Review: Things we know by Heart by Jess Kirby

Things we know by Heart

Author: Jess Kirby

Series: -

Pages: 304

Publisher: HarperTeen

Release date: 21^st April 2015

Amazon – TBD

Synopsis: (Goodreads)

When Quinn Sullivan meets the recipient of her boyfriend’s donated heart, the two form an unexpected connection.

After Quinn loses her boyfriend, Trent, in an accident their junior year, she reaches out to the recipients of his donated organs in hopes of picking up the pieces of her now-unrecognizable life. She hears back from some of them, but the person who received Trent’s heart has remained silent. The essence of a person, she has always believed, is in the heart. If she finds Trent’s, then maybe she can have peace once and for all. 

Risking everything in order to finally lay her memories to rest, Quinn goes outside the system to track down nineteen-year-old Colton Thomas—a guy whose life has been forever changed by this priceless gift. But what starts as an accidental run-in quickly develops into more, sparking an undeniable attraction. She doesn't want to give in to it—especially since he has no idea how they're connected—but their time together has made Quinn feel alive again. No matter how hard she’s falling for Colton, each beat of his heart reminds her of all she’s lost…and all that remains at stake.

Review: 4 out of 5 stars

When Quinn lost her boyfriend Trent in a tragic accident she thought her way to move forward was to contact each of the recipients who had received his organs; she heard from everyone except for nineteen-year-old Colton Thomas, the received of his heart.

Things we know by Heart is a heart-breaking read, I honestly didn’t think there would be a HEA in this book which I'm always hoping for because how can someone move on from love and heartache with the person who now owns her deceased boyfriends heart? But it was written well, was believable and showed that love can still be found after such a tragedy.

Quinn was a great character, I did feel she acted on impulse and without thinking but I also feel she did it with the best of intentions. Colt was a wonderfully sweet, caring guy who just wanted to live a healthy and happy life since a lot of it was spent inside of a hospital, I loved the relationship he came to have with Quinn, it was realistic and sweet and wasn’t without struggle and guilt on Quinn’s part.

With newfound happiness also comes drama when there is one party keeping a big secret so throughout the book you are just anticipating the reveal and I have to admit I did cringe when it came up but it was dealt with in a way that was realistic in the reactions.

Jess Kirby’s writing is beautifully lyrical and kept me engaged from the first page, it was a wonderfully endearing book filled with great characters, an engaging yet heart-wrenching storyline and it certainly bought out all the emotions. Highly recommended.

Thank you to HarperTeen via Edelweiss for the opportunity to read and review Things we know by Heart.

About the author: 

Jessi Kirby is a former English teacher and librarian. She lives in Orange County, CA with her husband and two kids, where she writes stories and runs the beach every day. Well, almost every day. 

You can contact Jessi at jessi@jessikirby.com