The Heart Between Us by Lindsay Harrel Review

Hi ForeverBookers, 

It’s really hot where I am at the moment! 

Anyway, I’ve just finished “The Heart Between Us” by Lindsay Harrel and it was good! It took me a little time (just over a week) to get through it, mainly because the book felt really segmented. 

NetGalley granted my access to “The Heart Between Us” so it’s thanks to them that I was able to read and review it.

3.5 Stars (3 Stars on goodreads)! 

It’s told in third person about a set of female twins, Megan and Crystal. Megan has been sick since childhood with a heart condition. The events of the novel take place when the girls are in their early thirties. Megan recently had a heart transplant, while Crystal has been becoming an architect. Megan lives in Minnesota while Crystal lives in New York at the beginning of The Heart Between Us. They haven’t seen each other in years. 

This novel is really about taking chances and not being afraid to be brave. The main part of The Heart Between Us is Megan wanting to travel the world for a good reason. As the sisters get to know each other again, on this trip do they grow closer or move further apart?

Two characters have suffered with heart problems in the past. It’s brought up quite a lot because Megan is one of the two main protagonists. 

Spoilers Below...

“She’d filled out a lot in the last three and a half years since her surgery, looking healthier than she ever had. Would Caleb notice a difference in her?”

Megan has a crush on a secondary character, Caleb, in The Heart Between Us. He isn’t in the story too much but at the start she’s concerned about seeing him again at a  hospital fundraiser. She’s more worried about whether or not Caleb will like her than the actual fundraiser, though.

“It was true, wasn’t it? She’d been hiding. Hiding in her parent’s home. Hiding at the library. Hiding from life”

This is why Megan visits the parents of Amanda, the girl who’s heart she now has. She’s seeking approval from Amanda’s parents. However, what she gets is a lot more than that. We’re introduced to Megan’s sister, Crystal in chapter 2. She comes across as more stressed than her sister because she has a stressful job as an architect. She’s suffering with a pain in her stomach. 

“As far as stomach-aches went, Crystal Ballinger’s was off-the-charts painful” 

is the first thing we know about Crystal. This pain goes on, until about half way through the novel. It’s a stomach ulcer we come to learn. I thought this was a little convenient. I think it would have been a better story if Crystal had had a form of cancer as well, like her sister. I don’t know if it’s realistic but Megan and Crystal are twins, so could both have cancer, I think. 

Back to Megan; the parents of Amanda, her donor want her to go on a trip, around the world because Amanda wasn’t able to do it herself. As Megan has her heart, Amanda’s parents believe that Amanda will still be going on the trip. It had always been Amanda’s dream to go around the world.  Her parents know this since reading her journal after her death. Her Dad tells Megan,

“In this particular journal she created a bucket list for herself. Things she wanted to do, places she wanted to see”, 

which is significant to note because this bucket list is really the main plot of “The Heart Between Us”. Megan wants to take Amanda’s place on this trip and do it for her. Megan’s mother, who doesn’t have a huge role in the story wants her sister to go with her to protect her. Crystal doesn’t want to go at first. She’s more concerned with her job than her sister’s wishes. 

I loved the descriptions of the places visited in “The Heart Between Us”. They all seemed so real, which they are of course but it was like I could touch the Taj Mahal in India when I read those scenes. It was very realistic. That was my favourite part. Another favourite part were the characters. They all had different personalities, especially the twins. Megan is okay with just letting things come and go as they please, whereas Crystal always needs to be in control. There’s a part of the novel that brings up Crystal’s control issues. She feels that she couldn’t do anything to help Megan get through her cancer so she feels the need to control everything else. 

“A tiny sliver of Crystal’s control slipped away. "Come on Megan. There’s been a barrier between us for a long time"

Here, Crystal is trying to control the decisions of the trip. Also, the twins are trying to get on and working things out. Her job is all about control so she’s only doing what she thinks is right. She’s not trying to be difficult. 

Of course, I love romance and although “The Heart Between Us” isn’t a romance novel it has elements that make it somewhat cute. Crystal is married but experiencing marriage problems, and Megan is single. Does Crystal work things out with her husband? Does Megan find love? One of Amanda’s bucket list items is to “kiss a stranger in the rain”. Does Megan do this? Does Megan complete the bucket list? You’ll have to read to find out...

What did I like about “The Heart Between Us”? 

I loved reading about the places the sisters visited. It was almost like I was there! 

I liked the family dynamic between Megan and Crystal. They argued a bit but they also still clearly loved one another. 

I liked how there weren’t too many characters in the book to overtake from the story between the sisters. The other characters that were there just added to and enhanced the story. 

What didn’t I like about “The Heart Between Us”? 

I didn’t like how some parts of the story seemed vacant, like nothing was happening. It made the reading experience disjointed.

I didn’t like how the book’s chapters seemed to break the story up. Yes, chapters are obviously needed in a book but it would have been better to call them the place the twins were at in the world. For example; Chapter 22 - Galway, Ireland. This would have made the reading experience flow better. 

I hated Crystal’s husband, Brian because he’s is so selfish and controlling. He blames Crystal for wanting to be better. He’s only concerned with his own needs. He was written well, he’s just a not nice character from my perspective.  

Overall, The Heart Between Us is a good read if you’re interested in travel or geography of the world. The reason that I requested it is the Eiffel Tower on the cover, because I love France! The reason I’m only giving it 3.5 Stars is the pacing issues, and the controlling husband, which is just a trope that I don’t like reading about. 

Stand by for my next review, coming soon!