Showing posts with label random house. Show all posts
Showing posts with label random house. Show all posts

Thursday, July 28, 2016

Book Review: Summer of Supernovas by Darcy Woods

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: May 10, 2016
Publisher: Crown Books
352 Pages

Fans of Jennifer E. Smith and Jenny Han will fall in love with this heartfelt and humor-laced debut following one girl’s race to find the guy of her cosmic dreams.

When zodiac-obsessed teen Wilamena Carlisle discovers a planetary alignment that won’t repeat for a decade, she’s forced to tackle her greatest astrological fear: The Fifth House—relationships and love.

But when Wil falls for a sensitive guitar player hailing from the wrong side of the astrology chart, she must decide whether a cosmically doomed love is worth rejecting her dead mother’s legacy and the very system she’s faithfully followed through a lifetime of unfailing belief.


 
To Wilamena Carlisle the stars tell her everything. Most importantly, they tell her her perfect love match. That knowledge, plus a promise made to her mother, sends Wil on a mission to find her match. This includes going into a bar and using the cheesy "What's your sign?" line. Then she meets Grant and Seth - brothers, of course. One who seems to be her perfect match and the other who seems to be the one she was warned against. 

So. here's the thing. This book has a love triangle, like majorly. I know that some people don't like that sort of thing and I get it. Me? I can go either way. Sometimes I love them and the drama they provide, other times they don't fit the scenario and seem like just another plot point but provide nothing to the overlying story. This one? It worked for me. And both boys were great. Seth- the fun loving, easy going younger brother and then Grant - the brooding musician with a tortured past. Guess who I wanted her to choose?

Summer of Supernovas was cute. A great summer read and I liked that you didn't have to be well versed in astrology to follow the plot. Now, if you're like me, you read your horoscopes and you maybe have looked up your ideal mates sign, but that's as far as I've ever gone. Woods includes astrology as it's own plot but presents it in a way that it's easy to understand. 

I adored Wil. She was quirky, fun, and made mistakes - she was human. Her love for her best friend and grandmother jumped off of the pages and just added more depth to this book. This was the first book from Woods and I cannot wait to read more. 



Monday, May 16, 2016

ARC Review: Shut Out (Bayard Hockey #) by Kelly Jamieson

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: June 7, 2016
Publisher: Loveswept
274 Pages

From the bestselling author of the Heller Brothers Hockey series comes the first novel of a new hockey romance series featuring a college team whose players are heating things up both on and off the ice.
 
The Bayard College hockey team isn’t where Jacob Flass thought he’d be a season ago. He was a rising star in the Canadian major junior league, cruising toward a spot on an NHL roster—until a single disastrous night on the town brought it all crashing down. Now he’s out of options, except for playing well, studying hard, and staying away from girls. He’s not supposed to be flirting with the hottest, sweetest chick he’s ever met. But how could he possibly stay away?
 
Skylar Lynwood knows that Jacob is out of her league. She’s just trying to go with the flow, which isn’t easy when six feet and four inches of total hockey hunkiness is making a play for her one moment, then giving her the cold shoulder the next. Skylar’s head tells her that this rugged athlete isn’t worth her time, but her body says something altogether different. Risking her heart for Jacob may be the craziest thing she’s ever done . . . but she won’t let him shut her out.

 
*Warning: This book may be a trigger for some. It deals with sexual assault.*
To say this book surprised me would be an understatement. I went into this book with the attitude that this was going to be your typical sports NA book – girl reluctantly falls for bad boy athlete, some misunderstanding happens, happy ending, lots of sex – and while some of those things did happen, Shut Out also focused on a major problem surrounding college athletes – sexual assault.
Up and comer Jake Flass is well on his way to becoming an NHL player, his goal since he was a child, when one night with his a few of his teammates sends everything spiraling out of control. He’s kicked off of the team and sent to play college hockey in upstate NY – a far cry from the his place on Canadian junior league. But Jake is determined and his plan is simple – keep his head down, focus on hockey and his new classes, and no girls. Then he meets Skylar.
Skylar’s had a rough past year. With the death of one of her closest friends and her inability to live up to her sister’s greatness weighing heavy on her, she sets out on a mission with no distractions. Throwing herself into volunteer work helps greatly with that, however, she never planned on Jake Flass showing up in her group.
 
