Truly terrifying and suspenseful. What a pleasant yet thrilling read. I greatly enjoyed the twists and turns that the book took me on. Well written!

This was an Indie Press List pick for January for Currently Reading Podcast. I was interested enough to read it all the way through. Absolutely did not expect the way that the story turned on its head about halfway through. I enjoyed it, but Rosie was... a lot.

Very fast paced! I loved our MC, and didn't see some of the twists coming. Truly unhinged in the best way possible! Great on audio!

HOLY TWISTY READ! A mystery that kept me guessing at every turn. At part 2, my jaw dropped and I never shut it until I got to the very end.

Rosie was hard to like, at first. She's a bit day dreamy, a bit over sappy and romantic, a bit scary stalker-ish. The story kept me wondering where it was going with each new turn. I made assumptions and ideas that were completely rocked and I loved all the twists and turns. I read so much mystery and suspense that I feel like it's hard to shock me and keep me guessing but THIS ONE DID! I liked the way it was told, with Rosie's rose colored narration along with emails, text messages and additional POV to ramp up the suspense and keep me wondering. I love that I had no idea who to trust and who to believe. Such a fun mystery, I highly recommend it!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

I read a lot of mysteries, and it takes something special to surprise me or "fool me". Cross My Heart did both!

Rosie Lachlan wants nothing more than to be part of a couple, to meet the love of her life. And she works in her parent's bridal shop, so every day she is confronted by those who have attained the only thing in life she really wants. When we meet Rosie, her fiancé recently dumped her, sending her into a spiral of such despair that her parents and best friend Meg literally didn't know if she would survive intact. And then her heart failed. No, it wasn't a broken heart in that sense, but her heart was broken by an undiagnosed disease. She luckily receives a transplant and discovers she has been given the heart of the wife of a famous novelist, Morgan Thorne, who died in a home accident.

Rosie is connected to Morgan by donor connect, and although he has no idea who she is, she knows who he is, a secret she keeps. Rosie and Morgan chat online, and she begins to wonder, could Morgan be the one she's been waiting for? But then questions creep in. Some online commenters speculate that he may have played a part in his wife's death. Rosie is attracted to the Morgan she sees in their correspondence, but is he actually a good guy?

The beginning of the story has some emails between Morgan and Rosie, and then between Morgan and his best friend, that really help to make the story more interesting and add to the intrigue. I found Rosie so interesting. She seems like a good person, but is she in fact a little crazy and obsessive? How obsessive? In the midst of this I reach the middle of the novel, and BAM! Without any warning I'm totally shocked. It takes a lot to surprise me in novels, but this development really did!

The second half of the novel changes tone. The first half could have almost been a romance novel in certain passages, with a dash of domestic drama. Then the second half becomes a more traditional unraveling of the clues. I did guess the ending right before it happened, but it was clever. The author had so many balls she was juggling in this story, and they come together beautifully in the end. But in case you think everything will wrap up tidily, she has one last surprise for you.

Well, if it's not obvious by now, I LOVED this book. The story is inventive and the way it is presented is fresh and exciting. I was shocked at the end, looking back, how the author's writing led me up this path and down that one, and I never knew what was really happening!

One of my favorite reads of the year, so far!

Thank you to NetGalley, Megan Collins, and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cross My Heart by Megan Collins is a quick, bingeable thriller. I flew through this story pretty quickly, and I enjoyed the huge twist that literally had me dropping my jaw and reevaluating everything I thought I had known up until that point. Would recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley for my ARC

This book felt like watching an old soap opera. Every character was very emotional and irrational. Good decision making? Logic? You won't find it within these characters. And let's not forget the several pages worth of villainous monologue. I can get on board with some drama, but Cross My Heart pushed it a little too far for me.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

Wow, wow, wow! What a twisty twisty ride. The entire concept of this book was so interesting to me and definitely made me think about the connections we have and feel between our physical body and our mind. This book explores obsession, romantic connections and the ways in which it all intersects at times. I spent the majority of the book never knowing who to trust, which led to me frantically reading to find out what was going to happen. The inclusion of emails between Rosie and Morgan along with the shady background that Morgan appears to have ramped the tension up significantly. I really enjoyed this mystery/thriller and plan to pick up something from Collins' backlist.

