Things We Know by Heart by Jessi Kirby

Quinn’s boyfriend, Trent, died in an accident 400 days ago. He was an organ donor and Quinn has met everyone who received one of his organs except for the boy who received Trent’s heart. On this 400th day since the accident, Quinn decides it’s time to find the heart recipient. She just wants to see him. What she doesn’t want is to talk to him or interrupt his life in any way. And she DEFINITELY doesn’t want to fall in love with him.

The premise of this book was a little disturbing to me. It almost felt wrong to have the protagonist fall in love with someone who had received an organ from her boyfriend. I was ready to feel a little creeped out and thought that the plot probably wouldn’t be very realistic. I’ll admit, I was wrong. Okay, okay, there was a little bit of insta-love going on. But besides that, the rest of the book seemed very real and plausible. Quinn did struggle with her feelings. She felt that maybe what she was feeling was a little wrong and betraying her boyfriend in a way. But she worked through it in a very realistic way and in a way that I could buy and feel comfortable with as a reader.

There was drama, obviously, but again, it wasn’t too over-the-top. The reader definitely can anticipate/predict some of the things that are going to happen throughout the entire book, but at the same time I wouldn’t say that the book is predictable in an unpleasant way. I liked seeing Quinn’s relationship with her family. Her dad, sister, and grandma in particular. I love just seeing that kind of dynamic in books because it makes characters seem more real to me.

Overall, this book was fun and romantic, but there was a darker, more serious undercurrent running throughout the book as well. You really get the whole array of feels and I think that’s what makes this book standout when compared to some other YA contemporary romances. I’m definitely interested in looking into some other titles by this author.

Overall Rating: 5
Language: Mild
Violence: None
Sexual Content: Mild. One scene in particular, not explicit.
Smoking/Drinking: Mild