The Space Between Heartbeats

by Melissa Pearl

Lost and dying in the forest, Nicole’s last hope is a classmate she used to bully. When her spirit leaves her body, searching for help, Dale’s the only person who can hear her. But can he find her before it’s too late?

Beautiful, wild-child, Nicole Tepper, is hit by a car and left for dead. But when she wakes the next morning, Nicole finds herself in bed without a scratch. Perhaps she was more intoxicated than usual, as her mother is giving her the silent treatment and her friends are ignoring her as well.

Things take a turn for the weird when Nicole soon discovers she is actually hovering between life and death. Her body is lying in the forest while her spirit is searching for anyone who can hear her. Unfortunately, the only person who can is Dale Finnigan, the guy she publicly humiliated with a sharp-tongued insult that has left him branded.

Desperate, Nicole has no choice but to haunt Dale and convince the freaked-out senior to help her. Will he find her body before it's too late? Or will the guy who tried to kill her with his car, beat him there and finish her off before anyone finds out?


ALSO Two bonus novellas - The Space Before and The Space Beyond


This is a revised edition of The Space Between Heartbeats (previously published by Amazon Publishing and Alloy Entertainment LLC) and a new edition of Betwixt previously self-published by Melissa Pearl.

538 pages, Paperback

Published January 16, 2023

About the author

Melissa Pearl was born in Auckland, New Zealand, but has spent much of her life abroad, living in countries such as Jordan, Cyprus and Pakistan... not to mention a nine month road trip around North America with her husband. "Best. Year. Ever!!" She is a trained elementary teacher, but writing is her passion. Since becoming a full time mother she has had the opportunity to pursue this dream and her debut novel hit the internet in November 2011. Since then she has continued to produce a steady stream of books, ranging in genres from Fantasy to Romantic Suspense to Contemporary Romance. She loves the variety.

"I am passionate about writing. It stirs a fire in my soul that I never knew I had. I want to be the best writer I can possibly be and transport my readers into another world where they can laugh, cry and fall in love."

Melissa Pearl is a Forever Love Publishing author. If you'd like to download their Starter Library (3 books for FREE), then you can copy and paste this link into your Internet browser: http://bit.ly/FLP_Library

Reviews

[Fernanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was nice. It's been a while since I read a novel like this and it brought me back to my teen reading years.

[Juliana Ignácio · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is different from what I usually read, but this story had me hooked from the start to finish and I couldn't put it down until I finished reading it.
Nicole Tepper is one of the popular girls at school, but when she finds herself caught between life and death and her spirit can only communicate with Dale Finnigan, the boy she publicly humiliated at school, she puts all her chances in him.
Throughout the story, we learn why Nicole's behavior has changed in recent years and the events that made Dale and his family move to the city.
I loved how Dale and Nicole build a relationship as they investigate what happened to her and try to find where her body is before it's too late.
And the ending was really surprising! I loved the story and the characters. I highly recommend the reading.

[Missy Neiswander · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really good! I got it on Stuff Your Kindle Day and wasn’t expecting too much as I wasn’t liking other stuff I got that day, but this was a pleasant surprise! I’m normally not a fantasy person, and this was definitely more of a YA book, but the storyline was awesome. I love a good “coming of age” story where the lead character learns a lesson, even when it’s the hard way. Even though Nicole wasn’t the best version of herself, her journey helped her find her way back and also heal from trauma in the process. And it was impossible not to love the male lead, Dale, even though he had a spotty past, as well. Will definitely be finishing the series!

[Stephanie Kirk · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Nicky's path to find out who she is and what she wants from life while trying to find out what happened to her. The only let down for me is that the person who hurt her and thus tried to kill her to keep quiet never got what was coming to them. How can you try to murder someone and especially being a dirty cop and nothing comes of it.