Well. This was a really really beautiful read. Though the storyline is impossible (or is it??) I got totally sucked in quickly and a was soooo invested in Maggie and Emily's stories. It was so cleverly crafted... thoughtful... poignant... heartbreaking and uplifting in equal measure. The characters were really wonderful and not just the main characters. I really really loved William... and who wouldn't fall a little bit in love with Adam.

I think the overarching take away for me was that this was reminder to us all to make the most of our one precious life...wear the shorts...buy the book...visit that place on your bucket list...live🧡 This was one of my favourite quotes...but there were plenty:

"You have to just give things a shot and maybe you fall down, but maybe you'll fly and isn't it worth the risk?"

The Love of Our Lives is a heartfelt and imaginative novel that blends contemporary fiction with a touch of magical realism. The story follows Maggie, a young woman recovering from a heart transplant, who suddenly wakes up living in the body of her donor, Emily. What begins as a shocking twist quickly evolves into an emotional journey of identity, belonging, and the difficult choices we make when life offers us a second chance.

Emma Steele writes with warmth and sensitivity, capturing both the weight of grief and the exhilaration of rediscovery. Maggie’s dilemma—whether to embrace Emily’s world or return to her own—feels poignant and thought-provoking, while the themes of family, love, and resilience run deeply throughout. As a Scottish girl, I loved the Edinburgh setting and the blend of the ordinary with the extraordinary gives the book a hopeful, almost magical quality.

At times, the pacing was a bit slower than I’d have liked and some plot points were slightly easier to anticipate, but this didn’t take away from the story. It remains a moving exploration of what it truly means to live fully and to follow your heart—even when it’s not entirely your own!

An emotional and interesting story that I enjoyed reading. Happy to recommend and I look forward to reading more by Emma in the future.

Maggie should be living life to the full. She should be travelling the world, jumping out of planes, skiing in the mountains. Everything she dreamed of doing. But a year ago she fell ill and needed a heart transplant, losing all her confidence. This new heart is a gift, and Maggie believes that the best way to honour it is to be careful, cautious, safe.

Then something impossible happens. Maggie wakes up one morning in a flat that's not her own, in pyjamas that aren't her own and when she looks in the mirror - she sees another woman's face looking back at her. Somehow, magically, Maggie has been given another chance at life, and another chance at love...

But can you truly follow your heart if it belonged to someone else first?

An utterly heartbreaking yet warming story. Wonderful characters and it was so lovely to see Maggie grow into herself and her life.

Maggie has had a sheltered life with heart problems and a year ago had a heart transplant but still very careful not to stress her heart, when she wakes up one morning in a strange bed and the time is two years previous and the stranger in the mirror is Emily the owner of the heart she received.
Maggie can now live a full life and complete her's and Emily's to do list until the date she got the heart.
A brilliant touching story that pulls at the heart strings with brilliant characters.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC and I give my honest review

This was close to a 5 star read.
I gave it 4.5 overall.

I was captivated throughout. I just wanted to see the relationship develop. But also the character own growth.

The story itself is not just about a romantic relationship.
But the relationship Maggie has with herself. How she isn't truly living her life to the fullest. Until she gets a second chance to finally live the life she wants.

This was a heartwrenching read about Maggie, recipient of donor heart when she inexplicably wakes up as someone else prior to the operation. A truly emotive read with gorgeous characters of depth.

I loved Emma Steele’s last book and think I enjoyed this even more. Maggie is not really living her life to the full. She had a heart transplant a year ago but is living her new life very cautiously. On the anniversary of the operation she’s received a letter from the mother of the donor of her heart which begs her to live life to the full. Then an unexpected turn of events finds Maggie living in someone else’s body. Can she finally start to live her life, with the help of handsome neighbour Adam? And whose body is she using anyway?
This is a slightly weird premise for a romantic novel, and I think I’ve made it sound more creepy than it is, but I don’t want to spoil anything! It’s genuinely a lovely read with a quirky and believable cast of characters. Very moving.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I would definitely buy this!