I’m always weary when I pick up a hockey book. Why? Because most of the time the game is written completely wrong. Tip: if you don’t know a sport, either don’t write about it or don’t try to do play-by-plays of games. Your inexperience will come across to those who are diehard fans, like moi. Anyway, Jamieson either knows hockey inside and out or did her research because she was on point. From the way leagues are set up to how the juniors feed into the NHL. I loved the passion in Jake for the sport and how he related it to physics. He was smart and knew what he wanted and he knew the game. I rooted for him. I wanted him to succeed. And the chemistry between him and Sky was palpable. It just radiated off the screen of my kindle. They were playful and adorable, but also helpful and mindful of each other. Each just wanting the other to succeed, but also not wanting to compromise on their own goals.
 
So where’s the sexual assault in all of this? I don’t want to spoil the book but I will say that there are a few instances where this topic becomes apparent. While at times the way the characters delivered the information seemed a little self-helpish, the message still came across. Maybe this is just so fresh in my mind because I’d recently watched The Hunting Ground but this story just felt so important right now. Jamieson doesn’t shy away from the stigma or gloss over the assaults. She brings it to the forefront of the story. Jamieson talks about how much colleges rely on their sporting teams for funding and are more reluctant to report issues or discipline their athletes. About how a high percentage of sexual assaults are perpetrated by athletes. How the mentality of a star athlete boarders on entitled. This is something that has always been going on but has just been recently discussed in mainstream media and I applaud Jamieson for bringing it up here.

I received a copy of this ebook from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Friday, June 12, 2015

Tasty Virtual Book Tour + Giveaway: Accidentally In Love (Friends First #3) by Laura Drewry

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Hey guys, I so happy to be part of the Tasty Book Tours party for Accidentally in Love, the third book in the Friends First series.This was the first book in the series that I've read but it definitely has me wanting to read the others. Check out the other stops of the tour here


Accidentally in Love (Friends First #3)

by Laura Drewry
The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: June 16, 2015
Publisher: Loveswept
298 Pages

Fans of Jill Shalvis and Susan Mallery will love Laura Drewry’s warm and humorous new Friends First romance, a sexy romp about a good cop and a bad girl playing hard to get.

Ellie Palmer and cops don’t mix, and getting pulled over by Officer Brett Hale—again—doesn’t help. Neither does being forced to take a safe-driving course with him. Brett’s by-the-book attitude leaves Ellie ice-cold, and his rock-hard body won’t change that. Still, the more time she spends with the guy, the more she finds herself warming up to his unexpected charms.

Even though Brett comes off like a boy scout, Ellie has sparked something he wants badly enough to get him to rethink his past mistakes. But when her ex shows up, Brett makes it his mission to keep Ellie safe in the here and now. His gut tells him the guy’s trouble, and Ellie must agree, because she doesn’t complain when Brett pulls her close. To keep her safe, though, he’ll have to choose between breaking her heart . . . and breaking the rules.

 
 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Local good boy cop meets smart ass rule breaker in the next installment of the Friends First series. This was not only my first book from Drewry, it was also the first one I picked up from the series. I just really love starting them in the middle. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I'm really happy I read it.

Ellie just can't catch a break. She has a bit of a lead foot when it comes to driving, and when she's pulled over again, she realizes that her license has been suspended. This is the last thing that she needs - she needs her car. It doesn't help that the officer who pulled her over is part of her friend circle, even though to call the two of them friends would be a stretch.

