The Legacy of Lucy Harte was a wonderful read that kept my interested the whole way through. A great story with good characters.

Reading this book is an emotional experience but so worth it.
Maggie has a second chance at life when she receives a donor's heart. She feels a unique connection with her donor and longs to connect with her family to thank them. Seventeen years after her transplant Maggie's emotional well-being is threatened she feels she is on borrowed time but seems set on hastening her demise.
Maggie is a strong character with a supportive network of family and friends, but she pushes them away, as she battles with the ever-present survivor guilt and her tumbling self - worth issues. I like the serendipity of the letter arriving just when Maggie is teetering on the edge of self-destruction. Lucy's legacy forces Maggie to focus on the gift of life she has been given, and the story takes on a hopeful theme from this point. There are many slip-ups and misunderstandings, but Maggie realises her life's purpose.
A well-paced plot full of vivid characters and unexpected adventures is both poignant with many lighter humorous scenes. The importance of love and living life to the limit, whatever this may be for you, is reaffirmed. Reading it is like riding an emotional roller-coaster, but the overall feeling that remains is of hope and love and the importance of giving the gift of life.
I received a copy of this book from Harper Impulse via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I was really excited when I managed to get a review copy of this book on my Kindle from Netgalley. I had heard so many good things about it, and wanted to find out for myself if it would be able to live up to the hype. I actually commend Emma Heatherington for choosing to write about such an emotive topic, one we don't see covered nearly enough in fiction of any kind - organ donation. I am on the Organ Donation Register myself, but too often you see in the news people dying because they couldn't get a much needed transplant. In my opinion, once I'm dead, I'm dead, and if my organs can help to make someone else's life better, then they are welcome to them. This book tackles the issue of how someone receiving a donated organ affects them, and it makes for wonderful reading.

When she was a teenager, Maggie received the gift of life from a young donor called Lucy Harte, who donated her own heart after her untimely death. Since then, Maggie has felt beholden to the young woman whose organ she received, thanking her every day for the gift that she has given. After a run of bad luck, and feeling like she won't ever feel happy again, Maggie decides to do the unthinkable, and find out more about the young woman who donated her heart to her. Maggie ends up finding out more than she ever believed, and decides its time to turn her life around, and help live out Lucy Harte's legacy. Maggie is very aware that her borrowed heart won't last forever, and is determined to make the most out of every minute.

As you can probably tell from the idea of the story, this is a very emotive book, and by the end, I was sobbing my heart out. It was so powerful in so many ways - sad, uplifting, inspiring - all of these emotions flooded through me as I read, and I honestly did not want to put it down because I was desperate to reach the end and find out what was going to happen. I loved the character of Maggie. Yes, she was flawed, she probably drank too much, didn't see the good things in life nearly as much as she could have, but once the story progresses and we find out more about her and her past, it becomes a bit clearer why she always looks on the bleaker side of life. Her relationship with her family is a bit strained, especially with her older brother, and it makes for a quite unhappy Maggie.

Not a huge amount of detail is gone into about why Maggie needed a heart transplant, but it wasn't actually needed. After all, this is about living life to the full, and what happens post-transplant, so the lack of detail wasn't a problem for me. Maggie finding out more about her donor was a wonderful story arc, although I can't imagine how I would have felt if I were in these characters's shoes. Emma Heatherington has clearly done her research here though, because she puts across the emotions of these characters so very well, you can really imagine how they are feeling, and the conflicting emotions that must be coursing through their veins.

The idea of Maggie fulfilling Lucy's legacy was wonderful, and I really enjoyed all the adventures that Maggie went on thanks to this pursuit. In fact, it opens Maggie's eyes to how wonderful the world, family and friendship can really be. I especially enjoyed the last third of the book set in France, it was lovely to read, and helped the book meander to its inevitable conclusion. Everything about this book was a joy - be prepared to read it with a box of tissues though, because you are going to need them! This is most certainly a thought-provoking read, especially if you aren't on the organ donation register. We would all take an organ if we needed one, but would we all donate one? It's definitely food for thought. A wonderful, heart-wrenching, uplifting story that you simply MUST read.

