbed. Becky has a way of emotionally connecting you to her characters and hitting you hard at that big moment in her books. She’s good at making your really think and out yourself in these scenarios. This book was no different.

This story was a wild ride of life, health scares, tragedies, family tensions and whole experience with the in between of life and death. In the in-between we meet Nick, a man who guides you to accepting your death. Well, what happens when you have a heart condition where you clinically die on occasion, but can be revived. At the age of 5 Emery’s family discovers she has a rare heart condition where instances of surprise or pain can cause her heart to spasm and stop, but as long as she has someone to revive her, she is just fine. You Make My Heart stop follows her through the many years of her life from childhood into adulthood, and the many instances where she meets Nick and builds a friendship/relationship. As life gets hard she wants to run to him, but to do that she would have to leave everyone she loves and who love her. The tension and tug and pull of her heart in this book is tragic and eye opening. While there was an underlying string of romance, it was clearly not the focal point. This book was about seeing the value of life and living.

Thank you NetGalley, Forever (Grand Central Publishing), and Becky Hunter for allowing me to read an advanced complimentary copy of the book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Wow. What a beautiful, heartbreaking and emotional book! Becky managed to create an entirely unique premise, and used magical realism to write a book that will stay on my mind for a really long time!

Emery has a condition where her heart can stop at any moment. Each time it does, she meets Nick in the space between life and death. His job is to guide souls into the afterlife. Emery is the only person who he continues to meet again and again, and eventually they fall in love. There's no way they can be together forever, and yet when Emery is given a chance to fix her heart condition, she wonders how can she could possibly live without ever seeing him again.

Becky Hunter writes the most beautiful words! This book flowed so well, the characters leapt off the page, and I devoured every bit of it. I couldn't figure out how the story was going to wrap up, but I should have known that it would have the best possible resolution. I will say that I wish there could have been more of Nick scenes. A large part of the book didn't have him in it, since Emery only interacted with him when her heart stopped. And for that reason, it felt like the romance was secondary to other themes in the book. It was more of an exploration of grief, childhood trauma, family dynamics and guilt, with a focus on Emery as she grows up and comes to terms with her situation. And that wasn't a bad thing at all! This was definitely a book that made you think and question what you would do if you were in her situation.

I truly enjoyed reading this one, and highly recommend it, especially if you're someone who prefers your romance novels to be on the more emotional side.

You Make My Heart Stop will publish on April 22nd, 2025. A huge thank you to the author for sending me a signed ARC of her book. I will always treasure it! And thank you to Netgalley and Forever publishing for providing me with an e-arc as well.

A solid book about grief and taking a stab at life. It was a bit of a miss as it felt too long and drawn out for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc. Unfortunately, this book was not my cup of tea. Even though it was marketed as a romantic comedy, I found this book to be utterly depressing.

First off, thank you NetGalley, Forever Publishing, and Becky Hunter for the opportunity to read this book.

The premise of this book is so interesting. This idea that something as simple as the shock of a thorn prick could stop her heart. While I know that the condition that Emery has is a work of fiction, the concept still fascinated me. I do like that we get to grow with Emery and we literally see her every stage of her life, and get to grow with her. And coming along as well is Nick, her ghost/guide/soul mate who also gets to see Emery at every stage of her life.

What I appreciated most in the book was Nick. He never wanted Emery to stay with him. He always knew it wasn’t her time. He always wanted her to have more to her life than what he could offer her. It was interesting to see Emery try and sometimes fail at that, but I love that she tried.

There were so many things that I wanted to like in this book, but some things fell flat. There were times I wanted more of her relationship with Nick & also Colin. He was another constant in her life that I wanted more there. I loved the relationship with Amber in the first part of the book but towards the middle things just didn’t develop as much.

There were definitely things that worked in this book, and it kind of reminded me of the Time Travelers Wife at times. Thank you again, to NetGalley and the publishers for this book. I always appreciate the team at Forever sharing books with us.

Wow were there a lot of tears pouring out of my eyes at the end. I thought I was coming out okay knowing that it’s about grief and hardship, but I was reading it going into work and didn’t know if my eyes were gonna be super puffy but couldn’t NOT finish it!

If I’m honest, I wasn’t super gripped throughout at all because it was so long before she actually let herself be happy. It was so long before she let herself and Colin try. It was so obvious who she SHOULD have tried with and who was the one for her, but I was so frustrated at how she kept pushing him away even though he was very, very clear with his intentions. It was so painful seeing his hope over allll those years. I also know it was her trying to be selfless and dealing with her own guilt, but man was it long and painful. I almost stopped in the middle because I was so frustrated with Emery and how she was with her people, how selfish she seemed, but I know in the end she was trying to be selfless and finally was willing to let herself live without the guilt and try to have something for herself. So proud of her and can see that in all of us!