Reading 'Cross My Heart' was an intense experience. From the very first page, I was hooked by Lila's voice and her journey to uncover the secrets of her past. The way Megan Collins writes, I could feel Lila's fear, confusion, and determination as if they were my own. The twists and turns kept me guessing, and I found myself staying up late just to see what would happen next. It's a powerful story about friendship, betrayal, and facing the demons that haunt us. I couldn't put it down!

I generally liked the premise of this book, and the twists and turns were great. But it really meandered its way there.

This is a story of heart transplant recipient who reaches out to the donor's husband an starts to fall for him. It is told through multiple lenses - e-mails through the donor website, text messages between friends and e-mails between friends. Because of this format you don't know who you can trust and you start to question if you can trust the narrator and realize that things aren't always what they seem.

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.

When Rosie receives a heart transplant, she connects with her donor’s husband through a platform called DonorConnect. She starts fantasizing about the two of them dating and having a future together, when she starts hearing rumors that her donor’s death might not be as simple as it seems.

This is a super fast-paced, popcorn thriller. It’s very far-fetched but one of the twists was quite clever and well executed. The writing was average but I did love the Taylor Swift references!

Not super memorable, but if you’re looking for a quick read - something fast-paced, fun, and a little ridiculous/far-fetched, then I would recommend!

This is an ingenious book. Part romance, part thriller, it keeps the reader off balance the whole time. While you wonder how reliable your narrator is, you flip between whether to love her or hate her, and wonder if she has learned anything at all. The twists in this were expertly executed. I consider this my first 5 star book of 2025.

A dream novel for all the Swifties who love a little chaos in their lives.

Megan Collins pays homage to all the women who have been called "crazy" with subtle name drops in the classic easter egg way. The story kept me entertained and engaged throughout as I kept guessing what would happen next! I feel like the characters were so relatable which helped progress the story along.

I definitely plan to read more of Megan Collins works in the future!

Wow, this was my first book by this author and I would for sure read one. What a ride! I enjoy the suspense and the pacing throughout.

As a thriller lover, this book had everything I wanted and more. I was hooked from the very start. I loved all the Taylor Swift references. Rosie was a mess but I also loved her character. I was truly drawn into her personality and really wanted to know the full story of what happened with her ex the whole time I was reading. I enjoyed how her best friend seemed specious. I really thought she was up to something. It was fun to read, like town gossip about all of the "friends" Rosie met in the book. Who end up maybe attacking her? The only thing I will say it that it did drag on a bit. Other than that, this was a really enjoyable read.

I really enjoyed this book thriller. The beginning took me a little bit to get into, but once I did I flew through it. When part 2 started I was completely caught off guard by the twist. I saw the second twist coming, but still thoroughly enjoyed.

I really enjoyed Rosie's story and the premise to CROSS MY HEART.

Rosie gets in touch with the widower of the woman whose donated heart is now keeping Rosie alive. And from there the plot thickens....

The widower is an author and I enjoyed the various books-within-this-book viewpoint.

I thought the story was a bit slow for the first quarter of the book, but then it became fast-paced with a few twists and turns.

I love a good unreliable narrator and Rosie certainly fit the bill.

Most of the twists were surprising, but there were a couple I figured out.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for an e-copy of CROSS MY HEART to review.

I rate CROSS MY HEART four out of five stars.

Cross My Heart is a pulse-pounding thriller! I barely glanced through the synopsis before reading and it was so fun to just be along for the ride as the story moved through the chapters. I never knew where it was going next! This is a bookish thriller featuring an author and I loved that extra bit of literary twist. Readers of Shari Lapena will love this1

3.5 stars!
I really enjoyed this book! While it started off a little weird and I was not exactly sure where it was going, I ended up hooked and reading it fairly quickly. There was one twist I did not see coming. For me, the ending was not super shocking but I already had my suspicions about who had done it. Overall, a very good thriller that kept me interested. This is my first Megan Collins book and I look forward to reading more form her!





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