📚 PRE-PUBLICATION BOOK REVIEW 📚

Cross My Heart By Megan Collins
Publication Date: January 14, 2025
Publisher: Atria Books

📚MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

📚MY REVIEW:

Cross My Heart has been all over Bookstagram lately, with everyone raving about this incredible psychological thriller. And let me tell you - the raves were absolutely spot on!! If you're a fan of twisty thrillers like me, those books with plots in which you simply will not see the next twist coming --- you are going to want to add this one to your TBR as soon as you can!

The story is told with a mixed media style, which includes a narrative from the potentially unhinged female main character, Rosie, as well as emails and messages between Rosie and other characters in the book. The way these elements entwined in this read really made for one captivating and fast story!

After receiving the donor heart of a woman who experienced a tragic death, Rosie connects anonymously online with Morgan, the donor's husband, through the donor match program's message board. As the two communicate, Rosie begins to wonder if maybe she and Morgan could fall in love and have a future life together - she knows it would be a story of romantically epic proportions. What we learn throughout the read is that Rosie has a tendency to obsess over things and let her imagination run wild, often to the chagrin of her family and friends. What follows is a tale of unreliability and uncertainty as the reader tries to determine what's really going on in this storyline.

This book is split into two parts, and as the first part ended and the second part began, I loudly and audibly gasped -- much to the astonishment of my seat neighbor on the plane. I had to go back and re-read the last couple pages to be sure I really read what I thought I read. This twisted plot left me guessing, and the second half of the book became a little more of a whodunnit storyline. I was riveted as I tried to figure out what was going on and what was ultimately going to be revealed. This ending did NOT disappoint and its conclusion left me wondering, which is one of my favorite ways for a story to conclude. A thrillingly fun read for every fan of psychological thrillers, mysteries, and unreliable narrators!!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this advanced e-copy of the book in exchange for my honest review! Don't miss this one when it comes out on January 14th!

#CrossMyHeart #MeganCollins #AtriaBooks #NetGalley #NetGalleyReviews #ARC #thrilleraddict #thrillerlover #mustreads #booklover #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookrecommendations

Rosie Lachlan is still reeling from being dumped at the altar, but after a life-saving heart transplant, she’s determined to find her happy ending. Working at her parents’ bridal salon, she becomes convinced her donor was Daphne Thorne, the wife of local author Morgan Thorne, and starts anonymously messaging him through DonorConnect, supposedly to learn about Daphne. But Rosie has a secret—she believes that having Daphne’s heart means she and Morgan are destined to be together. As their connection deepens, unsettling rumors about Morgan surface, making Rosie question everything….Holy crap, this book was a wild ride! Suspenseful, juicy, and full of twists—one caught me completely off guard but was so well done. The longer chapters flowed thanks to the emails and text messages. As always, Megan Collins delivered an unforgettable thriller.

Thank you to @atriabooks , @netgalley and @megancollinswriter for a copy of this book for a review!

I kept seeing so many people post about this book and I just knew I had to read it.

This book was *painfully* relatable. I liked Rosie and I sympathized with her. Her plight with love was at times painful to watch and again…. Relatable.

For me this was a story about love, about what it isn’t. It was about obsession, and what happens when you can’t let go.

This story went somewhere I didn’t see it going so that was delicious.

I love to be fooled and Megan…. You fooled me.

I did wish for a different ending for Rosie but…. Maybe it’ll work out 😉

"She has his dead wife’s heart; the one she wants is his."
What happens when a heart transplant recipient ends up obsessed with the donor's husband? This book drew me in because of the author and this amazing cover. I was turning pages and guessing who did it until the very end. The author wrote this so well and all of the twists and turns were amazing. I enjoyed the characters in this too. The book was such a wild, suspenseful ride that you do not want to miss. I highly enjoyed this read and would recommend it to any reader who loves thrillers. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this suspensful read in exchange of my honest review of Cross My Heart by Megan Collins.

First, the title of this book is brilliant. It ties in effortlessly with the backbone of the story. I was also humming, Cross My Heart and hope to die the entire time I was reading it. Which was not a long time since I made it my mission to fly through the pages. My heart keeps time with every word. I love Megan Collins books. There is always a sharp edge to the story that keeps you on your toes. The dark twists, leading to an even darker cave of shocking turns. I love the constant anxiety I felt as the story revealed itself. I found myself jumping from one suspect to another. Who is telling the truth and who is the killer?

