This was my first book by Megan Collins and it certainly won’t be my last. This book kept me up past my bedtime to finish it last night. The plot twists at the end, I did not see coming. Unexpectedly at the edge of my seat from the start. A book to put on your TBR in 2025.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. One can always count on Megan Collins for quick, twisty, fun reads that top the genre of domestic suspense.

Cross My Heart by Megan Collins is another phenomenally written story that will suck you in.
High on my most anticipated reads of 2025! And it definitely delivered!
This one had me on the edge of my seat the whole time.
The characters are intricately developed, and their complex, flawed natures make them all the more relatable and intriguing.
This book had fantastic characters and a plot that kept me guessing.
Collin’s has brought a cleverly plotted and compelling new mystery with unique characters and truly surprising twists.
An absolutely riveting, well developed psychological mystery from the creative mind of Megan Collins.
She never disappoints!

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for an Advanced Reader Copy

Thank you to Atria Books, Megan Collins, and NetGalley for the ARC.

I wanted to love this, and for the first 50% I did! It started off with so much potential I was really interested. Then it went a little downhill, I feel like the author ran out of steam. The beginning was amazing, the plot was interesting, the characters were unhinged but likeable, the writing was great. Towards the middle and end it seemed rushed and less thought out. The twists were predictable and lacked any real excitement. Some were so unrealistic that I lost interest briefly. The ending was boring in my opinion, I think there could have been a better way to end that. I did love the transplant storyline and whose heart it was. I found a lot of this book to be really repetitive and it could have been shorter with the same impact. There was also some quotes I enjoyed and highlighted to future reference.
I’d say this was 3.5⭐️.

Definitely a popcorn thriller. I will say I didn't expect all the twists...maybe 2 outta 3, but I was surprised by one and I enjoyed the information about heart transplants

I applaud Megan Collins's take on the "crazy girl" who really was just crazy in love. Love certainly has the capability of bringing out the best (and worst) in us all.

Although I found the plot to be pretty predictable, and the end to drag a little with repetitive themes, I appreciated the aspect of taking a new look at the ones we call "crazy". There were lots of girls girls in this book and that's a concept I can get behind any day. F the patriarchy 😇 (IYKYK)

DonorConnect isn’t meant to be a dating site—but someone should’ve told Rosie Lachlan that! After surviving a life-saving heart transplant and being left at the altar in her wedding dress, Rosie is struggling to embrace her new life. Drawn to the mysterious connection she feels with her heart donor, Rosie becomes determined to uncover more about the woman who saved her life but she soon begins to suspect that there might be more to her death than what everyone has been told.

Cross My Heart by Megan Collins took me by surprise with its unexpected twists and turns! It’s a heartfelt and captivating read that’s definitely worth exploring.

I would like to thank Atria Books & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.

A well crafted and well written thriller. The author does a fantastic job of blending humor and creepiness. I love how the plot line is written partially from the protagonists POV and the email correspondence. This was a roller coaster ride!!
♥️The dog is the book is an Australian Shepherd so points for that!!♥️
I want to express my gratitude to the publisher for the opportunity to read this advanced copy. The opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.

I so related to Rosie. The way she felt about her breakup brought back a lot of memories and feelings. I could feel her desperation. I loved that she watched Gilmore Girls to get thru it. The author really hit it home. "It comes down to a simple truth: it's easier, sometimes, to be miserable in love than it is to be alone." "People say that phase, start over, like a new start is even guaranteed. Like there's always someone out there who's definitely going to love you. But what if you're stuck at the end of the last finish line? What if your time runs out, and in the end, you're stuck with only yourself?" We get multiple POVs in the story with Morgan's being done by emails which was a good tool. There is a big twist about half way that made me want to go back and re read the first half. The mystery kept me guessing. Things get wrapped up at the end with one open thread, does Rosie find happiness with another. I like to think she does.

Thank you to Atria Books for the ARC of this novel!

I’m not usually a mystery/thriller sort of girl, but the premise of this one intrigued me immediately so I gave it a shot and boy am I so glad I did. This one was a WILD ride. I read it in one sitting cause I couldn’t put it down. There were so many twists; each time I thought I knew where it was going, something new was revealed and it shattered that prior expectation. In particular the reveal at the end of the first part shocked me (IYKYK). By the time I got to the final 30 pages or so, I could predict the final reveal (hence the 4 stars rather than 5), but I still was impressed enough by the earlier twists and found the ending satisfying enough that it didn’t bother me.

