Meet Me When My Heart Stops is the most emotional book I’ve read so far this year. This book follows Emery, a girl who has a condition in which her heart randomly stops. The book alternates chapters between her real life and the limbo she goes to when her heart stops. In that limbo is a man she believes she is fated to be with. We read as Emery ages and learns to live with her condition and how her family learns to cope. Spanning Emery’s entire life, this book is deep and emotional, filled with real problems and challenges. Bringing me to tears on multiple occasions, Becky Hunter is truly the queen of heartbreaking books!

Beautifully written and as vibrant as the book cover, I was immersed into the fragility of Emery’s life, and potential connection between her and Nick. With the age Emery was when she first died, it had vague similarities to The Time Traveller’s Wife but was also so different. Full of warmth and emotion, it enveloped me in a bookish hug as I kept turning the page. This novel was more than a slow burn romantic story but an insight into a living a life that could be over in an instant, taking risks and avoiding those that could ultimately bring you happiness. Emery was a strong, impulsive personality with flaws, as well as qualities to admire. There were a few times I declared out loud to Emery not to do something but if fictional characters took the easy path their story wouldn’t be the one we become invested in and love.

A strength of the writing was the emotional impact of Emery’s diagnosis on not only her but her family and friends. While the diagnosis itself was fictional the consequences of a life threatening condition and the change in family dynamics and friends felt real. It highlighted the different reactions people have from either over protectiveness to avoidance, caution or impulsivity.

The descriptions and settings of ‘heaven’ were imaginative and grounding. They added depth to Emery’s story and were far removed from the classic clouds and staircases scenes depicted in films such as Warren Beattie’s’ Heaven Can Wait (one of my favourite films). The balance between these scenes and Emery’s real life were done well. Unlike some books where you crave for the more supernatural elements over the real, this connected me to both.

Becky Hunter delivers yet another amazing book
The one phrase that comes to mind when describing this book is pure perfection
It had me feeling one day vibes, Jodi picoult vibes. A uniqueness plot at the same time and was devoured in one sitting.
It is just a beautiful novel that will stay with me for a long time and I already feel a reread of this book coming on.
Thank you for my gifted copy

I had high hopes for Meet Me When My Heart Stops having lovedHunter's first book One Moment - and oh my goodness did it deliver. It is another gorgeous read, one of those books that to use a slightly cliched phrase gives you all the feels.

Emery has a rare heart condition that causes her heart to stop beating. Every time it happens, Nick is always there to meet her - and guide her to the other side - but their relationship is fleeting as her heart restarts and she is brought back to life. Over time, they develop a connection - but how can it ever progress when more time together means her heart hasn’t restarted. And will it stop Emery moving forward in her life and building a future?

This is such a fascinating exploration of what it means to live with a life threatening condition. Emery is determined to live life to the full - even when her decisions put her life at risk - while those around her struggle as they must balance the temptation to wrap her in cotton wool with her need to lead a relatively normal life. But can she ever lead a normal life when her own life is far from normal?

It’s heartfelt, it’s touching, at times heartbreaking and yet it is filled with hope. It is simply a gorgeous read I didn’t want to put down.

without doubt my favourite book so far this year, i adored this story and its characters. I can’t put into words how well written this is. i couldn’t put it down and it’s the first time in a long time I have cried at a book.
it’ is just a beautiful sad poignant story about life, love, family, friends, living and dying.
a unique story

Emery has a heart condition and for a number of reasons (shock, pain or excitement) her heart can fail at any given time. She dies countless of times throughout the story and it starts when she’s only 5 years old. Every time she dies she sees the same person in the ‘in between’ and he’s becoming more and more important to her, he doesn’t judge her like all the others do.

As a reader I saw Emery grow up and deal with her condition. She was overly protected by her father and – in her mind at least – it caused her parents to break up. As a young woman she then tried to get far away, living to the extreme… going skydiving for one thing. Her ageing involves different approaches and goes with many ups and downs. Her death is always looming over her and how can it not affect her life and the reactions of the people around her? It’s a difficult journey, she can’t find a job she likes or a man she loves. And frankly, having a real relationship is something she’s not interested in, because how can she when she might leave someone behind? The only one who’s always there is the ‘guide’ she sees when she’s dying. She feels safe with him, she feels they were assigned to each other for a reason and she starts longing to see him again. It’s simple, she’s falling for him while it’s an impossible love.

All the while there’s someone near her who’s loved her from a distance since she was a young teenager. Good dependable Colin would do anything for her. I have to say that I felt for him all through the novel and I wish he wasn’t treated as second best. If it were up to me he wouldn’t be in love with her at all, then I’d find it easier to be in peace with her desire for Nick. Colin, of course, doesn’t know at all about the unfair competition, as far as he sees it there’s no man in her life and he keeps hoping she’ll love him back.

