This book was a little hard for me. I was excited to read it! But it started to get a little confusing halfway through. Also, halfway through, I felt like I should be nearing the end of the book, only to realize on my kindle that I was only 53% done. So that made the rest difficult to finish. We did get all the answers in the end, it was a little predictable. Overall, not my favorite read.

A tense, emotionally gripping thriller with family secrets that hit hard. The writing is layered with suspense and heartbreak, making it hard to put down. Perfect for fans of domestic thrillers with depth.

Megan Collins, a favorite author among many, returns following Thicker Than Water and The Family Plot with her most gripping novel yet, CROSS MY HEART.

In this heart-stopping tale, a heart transplant patient becomes dangerously obsessed with her donor’s husband, leading to a deadly game of cat and mouse filled with unexpected twists that will keep you on the edge of your seat!

Audiobook...

An update to my review: After reading the book and enjoying it immensely, I purchased the audiobook narrated by a favorite narrator, the mega-talented Gail Shalan and Chris Andrew Ciull. With passion and intensity, Gail was the perfect Rosie, paired with Chris, who excelled as Morgan, making this a highly entertaining performance. I highly recommend the audiobook.

INTERVIEW: Check out my upcoming Feb (blog/newsletter) Q&A with Gail Shalan, the first in my #AudioElevatorSeries, where we go behind the mic, audio, and the narrator for exclusives of CROSS MY HEART and her three other Jan audiobooks as well as upcoming projects.

About...

Meet Rosie Lachlan, who has pink hair and is a true romantic. The wearer of Rosie-colored glasses when it comes to LOvE.

She works in her parents' bridal salon (Just Say Yes) and dreams of a happily ever after, even after her fiancée dumped her. She keeps her wedding dress as a reminder of her broken heart and one day in the future.

She has a good heart and is a true romantic. But things never work out in the guy department. She is over the top and takes things to the extreme, which drives them away instead. Rosie had cardiomyopathy and needed a heart transplant. She receives one from a famous author, Morgan Thorne's wife. Daphne died in a bathroom accident. She hates to think someone had to die for her to live.

She begins messaging Morgan through DonorConnect, to learn more about her (and then him). Then she becomes obsessed, thinking since she has his wife's heart, they are meant to be together and have a connection...to the tune of OBSESSION.

Is he her soulmate or a killer?

They begin corresponding, and as she digs deeper into his past marriage, she discovers rumors about him. Was Morgan involved in his wife's death?

Is she seeing things as they are for how she wants them to be? Is she viewing the world through Rosie-colored glasses like her friend Nina suspects? Had she been wrong about all the men in her life? She looks for the best in people.

Rosie wants more than anything to be loved. But does she take it too far? Has she missed what is right in front of her? Is there someone else? Does she love so deeply that it makes her blind?

Then, there is a mystery to solve... Murder, revenge, passion, obsession. How far would you go for LOVE?

My thoughts...

Megan, CROSS MY HEART is a masterpiece that will leave readers in awe of your talent. The unexpected twists and turns, the Taylor Swift playlist, and the Friends references will keep you guessing and thoroughly entertained. You won't want to miss the wild ride Megan takes you on!

A twisted tale of secrets, suspense, and unexpected twists! What is not to love?

With her endearing quirks and unwavering romanticism, Rosie is a character you'll root for. Her journey, especially after receiving a heart that once belonged to someone else, is compelling. The mystery surrounding Daphne's death adds an intriguing layer to the story, leaving you with more questions and a sense of connection to Rosie's emotional journey.

From unique storytelling, beautiful poetry, skillful misdirection, superb characterization, lyrical prose, suspense, jaw-dropping twists, quirkiness, razor-sharp wit, romantic suspense, emotionally charged topics, gaslighting, manipulation, murder, revenge, obsession, stalker vibes, and more than a thriller—it is thought-provoking, witty, compelling, psychologically rich and a road to self-discovery and survival.

And yes, a clever, unpredictable, original who, how, and whydunit! I enjoyed the satisfying ending and appreciated the author's note and the additional reading resources.

First, let me say that I am a huge Megan Collins long-time fan. I have read all five of her books and have featured her three times on my #AuthorElevatorSeries, a series where I interview and promote talented authors and connect with readers. She is also hilarious on social media. Yes, we do have the same last name even though, unfortunately, we are not related. I would love a famous author in the family - perhaps a niece or daughter to adopt. Plus, we also share a love of golden retrievers. Just saying... if she is open to adoption by one of her fans, plus I adore her tiny collections. And I love her books. No stalking. 💜

Recs...