✨ The Love of Our Lives ✨
Pub Date: Sep 11

"I think about all those experiences I missed out on because I was too scared. Because if you live a certain way for too long, it's becomes very hard to change it. And life is scary and messy at times, and we can get hurt. But we only get one, and it's shorter than any of us realise, so now is the time to stop thinking and just go do."

This book took me on such an emotional ride 💔➡️❤️.

At just 30 years old, Stella’s life ends far too soon, but her heart continues beating in someone else’s chest. That someone is Maggie — a woman who’s always lived carefully on the sidelines, too scared to fully feel or take risks. A year after her transplant, Maggie suddenly wakes up in another woman’s body — Emily Perine’s.

Confused, scared, and completely lost, she finds herself two years in the past, living in a stronger and healthier body that doesn’t feel like hers. Who is Emily? Why is Maggie here? And most importantly, is she meant to stay in this new life, or is it just temporary? 🕰️

This story is so much more than a second chance romance or a “what if” kind of tale. It’s about identity, purpose, and the weight of carrying someone else’s gift. I loved how it explored questions like: Do we really live when fear holds us back? What would we do if given another chance?

If you’re into emotional reads with a touch of mystery, fate, and self-discovery, this one will hook you right in. 💫

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 (my rating)

Have you ever read a story where the character literally gets a second chance at life? Would you take it if you could? 👀
Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for granting me an ARC of #TheLoveOfOurLives in exchange for my honest review.

Xoxo😘

#TheLoveOfOurLives #BookReview #Bookstagram #BookishThoughts #EmotionalReads #SecondChance

What a heart wrencher! I loved this book, I raced through it in record time to find out what would happen.

This enchanting contemporary romance follows Maggie, a heart transplant recipient who's been playing life safe until she mysteriously wakes up in someone else's body with a second chance at everything she's been too afraid to pursue. When magic grants her the ultimate fresh start, Maggie must navigate not only a completely new identity but also unexpected love, all while questioning whether she can truly follow a heart that once belonged to another. The author weaves together themes of second chances, self-discovery, and the courage to live fully, creating a heartwarming story that explores what it means to honor both the life you've been given and the dreams you've been too scared to chase. This uplifting tale reminds us that sometimes the most extraordinary journeys begin when we finally stop playing it safe and start embracing the beautiful uncertainty of being truly alive.

I have no words other than this is a fab book and a must read. It takes you through Maggie’s journey through a life changing heart transplant, a childhood and adulthood staying safe. Then comes a moment of clarity and she wakes up one day in someone else’s body and life. It is beautifully written and a book you could read again and again and maybe get a different feel for the story but that feeling will be all good. So happy to have read this book. Would make a good movie

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for this ARC.

Edinburgh resident Maggie, 30, has had a heart transplant a year ago. She still lives with her parents as it feels safer. Her sister Jess lives in Amsterdam, sister Cat died in an accident a couple of years back. Maggie doesn't do much with her life as she's scared something could go wrong. Then she receives a letter from her heart donor's mother and it turns out the donor seems to have been a woman her age who also lived in Edinburgh.

All of a sudden, Maggie wakes up in her heart donor's body. Emily has her own flat, and her neighbour is lovely Adam. Maggie falls in love with Adam and starts living again, doing lots of activities she wouldn't have dreamed of in her old body. She has friends here and even manages to draw out the curmudgeonly landlord William. However, she knows she only has a year, then Emily will die and she will get her heart and go back to her family. Unless she keeps Emily alive somehow.

Now, I don't mind magical realism at all usually, but this is just a bit too weird. Where is the real Emily while Maggie occupies her body and her memories? Because sick Maggie still exists so it's not a body swap. It turns out the two women have a lot in common and their lives mirror each other to some extent, with Maggie learning to live again while Emily had started a new life in Edinburgh. I like the starting your life over and starting to enjoy life again trope but I also wanted a romance, and it is barely there, with Maggie's new life taking precedence. There is also a lot about Maggie feeling guilty about Cat's accident until she realises how much it has been holding her back.