I thought the story would be more soul destroying but I was quite ok and I actually wouldn’t mind having a guide who puts you at ease at what is about to come. I did find it strange (and a little disappointing) that she doesn’t attempt to tell anyone about what happens when you die, and who you see, even if it could put someone who is important to her at ease.

Ultimately she’ll have to make a choice. Is her desire to live big enough or will she choose to die? The ending was quite bittersweet for me. I think she made the right choice but I’m not sure if it’s for the right reasons.

I can’t explain in more detail but whether you’ll love the book and give it 5 stars depends on who you’re actually rooting for and I was rooting for someone else. He just shouldn’t have been so damn likeable and sweet.

"I don't know what to say. Usually, when I see someone, it is unequivocally the end. But with her, I get the sense that it's all only just beginning."

A lovely, high-concept, literary romance - truly my favourite kind of romance. Emery is only 5 when she dies for the first time; she has a (thankfully fictional) heart condition that means her heart stops pumping at the slightest provocation. In the kind of limbo she enters when she dies, she meets Nick, a handsome guide to the afterlife.

But Emery goes on to meet him again and again; as Emery grows up, their relationship changes and the two slowly fall in love. I know, I got the heebie-jeebies from that too, but Hunter handles it with aplomb, and it never falls into icky Breaking Dawn style territory. While the romance may be the heart of the novel, Meet Me When My Heart Stops is a much fuller novel than just one relationship, focussing on the impact of such a serious and debilitating condition on Emery as well as her family and friends. It’s all discussed with profound sensitivity in the novel; as a result, this is definitely less fluffy than your average romance novel. I am not sure if I’d describe it as a romance at all!

Emery’s illness makes her a hard character to get your head around - she’s impulsive, making occasionally deeply stupid decisions, and is lucky to get to adulthood alive, tbh. But I get it - she’s trying to live life as much as she can before it’s taken away from her. She’s living with a ticking time bomb in her chest; who wouldn’t jump off the odd bridge in order to feel alive? The novel does a really good job of portraying the difficulties of navigating this illness, especially when Emery is a teenager & young adult.

And then there is the fact that Emery needs to be with someone to restart her heart at all times -the impact of her condition on her parents & sister can’t be overstated. Hunter does a great job of exploring the different reactions and difficulties it causes. Her mum runs away from the problem; her dad becomes so overprotective that it damages his relationship with his daughter, and Emery’s sister, Amber, locks her fear & pain away inside. Because the novel follows Emery and her family over decades, we can see how that impact continues on well into her adulthood. It’s devastating, and feels true, too. But Hunter lets the light in though, in her depiction of the close and loving relationship Emery has with her sister and her good friends. I loved these sweet inclusions as so often books like this can get bogged down by misery porn; Meet Me When My Heart Stops remains hopeful, no matter what is thrown at Emery & her family.

Meet Me When My Heart Stops is a rollercoaster of emotions, striking a delicate balance of tear-jerking and optimistic. It’s a really well-crafted novel that gets you invested in the small cast of characters quickly, and will leave you wanting more by the end. Unique, emotional and very enjoyable. If you were a fan of Talking at Night I think you’d love this one.

I enjoyed the author’s previous novel so was looking forward to reading Meet Me When My Heart Stops, a novel with an original premise and a gorgeous cover.
Emery has a rare heart condition that means her heart can stop and she temporarily dies when this happens until she is resuscitated and brought back to life.. Each time it happens she meets her soulmate Nick in the afterlife and she begins to long for those moments she spends with Nick.
This was a mixed read for me as I really enjoyed the sections of the novel when Emery was living and I liked the supporting characters and Emery’s relationships with them. I did find her relationship with Nick a little odd and these parts of the novel did not really work for me. Overall, however, it was a well written and enjoyable read.
3.5 stars
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

I have nothing but high praise for Meet Me When My Heart Stops, it is a profoundly beautiful and emotional read. The story follows Emery, who was born with a heart condition that causes her heart to stop at any moment. Each time she "dies," she encounters Nick, her transitional guide to the afterlife. At the heart of the story, is the impossible dilemma of knowing that being together would mean the end of Emery's life.
Ensure you have plenty of tissues to hand, you’re going to need them!

A fabulous read! This book had the same effect that The Time Traveller's Wife had on me all those years ago. An impossible love story with more than a touch of 'what if....' throughout the very real story of Emery as she lives with an unpredictable health condition. This story will have you pulled in all kinds of directions!