I enjoyed the incorporation of the emails between Rosie and Morgan and Morgan and Blair, especially the way they factored into a major plot point later. I also enjoyed the little Taylor Swift references scattered throughout the novel! Although I seem to be the in the minority on this one, I found Rosie compelling and *mostly* endearing (minus the stalker tendencies, of course).

I’m going to have to check out Megan Collins’ other books! If they’re anywhere near as gripping as this one, I’ll be in for a real treat.

I have read most, if not all, of Megan Collins' books, and they have NEVER EVER disappointed. In fact, I think her books keep getting better and better. "Cross My Heart" is no exception.

Rosie has had a rough couple of years. She falls into a deep depression after a terrible breakup. While battling her depression, Rosie begins to have some pretty significant health issues, and everyone attributes it to her declining mental health. After some time, it is actually determined she has cardiomyopathy and needs a heart transplant. Over the next year, she begins to heal both mentally and physically. It has helped moving back in with her parents for additional care and going back to work at her family's wedding dress shop.

When Rosie's best friend, Nina, reveals she thinks the heart donor was the wife of Rosie's favorite author, Morgan Thorne. With this seemingly innocent revelation, a twisted series of events rapidly unfolds. Rosie begins to talk to Morgan via DonorConnect, an anonymous way for an organ recipient to talk to the family of the donor. She finds it so easy to talk to him, partly because she is anonymous to him but knows who he is. She knows a lot about it. Will this come back to haunt her in the end? And what about the rumors surrounding Morgan's wife's death she keeps seeing as she dives deeper into the world wide web to know more about Morgan?

Let me just say this....I gasped at the end of part one. I would do that many more times throughout the book. I loved the use of multiple POVs, emails to push the plot further, and the deeply hidden twists. The use of strained and sensitive relationships I think really helped with the twist, at least for me anyway. I honestly thought I had it all figured out....just to find out I was really, really wrong. Also, as a heart warrior myself, I knew instantly I wanted to read this book. I definitely could feel the rawness of Rosie's emotion in dealing with her delicate health, not only with herself, but with her loved ones as well. Megan did an amazing job portraying the range of emotions that can come with this, which is not easy to do. Such a great read!

This was riveting! There were so many quotes in this book that spoke to me. Have you ever compromised so much of yourself in a relationship to where you didn't even know who you were anymore? I know I've done that, and our FMC Rosie has too. Always giving all of herself, wearing what her friend Nina calls her "Rosie colored glasses" to describe how she sees the best in people while overlooking the flaws & obvious red flags of those around her. She just wants to find love and when she finds out that the donor of her heart transplant was the wife of one of her favorite authors, Morgan Thorne, she can't help but reach out. She wants to learn more about the person whose heart is now beating in her chest & more about the one, Morgan, that loved it. As she gets closer to Morgan, she has to wonder about the unusual circumstances in how his wife Daphne died.
Is she getting closer to danger or to her happily ever after? Def enjoyed reading this.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for my eARC of Cross My Heart by Megan Collins. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

I really enjoyed Cross My Heart by Megan Collins. We're following Rosie, a heart transplant recipient, who is communicating with Morgan, the husband of her heart donor and local author celebrity. Things become complicated for Rosie when she becomes determined that she and Morgan are meant for each other--and rumors begin circulating that he may be the reason for his wife's death.

This thriller was a nice quick read and kept me wondering what was going to happen next. There were a few twists I saw coming, but also some that I didn't see coming. I liked the unreliable narrator we got with Rosie. That's one of my favorite tropes and Collins did a good job with this. There were several characters that we were following but I didn't have an issue with keeping up with who was who. I also appreciated that we got the backstory of our character and felt like I understood motivations, etc.

If you like thrillers, mysteries, and unreliable narrators, this one is for you. I definitely recommend it.

Thanks Atria!

This was a very entertaining thriller with a unique concept!

We follow heart transplant recipient Rosie Lachlan as she embarks on a correspondence relationship with her heart donor’s husband, local famed author Morgan Thorne. Rosie starts developing feelings for Morgan. Has Rosie found her soulmate?

There were plenty of twists and turns in this book. Rosie made a lot of questionable decisions! I couldn’t put this book down because I was so interested in where the story was going to go!

