Wow, what a story! An emotional, raw, inspiring story that's going to stay with me for a long time. I can't wait to read more by this author. Great narration that gave the characters depth and conveyed their emotions perfectly.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bolinda Audio and Emma Steele for the advance audio copy for review. All opinions are my own.

The narrator for this audiobook was great. Clear enunciation and good pace. It was an easy listen!

A lovely story with compelling characterisation. The title is very clever because the book is really exploring what it means to be alive and live a full life. One of the main protagonists, Jess, has been born with a heart condition which means that her life has been severely limited and will end without a donor. Following an unexpected heart transplant, Jess continues to live a very safe life which she thinks is protecting her family and her new heart. When the heart appears to fail, Jess wakes as someone else and finds herself living a life which is not her own. As the story unfolds, she realises that she has the opportunity to change the future. Living as Emily, Jess has to decide who deserves the heart more as there are two lives, two females and one heart! Such a terrible dilemma that Jess thinks she has to solve on her own.

This book really explores relationships and family and what it means to live and experience that this wonderful world has to offer. I was fully invested in both Jess’ future and Emily’s … only one life can be lived. Who gets to decide? The ending cannot be happy for both protagonists, but the author’s delicate handling of the situation left me feeling hopeful and satisfied z

Another brilliant novel from Emma Steele; a love song to Edinburgh, of embracing life, of recognising opportunity and following your heart whatever shape it is in. Wonderfully narrated and simply gorgeous.

An inspiring and uplifting story
The story centres on a heart transplant and losing one life to breathe life into another.
This story is about the heartbreak of one family and how the interactions of the donor before they die affects the lives of others. It serves as a reminder that despite illness one can aspire to maximise the opportunities given to us.
I found it uplifting as I felt myself with the main characters, seeing what the narrator was describing. Listening to the audio version, I could absorb each detail offered, and the setting with the Scottish narration brought the best from the descriptive writing.
It also serves as a reminder that when one thing ends, another opportunity can begin. This comes out strongly throughout this wonderful, uplifting story.

I loved it. It was compelling listening.
Maggie had a heart replacement and was very near to dying when a heart became available.
A year later she celebrates her new heart’s first birthday quietly with her family. She is still cautious and doesn’t take any risks, she works from home and her mother is over protective, despite Maggie being 30 years old. She wonders what it would be like to live.
One day when they are out, she faints. She wakes in hospital and then goes unconscious. She awakes to find herself in a different body, still in Edinburgh, but she’s fit and healthy, although she doesn’t know why Emily is in Scotland when clearly she’s from London.
As Maggie finds out what’s going on, she starts to live as Emily, she almost knows what Emily is thinking. She has an opportunity of a new, exciting life, doing all she couldn’t do before. Surely, there’s a catch…….
I loved the narration of this book. It was compelling, heart wrenching and heart warming all at the same time. The characters were lovely, the descriptions and narration made me feel like I was in the story. I didn’t want it to end.
Several morals come out, none bad and some we could all learn from.

4.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 5 ⭐️
Maggie has been living her whole life with a heart condition which made enjoying life to the full very difficult, especially as her family tend to wrap her in cotton wool. Eventually she gets so ill that only a heart transplant will save her life.
Thankfully a heart is found due to the death of a generous organ donor and on the anniversary of her new heart Maggie receives a letter from the donor’s mother asking to meet her.
Unsure on what to do Maggie goes to sleep as usual but wakes up in a different bed, in someone else’s flat and when looking in the mirror, someone else’s face.
What follows is the story of Maggie finding out who this woman is and why she seems to be living her life.

This is a beautiful, moving story of living life to the fullest when you never knew what life could be full of.
I thoroughly enjoyed every minute, the narration by Coral Sinclair was excellent, especially using the different accents for Maggie and Emily.

With thanks to NetGalley and Bolinda Audio for the audio arc in exchange for an honest review.

What a unique book. I felt it was a bit slow at first but maybe this was because it was my first audiobook and I was not used to the format. I found that the author was very perceptive and had really considered all the points of view around transplantation and the emotions involved. Such a hard love story but beautiful.