Brett lives by the rules. As a cop, it's all he knows. He's pulled Ellie over more times than he can count and while he knows he's just doing his job, he just can't understand Ellie's animosity toward him. When circumstances throw them together for the foreseeable future, Brett starts to see a side of Ellie that she tries hard to keep hidden.

I am a sucker for stories where they couple were friends first. There's a foundation that's built up and you feel the connection between the two just grow. This was true for Ellie and Brett. Animosity turned into respect until neither of them knew what hit them. When someone from Ellie's past comes back and threatens the safety of herself and her friends, Brett steps up, placing himself directly in the line of attack. Their charade turned reality was a fun story to follow.

I would also like to say that I really thought I had this book pegged. The moment her past came back, I came up with this scenario that I thought for sure the author was going to. But nope, it went somewhere else and managed to completely avoid the over the top drama for the sake of drama that plagues so many in this genre. 

This was a fun, light, read that's perfect for summer. I will definitely be going back and reading the others in this series as I am now interested in how they all got together. 

Big thanks to Tasty Book Tours for allowing me to participate in this book tour!

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Tasty Virtual Book Tour + Giveaway: Risk It (Rule Breakers #4) by Jennifer Chance

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Hey guys, I so happy to be part of the Tasty Book Tours party for Risk It, the fourth book in the Rule Breakers series. I've enjoyed the other books in this series and am excited to see where Chance takes us next! Check out the other stops of the tour here.


WANT IT
by Jennifer Chance

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: June 2, 2016
Publisher: Loveswept

224 Pages


Jennifer Chance’s Rule Breakers series turns up the heat as a wealthy playboy and a beautiful con artist engage in a high-stakes game of seduction.

As dominating in business as he is in bed, Rand Sterling Winston IV always gets what he wants. And even before he realizes that she’s scammed him into paying triple the cost for her friend’s painting, he wants Dani Michaels. To catch her alone, Rand demands that she personally deliver his purchase. The attraction between them is immediate and electric, and he knows she feels it, too. So when the part-time petty thief rebuffs his advances, he gives her a choice: a night in jail or an evening with him.

Despite her checkered past, Dani has never met someone like Rand: brooding, intense, and oh so tempting. Only a man with a broken soul could make control feel this dangerous. Still, when Rand proposes a no-strings, no-holds-barred affair, Dani’s more than a little intrigued. It’ll be the trickiest con she’s ever run and a chance to indulge her steamiest fantasies—nothing more. But as their encounters grow increasingly intimate, Dani uncovers a vulnerable side to Rand’s steely exterior and opens her heart to the ultimate risk.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rand didn’t try to stop her as she exited his office, the door to which was fortunately only locked  from the inside. He didn’t say anything at all, in fact, and she felt the familiar rush of satisfaction, also spiced by the familiar taste of danger. This man was bad for her. He made her want to do foolish things.

But if they were foolish things that he couldn’t catch, well . . .

She’d made it all the way to the outer office when she glanced over to the lights on Pearson’s desk. They were flashing red now, but she didn’t think too much about that, given that the woman was gone and there was no one manning the phones. Then she punched the elevator button, and that flashed red as well.

Flashing red elevator buttons were never good.

Shit.

Dani turned to see Rand silhouetted in the doorway of his office, the rain still pounding the glass of the windows behind him. It looked really cold out there, cold and wet. Which wasn’t going to be any fun at all, she had a feeling.

“Miss Michaels, it appears you have removed something from my office.” He held up the letter opener. “I’d thought I’d been quite clever, watching you as closely as I was. But once again, you have proven me wrong.”

Dani shrugged. “Score one for the con.” By his own admission, Rand hadn’t been the one to catch her. The flashing lights on Pearson’s desk console must be some sort of tech, quite a few levels up from the jobs she usually ran. And who microchipped crystal bunnies anyway, for the love of God?

Still, that didn’t mean she had to give in gracefully. He wanted to find the silly thing, that was on him.

