What a wonderful book. There were so many facets to this story. Family relationships, marital relationships, work, life goals, medical issues (i. e., heart transplant), bravery, and trusting in God are just a few.

I loved this tale about Megan and her adventures while she continues to grow and mature and become the person God intended.

The dynamics between the characters were very real. Whether it was Megan and her parents, Megan and her sister, her sister and her husband, her sister and her boss...the emotions were real and ones to which I could relate in and believed were true.

Looking forward to more books by this wonderful author!

Thanks to the author for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

INTENSELY INSPIRATIONAL!

This is a beautiful story of twins with heart issues. Megan spent years missing out on life because of a heart condition that required many lengthy hospital stays and eventually received a heart transplant. Crystal felt guilty for having a healthy heart and buried herself in controlling all the things within her power. This novel will take you on an adventure of a lifetime with the characters where they discover new things about themselves and rediscover the love they have for each other. It’s a novel filled with misunderstandings, worry, illness, old friends, healing, hope, bright future, restoration, familial love and romantic love. What more can you ask for in a good novel? I was provided an ARC by the Publisher. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own and without influence.

Great story. Family, friendship , love, achievement, everything is in this book.

Beautiful story showing how even while stressful circumstances can cause tension between siblings, there is hope to find the way back to each other. Each person in the story handles life in different and unique ways. I cried while reading this one. The author writes with great emotion and empathy. A story I will read again. I received a copy of this book from the author and this is my own personal honest opinion.

"The heart between: by Lindsey Harret will make a nice "beach bag book" for this summer. What I respectfully mean is a light, feel good book. The story is about twin sisters. Crystal has grown up healthy, strong and a able to conquer any challenge that she comes her way while Megan is sick, weak and afraid. Megan, has had medical issues that required her to have a heart transplant. The story is about love, healing and realizing what is important in life and what is not. It's about priorities and not being afraid to take risks. The sisters relationship that becomes fragile during Megan's illness comes together in the end when they realize they need each other to heal.

I was really excited to read this book because I love to travel. It was definitely a cute and easy read, but I had some issues with cheesy parts and the fact they traveled across the world in a day without mention of getting to their destination. Like they went from Peru to the Taj Mahal between chapters...and I was trying figure out how in the world that made sense. It was evident Harrel knew more about London because it was a much more accurate description and storyline.

I appreciated how real the characters and relationships were, though I was frequently annoyed with Crystal's priorities. I was mentally telling them "stop!!" or "go for it!" because they were being dumb. But I get that it was the point of the story for them to learn and let go of controlling their lives.

Anyway, it was a cute read but I guess I was hoping for more.

*Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson for the ARC, for which I have given an honest and unbiased review*

A heartfelt contemporary story with a lot of hope, faith and romance!
The unique plot of this story was quite interesting, incorporating the past journal entries with the current blog as Megan filled in her own experiences. There was a lot of depth to the story, especially as the sisters worked through their own relationship, and both began to heal. Their characters were developed well, and the author does a good job of describing what they are going through, especially Megan who has lived so long with a chronic illness. It was easy to understand her fears and anxiety about taking risks. I cheered her on as she seemed to grow in strength and wisdom. It was fun to imagine traveling to all the places they went also.

Discussions of faith fit in well as the sisters both struggled with the past, and hoped to overcome the obstacles that came with it, affecting their current relationships and life direction. Both women realize they have lived in fear and have let it rule them, letting it rob them of the joy of truly living, something many of us can identify with if we are honest. I felt like the men in their lives had unrealistically high expectations of them given the circumstances. Themes of forgiveness, trusting God when it doesn't make sense, learning to let go and truly love someone, are worked well into the story line, as well as difficult topics like sexual abuse.
Readers who like a contemporary story with some faith, and realistic relationships, should enjoy this book.

This is Lindsay Harrel's second book, and it's becoming evident to me that her trademark is going to be incredibly deep character journeys. This book, as the title suggests, is full of heart. From beginning to end, the passion for life and figuring out one's faith and laying down one's fears make this journey one worth taking... several times. The fact that communication being key to relationships was featured made me smile and fall in love with this book even more. I've been saying for years that communication is crucial for any relationship to be successful, and it's wonderful when that outlook is emphasized and even featured in a fictional book.