Maggie received a new heart but her life continues to be restricted. She had many dreams that now seem to be impossible for her to achieve. Until one day she wakes up, but not in her room or body. Why has this happened and when will it end?

Very well written and well narrated novel (I listened to the audiobook). Excellent characters in a well paced and addictive novel. I really enjoyed this novel that explores how to let yourself being alive and experience life to the full.

This was a lovely book to listen to. An interesting story, well developed characters and a fair amount of jeopardy to keep things interesting.

I’m always interested to hear how writers interpret the concept of organ donation and recipients developing personality aspects like their donors.

The book was also well concluded to a satisfying end.

I listened to this on audio and the narrator handled the Scottish, English and Canadian accents really well. That said, I’m not a big fan of the Scottish accent having had an awful Scottish boss for several years, so I tend to avoid audio books with a lot of Scottish accents - but that’s just me!

I listened to this audiobook on NetGalley Shelf.

This is a beautiful story of Maggie’s life with a life limiting heart condition. Maggie receives a heart transplant but doesn’t change or do anything different and just survives, doesn’t live. After an “episode” Maggie wakes up in the body and life of Emily.

Through living this life of Emily’s, Maggie realises how small her life has become and vows to change if she goes back to it. The “if” is a big factor in the story and also makes Maggie live a life she has always dreamed of in Emily’s body.

The story is romantic, touching, funny, heartwarming & heartbreaking all at once.

What a beautiful story by Emma Steele that combines magical realism with a Life Love Story. What does that mean? 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 honor it is to be careful, cautious, safe.

To tell more would ruin the beautiful subtle mystery and distract the reader from a story that is equally moving and inspiring. I gobbled this up in one day because I wanted to see this one to it's moving conclusion. The audiobook is narrated by Coral Sinclair and it's perfect. We get the Irish accents and a little bit of English and Canadian (which is very American). I just loved how she brought the story to life.

My only issue is that I would have loved to have more in the epilogue to tell us how all the people we've met end up in the end. We get a small peek but would have loved a flash forward in a few years.... that's just because I love to read HEA. I recommend this one to anyone who loves the idea of slipping into someone else's life and finding out there was a purpose to it all!

This is a strange one for me; I chose to listen to this book because we lost my niece aged 30, just 8 weeks after her wedding and she donated her heart and other organs. I even found out at the end that the cause of death was the same so I felt I was meant to find this book.
The narrator was excellent and slipped easily from her Scottish to her English accent as well as all the other characters along the way. She was very believable as both Maggie and Emily.
I found the introduction to Maggie very slow going and almost gave up but as soon as we met Emily it became very engaging.
It was of course, a far fetched idea but I went along with it happily until Emily went travelling and that really pushed the boundaries. She'd passed her driving test 5 minutes ago and now she's happily navigating innumerable foreign coungries!
It was a heartwarming read and I cried buckets at the end and also found some personal comfort from it.

Maggie’s life is been suspended for a long time. Her big dreams were shattered the moment she felt ill and needed a heart transplant. After her surgery, she is been playing it safe and not really living her life. But her new heart has other plans and comething magic happens that push her out of her comfort zone and makes she realise that live is worth living and she needs to take advantage of the. Second chance she has received. A wonderful tale about life, the choices we make, the people we meet and how we chose to really enjoy our lives to the fullest. The audiobook with Coral Sinclair is beautifully performed and enhances all the good in the story.

🎧 Audiobook Review 🎧

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I want to thank NetGalley for approving me for an ALC of this book.

When Maggie is celebrating a year post heart transplant surgery, the unthinkable happens. She wakes up in someone else's body. Now she has to navigate Emily's world and all that entails, whilst figuring out how to get back to herself.

Whilst I figured out early on what was happening I did enjoy seeing the story unravel. Maggie was a tough character for me to get along with. She had my sympathies for everything she had been through and I could understand her hesitations but I also felt she was very repetitive, which made her slightly irritating. It was the secondary characters that shone through for me. William was my favourite, the grumpy, elderly neighbour who really just needs a friend. I loved watching his friendship with Maggie grow.

This sliding doors story was filled with lots of positive affirmations. We should seize the day and enjoy every moment, especially the small ones, and not take anything for granted. By the end I wanted to know what choice Maggie would make and felt fully invested.