Dani lifted her chin as Rand approached, his gaze drifting over her. She felt its scorching heat as he lingered on her neck, her breasts, her legs. “Now where could you have hidden something of mine?” he murmured. “Not your purse, I think. Too simple.”

That did make her smile. “Simple is sometimes smart.”

“And nobody would accuse you of not being smart—usually. And yet, you could have just walked away from my office without any memento at all, and guaranteed that you’d never see me again. Why didn’t you do that, I wonder?” Rand was close enough now to touch her, and he lifted his left hand to Dani’s temple, sliding it down until his fingers rested lightly on her neck, just over the point where her pulse was thumping quickly. Rand’s smile was all the acknowledgement he gave of her reaction, but it was his other hand she focused on as he traced the collar of her zip-fronted dress down, down, until his fingers caressed the small chrome pull between her breasts.

“I seem to recall this was zipped down just slightly further,” he said. “You’ll forgive me if I notice such things.” And with a quick, efficient move, he dipped his fingers into the vee of her neckline and drew out the tiny crystal rabbit, holding it up to the light. His gaze never left hers, however. If he’d tracked the spike in her pulse when his soft fingers had grazed her breasts, he gave no indication.

Dani smiled coolly, also not breaking eye contact. “Well, you got me. Losers walk, so I’m outtie.”

“Unfortunately, it’s not quite so simple as that.”

Rand’s voice was deliberately slow, lazy. As if he knew with each passing word her tension level would ratchet up a notch. “The system is alarmed to notify security automatically in the event of any breach, and given the nature of the work we do here, a uniformed police officer is on duty at all times. Those individuals are even now on their way up to arrest you, as a matter of standard procedure. I can call them off, of course. And I’m more than happy to do so.” His smile grew a little more certain, and Dani felt her back go up. “In exchange for dinner.”

She blinked at him, startled. “You’re going to have me arrested if I don’t go out with you?”

“Not at all.” Rand bent closer, his gaze never leaving hers. “I’m going to have you arrested for attempting to steal an item of extreme sentimental value from me. You will spend the night in jail as I decide what charges I’m willing to press for such a violation of my trust and my personal sense of security.” His lips twisted cynically, but the interest in his eyes was very real. He weighed the small crystal rabbit in his hand as if it were gold bullion. “Or, if you agree to have dinner with me, I’ll call off the police. It’s your choice.”


Dani sighed and shook her head, then leaned up on her toes to caress Rand’s lips with hers,
and cup his chin with her hand. He really did have the most unbelievably beautiful mouth, she thought. It fit the rest of his criminally gorgeous face to a tee. She sighed as she eased back down on her platform heels, her fingers dropping to trace his lapel, smoothing his perfect suit against his perfect body. Then she smiled and met his gaze again, noting the hard, intense shot of victory in his eyes.

“I’ll take my chances in jail.”

-----------------------------------
So who wants more? Don't forget to check back within the next few days when I will be posting my review of RISK IT!

Big thanks to Tasty Book Tours for allowing me to participate in this book tour!

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

ARC Review: Want It (Rule Breakers #3) by Jennifer Chance

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: December 9, 2014
Publisher: Loveswept
224 Pages

In the latest tantalizing Rule Breakers novel from Jennifer Chance, an irresistible alpha male follows his ex into a deadly standoff—and reignites a heated affair.

For Erin Connelly, being a good girl isn’t such a bad thing. She’s working her dream job at a Boston art gallery and staying out of trouble, which is more than she can say for her deadbeat mom. Unfortunately, her mother’s latest misadventure lands her in the clutches of a Mexican drug lord. Now the only person who can save her is the one man Erin has no business asking for help: the sexy-as-sin army ranger who just so happens to be her former high school sweetheart.

Zander James is no gentleman—and no officer, either, thanks to Erin. Four years ago, she made a call that terminated his highest aspirations . . . and their relationship. He’s never forgiven her, but when he learns that Erin’s embarking on a half-baked rescue mission, he sure as hell can’t let her go alone. Now, with a treacherous enemy lying in wait, the electrifying tension between them may just be Zander’s undoing. Because while he may be able to keep Erin alive, he can’t promise to keep his hands off her.