Another fantastic aspect to this story is all the travel. From Rome to Australia to Greece to Peru -- not to mention a couple of stops in the good ol' U.S. of A. -- this book came alive with atmosphere, culture, and adventure. I really should get a passport and save up some money for international traveling, because Ms. Harrel made each location seem like the ideal vacation spot.

There are two reasons why this book only got four instead of five stars from me. Number one: God was called "the Big Guy" once, and I have always believed that this is an irreverent and too-casual way of referring to Him. Number two: There was an entire chapter devoted to skinny-dipping, and it was a "modest" character that was participating. It seemed out of character for her and the genre of Christian fiction. Were those two things done differently, this would have easily been a five-star read for me.

I don't know what else Lindsay Harrel has on her writing schedule, but I know this: She is a must-read author. She brings a ton of heart, deep character journeys, and loads of hope to her stories. I can hardly wait to see what adventure she'll take me on next time.

Content:
* bikini swimsuit
* skinny-dipping
* sexual abuse (handled off-screen and with grace)
* alcohol; pubs

I receive complimentary books from publishers, publicists, authors, and sites like Netgalley, Litfuse Publicity Group, and Blogging for Books. They do not require me to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

The Heart Between Us is an adventure for the reader. Megan Jacobs received her much-needed heart transplant years earlier, but she is afraid to embrace her new life. At 32, she lives with her parents and cannot seem to move away from her pre-transplant life of fear. Her twin sister Crystal lives in New York and is trying to balance marriage, her career and deal with her resentments toward Megan.

All this comes to a head when Megan meets her donor’s parents. The parents let her read their daughter’s journal. Filled with bucket list type longings, it is the catalyst that moves Megan to step out of her comfort zone. She wants to see and do all the things on the list.

In a bit of a problematic scene, somehow Crystal not only decides to go with Megan, who she has hardly spoken to since the transplant. And she receives permission from her architect firm to take off and travel the world during a stressful time.

Crystal and Brian, her husband are also having problems stemming from her workaholic lifestyle. And Megan is trying to come to terms with the fact that her friend, Caleb wants to be more than a friend. Both ladies have some self-esteem issues. The guys in their lives are understanding, but also are realistic as they must deal with their respective ladies. I liked the fact that both the guys did not put up with much from the sisters.

Traveling the world to fulfill her donor’s bucket list, we are treated to a great adventure. Seeing the world through both Megan and Crystal’s eyes was a treat. The backdrop to the entire adventure was the story of faith and redemption told very well.

I would recommend this book. I received a free copy of the book from NetGalley and Thomas Nelson--FICTION in exchange for my honest review. Thank you.

I'm going to admit something here; I really don't like to read about scary things. Cancer. Sickness. Abuse. Loss of a child. Addiction. Things that are more terrifying to me than any monster or zombie story, because I know the pain too well. Because, even at age 25, I've experienced many of those things myself or someone close to me.
My husband spent a huge chunk of his childhood dealing with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and, 13 years out, we often feel like we're just waiting on the next diagnosis. My mother-in-law is currently fighting breast cancer. All the while, I'm a young mom fighting back the fears that come with having two little ones in a terrifying world I can't control.
Fact is, I find those things hard to read about because they're just too close to my heart. And, to be honest, I cringed a few times while reading the first chapters of these books. And yet, I loved it, and I needed it.
Harrel has created engaging, soulful characters who take a journey I suspect many of us need in our lives; learning to overcome the crippling fears many of us live with and find joy in the everyday adventures of our lives. I wanted these characters to find their joy, to overcome their stumbling blocks and find love and strength. I was so invested that I felt torn each time I had to put the book down (which is often, with two babies in the house).
I've included the book description below, but instead of summarizing I just wanted to say this: if you find yourself struggling through fear, sickness, worry, marital problems, loneliness, family struggles, abuse, or just a general sense of being "stuck", there's something here for you. It's sometimes raw, emotional, and hard to read, but it's worth it, and you'll fall in love with Harrel's writing and characters along the way.
Book Description:
Megan Jacobs always wished for a different heart. Her entire childhood was spent in and out of hospitals, sitting on the sidelines while her twin sister Crystal played all the sports, got all the guys, and had all the fun. But even a heart transplant three years ago wasn't enough to propel Megan's life forward. She's still working as a library aide and living with her parents in her small Minnesota hometown, dreaming of the adventure she plans to take "once she's well enough." Meanwhile, her sister is a successful architect with a handsome husband and the perfect life--or so Megan thinks.When her heart donor's parents give Megan their teenage daughter's journal--complete with an unfulfilled bucket list--Megan connects with the girl she meets between the pages and is inspired to venture out and check off each item. Caleb--a friend from her years in and out of the hospital--reenters her life and pushes her to find the courage to take the leap and begin her journey. She's thrown for a loop when Crystal offers to join her for reasons of her own, but she welcomes the company and the opportunity to mend their tenuous relationship.As Megan and Crystal check items off the bucket list, Megan fights the fears that have been instilled in her after a lifetime of illness. She must choose between safety and adventure and learn to embrace the heart she's been given so that she can finally share it with the people she loves most.