This was beautifully narrated and proved to be a quick and enjoyable listen.

🌟🌟🌟.75

🎧4.25⭐️

I had the audiobook read by Coral Sinclair who has a lovely voice that’s so easy to listen to, just drawing me into the story.

Maggie has a second chance of life following a heart transplant which I found an interesting premise for this contemporary fiction with a paranormal element. It’s an easy listening gentle life affirming story with love interest. The characters are all nearly all likeable, so it’s easy to gel with them becoming invested in their lives. It manages to avoid being cheesy or cliche.

You have to pay attention as it switches time lines but in the same location so there’s a cross over.

I found it moving at times, enjoyable throughout with the narrator adding to my enjoyment. A Pleasant feel good listen.

Maggie's family are celebrating her heart transplant anniversary but Maggie is not sure about the celebrations after receiving a letter about her donor and thinking about her own still limited life.

Emily escaped from the rat race in London and moved to a flat in Edinburgh, what made her run.

The book is about how their lives intertwine and dealing with love and loss.

The audio narration was excellent. There was a distinct accent difference between the characters and they were pitched just right.

Thank you to Netgalley and @Bolindaaudio for the advanced copy of this very enjoyable book.

This book was like a hot cup of tea in a cosy corner. I honestly just LOVED it and I had no idea I would enjoy it as much as I did.

Maggie is the recipient of a heart transplant, but her life hasn’t really seemed to change that much since the operation. On the one year anniversary of the operation, she wakes up in the body of Emily, and now, suddenly, it is two years prior. As she navigates life as Emily and her chance to live the life she’s always wanted, we see the journeys of these two women and what they have both had to navigate along the way, such as loss, grief and identity.

The narration was a stellar performance from Coral Sinclair, and an admirable feat. She switched between accents and characters seamlessly, showing many POVs at once and distinguishing characters, sometimes in the same sentence! It was a fully engaging experience and I could “feel” the characters through her voice.

I enjoyed how the book explores how we can feel held back by our body’s limitations, but also how we can set many so limits on ourselves, despite our circumstances. Both Maggie and Emily’s experiences were beautifully explored; although they had very different challenges, they both had a lot of vulnerability and growth. Overall, I had the best time and I can’t recommend this book enough.

Thank you to Bolinda Audio and NetGalley for this ARC for review; all opinions are my own.

When I say I loved this book, I truly mean it. At first I wasn’t sure what to expect but it just kept getting better with every chapter. It was emotional, raw, and heartbreakingly real with a touch of the extraordinary that felt completely grounded. The story was beautifully written and the concept was unlike anything I’ve ever read before. It had me hooked from start to finish.
Maggie’s journey felt so honest and vulnerable. After a life changing heart transplant, she tries to play it safe until one morning she wakes up in someone else’s life with someone else’s face. What follows is a magical and moving exploration of identity, healing, and love. Imagine following your heart, when your heart isn’t yours.
Coral Sinclair’s narration was absolutely stunning and added even more depth to an already powerful story. I’m honestly so sad it’s over. I wish I could experience it all again for the first time. Huge thanks to the amazing Emma Steele and NetGalley for the chance to read this early. I feel incredibly lucky. Five stars all the way.

I really enjoyed this audiobook. It was quite gripping and I listened at every opportunity.
I thought the narrator did a good job, particularly with all of the different accents.
It made me cry in several places, it definitely hit my emotions, and also made me reflect.
I was sad for Emily, but happy that Maggie was given a chance to actually live!
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fascinating story of one woman, living two very different lives. Her new heart wants her to see how much life there is to be lived…for her!

I listened to the audiobook which was very well narrated by Coral Sinclair. There were a lot of different accents, and she did a great job with them.

This is a very emotional story, with many twists. At the end of the book I felt like I had watched a very powerful film (please do make this book into a film). A fiction book has never moved me so much. Tears in my eyes.

The later part is very suspenseful as you do not know how things will turn out for the main characters. There’s a wonderful ending. Highly recommend.

I received an advance copy via NetGalley and this is my honest, voluntary review.