Another beautifully emotional book by this author. A real rollercoaster for the reader as we follow the highs and lows of Emery.
Thought provoking about what life may be like for someone with a medical condition

I am torn over whether I liked this book or not. I think I enjoyed the story more when Emery wasn’t with Nick. Something felt forced and it didn’t sit well with me. I also felt like it went too quickly and there wasn’t enough detail for me.

I did love the characters name (Emery) and I thought the premise was interesting.

REVIEW
cw: heart condition, cancer, violence, trauma, death, grief, brief mentions of queerphobia, depression, and suicidal ideation
Emery Wilson was born with a heart condition that meant her heart could quite literally stop at any moment. Luckily her closest family and friends learned how to restart it after the first incident when she was five. But there’s always a few moments when she's technically dead. And each time, she meets Nick, her transitional guide to the afterlife.
What an interesting concept for a story! I couldn't stop reading. Emery was such an interesting character. At turns fun and irreverent, loving, occasionally selfish, but always torn between the mortal plane and seeming immortality. My heart broke for her family and friends, and the guilt, resentment, frustration, and fear they carried. But it also broke for Emery, seeing her own guilt whenever she had an episode, even after she tried her best to live a normal life. The limbo she felt between episodes, not knowing if it was going to happen again in a week, a year, or a decade was so well-written. I could feel her frustration with being wrapped in cotton wool and the banality of the way in which so many of the episodes occurred, as well as her dance of trying to live a full life, while constantly being reminded she was an unreliable as a partner.
I loved Nick immediately, and, as his own backstory unfolded, my heart broke for him. His story was just as heartbreakingly well-written. I won't spoil the details, but both chapter twenty-four and twenty-five absolutely BROKE me. While I feel that some might find the age gaps uncomfortable, at no point did I ever find their connection inappropriate, rather it felt authentic and evolved throughout the story. I also loved all of the little glimpses at real life events interwoven throughout, and I couldn't help but wonder about both of their connection to 1979. The supporting characters were so much more than that. I loved Amber and Robin, and my heart broke so many times for Colin. Meanwhile, chapter thirty-one left me sobbing for the opposite reason. Colin was such a sweetheart, and I adored his patience and loyalty.
This wasn't just one love story. It was an amalgamation of many, and though I found the ending bittersweet, I appreciated that the author didn't take the easy option. You'll definitely need plenty of tissues for this one. I'll be thinking about this story for a very long time.
Profoundly beautiful.

Overall Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Heat Rating: 🔥.5

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book, all opinions are my own*

'Meet Me When My Heart Stops' (what a beautiful title) opens with 5 year old Emery dying after a sudden shock due to an undiscovered heart defect. During the time that she's unalive, she finds herself in an after life, where a friendly man called Nick tells her that he's there to help her through this phase before she moves on. But instead of moving on, Emery is brought back to her family, who are utterly terrified at what has happened, and try and protect her from every possible danger.

Even though Emery comes back to life, she never forgets this man and his kindness. When she's 12 and despite her parents' efforts, she has a similar freak accident and ends up in the same after life space. Nick is there again; he's supportive and understanding of Emery's situation in a way that no-one else is. Everyone else treats her with kid gloves, or as a problem to be solved, but Nick can sense Emery's desire for freedom and adventure.

This pattern continues as Emery grows up; the two of them develop a connection that is meaningful for both of them. Emery becomes more and more fond of him each time, even though she knows that there is no possible way that the two of them could have a relationship. If she is alive, he's not there; and if she's in the afterlife, she'll move on to the next place without him.

Whilst she is alive, Emery embraces everything that life throws at her fearlessly; she skydives, moves to the other side of the world, challenging life to do its worst. This has a huge emotional impact on her family and friends; they obviously love her dearly and want her to be happy, but the risk of her dying at any moment means they want to cushion her and keep her safe. Emery can understand that of course, but also needs to live her own life, whatever that might mean. The tension between the varying demands and needs is difficult to navigate and leads to some fraught situations.

MMWMHS was such a joy to read; the journey that Emery and Nick go on together is emoti0nal and deep with the very obvious barrier standing in the way of any type of relationship developing properly. The other characters in the book, especially the members of Emery's family, felt very real and their differing reactions to the illness are utterly believable.

I loved Becky's first book, One Moment, which also handled sensitive issues like passing on and how those left behind should act. Meet Me When My Heart Stops is a beautifully written love story that makes you cherish what is dearest to you whilst inspiring you to be brave enough to follow your dreams.

Wow Becky you’ve done it again! I loved your debut One Moment but this… this is quite something! I absolutely adored it!

Thank you very much Corvus Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read in advance!

I’ll admit I’ve shed quite a few tears but this is filled with so much joy and love that you can’t help but fall for this story!