I liked most of the characters except exes Nick and Simon. It was nice to see Maggie starting to live again and to explore Emily's life but obviously one of them gets a raw deal as only one of them could live at the end. The entire story is heartbreaking with a lot of grief and guilt, but also newfound love and zest for live. If you like emotional stories about living your live to the full this is for you.

3.5 stars

Maggie's whole life has been dictated by her heart condition, and even when she receives a heart transplant, she isn't brave enough to live her life to the full. Until, that is, she wakes up in the past and in her donor's body. It leaves her with tough choices to make about love and what it means to live well. Does she try to save her donor and risk her own life, or not? Her romance with handsome Adam across the hall only serves to confuse things more.

A really enjoyable book about love and grabbing life and new experiences with both hands. Adam is truly swoon worthy and I really loved Maggie's friendship with her elderly neighbour too.

What an emotional rollercoaster of a book. Maggie and Emily's stories were so beautifully linked and intertwined in 'The Love of Our Lives' that it often made me cry, laugh... and cry again. It's a well written reminder to us all to live and enjoy our best life. Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and author for the chance to read this delightful book.

oh wow. this is too much and in the best possible way. it took me in, scooped me up and held me tight. did someone sing me this book through my heart and soul? because whoa.
this is a powerful and beautiful story. the plot will be something for each reader in its own way. but it will definitely BE something for EVERYONE.
this book follow our gorgeous character Maggie. Maggie once had dreams. she wanted to travel, go on adventures, take life by the horns and ride it. but when a terrible illness came to her instead it stole all that. because she needed a heart transplant. and now with a second chance and thankful, but also this second chance and fearful, mean Maggie wont do anything to risk it. now its all about being very very careful with her life, this heart.
then she wakes up one morning and finds herself somewhere she doesn't recognise. this isn't her flat, her clothes, and this is not her reflection in the mirror. in this twist Maggie has stepped into another life and maybe this is her chance. but how do you follow your heart when it belongs to someone else?
this is somehow believable with the way Emma writes it. and truuuust me im not a believer in things i cant KNOW for certain, lol.
this story is wonderful in itself. but then wonderful how it gently pushes you to think, and then think some more. oh and then think some more whilst gently pushing you to find courage, heart and bravery in its words and themes.
i was involved and invested from the very first page(you will see why) right until the very last.
what a joy this was, and luck, and blessing to have gotten the chance to read this book. and how lucky are we to have such authors who give us over their creations.

The Love of Our Lives is an emotionally charged and beautifully crafted story about second chances, identity and learning to truly live again. Maggie once dreamed of travelling the world, skiing down mountain slopes and embracing every thrill life could offer. Those dreams were put on hold when illness struck and she required a heart transplant. Grateful for her second chance but fearful of risking it, Maggie settles for caution over adventure.

Everything changes one morning when she wakes to find herself in a flat she does not recognise, wearing clothes she does not own, and looking into the mirror at another woman’s face. In an extraordinary twist, Maggie steps into another life, and perhaps another chance at love. But can you follow your heart when it once belonged to someone else?

Emma Steele blends the magical with the deeply human, creating a story that is as tender as it is thought provoking. Maggie’s journey is one of vulnerability and self discovery, filled with emotional depth and a quiet kind of courage that will resonate long after the last page. This is a heartfelt reminder that sometimes the bravest thing you can do is say yes to life.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

A great story which keeps you absolutely hooked into from start to finish as you follow the journey of Maggie.

The Love of Our Lives is a story mainly about reiterating not to take anything or anyone for granted. The female lead was somehow given a retrospective 2nd chance at life, and from a different perspective, and how she navigated that chance free from any regrets and what-ifs. She even had a list to do to say that she somehow lived life freely. This story is about life, family, and finding love in this unpredictable world we all live in. I enjoyed it! 5/5 for me.

An emotional story about Emily who has donated her heart and the woman who received it and how she goes on to live a more fulfilled life. A reminder to grab life and make the most of every moment.