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Tuesday, April 10, 2018

The Heart Between Us: Two sisters, One Heart Transplant, and a Bucket List by Lindsay Harrel (TLC Book Tour)


Megan Jacobs has spent most of her life in hospitals waiting for a heart transplant.  She finally received one in her twenties, but is still afraid to venture out beyond her hometown in Minnesota.  She lives with her parents and works at the local library as a library aide.  She dreams of adventure and traveling the world, dreams she used to share with fellow heart patient Caleb.  Caleb received his heart transplant first and now travels the world for his work.  Megan longs to reconnect and to travel as well.

Meeting the parents of the girl whose heart she received jump starts her.  They give her their daughter’s diary and she finds a bucket list inside.  Inspired, Megan decides to complete the bucket list with her savings, a GoFundMe account, and to blog about it on the way.

Megan’s twin sister Crystal is an architect in New York City.  Crystal never had the health problems that Megan experienced and she’s working toward her dream of becoming a senior architect in her firm.  She works long hours and doesn’t get much time with her husband, firefighter Brian.  She also seems to have lost her inspiration and is having health problems.  When Megan’s trip pops up, Brian suggests that Crystal join her to reconnect with her twin and to find her way back to their marriage and to what she wants from life.

The two sisters travel the world fulfilling the bucket list.  Will the two be able to repair their neglected relationship?  Will Megan be able to make the next step forward and live without the fear of illness?  Will Crystal be able to figure out how to balance work and her relationship with her husband?

I loved this novel.  It really connected with me.  Personally, I’ve been in Crystal’s shoes the past few years where work was becoming all-consuming and affecting my health and relationships with my husband and children.  I just switched jobs at the end of 2017 and it’s made a big difference.  Sometimes you get wrapped up in trying to do a good job and work takes advantage of you.  

I enjoyed how the story was a travel story to fantastic locations around the world and I also liked how it was a personal growth story for both sisters in their own lives and loves, and with each other.  I like how they were able to get to know each other better on the trip and I liked that the story was equal between the sisters and didn’t just end with the trip.  The story continued and wrapped up their storylines to see where they are going next after the trip.  I wish I could keep reading about Megan and Crystal.

Favorite Quotes:

“Just because something is in “ruins” doesn’t mean it’s ruined.  It’s just . . . different than before.  It’s weather storms, but it’s still standing.”

“I know it’s not the destination we had in mind, but it’s where we’ve landed.”

“Wouldn’t it be a better use of your time to leave the big stuff like control and worry to God and instead spend it reveling in all the opportunities for great joy he’s given you.?”

“Then Nana turned, ‘Not everything is as easy to fix as that, I’ll admit.  Life isn’t perfect.  It’s messy.  It doesn’t follow a pattern or a plan.  Thankfully, we know the Big Guy is in charge.’ She reached down and squeezed Crystal’s hand. ‘And he is the super-gluer of souls.”

Overall, The Heart Between Us is a great travel and character story.  I really identified with the main characters and their struggles and I greatly enjoyed the book.

Book Source:  Review Copy as part of the TLC Book Tour.  Thank-you!  For more stops on this tour, check out the tour schedule.

3 comments:

  1. This sounds so wonderfully heartwarming, Laura. Very lovely review today! (I truly wish there were an extra hour or two each day to read.)

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  2. I wish so too - too many good books and not enough time!

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  3. I love it when characters are so real that I don't want to let them go at the end of the book.

    Thanks for being a part of the tour!

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