Thanks a lot to Thomas Nelson Fiction and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this ebook. As always, the opinions expressed here are completely my own.

Amazing book, plot and characters. Got addicted to it until I finished it! Blown away!

Interesting and unique hooks (twin sisters, a heart transplant and a bucket list) grabbed my attention right away. While this isn't necessarily a romance novel, I could tell early on that Megan and Caleb had a spark, and I looked forward to seeing how that all played out over the course of the novel. Crystal was hard for me to like and I did not connect with her initially. However, she had the most redemptive story line and by the end, showed the most change as a character, which I thought was wonderful.
The inspirational message of the story was subtle yet well-written, and speaks truth into the lives of readers, which I value in an inspirational fiction novel.
For me, the travel aspects of the plot fell short. It just didn't seem plausible. Also, the characters seemed like they were very young, possibly early twenties, rather than closer to thirty as described. The story did not always flow smoothly, so I struggled to stay engrossed in the plot. I'm glad I stayed with it, as the second half of the novel offers a positive message. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a complimentary ARC.

3.5 stars.

The Heart Between Us contains an epic journey - both around the world and through the steps of relationship reconciliation. Two sisters, both trying to find answers, two love stories, both about second chances and new beginnings, and a whole lot of travel.

Megan Jacobs is stuck - still living at home with her parents even though she is now in her thirties, still working part-time in a job that she likes but doesn’t love, still wondering what happened to her relationship with her twin sister, still regretting giving up on a chance to follower her dreams, still scared that her new heart and health will fail. When Megan meets the parents of her heart-transplant donor, she surprises herself by deciding to fulfil 24 steps on Amanda’s bucket list, and so begins a travel adventure. She is even more surprised when her sister, Crystal, joins her. Crystal, too, is searching for something - answers to her marriage troubles, inspiration for her career, and maybe a chance to face the fears she has held all her life.

Admittedly, I didn’t love this book. It was good, just not great. Or maybe it just wasn’t the right book for me. There is so much happening in this story: 24 bucket-list travel destinations and the intertwining stories of two sisters and their love, family, faith and career troubles. And yet, the book feels slow, I often felt bored with the story, and it took me a long time to really engage with the plot. I enjoyed Crystal’s story more than Megan’s, but it was Amanda, Megan’s heart donor, who I really wanted to get to know, whose story I really wanted to read, and yet we are only given glimpses of it through her journal entries.

With so many travel destinations and bucket-list steps, the majority are skipped over, and the others are simple steps in the story. It is not until near the end of the book that Megan reunites with her old friend, Caleb, and their friendship deepens. As I mentioned before, it was Crystal’s story in which I was more interested. She is battling conflicting pressures. She wants to succeed at work, but it is a huge drain on her time and energy. She loves her husband, but he wants her to work less and to start a family. Crystal is also holding onto a lot of fear and regret from her childhood, and that is effecting her ability to convey her feelings to those around her. Again, the end of the book brings more drama, complications, and energy to Crystal’s story.

The Heart Between Us is a contemporary Christian novel, and faith is neatly woven into the story as both Megan and Crystal finally realise that the answers they search for cannot be found from within their own limited resources, but that they must instead learn to rely on God and the others around them for help.

The Heart Between Us is a sweet story about family, love, travel and second chances.

The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.

I received this ARC for free from Thomas Nelson Fiction via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't think this book was going to be a YA contemporary. The synopsis lead me to believe it was not a Christian Fiction novel, which believe me is not my kind of genre, but I still enjoyed it nonetheless.

