review: Harder by Robin York

Harder by Robin York

My rating:  4/5

Series: Caroline & West #2

DRC provided by NetGalley for an honest review

Published:  7/1/2014

Genre:  New Adult Contemporary Romance

Summary –

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.  (Thanks to GoodReads.com for the summary)

My Thoughts –

Harder is the continuation of a hard fought romance between West and Caroline.  I absolutely loved Deeper and know Hared would not disappoint, and it didn’t.  Robin York wrote characters that you really feel heartbroken for in this series, so much so it’s hurts in your chest.

This was not a breezy love story.  It was much heavier and painful than Deeper, but no less awesome.  West really went through some bad stuff here and Caro didn’t give up on him.

I think the writing was great, the use of dialogue spot on and the story flowed like a river.   Great job to the author, I look forward to reading more from Robin York in the future, for sure.

review: Deeper by Robin York

Deeper by Robin York

My rating: 4/5

DRC provided by NetGalley for an honest review

Published: 1.28.2014

Genre: New Adult Romance

Summary –

In this New Adult debut by Robin York, a college student is attacked online and must restore her name—and stay clear of a guy who’s wrong for her, but feels so right.

When Caroline Piasecki’s ex-boyfriend posts their sex pictures on the Internet, it destroys her reputation as a nice college girl. Suddenly her once-promising future doesn’t look so bright. Caroline tries to make the pictures disappear, hoping time will bury her shame. Then a guy she barely knows rises to her defense and punches her ex to the ground.

West Leavitt is the last person Caroline needs in her life. Everyone knows he’s shady. Still, Caroline is drawn to his confidence and swagger—even after promising her dad she’ll keep her distance. On late, sleepless nights, Caroline starts wandering into the bakery where West works.

They hang out, they talk, they listen. Though Caroline and West tell each other they’re “just friends,” their feelings intensify until it becomes impossible to pretend. The more complicated her relationship with West gets, the harder Caroline has to struggle to discover what she wants for herself—and the easier it becomes to find the courage she needs to fight back against the people who would judge her.

When all seems lost, sometimes the only place to go is deeper. (Thanks to GoodReads.com for the summary)

My Thoughts –

Where does the story take place? 

Putnam University in Iowa

Is the title a good/bad choice for the story? 

Maybe

Give the book an alternate ending…or were you happy with it? 

Not happy with ending at all – ends like a Korean drama/movie, ugh…

Did you cry, laugh, sigh, cringe, fume or feel nothing? 

A bit of everything

I thought this was an outstanding story. Having a seventeen-year-old daughter who came close to experiencing something similar, this story hit pretty close to home. So much so, I made her read this story as well, and she loved it. She commented on how she could see how this is actually how a person might feel if something like happen to them, uncomfortable and violated. I wanted her to read it to see the ugly side of what could happen when a person makes the choice to take these kinds of pictures/videos.

That being said, I loved this book as well. I loved the chemistry between West and Caroline. I so thoroughly enjoyed reading about making bread and not being friends. Have I said I loved this book? Well I do!!

Caroline is the typical rich girl character. Her world gets turned upside down when her ex, Nate, posts some intimate pics of the two of them online. I could feel this girl’s embarrassment and violation along with her. I commend Caroline for stick to her guns and staying in school.

West is a complex character. He’s all about his family, he’s a great student, he works a bakery and he’s a drug dealer. He just wants to get through life and make sure his mother and sister are taken care of. He doesn’t want anything to do with Caroline because he knows she’ll turn his world upside down if he gets in too deep with her.

I liked reading the story from both West’s and Caroline’s perspectives. Again, have I said I loved this book? Well I do!! My main issue is the ending – like I said, totally a Korean ending. I also am not fond of the cover. It’s too YA for me and this book is so not YA. Great job to the author – I’ll be reading the continuation of the story for sure!!