We don’t choose fate. It chooses us. Or so we are led to believe.Holly Jenkins is about to receive a new heart, thanks to a donor match from accident victim, Chloe McQuade. The victim’s boyfriend, bad boy Jax, is angry and grieving for his lost love. He hates everything and everyone, including Holly. It isn’t until he meets her that he realizes there is something about her he can’t explain. Could … her he can’t explain. Could it be the beating heart of his dead girlfriend- the very one he owned, that calls to him? Is the intense pull towards Jax coming from Holly’s own emotions or are they Chloe’s? And why is she suddenly craving things she never has before? How do they decide what’s real and what’s not? Is fate at play or is it something more?
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A lovely romance, with a little steam and heat between the two main characters, dealing with huge issues, trauma, and silver linings.
After a horrible and tragic car accident, Jax’s anguish and grief over losing his girlfriend, Chloe, turns to anger toward the young woman who receives her heart in a life-saving transplant.
When Holly makes contact to express her gratitude at being given a second chance at life, and sympathy for his loss, Jax rejects her attempts. However, when they’re pushed together time and time again through a friend, his feelings begin to change, leaving him confused and bewildered.
This story was heart wrenching, sweet, and uplifting at the same time. It highlights the incredible gift a successful organ transplant is for the recipient and their families while also describing the ambivalent feelings when a part of a deceased loved one lives on in someone else — especially poignant when the donated organ is a heart.
The characters came alive on the pages, and the story flowed at a good pace with the conflicting emotions of the main characters creating a great balance and contrast.
I really enjoyed this story. It kept me turning the pages and for each chapter, I was eager to know more, and I felt for both Jax and Holly as they dealt with the impact the transplant had on both their lives.
The one thing I would have liked to see more of was an exploration of the feelings Jax had to deal with over the organ donation and the ambivalent roller coaster it can create.
It’s an incredible act of generosity for anyone to want to donate their organs in the event of their death. However, for those left behind, it can cause a huge amount of conflicting emotions that can be difficult to deal with, in particular if you’re having to make the decision whether or not to allow organ harvest from a loved one when you’re also trying to deal with your loss, or you’re unaware of the person’s wish to donate.
All in all, a great and easy read with plenty of tugging at the heart strings and a little bit of spice.
This book is one of the best books that I have read, and I read lots of books. This is also the first time in a long time, that I have read a book through from start to finish in one sitting. Once I started it, there was no stopping. First it is a very interesting storyline with the organ transplant, and different people’s thoughts on the subject. Also, Jax’s response to having his dead girlfriend’s heart, his heart, beating in some other girl’s chest was very authentic, and real. Also, seeing his side, as well as Holly’s side, the girl that received the heart, was so personal. To me, it was so real, and all in a wonderful story that I loved. I have never read a book by this author before, but after reading this one, I have to go and check out more of her books. To me, this book is a must read.
An extremely emotional story about a young woman with Marfan’s syndrome who will eventually need a heart transplant. When the call comes that a donor heart is available, it sets in motion events that will change the lives of three families. Chloe McQuade was killed in a tragic car accident. Her boyfriend, Jaxon Reynolds, was driving the car and is consumed with grief and guilt that he was unable to save her. Not knowing that Chloe was an organ donor, Jax is angry and stunned when he learns that Holly Jenkins has received Chloe’s heart. When he unwillingly meets Holly, he is amazed at his reaction and attraction to her. Is it her or the knowledge that his lover’s heart is beating in her? Holly must deal with strange feelings and thoughts that seem to have begun after the transplant…is she now somehow connected to Chloe? A sad, yet beautiful (and sensuous) love story. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation from the author. (by paytonpuppy)