The story follows one of our protagonists Megan, who has lived her whole life suffering from a cardiac condition, stripping her from her childhood, and even after receiving a heart transplant, it has not been able to rid Megan of her fear, whereas her sister Crystal has been able to live a normal life and now lives in New York City. however, when Megan receives the journal of the teenager of who she received her donor heart from, she feels the inspiration to live her life again and travel to accomplish the bucket list within the pages of the journal, with a friend Caleb,, and her sister Crystal.

Told from a dual POV, that is another aspect that I don't generally gear towards in books but I think it is one of the aspects that I enjoyed the most. I think it really helped grow and describe Megan and Crystal's relationship so well. I really did enjoy the bucket list and travel, because it is very fun and light. I think the writing had a great pace and overall, I really did enjoy this book

Unfortunately, as mentioned before I was not aware it was a Christian fiction, and I do think the values and the Christianity aspect was too heavy for myself, So as much as I did think the story was very heartwarming, the genre itself did ruin my enjoyment of this book a bit.

I've not read any of Lindsay Harrel's book until now, and I'm sorry I haven't. This could have been such a sappy book, but it wasn't. The premise is that Megan and Crystal are twins, but Megan has had a heart condition for most of her life. Megan got a very needed heart transplant and then she was given a gift that unwrapped itself in most unexpected ways.

The most expected element in the book is the "helicopter mom." But she plays such a small role, she doesn't detract from the story line at all.

The most surprising element is that the parents of Megan's donor want to meet her, and in meeting her, they give her one of their daughter's last journals. In that journal is a bucket list of things she wanted to do. Megan takes that list and does something so very heartwarming and giving, it gives the book its oomph. She decides to take a couple of months off work and do the bucket list. At their mother's behest, Crystal goes along with Megan to be sure she stays well.

Crystal is an architect and is climbing the corporate ladder to a senior associate in her firm, but that in and of itself is causing problems in her marriage. This trip is a chance to find what's been missing in Crystal's life.

There is a third character that can't be left out of this review--Caleb. He is also a heart recipient and knows Megan from hospital days. They stood by each other through thick and thin, in and out of the hospital, and now Caleb is Megan's biggest cheerleader. The Heart Between Us has a double meaning: the heart-healing between Megan and Crystal and the heart-connection between Megan and Caleb.

Sometimes I will skip ahead to read the end of a book and then read it all the way through to see if my imagination can come to the same conclusions as the author's. This book is so compelling, I wanted to watch it unfold and let the characters live out their lives without my own "helicopter" ways. This is a five star book (thought I'd give it ten if I could), two thumbs up, and a kiss in the rain.

My thanks to Thomas Nelson for allowing me to read and review this book.

Megan’s health changes drastically with a heart transplant, yet she still feels unable to challenge herself. When she meets the donor’s parents, who share their daughter’s diary, she decides to fulfill the girl’s bucket list of traveling desires. Her mother is horrified, her father supportive, and her twin sister Crystal asking to go with her to resolve their estrangement and remove herself from her own problems. The destinations exceed Megan’s expectations and the journey allows the sister to open up to each other, enabling Crystal to fully become her own person, not merely part of her sick sister’s support system.

This is a lovely story of a family in a years-long limbo waiting for a gift from a stranger, the situation stifling the organic evolution of a sibling relationship. Complicated emotions build tensions to a breaking point, and a growing friendship between heart transplant recipients is presented well.

I received a digital ARC through NetGalley. Note that this is a Christian novel (I missed that tag).

I also shared this review on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads, and will post to B&N on launch.

Lindsay Harrel is a new author for me, so I was not sure if I would enjoy the book or not, but I was intrigued by the plot description. At first, I thought it would be overly sad, but was pleased to find the opposite. The plot intertwined the lives of twin sisters Megan, who has had a heart transplant and Crystal, who dealing with struggles in her marriage. The relationship of the sisters has also been strained due to Megan's illness. Both sisters need more than just physical healing to get over their childhood in which Megan's illness consumed their lives. Both girls go on a worldwide journey to complete a bucket list for the girl who Megan was the heart recipient of. This journey brings both healing and changes in ways that the sisters never expected.

I had a hard time putting down this book and read it over a couple of days. I loved reading about all the beautiful places they visited along the way and wished I could have joined them on their travels. Some reviewers have complained about the Christian aspect, which I find strange if you chose to read a book that is Christian fiction. I loved seeing the twins grow spiritually in ways that were intimate to their own personal struggles. It is only in Christ that we can find true healing, peace, and joy, and the author does an excellent job of showing this through the story of Megan and Crystal. I look forward to reading more books by Lindsay Harrel.