I first read Jennifer Chance when I received an ARC of Rock It, the first book in the Rule Breakers series. I enjoyed it immensely.  The plot brought back memories of my love for Justin Timberlake and I connected with the story and the characters. Unfortunately, I didn’t get all of that with Want It.

This series is nice in that each book can be read as a standalone. There is an underlying connection but it’s so minor that you blink, you miss it. Which worked in my favor here as I didn’t read the second one. In Want It, we meet Erin Connelly, the girl who plays it safe. She works hard, has a good job, and has an okay living situation having inherited her grandmother’s place and rents out extra rooms for more income. She never takes chances, never does anything risky with the exception of her mother and her high school boyfriend. 

Erin’s mother is basically a horrible parent. She left Erin to be raised by her grandmother while she went off and got in dead end relationship after dead end relationship only to come back to Erin when she needed something. Like money to give to the kidnappers holding her and her current boyfriend in Mexico (I kid you not). Erin, not really knowing what to do, takes a mortgage out on her house for the cash and a plan, although not a very good one.

Enter Zander James, Erin’s high school boyfriend whom she hasn’t seen in four years. Even though they had a bad breakup, Zander still can’t let Erin follow through with her plan alone. Using his military connections, he decides to accompany Erin down to Mexico under the guise of being her boyfriend. Of course, old feelings get stirred up and Erin has to constantly remind herself to keep her head in the game.

There were parts that I liked about this book – the banter between the two, Zanders willingness to help, Erin wanting to be independent and strong. But there were also parts that I disliked such as the dramaticness of the plot. Not only do we have two people recovering from a messy breakup but we also have kidnapping, extortion, hostage negations…it was crazy. Also I wasn’t a fan of the ‘I’m just going to sleep with you to get you out of my head’. While it fit the character of Zander, it didn’t fit Erin. Which made me wonder if the author even knew who Erin was to begin with, her character was kind of all over the place. She was quiet and controlled, then outspoken and demanding. She was weak and didn’t listen when people tried to help her. For most of the book, she pissed me off. It just seemed like there was too much happening to really take time and develop the characters. It was hard to relate to any of them. 

While this book wasn’t my favorite, I do like Chance’s writing style and will continue to read her work. 

I received an e-copy of this novel from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 
 

Monday, December 8, 2014

Blog Tour: WANT IT Book Blitz + Giveaway!

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I am so excited to be a part of the WANT IT Book Blitz! The third in the Rule Breakers series which introduces us to Erin Connelly and Zander James, two ex-lovers who find themselves in a very compromising position. I loved Jennifer Chance since the first book Rock It was released and I'm sure this one will not disappoint. If you want to get to know Jennifer more, you can go here to find out more about the Rule Breakers series.

WANT IT
by Jennifer Chance
The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: December 9, 2014
Publisher: Loveswept
224 Pages

In the latest tantalizing Rule Breakers novel from Jennifer Chance, an irresistible alpha male follows his ex into a deadly standoff—and reignites a heated affair.

For Erin Connelly, being a good girl isn’t such a bad thing. She’s working her dream job at a Boston art gallery and staying out of trouble, which is more than she can say for her deadbeat mom. Unfortunately, her mother’s latest misadventure lands her in the clutches of a Mexican drug lord. Now the only person who can save her is the one man Erin has no business asking for help: the sexy-as-sin army ranger who just so happens to be her former high school sweetheart.

Zander James is no gentleman—and no officer, either, thanks to Erin. Four years ago, she made a call that terminated his highest aspirations . . . and their relationship. He’s never forgiven her, but when he learns that Erin’s embarking on a half-baked rescue mission, he sure as hell can’t let her go alone. Now, with a treacherous enemy lying in wait, the electrifying tension between them may just be Zander’s undoing. Because while he may be able to keep Erin alive, he can’t promise to keep his hands off her.