*Book provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

I was very intrigued by the title of this book and also the blurb and they thing I’m going to tell you at the beginning of this review: It’s totally worth it, because the book has everything!!!

The story follows Maggie O’Hara who received Lucy Harte’s heart 17 years ago. Lucy Harte gave her life, Maggie was able to live on and got a second chance, Lucy didn’t. Maggie still thinks about her every day and is very grateful.

Maggie’s life now is falling apart though, her husband cheated on her and has a new girlfriend and it’s not going well in her job.

That’s when she gets a letter from Lucy’s brother Simon. The letter changes everything! With Simon’s help Maggie starts a new journey in Lucy’s honour. She experiences new things and Lucy is always with her.

It’s like a new adventure, full of ups and downs. The adventure includes traveling, making peace with her brother, meeting people and having fun. The journey is great at times and also hard. It was very fascinating seeing Maggie going through all this. Emma Heatherington did a fabulous job including all the emotions and feelings and it’s a topic you just can’t let go.

The writing is authentic, touching and real and yes I had to cry! I had to laugh a lot as well and I really enjoyed all these sweet and memorable moments. And also some romance ;).
There is a seriousness and depth in the writing combined with witty and vivid sparks, a great combination.

Lets think about something rather important for a moment; heart transplants (also known as a new lease of life). But is it? The clock was ticking for Maggie's life; she either gets a new heart and lives, or the chances of her dying become incredibly high. The thing is, someone else has to die to give her the heart and Maggie can't let that thought (and guilt), go. How could Maggie ever repay the family of the girl who gave Maggie a new heart?
People live by mantras; Maggie lives by Lucy Harte.

The simplicity of the cover peaked my interest the moment that I saw it. I skimmed the blurb but didn't want to find out too much before I started reading, as I knew that this book would take hold of my mind in more ways than one. What I never accounted for was the emotion that poured from my eyes as the storyline progressed.

In 'The Legacy of Lucy Harte', we follow Maggie's life and how she learns to live with the grief behind the most precious (and priceless) gift that she has ever received. I can't begin to imagine what emotions a donor recipient will have, or the thoughts that cross their minds in the aftermath. You've just been given a new lease of life yet how can you be happy knowing that someone had to die to give you a second chance at living? Given the fact that I have never gone through a situation like that, or been involved indirectly, the questions that I had whilst reading this book were answered thanks to Emma's portrayal of Maggie. Emma has taken an incredibly sensitive and emotionally charged situation, written about it in such a raw and poignant manner, whilst still approaching the entire thing with such a delicate nature. The author and the storyline literally blew my mind.

As I was reading the novel, the hairs on my arms stood to attention with goosebumps camping out there too. It was as though I was getting a bolt of emotion through my fingertips as I held the book and digested the incredibly moving story. I am in awe at Emma H's mind-blowing writing. Wow.

It is safe to say that the ending of the book broke my heart. My entire mind-set and emotions were so invested in the storyline and the characters that when things started taking a turn, my heart began to hurt. In such a short space of time I had gotten to know such powerful characters yet in one large swoop, the storyline knocked me off my feet. I was heartbroken and sobbing my heart out. But you know what? I wouldn't have wanted any other reaction. Considering the nature of the book, I wanted to feel the emotion behind the words that the author wrote and I did.

Emma Heatherington is definitely an author to watch for 2017. Her smooth, gritty (yet easy-going) style of writing is going to make for even more outstanding reads if 'The Legacy of Lucy Harte' is anything to go by.
Full of emotion, poignancy and incredible characters, 'The Legacy of Lucy Harte' will have you dissecting your own life and finding emotions you never knew you had. Mind blowing and brilliant...just make sure you keep tissues by your side (just in case).

Thank you Harper Impulse.