CROSS MY HEART is for avid fans of the author and readers who enjoy Colleen Hoover, Jo Jo Moyes, Mary Kubica, Mary Burton, Jennifer Hillier, Freida McFadden, Kaira Rouda, and the TV series Tell Me Lies. Think a modern-day You've Got Mail meets Seven Pounds and The Girl on the Train with a twist.

Thanks a million to Atria Books for an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars +
Pub Date: Jan 14, 2024
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I had not heard of Megan Collins prior to reading this book and now I'm eager to read all of her backlist! I loved this domestic thriller -- it was twisty and impossible to put down. I had no idea where it was heading but was happy to be along for the ride.

As the one year anniversary of Rosie's heart transplant approaches, she decides to reach out to the husband of her heart donor. As they exchange emails, Rosie becomes more infatuated with him, while parts of her real life start to fall apart.

Rosie was the best kind of unhinged character - I love books with unreliable narrators and it was hard to know what was real with her.

I would recommend this to anyone who likes twisty domestic thrillers that are not the most plausible but still a lot of fun to read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

The premise of this book sucked me in. We meet Rosie, a heart transplant patient who meets the husband of her donor. This starts a story that borders on obsession. This one had many twists and turns. Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy.

When Rosie, a heart transplant recipient, begins communicating with her donor’s husband, Morgan, anonymously, her newfound life takes an unexpected turn. As she forms an emotional connection with him, she becomes consumed by her desire for his love.

This slow-burning narrative unfolds with a surprising twist that will leave readers spellbound.

I would like to express my gratitude to @netgalley and @atria for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Rating of 3.5

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC E-book. This was a great thriller with a twist I did not expect. I couldn’t stop turning the pages to find out what was going to happen. This was a 4.5 rounded down, just because the protagonist was a bit unlikable, but the character development in the last ¼ salvaged some of my annoyance for her. Overall, would highly recommend!

Megan Collins hit it out of the park with Cross My Heart. I was drawn in from the very beginning. She kept me wondering and wanting to know more about the characters. Definitely a 5 star read!

Megan Collins is easily one of my top ten favorite authors, but Cross My Heart didn’t quite live up to her usual standard. While I always appreciate her ability to craft emotional depth and suspense, this story felt a bit forced, as though it was straining to hit the dramatic beats.

The twist, which I was hoping would elevate the story, ended up feeling more odd than impactful, leaving me a bit unsatisfied. That said, there’s still plenty of Collins’ talent on display, and I’ll definitely continue to read her work. This one just didn’t resonate with me the way her other books have.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

She has his dead wife’s heart; the one she wants is his. If this tagline doesn't say it all. Rosie is a heart transplant recipient, and she recently connected with author Morgan Thorne whose wife gave Rosie her heart. Rosie has a complicated history and a failed love, so she basks in Morgan's attention. The more she learns about Morgan, though, the more suspicious she becomes that he may have had something to do with his wife's death.

My first immediate thought after meeting all the main characters was that I didn't like any one of them. They are all unreliable and unlikeable, and I was sure I knew what would happen. Everything was moving along slowly and predictably until a twist about halfway through the book totally upended my suspicions. That's when the book really got interesting. I definitely needed to see how it all wrapped up, and I admit that it was not at all what I thought. Kudos, Megan Collins!

Oooh this is an interesting twisted psychological thriller with a few different POVs! This book keeps you guessing even though I had a strong feeling I knew who the killer was. This didn’t deter from the story. I did have a hard time putting it down.

I love books with twists and some in this book were great, but I struggled with a few of them since there are some plot holes that were not answered.

The characters in this book are very interesting. They are all pretty unlikable, but that didn’t make me dislike the story which is a bonus.

Thanks NetGalley and publisher for the ARC!

Full of demented characters and twisty turns, this thriller takes the unreliable narrator trope to another level. I really enjoyed the way the killer is right there in plain sight but still so well hidden the whole time.

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy. These opinions are my own.