I was also hoping for something more resolution with mom and dad, but I know at least there was some reconciliation there. As a parent, I can understand the desire to keep our kids safe, especially when this happens at such a young age. I couldn’t help but put myself in their shoes and reminded myself to let my kids live. So overall, I enjoyed it though my eyes may say otherwise...

This was a quite a tragic love story with an ending I’m not completely satisfied with, but gosh, I was absolutely hooked. It left me with tears! Emery has a heart condition that causes her heart to stop in moments of stress. And in these near moments of death, she is transported to an in-between place where she meets Nick, an angel of sorts with a past of his own, living a lonely existence as he helps others cross over.

It’s a bit of a love triangle, but definitely a complicated, bittersweet one. Beginning when Emery is just five years old, there’s multiple time jumps, each inevitably leading to the next moment her heart will stop. There are some great conversations about life and death, and overall, I really ached for Emery, her overprotective father, and this unique experience she is forced to live. Even knowing the risk, she continually pushes her limits, always with the underlying hope of seeing Nick again… gah! I ate it up!

Becky Hunter's You Make My Heart Stop is a highly emotional story of what it means to be alive and how fate and love can be driving forces in deciding how to live your life.

Emery meets Nick for the first time when she has her first episode as a child. She has a very rare heart condition that means her heart can stop at any moment. Emery goes many years before the next episode and thus, many years before she sees Nick again. Each time Emery has a brush with death, she sees Nick and they test the limits of their time together. When given a chance at a real future, Emery struggles with her chance to be normal, which means no more meetings with Nick.

You Make My Heart Stop definitely can be triggering in many regards, but it also is a beautiful story of making the most of life and deciding your own fate. This book won't be for everyone given the seriousness of its storyline, but it also has the potential to capture your heart if you let it.

Thank you Forever and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for the honest review!

It’s a story about love and fate, about seizing every moment even when the future feels uncertain. It’s emotional, powerful, and completely unforgettable. My heart is shattered in the best way.

Emery and Nick’s connection bends the boundaries of life and death itself.

Emery has spent her life knowing her heart could stop at any moment, but what no one else knows is that when it does, she sees Nick. As she’s offered a chance at a real future, she’s faced with an impossible choice between love and life.

This book delivers a beautifully bittersweet romance!

Emery’s struggle to have a life beyond her illness is so hard!!

The story explores mortality, loneliness, and the delicate balance between holding on and letting go!

Such a unique concept!

Thank you NetGalley and Forever Publishing for the ARC

Book Review: You Make My Heart Stop
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: Becky Hunter
Publisher: Forever. @readforeverpub

You Make My Heart Stop explores an intriguing and emotional premise—what happens when your soulmate exists only in the space between life and death? With echoes of Jojo Moyes and Kirsty Greenwood, Becky Hunter crafts a poignant story about love, fate, and impossible choices.

Emery, living with a life-threatening heart condition, finds herself caught between two worlds: the life she has and the love she can only reach when her heart stops. Nick, the soul guide who exists beyond the veil, is her perfect match—but he can never be hers in the real world. As Emery teeters between life and afterlife, she must decide whether to embrace the unknown or seize the future that’s still within her grasp.

The book shines in its portrayal of Emery and Nick’s bittersweet connection, offering beautifully written moments between them. However, the rest of the story doesn’t quite hit the same emotional depth. Emery’s interactions with her family and friends, particularly her best friend Colin, often feel forced, making those sections less engaging. While her relationship with her sister Amber gains traction toward the end, some aspects of their dynamic—like the implication that Amber raised her—feel inconsistent.

Despite its potential, You Make My Heart Stop falls a little flat in execution. The concept is unique, the themes of love and loss are compelling, but the emotional impact is uneven. Readers who love slow, contemplative romances with a touch of the supernatural may still enjoy this one, but for others, it might not fully deliver on its promise. That said, Becky Hunter continues to tackle rare and thought-provoking themes, and I look forward to seeing what she writes next.