I was provided a free ARC by the publisher through Netgalley for my honest opinion.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel from Thomas Nelson via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Heart Between Us is a gripping and moving story that's told in dual points of view from sisters Megan and Crystal. They were once inseparable, but then life circumstances happened, and everything changed. Megan was sick with a heart disease for most of her young life, and eventually needed a heart transplant as a young adult. This created tension in Crystal's relationship with her sister, and ever since she's carried around guilt for continuing on with her life while her sister wasn't able to experience any of the things she was. As the story opens, Crystal is living in New York with her husband, she's a successful architect giving most of her waking hours to her firm, and Megan is a librarian in her home town who's hesitant to let herself truly live after everything she's been through. At a friend's urging Megan pays a visit to the parent's of the beautiful young girl who was who heart donor, and is given an unexpected gift in a journal that had been kept by this girl that highlighted a bucket list of all the things she wanted to accomplish. Megan decides to take it upon herself to carry out everything included on this bucket list, and shockingly to both sisters, Crystal suggests joining her on the journey. What follows is an emotional, roller coaster of a ride that leaves both of them with no option but to face all the history between them that had never been dealt with.

I went into this story expecting to really love Megan's story, but I surprised myself with the fact that I actually preferred Crystal's character, and her journey over Megan's. I always feel that the dynamic relationship that exists between sisters can be really hard for an author to truly bring to life in a story, and convey it convincingly to the reader, but I'm happy to say that Lindsay Harrel really pulled it off in The Heart Between Us. While each sister is involved in her own romance throughout the novel that for sure adds something extra, the primary focus of the story is on the sister's relationship with each other, and with finding their way back to their faith, and I really enjoyed that aspect. Megan needs to learn how to let herself live, and to do this, she needs to dig down deep and realize she's braver than she thinks, and that God's given her lots of blessings in her life that she needs to appreciate. However, it was Crystal's journey of self discovery that really made this story a winner in my eyes. On the surface she appears to have it all, but she soon discovers that by avoiding dealing with her past, and the tension that's always been buried below the surface with her sister, she's slowly ruining her life by refusing to truly let anyone in. Crystal and Megan are both led on their journey to the realization that they can't have what they're looking for apart from God's unfailing grace and mercy, and it was blended in beautifully into the story line, and left me feeling quite content with this book after I'd finished it.

I'm happy to say that I really really enjoyed this beautifully written, faith based novel that highlights the importance of second chances, forgiveness, and learning to let ourselves truly live. I've come to really appreciate novels that focus on the relationship between sisters, and this one definitely did not disappoint. Lindsay's character's really came alive on the page, they felt authentic and three dimensional, and it was easy to get wrapped up in the story unfolding around them. While I did find the first part of this novel to be a tad slow moving, I really enjoyed it overall, and I gave it four out of five stars. I definitely recommend this one to anyone who's a fan of Katherine Reay's Lizzy and Jane as it has a very similar feel. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed my first novel by this author, and I look forward to reading more of her books in the future.

When I started reading this book, I wasn’t sure to expect. But there was something endearing about Megan that made me want to flip through the pages to read more about her. Then the POV shifted to Crystal, and again, I wasn’t sure what to made of her.

As the story went on and it was revealed that they were twins and something happened between them, I got more curious and really wanted to know the whole story.

I think it’s safe to say that the mystery in this book was well-kept and well-written.

The traveling idea was really great and I really enjoyed the vivid description of the countries they visited. It made me want to go travel to these places as well! Also, I wished I could read Megan's blog.

The trip was a really great way of exploring these characters because not only they learn about each other, they also learn about themselves, which also helped the reader to understand these characters a little bit better.

I think that these two are really relatable and it’s a lot to do with the facts that, personally, I can see myself in these two. I tend to be fearful and full of doubts like Megan while being aloof and choose to shy away from emotions like Crystal. That’s what really drew me to these characters.

The men in their lives are both wonderful. Brian and Caleb are very patient with these two and the romance portion of the book was very sweet and portrayed really well. It addresses real issues that people may encounter in their relationships.

This book to me is about sisterhood and finding oneself. The author did a wonderful job in exploring these themes and for some reason, I found myself reflecting about my own situation after I finished the book.

Highly, highly recommended!