Rosie's life is finally taking an upturn. After a near death experience that has left her with a new heart. Not only did she have health issues, but her fiancé also left her at the last minute, turning her life upside down. The only bump in the road is that she manages her parents' bridal salon, it is her job to work with women that are on cloud 9 and dreaming of their beautiful day. Rosie is left at home and reaching out to the husband of the woman's heart she has beating inside her chest. He writes the most amazing emails, and she is hooked. Rosie can imagine her life with Morgan, the talented novelist he is. As they exchange more emails, Rosie finds herself falling faster and faster. Will he be the man of her dreams or the person who is making the hair on her neck rise?

I love how mixed up this story made me. There were so many different directions this book went in, and it was all tied up at the end. There was stalking, obsession, Rosie colored glasses, murder, and the list goes on. This is a fun read that I will be recommending to everyone. Thank you to Megan Collins and Atria Books for my gifted copy.

Come for the thrill but stay for the unexpected theme of self-love! Rosie Lachlan had a heart transplant a year ago. Feeling lonely and curious, she reached out using a chat feature, Donnor Connect, which allows anonymous contact between the recipient and the donor's surviving family. She realizes that her donor is the spouse of hometown famous writer, Morgan Thorne. Although she knows who she is messaging through the DonorConnect site, Morgan does not know who she is. Against the advice of her best friend, Rosie continue to correspond with Morgan. After reading comments online that insist Morgan is responsible for the death of his wife, Daphne, Rosie sets out to discover the truth. Was Morgan a loving husband or a murderer? Will Rosie let her "Rosie-colored" glasses put her in harm's way?

This is a twisty suspenseful novel. I read it quickly because I needed to know whodunnit! I'm pleased to say that I didn't figure it out until near the end. While this is definitely a thriller, it has depth to it that a popcorn thriller lacks. Roise's character is well-developed. She is a 30-year-old romantic who is seeing everyone around her find their happily-ever-after yet love alludes her. Although I'm not a true Swiftie, the song Mad Woman by Taylor Swift kept playing in my head, which added to the experience!

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria for this suspenseful, satisfying ARC.

Looooved this book! From the first page I couldn’t get enough. The storyline was so fascinating and entertaining even when it was slightly unbelievable at times I had so much fun reading it!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC.

I wanted this book to be more, so in the end it didn't live up to the hype.

Was it twisty and entertaining? Yes... So why only a 3.75?

Rosie was unredeemable to me. She was super immature and I just couldn't root for her. All the characters really were, they were wild. It just made it a little too far fetched and really toxic stuff was forgiven too often.

I also didn't love the heart transplant storyline. I know it was supposed to make Rosie a more sympathetic character but instead it made her immature more wild to me.

This was totally Taylor Swift breakup album coded for sure. But in story format it's a bit too wild to be a five star read.

I really enjoyed the multiple POVs and mixed media format in this one. The main character, Rosie, is super unhinged in the best way. I found myself multiple times shaking my head at her thoughts 😂 While I did guess the ending, the premise was unique and twisty. This one definitely had me hooked from the beginning.

This book was so binge-able, I devoured it! Collins’ writing is great, and easy to follow along. I really enjoy multi-media writing and hers was so fun, from the texts, emails, comments & emojis! I loved all of the unreliable characters and not knowing who to trust. And that twist in the middle?! Mind blown! Overall I really enjoyed this book & look forward to reading more from Collins!

Some suspense readers might find Cross My Heart a bit far-fetched but it's perfect for readers who love stories about obsessive love, like You by Caroline Kepnes.

Through a big coincidence the main character finds out the identity of her heart donor and becomes obsessed with the donor's husband, an author. Then things get weirder! With some surprising twists and a nod to love and obsession, Cross My Heart is entertaining and fast paced.

I don’t do well with psychological thrillers and yet I persist - sometimes it is a god thing. Totally frustrated with the first part of the book I began to see and appreciate the brilliance of a very good writer and a well plotted story. Megan Collins had me tripping over all of my misconceptions and embarrassing me on each page. She really nailed it.

When a character imparts the words “I’d like for us to be honest with each other.” - Look out, run the other way and turn everything 180 degrees. Collins has done all this and more. Near perfection keeping what is coming hidden until it smacks you in the face. Really well done.

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for a copy.

Rosie Lachlan, a heart transplant recipient, becomes obsessed with her donor’s husband, but soon begins to suspect his wife’s death may not have been an accident.