It was also interesting learning more about heart transplants and the everyday difficulties that exist for a person who has had a heart transplant. I really sympathized with Rosie and her daily struggles.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves twisty thrillers that keep you constantly guessing about what’s going to happen next. Every time I thought I could predict an outcome, something else would happen that would throw me off completely!

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

Publication January 14, 2025

When I read this book's description, I knew I had to pick it up. It’s about a heart transplant recipient convinced she’s destined to be with her donor's husband.
Rosie, the main character, is utterly unhinged. Her actions and the twisted rationale behind them were so delusional that I couldn’t look away.
I love an unreliable narrator, and this book hooked me from the very start. I foujd myself flying through part one.
When I got to part two, I found myself dragging a bit. The phrase "Rosie-colored glasses" felt overused, and the conclusion turned out to be a bit predictable.
That said, if you're looking for a quick, binge-worthy thriller with a unique storyline, this one is worth checking out!

| RATING | 3.5

| FOR READERS WHO LIKE |

• Mystery Thriller
• Unreliable Narrator
• Obsession
• Blurred Boundaries
• Secrets and Lies
• Psychological Unraveling

| FAVORITE SCENE |

When Rosie agrees to meet Morgan's best friend at her house so they can confront the librarian they suspect of being involved in the murder.


Thank you so much NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced copy of this beautiful book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a unique and wild ride.

Part 1 had me thinking Return to Me (one of my favorite romance movies from the early 2000s starring Minnie Driver) meets a thriller (my favorite genre). Rosie receives a heart transplant and through Donor Connect connects with the widower of the heart she received, and she finds out his identity before he finds out hers (are you picking up the Return to Me vibes yet?? Megan did you find inspiration from this movie or am I just picking up things? lol). You see their connection growing not only through these exchanges but also the emails Morgan wrote to his best friend. There is speculation that the famous author Morgan had more to deal with the death of his wife than meets the eye and as Rosie dives deeper into her feelings for Morgan and her self-investigation into the death of Daphne (that resulted in saving her life with the donation of her heart) you are left with yet another death! The murder of Morgan that is called in by Rosie herself.

Part 2: oh the twists and turns you have in the second half of this book! I was left clinging to every turn trying to figure out who to believe. The growing unreliability of Rosie, the borderline stalking as more light is shed on to the emails of both Donor Connect as well as the ones sent from Morgan himself. You are left trying to figure out who killed Morgan and the character I thought was responsible from the start---let's just say I was shocked when the truth was revealed.

I will be thinking of this book for a while and will definitely be recommending it to those who loves thrillers as much as I do.

Also side note- as someone who has been frequently called too much...it was nice to read about a character who deals with the same (although maybe to a more extreme nature ;) )

After receiving a heart transplant, Rosie begins corresponding with the widower of her donor via an anonymous online portal. She starts to fall for him, but then she begins to wonder if his wife's death was an accident. Engrossing and twisty! I enjoyed it a lot.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC!

This was my first 5 star read of 2025. This fast past thriller had love and intrigue throughout. The man Rosie messages at night is a writer named Morgan. His emails are golden after all he has written many thrillers. With her new heart, she falls in love. What she doesn’t know is what parts of her have fallen, and what he doesn’t know is her little secret, for now. Thanks for netgalley and Megan Collins for an advanced copy read.

In this twisty thriller, Rosie is recovering from both a heart transplant and a broken heart from a failed relationship. She connects with the husband of her donor through an online service called Donor Connect, who is a famous author. She finds that they have a surprising amount in common and begins to wonder what a future with him might be like.

This book is full of twists, turns, and red herrings and moves at a fast pace. Just when you think you know what’s happening, you realize that you are completely wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed the Friends and Taylor Swift references sprinkled throughout, as well as how the author integrated the crazy ex girlfriend theme into the story in multiple ways. The unreliable narrator comes into play in this story as well, which I always enjoy in thrillers. My advice is to go in blind and enjoy the wild ride!

Thank you to Meghan Collins and Atria books for the arc and opportunity to be an early reader and reviewer.

I thoroughly enjoyed this crafty psychological thriller. It has an original and compelling plot with a sufficient number of red herrings and twists to keep it exciting enough in the first half of the story to carry it through to the end. It was a quick and entertaining read. I would definitely read future books by this author and recommend this book to all suspense seeking mystery/thriller fans.

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for giving me the opportunity to read a DRC of this gripping story in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own. I will be posting my review immediately to my Goodreads account and to Amazon and Barnes&Noble on the publication day.