I’m probably in the minority on this one, but I struggled to raise it to a three star. The premise is intriguing- a heart transplant patient reaches out on Donor Connect as a way of thanking the husband of the woman that gave the gift of life after her death. Like I said, great premise. The problem is that the character of Rosie is a bit of a clinger…. Compulsively so. I was not a fan of her character, and I found her annoying which is a problem given she is the main character. There are a few twists and turns, but I was mostly annoyed. Thanks to NetGalley for the read.

𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Read if you like:
🫶 multiple story-telling formats
🫶 single POV
🫶 single timeline
🫶 stalker thrillers
🫶 long chapters

Started off really strong, suspenseful and exciting. I also enjoyed the popular culture references to Taylor Swift, Friends, and Gilmore Girls. I also really loved the excitement of the stalking in the beginning.

I'll always appreciate an unhinged female character and this book had SEVERAL 👀

There were so many story-telling formats and I loved this - Narrated story-telling, dms between the 2 main characters, comments on social media posts, emails from one of the main characters and his (female) best friend, texts between many different characters… this just adds so much to the story and makes it so much more fun to read! The author even wrote poems!!! She obviously put so much effort into making this a really enjoyable book and she nailed it.

Ok so I thought I had an idea where this book was going but those TWISTS AND TURNS!!!! What an enjoyable read!! The ending.. it’s not who I thought it was! Such a super fun journey of trying to figure out the killer.

As someone who works in organ donation the premise of this had me intrigued. Rosie received a heart transplant and has been connected anonymously via donorconnect with her heart donors husband. She becomes infatuated with Morgan. Maybe it is fate…. As I was reading, I thought ok I can see where this is going…..and then suddenly I was like well I definitely didn’t see any of those things coming.
You will love this if you like twisty plots with lots of mystery and deeply flawed main characters!
I received an ARC of this title, all opinions are my own.

This is my first book from Megan Collins and it will not be my last. I actually quite enjoyed this book and found it to be full of twists and turns. The ending was actually unpredictable which was nice but I did find that it was quite unbelievable. and far fetched, Aside from that, it was a fun read and had me guessing through the whole thing. I liked the shorter chapters and I thought the length of the book was appropriate.

A special thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for this advance copy of Cross My Heart by Megan Collins in exchange for this review. Cross My Heart came out about a week ago for purchase today!

I haven’t read any of Collins’ previous works, but I’ve heard of them as solid thrillers. What drew me into this one was such the unique premise - we have our main female protagonist who’s had a heart transplant, and she ends up finding herself in the middle of the murder of her donor’s husband. I loved the mixed media approaches with some of the emails shared during this one, and the main twist before part 2 was pretty solid - I didn’t see that one coming! I caught on and guessed one of the final reveals, but honestly Collins did a pretty nice job of layering these twists on top of each other to really keep the momentum going. I enjoyed it, and the cover is absolutely beautiful!

Thank you again to NetGalley and the publishers for this advance reader copy in exchange for this honest review.

What if you received a heart transplant? What if you fell for the husband of the donor whose heart is now beating in your body? Cross My Heart, by Megan Collins, is a psychological thriller about love, obsession, and murder.

My Thoughts On The Book:

The thought of someone falling in love with the husband of their donor is intriguing. When you or a loved one have a transplanted organ, there's always a mystery. You wonder about the original owner of the organ. I liked how the story line was centered around this idea.

My favorite genre is a psychological thriller, and I love when authors keep you guessing. I thought I had the mystery of the story figured out early on the in the book. But then it was like Collins said, "Now don't be silly, I'm a better writer than that!" Each time she threw in a new detail, I kept second-guessing myself. It made me want to keep reading in the end. I was correct from the beginning, but there were twists that kept me guessing.

I enjoyed the character of Rosie; she was a mixture of pathetic and lovable at the same time. She yearned for love so much that it always became an obsession with her. On the other hand, I wanted to slap her silly at times. That's what made her a fun character.

The power of good writing and a well-structured plot. It stands as a testament to the author's talent and dedication to their craft, providing readers with an enjoyable and thought-provoking experience. Whether you're a casual reader or a literature enthusiast, this book is sure to leave you with a sense of fulfillment and a desire to explore more of the author's works. So, for anyone looking to delve into a captivating story, I wholeheartedly recommend picking up this gem—it may just become one of your favorites, too.

My first book from Megan Collins and it won't be my last! The story is gripping and eery - perfect for a winter suspense read!