You Make My Heart Stop

I really wanted to love You Make My Heart Stop—the premise had promise, and I was hoping for an emotional, heartwarming journey. Unfortunately, the execution fell flat for me.The characters never fully came to life; their development felt shallow, and their emotional arcs seemed rushed or unearned. I found it hard to connect with their motivations, which made the romantic tension feel forced rather than organic.Overall, this book had potential but didn’t quite deliver. I appreciate the effort to explore love and loss, but it didn’t resonate with me the way I’d hoped.

I'm such a fan of both Rebecca Serle and Josie Silver, so I jumped to pick this one up, but sadly it wasn't a hit for me. The magical realism in this one was a little more than I am used to, but that wasn't the problem. I just didn't connect with the characters and I really need to in a romance. They didn't feel fleshed out to me. I felt like I knew more about Emery's disease than Emery. And her visits with Nick are too short and usually talking about Emery's life, for me to feel I knew him.I had a favorite character, but I won't mention that as to not spoil things. And it did make me cry at one point, but not really having to do with the main characters.There are a ton of great reviews for this one, so chalk this one up to me and not the book.

✨What it is about:Emery’s failing heart could stop at any moment. Each time it does, she meets Nick—a mysterious guide between life and death. As their connection deepens, so does their love. But when Emery gets a chance to live,she must choose: a future in the world of the living, or the love she found beyond it.✨💭My thoughts:This was a super emotional story that was truly heartbreaking in many ways. It explored themes of childhood trauma, grief, and guilt in a way that really pulled at my heartstrings. The concept felt very original—from the unique medical condition (loosely based on a real one), to the time lapses between real life and death. It evoked emotions similar to those I felt when I read The Time Traveler’s Wife. The idea of finding something as precious as a soulmate, only to have to keep letting it go, was difficult to wrap my head around…While Emery and Nick’s relationship bordered on insta-love, it felt believable to me given the intense, traumatic events that brought them together, as these naturally tend to intensify emotions and fast-track closeness. Emery faced impossible choices time and time again and although I didn’t always agree with her decisions, I could understand how her experiences shaped them.One thing that threw me off was the length of time the story covered, and how some things resolved with side characters—I won’t give anything away, but that aspect was hard for me to believe.Overall, I think this was a thought provoking read, perfect for anyone drawn to stories about love, mortality, and the impossible choices we sometimes have to make in life. I really enjoyed it.4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Read if you like:💞Magical realism💞Second chances💞Dual POVs💞Love triangle (kind of)💞Complex family dynamics💞Emotional reads⚠️CW: Grief, abandonment, loss, death, life threatening cardiac medical condition, some sexual content.

Thank you so much writing a book about the in between and what could possibly happen. I’ve always been curious and wanting to seek what else is out there and it seems like that is exactly what Emery does. I laughed and cried throughout the book and needed to hug myself to get through to the end. Emery is supportive of Nick and even is able to find it in herself to promise him to live life to the fullest, even if that means doing it without him.I was so enthralled in the story and I fell in love with every single one of the characters! Thank you again for this beautiful piece of writing, I really needed it for the comfort of my soul.

Becky Hunter (also known as Emily Stone) took my emotions through the wringer with this one!! 😭😭 Emery suffers from a heart condition where pain or a sudden shock can make her heart stop, and as long as someone is with her to perform CPR she can be brought back to life. But when she’s in the “in between” she meets Nick, a man who helps people accept death and ushers them to the other side. Except Emery doesn’t move on, but instead comes to meet him randomly as she grows up.As they develop a friendship and her feelings start to become more, when Emery faces hard times in life she finds herself taking risks to run to Nick, but in order to do so she must leave the ones she loves and who love her so much.Emery struggles with living her life in the moment because she knows it could end at any time, but also longing to be with Nick. She’s torn between living with those she loves in her real life, or making their time so traumatic watching her “die” over and over just so she can be with him in the in-between.I loved seeing her deep connection with her sister and friends. I could understand how she was so torn, but also understand her family’s constant worry for her. I felt so many emotions throughout this story and end ending was so sweet, yet somewhat heartbreaking, too. I wouldn’t say this is necessarily a HEA, and it’s definitely not your typical romance as I didn’t consider the romance to be the main theme of the book. More so, I felt like it focused on family bonds, and living your life to the fullest, even when life is so difficult.Thank you to NetGalley, Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and Becky Hunter for allowing me to read an advance copy of You Make My Heart Stop. All opinions are my own.