 Jennifer is offering up two fabulous prizes during the WANT IT Blitz Event. One lucky Grand Prize winner will receive a Seasons Greetings Gift Basket and one Runner Up will receive a $25 Gift Card for Amazon or B&N (winner's choice)! To enter, simply fill out the Rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway  

It's Just a Kiss


A note to readers from author Jennifer Chance:



As I prepared to write Erin’s first meeting with Zander, I knew there had to be a lot of anger between them. After all, she had been there the night his entire world had fallen apart, and he still blamed her for letting him down at such a critical juncture  (even if he knew better, some old beliefs die hard).  However, not all of their first meeting could be about anger and guilt and blame . . . there had to be a flare of attraction as well, that reminded both of them of everything they’d left behind, and everything they still felt about each other, even if they didn’t want to feel it. In this section of the scene, Erin has told Zander that she doesn’t need his help after all—she’ll get her ‘boyfriend’ to assist her. A suggestion that Zander is more than ready to challenge.  

     “Don’t you think we should get this thing between us out of our systems, then, Erin?” Zander murmured. “Before it becomes something you do need to explain to your boyfriend?”
     “This . . . thing?” she asked, and honest to God, she meant to raise her hand and place it on his chest to push him back, to stop him, only when her fingers connected with the solidity of Zander’s abs through the thin cotton shirt, her eyes almost crossed. “We don’t even like each other anymore,” she said faintly.

      His words were so quiet she barely registered them. “Who said we needed to like each other? It’s just a kiss.”

      For some reason, that made infinite sense. Without saying another word, Erin stood on her tiptoes and it still wasn’t enough. Zander met her more than halfway, though, not reaching down, not forcing it, just leaning in close enough for her to feel his breath against her face. Then his lips came down on hers.



     The heat that blasted through Zander was so intense that he was glad for the grip he had on the bright-blue roller skate Erin called a car. He’d known this was coming the moment she’d put her hand in his and allowed him to drag her across the yard and out into the street where they could actually be alone, without the covert stares of everyone with an ounce of James blood in their veins. Some of the stares had been amused, some of them had been worried, some of them just curious. But none of them mattered now.
     The taste of Erin’s mouth made his pulse go apeshit as every muscle in his body clenched. She’d intended the kiss as a quick good-bye, he knew. She’d been a master of the quick exit four years ago, quivering with anger and outrage and shock. But this time, Erin was shaking in an entirely different way. This time her breathing was as ragged with need as his was. And this time Erin did make a sound, and it cut right to the core of him, her fingers gripping his shirt as she gave a low, almost desperate moan.

     Boyfriend, his lily-white ass.

---------------------------------- 


So who wants more? Don't forget to come back tomorrow when I will be posting my review of WANT IT!

Thank you to Jennifer for joining us today with a that amazing excerpt, and to Loveswept for letting me join the tour!

Friday, May 30, 2014

ARC Review: Harder (Caroline & West #2) by Robin York

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: July 1, 2014
Publisher: Bantam
352 Pages

In Robin York’s provocative new novel, two young ex-lovers find themselves together again in the shadow of tragedy—and an intense, undeniable attraction. 

Caroline still dreams about West. His warm skin, his taut muscles, his hand sliding down her stomach. Then she wakes up and she’s back to reality: West is gone. And before he left, he broke her heart.

Then, out of the blue, West calls in crisis. A tragedy has hit his family—a family that’s already a fractured mess. Caroline knows what she has to do. Without discussion, without stopping to think, she’s on a plane, flying to his side to support him in any way he needs.

They’re together again, but things are totally different. West looks edgy, angry at the world. Caroline doesn’t fit in. She should be back in Iowa, finalizing her civil suit against the ex-boyfriend who posted their explicit pictures on a revenge porn website. But here she is. Deeply into West, wrapped up in him, in love with him. Still. 

