Reviews

Cross Her Heart by Sarah Pinborough

karalew's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

This was definitely a page turner! Another one where you think you're able to predict but the plot twists are surprising!

allisonrae13's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

jesssmonet's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

myrranda5002's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

I enjoyed this book. While I didn't devour the book this was a solid read.

laurakh's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

I read Cross Her Heart because I loved Behind Her Eyes. Cross Her Heart wasn't as good, but I still really enjoyed it.

Most of the complaints about this book are that it's far-fetched. I actually thought the opposite--as far as I can tell, Cross Her Heart (or at least Lisa's backstory) is based on a true story. It's not mentioned in the acknowledgments but there are so many identical details that I would be surprised if Pinbourough hadn't been intentionally adapting it.
Spoiler Mary Bell is a girl who murdered two young boys in the sixties. If you look at her Wikipedia page there is a LOT (the 'child B', the prostitution, and getting discovered when she had a daughter of her own) that lines up with Charlotte's story. There are also a few parallels on Katie's side with Pauline Parker and Juliette Hulme.
. I really enjoyed this book as a re-imagining of that story and thought it worked well.

There were definitely a few elements that bothered me, but for the most part Pinbourough creates great / unlikeable characters and an interesting plot. I read this in one day and it flew by.

lazylou21's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

3.0

erockwell729's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

bc7ate9's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

4.0

lauraborkpower's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

I'd read Behind Her Eyes and enjoyed its trashy insanity so much that I couldn't wait to read another Pinborough book. This one was underwhelming by comparison, but still just fine for a thriller. I thought the twist would be totally different (and could have been better...), but it was okay.

jadelauren93's review against another edition

Go to review page

medium-paced

2.0