#YouMakeMyHeartStop #BeckyHunter #ParanormalRomance #EmotionalRead #SupernaturalLove #HeartfeltFiction #AfterlifeLove #BittersweetRomance #BookLover #FantasyRomance #LoveAndLoss #PoignantReads #FateAndDestiny #UniquePremise #SlowBurnRomance #readers #read #books #ReadingCommunity #bookstagram #booksofinstagram #readreadread #readersgonnaread #bookstagrammer #booksbooksbooks #readmorebooks #bookshelf

Such a more than magical novel. It will tug your heart on every page as you learn about Emery and her heart disease which causes her to die and resetate over and over through her life. In death, she has a guide, Nick, who becomes a friend to her as he is present every time she dies. In her life, she struggles to find her place away from an over caring parent. A do not miss novel.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I picked this book up because of the interesting premise of a person dying over and over again throughout their life due to a heart condition. I didn’t know that this book would eventually wreck me, but in the best way.

Emery has a heart condition where stress can make her heart stop at random times. When she dies, she ends up in a mysterious in between place where a man is there to “guide” her. His job is to help people accept their death and move on, but Emery is the first person he’s encountered that returns multiple times. We follow her life and all of the instances where these two meet in the in between. Emery’s journey of finding herself and finding her place in this world despite having a piece of herself in the in between is so compelling and will keep you desperately wanting more.

This story addressed mortality, loneliness, guilt, and belonging in a way that was intriguing yet refreshing. I absolutely loved it and will carry this story with me for a long time. Be prepared to be emotionally drained at the end but in a way that leaves you feeling satisfied. Thank you Becky for such a thought-provoking book.

Thank you so much to Forever Publishing for access to the eARC of this book!

Thank you NetGalley and Hackette books for giving me the opportunity to read this arc.

Spoilers:

This book was very original. It spans the life of a woman with a heart condition where she intermittently dies. It is told in snippets of her life and deaths.

It was heartfelt and there is a lot of character development in both the primary and secondary characters.

I wish we could have had a little feeling and romance between Emery and her love interests. The depth just wasn’t there and I feel like we miss a lot of what gets the couple together besides proximity to each other through out their lives. It felt flat. This might be by design as she loves two men in different “worlds” so she may not be able to give herself fully to either.

You Make My Heart Stop” by Becky Hunter is an interesting take on love and mortality, blending romance with a touch of the supernatural. The premise—where Emery, who has a heart condition, repeatedly meets Nick in a liminal space between life and death—is unique and has moments of emotional depth. However, while the concept is intriguing, the execution feels a bit predictable at times, and some characters could have been more developed. Overall, it’s an okay read—enjoyable for those who like heartfelt, slightly whimsical love stories but not necessarily a standout in the genre.

This was ok but wasn't my favorite. It missed the mark a bit.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

You Make My Heart Stop had me crying like a baby by the end. Emery, with her heart condition that causes her to enter a purgatory-like state, is a complex, deeply human character. While her illness isn’t real, her struggle with life and death feels painfully authentic. Becky Hunter did a great job making her both frustrating and endearing. As readers, we’re torn between wanting her to live and wishing she could join Nick, her “ghost man,” in the afterlife. Their connection is beautiful, heartbreaking, and honest, and the ambiguous ending, while painful, felt incredibly real in a strange, afterlife sort of way.

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever Publishing for letting me read this amazing story and allowing me write a review.

I literally could not put this book down. The first line of the book captured my attention. Yup if a book grabs my attention like that, I will find a way to read the entire book in one day. Yes, I admit : I did not tend to all the adult duties that I was supposed to do today. I just had know what journey Emery was going to go on. It was that good of a story! So good! So powerful! So real!

I laughed, I whooped and I did get teary eyed a few times. It's a heartfelt story of life, choices, living, love, grief and coping. It was amazing, magical and a tad scary (if you want to see it from that perspective). I loved the trials and relationships that Emery navigates in. You could just feel everything from her.

I am definitely getting a physical book for my collection! Plus the cover is gorgeous! I am so thrilled and lucky to have read this story. Thank you again to the author, Netgalley and Forever Publishing!

I was really looking forward to this one from the description as I love when romance and women’s fiction meet. Unfortunately it was not a success for me. I didn’t find this to be romance at all and it left me feeling uncomfortable which is really hard to do as I don’t have any triggers.

I felt like this book didn’t know what it wanted to be. I felt the prose was choppy at times and it just didn’t flow. Maybe it was a “me” issue as someone who lives with chronic illness. Having a completely made up disease for entertainment value just doesn’t sit well with me and I find it ableist.

I’m going to leave it at the above as others may find it enjoyable. I am thankful to have gotten the ARC for free from Forever Pub through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again