They fought the odds once. Losing each other was hard. But finding their way back to each other couldn’t be harder.



The other day, during my break at work, I was sitting in the break room, iPhone on the table, reading and eating Subway at the same time (because they are equally important, and apparently, I'm multitalented). One of my coworkers saw me reading, laughed (because "that's so typical" of me), and as she sat down she asked me, "Why do you like reading so much?" I was stupefied. Everyone that is around me for more than two minutes knows that reading is pretty much my entire life, but no one had ever asked me that before.

I'm sure I looked like a frog, the way that I kept opening and closing my mouth while trying to come up with an appropriate answer. At this point, I was still in my reading slump (see my last post, if you are unsure what I mean). During the slump, I had read some good books; some were even great, but I was not able to connect with them on a meaningful level. So I wasn't able to say what I can now that I've read Harder.

Because books like Harder are why I read, why I blog about books, and why I believe in the power of storytelling.

Robin York is just as masterful in her writing of new adult fiction, as she is in adult as Ruthie Knox. Her words are powerful. Her stories are brave, and inspiring, and heartfelt, and maddeningly realistic. This author can make you hurt so badly, but she also does so well at bringing her readers joy. I would not hesitate to call York one of my favorite authors, and I recommend her books to anyone who would listen.

It's a formidable thing to be able to make someone cry, to make someone feel to the very core of themselves with a few mere words on a page. York does so effortlessly. This book is emotional on so many levels. Readers will watch as the beloved characters we met in Deeper fall apart, grow, discover themselves, and struggle to find happiness with themselves, and with those they hold most dear. This is not an easy read, though if you read Deeper, I'm sure you can imagine. It will not always inspire the giddy feelings commonly associated with romance novels. In fact, there were several times where I wanted to set the book aside, and calm my sadness and anger, but I honestly could not put the book down. I read it from start to finish in just a couple of hours.

Harder takes place a few months after the finale of Deeper. The relationship between Caroline and West has taken a downward turn filled with drunken phone calls, and sporadic texts as West stays with his family in Silt, and Caroline remains in Putnam. When West tells Caroline of a tragedy in his family, she immediately flies to him as support. What she finds is not what she expected. West is a different man. He's hurt, and angry, and harder than she's ever seen him. It's no longer just them against the world, but they must also finally battle their own personal demons to find happiness together.

The plot moved pretty quickly, in my opinion, but that worked for the story. This spanned over months, and during that time we got great insight into the growth and setbacks of these characters. The plot was magnificent. There were several points where I thought my heart was going to burst through my chest due to grief, but the story was real. This isn't a fantasy. Sadly, much of what occurs in this series is part of modern life. That's horrifying, and heart-wrenching, but true. York did well at creating a relatable story.

I adore these characters, but what really got to me is the relationships between them. Seeing Frankie and Caroline bond was beautiful. It melted my heart, and really made the story for me. Sure, I love Caroline and West, and I want them to be happy-in-love forever, but though the path of their relationship was important to the story, that was not the main focus. Harder was about family and friendship, growth, finding happiness with yourself, and learning how to come to terms with your past so you can create a great future. We watch Caroline grow as she dealt with more betrayal, familial drama, and the continuing civil suit against her ex, Nate, for posting their sex pictures online. We also see West, who is dealing with mistakes and pain from his past, and his own familial drama. It's difficult to read about their struggles and heartache, but it's amazing watching them transform throughout the story.

I cannot remember the last time I enjoyed a book as much I enjoyed Harder. It is a phenomenal end to a series that I will reread often. I would recommend it to anyone, and everyone. There is so much to love, and so much to learn from the characters in this story. This is one tale that will linger with me for years, and years, and years. Robin York is a genius, and her fans are waiting with bated breath for her next release!
I received an e-copy of this novel from the publisher for my honest opinion and review via Netgalley.
 
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