Emery is afflicted by a strange condition… her heart stops beating sometimes. And in those moments, she is transported to a place “in between” where she meets her guide, Nick. A person supposed to help her get to terms with the fact that she has now died… but what are they to do when her heart restarts every time?

Impossible love, impossible life what do you make of it? Do you stay in the limbo? Do you chose to live? If so how? 1000%, recklessly or to the fullest? But does that really make a difference?
How do you navigate the reluctance from your loved ones to let you live the way you want?

Such a thought provoking read, exploring love, grief, family dynamics and relationships, making you appreciate the preciousness of life, how fleeting a moment can be, and how grateful we should be for the people in our lives.

When everything can disappear in an instant, can you let people in? Or are you doomed to always be on the outside of love, of life.

Oh god I absolutely loved this story and how it worked through Emery's life. This was an emotional rollercoaster.

Ohhh this book is sad!!😭 I knew the premise of the story going in but couldn’t imagine how it would unfold.

Emery’s heart stops for the first time when she’s five. When she dies, she meets Nick who is there to support people with the transition. As Emery is diagnosed with a condition that causes her heart to stop at any random time, the pair build a relationship during their intermittent meetings throughout her lifetime.

The book shows Emery going through a lot of tough times, and the impact on her family and friends every time it happens. I loved the constant thread of thinking that she needs to live for every day because she doesn’t know what her future holds. It’s almost a balance between doing the things she thinks she shouldn’t so that she lives a full life but her uncertainty around whether she will have a future leading her to delaying it.

Her relationship with Nick and his story wasn’t something I was expecting but I loved that it added an extra layer of depth to the story, allowing them to connect and help each other.

It’s incredibly thought provoking about our choices in life, heartbreaking and hopeful, I’d definitely recommend this one!

"Meet Me When My Heart Stops" was a far more poignant read than I had a originally anticipated, it is beautifully done. The book follows the course of Emery's life as she lives with an incurable and unpredictable heart condition that could, and indeed almost does, end her life multiple times. Every-time she dies, she meets Nick, in the space between life and death. The book charts the course of their relationship.

Honestly, I think Becky Hunter, captured something remarkable here, Emery's heart condition itself another character in the book and what it means to live with a sense of urgency when you know that time is slipping away from you, and later what it means to choose a life well lived. I couldn't put the book down. So much of the world is captured in this book, from fractured relationships, to what it means to have role's reversed, to live in fear, to live in worry for someone you love. Hunter managed to capture a true myriad of the human experience. The writing and the story-telling have great nuance to them and at no point does it feel like elements of the narrative are being rammed down ones throat, the whole thing flows naturally from start to finish.

A beautiful, and indeed in some ways, devastating read.

I was ready for a heartbreaking ride when starting this as a buddyread with my friend Lucy, and I wasn’t wrong. I had all the emotions as we follow Emery though the various stages of her life. Her time with Nick is so short, but all the more precious and I loved seeing how they both helped eachother with more than they could ever have thought possible. The relationships Emery builds through the story are fascinating and you can understand her frustrations at times towards her condition and people’s reactions to it.

Meet Me When My Heart Stops by Becky Hunter is a book that will have readers reaching for the tissues as they follow the life and deaths of Emery, a woman with an unusual medical condition that causes her heart to occasionally stop beating, usually in response to a physical or emotional shock. The first time this happens Emery is just five years old, and naturally it terrifies not just her but also her parents and her older sister. Fortunately they are able to revive her with CPR but the condition will cast a shadow over Emery and her whole family going forward, causing arguments between her parents when her father is determined to protect her at all costs no matter how restricted that makes Emery feel, while her mother wants her to have more freedom. As I said earlier this is about the life and several deaths of Emery and indeed we see her die numerous times over the course of the book. During each of these interludes Emery reunites with a mysterious man named Nick, whose purpose is usually to guide the recently deceased to the other side, but of course with Emery its a little different. Their relationship is complicated and complex, and this lies at the heart of the book, as Emery increasingly finds herself torn between two worlds and occasionally longing to be with Nick, even knowing what that would mean for her.
I was initially a little unsure about the premise of this book, I felt a little uncomfortable about having Nick and Emery meet when she was just a little girl, especially knowing from the blurb how that relationship was going to develop. However having read this author before I had faith that it would be well handled and I put my misgivings to the side. Turns out I was right to trust the author, and though I never really loved the relationship between NIck and Emery it did not disturb me as much as I feared it might. For me the highlight of this book was the story of Emery's family and the impact of her condition on all of them, as well as the message that we cannot always tell what people are thinking from their actions. I also loved how the character of Emery grows and develops over the course of the book, growing into a self acceptance that she struggled with for a long long time.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.