This is my first book by Megan Collins, but I can say for sure, it will not be my last. A wild ride from start to finish, with vivid and intriguing characters and a really fun format, I could not put this book down. My favorite part - the midway mark when Collins turns everything on its head.

Definitely add this one to your TBR either in print or on audio.

📆 Pubs: Jan 14th

Everybody just wants to be loved….especially Rosie. This story is completely unhinged!

Rosie Lachlan works in her parents’ bridal shop and spends her days surrounded by other women’s joy and hope for a wedded future while she is nursing a grieving heart over being ‘dumped in her wedding dress’. Rosie is also a heart transplant patient and is communicating anonymously with the husband of her donor via DonnerConnect. She has figured out he is local mystery writer celebrity, Morgan Thorne. As their emails become more personal, Rosie begins to imagine a romantic future with Morgan but there is a dark cloud of suspicion over his wife’s accidental death. Is it possible that there is some truth within the pages of Morgan Thorne’s murder mysteries and could Rosie be in danger….or is she the dangerous one?

I loved every second of this book! I did not figure out who the villain was until the reveal. I didn’t know who to trust and loved all the stalker vibes! This is my first Megan Collins novel and I can’t wait to read her backlist!

Thank you Netgalley, Atria Books and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be available for purchase on January 14.

Thank you so much @netgalley and @atriabooks for my advanced copy of this book!

Phew! This was officially my last read of 2024 and it did NOT disappoint!! The book follows Rosie, who reaches out via a social media platform for donors and their family members to connect to their recipient. She begins communicating with the husband of her heart donor, and thus plunges us into a crazy and twisty story.

The concept of this book intrigued me from the get go. I wasn’t sure where it would go, but boy, it WENT. This story is incredibly twisty and I did not know what to believe. It leaves you wondering if Rosie is crazy, unreliable, or just misunderstood.

I loved having so many of the emails as a form of storytelling. A big part of the plot is only told via email, and I think this really added to the suspense and overall inability to really understand what was truly going on.

Let me tell you, I am rarely as shocked as I am in thrillers as I was in this one! It truly took me on a ride and I loved the whole thing. At one part, I was super creeped out and the feeling of suspense was so strong that I just could not put it down!

I will say, I really didn’t like one of the side characters and would have liked to see them go ✌🏻 at the end, but alas.

Overall, I LOVED this one, and highly recommend it! I couldn’t believe my last read of the year actually ended up being 5 stars. 😂

This book was such a wild ride and the audiobook was perfect to listen to. It was addictive, twisty and full of suspense. The main character seems a little unhinged and I couldn’t stop reading this one!

The story follows Rosie who has had a rough year. She was dumped in her wedding dress and did receive a life saving heart transplant. After the transplant she decides to reach out to the donor through an anonymous service called DonorConnect to learn more about her donor.

A heart transplant. An unconventional romance. A suspicious death.

As an organ recipient, Rosie Lachlan is grateful for a new heart and new lease on life. She finds herself drawn to her donor’s widow, Morgan Thorne, a famous thriller author whose toxic trait is exploiting the trauma of others for his own personal gain. When Rosie uncovers rumors suggesting foul play in the death of Morgan’s wife, she becomes ensnared in a tangled web of deceit and danger.

Read this if you:
-appreciate reassurance that the cat and dog survive… (but the people may not!)
-believe Taylor swift is a modern day Sylvia Plath
-are captivated by a twisty popcorn thriller

RATING: 4/5
PUB DATE: January 14, 2025

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria for an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First I would like to thank Netgalley and Atria books for the ARC of this novel.

This was a very fast-paced, twisty thriller. I will admit I thought I had the whole thing figured out and then bam! It ended up surprising me. I love when that happens.

I really enjoyed the main character Rosie. I love an unreliable narrator and for the most part she really a great job toeing the line between being unreliable and just everyone else in the story being unreliable. I really liked that I couldn’t trust anyone in the book. They all seemed a little suspect to me.

I also think the twist in the middle of the book was fantastic. That came out of nowhere and I didn’t see it coming at all.

I think my biggest complaint was just that it was so over the top with the twists and reasons for the twists. Without giving away any spoilers it just felt to be a little much for me.

But overall I enjoyed the book.

3.5/5 stars rounded up to 4 for this review.

This was the second book I've read or tried to read by Collins. I don't think she is for me. The concept of this sounded so interesting, but I quickly lost interested before the half way mark. Sad to say that I did not enjoy it.

I really tried to love this book! It started off good and I was interested. I just lost interest so quick after the 20% mark and every time I picked it back up I was bored.