Meet Me When My Heart Stops – Becky Hunter | Book Review | #MeetMe | @Bookish_Becky @CorvusBooks @RandomTTours

The new novel from the author of One Moment, perfect for fans of One Day by David Nicholls and Impossible by Sarah Lotz.

What if your soulmate could only ever be the love of your afterlife?

The first time Emery dies, she is only five years old…

Emery is born with a heart condition that means her heart could quite literally stop at any moment. The people around her know what to do – if they act quickly enough there will be no lasting damage, and Emery’s heart can be restarted. But when this happens, she is briefly technically dead.

Each time Emery’s heart stops, she meets Nick. His purpose is to help people adjust to the fact that they are dead, to help them say goodbye, before they move on entirely. He does not usually meet people more than once – but with Emery, he is able to make a connection, and he finds himself drawn to her.

As Emery’s life progresses, and she goes through ups and downs, she finds that a part of her is longing for those moments when her heart will stop – so that she can see Nick again.

This is the story of two fated lovers who long for each other, but are destined never to share more than a few fleeting moments – because if they were to be together, it would mean the end of Emery’s life.

MY THOUGHTS

My thanks to Anne of Random Things Tours for the invite and to the publisher for the proof copy to review. After enjoying Becky’s excellent debut novel One Moment, I couldn’t say no to the chance of reviewing this for the tour. Meet Me When My Heart Stops is published by Corvus and is available in ebook, audio and hardback (21 March 2024) with the paperback to follow on 12 September 2024.

Oh my goodness, if I thought that One Moment was an emotional read, this novel definitely tugged at my heartstrings. With no definitive trigger for her episodes which began when she was only five years old, the slightest thing such as a car horn could cause Emery’s heart to stop. It was no surprise that she wanted to make the most of every experience, even those that could put her in jeopardy. Each time she died, just for those few seconds, she met Nick in the afterlife and she became rather obsessed by the thought of meeting him again…and again – and having that special connection, one which she cannot explain to those around her in life.

Emery is not the only person affected by her very frightening condition. Her family are also impacted and the natural inclination to wrap someone in metaphorical cotton wool leads to fractures and conflict in the family relationship.

Stories with an obvious supernatural slant don’t always work for me, but here that afterlife element is so naturally incorporated that I just accepted it as a major focus of the story. Although Emery’s character is defiant when facing the reality of her mortality, her condition has a huge impact on what she does, or doesn’t do and I really felt for her when she held back from living a life and resisted making plans for a future of loving relationships and a fulfilling career that everyone else took for granted.

Nick was there to be Emery’s guide and support through the afterlife but as the story unfolded it became clear that Emery also had the ability to help him. Their love story was unlike any other because if Emery was to be with Nick, it meant that her life had come to an end. Permanently.

This life and death love story was beautifully written and shows not only the fragility of life but the dilemmas that Emery faced. Although I have an open mind on the subject, I did find the whole concept of an afterlife guide rather comforting.

Meet Me When My Heart Stops is an emotive and poignant read, and one which I enjoyed very much.

Becky Hunter lived and worked in London for several years before moving to Mozambique to volunteer with horses and try her hand at writing. A few years, a few destinations, and a few jobs later she had the idea that would become One Moment. Alongside writing, she now works as a freelance editor and publicist, splitting her time between Bristol and London, and constantly trying to plan the next adventure.

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