I am still undecided about this book - it was very well written with the author definitely able to tug at the heartstrings and certainly make you feel for the heroine.... the male lead though was a bit less sympathetic despite his childhood.

There were parts of the book that I enjoyed but other parts that I was a lot less happy about...

This newest novel by L.A. Casey is a bit of a break from the norm in my opinion.

This is a story of family, grief, abandonment, hate, forgiveness and love, all of which the author writes with a sensitivity that immerses the reader into her sometimes heartbreaking scenes. A fact you know when you can't read for the tears streaming down your face!

As a Scot, I found the author's use of the Scottish vernacular inconsistent and even sometimes wrongly used. However it didn't really affect my overall enjoyment of this well woven tale and wouldn't prevent me from recommending it to others.

This cover and the blurb were the lure and though it took me a bit to get into the story, but once I did I was hooked. It was a true emotional rollercoaster with extreme highs and lows and kept me turning the pages until the very end.

I loved Erin. This girl has had the rug pulled out from under her and her world turned upside down (in more ways than one) but she hasn’t crumbled. She keeps moving forward, no matter the obstacles in her path, and while her world view isn’t all rose colored, she still has an upbeat attitude and gives her all to those she calls her own. Ward was an interesting one. I loved him, I did, but he had a lot of things to sort through before that feeling truly solidified. He has a good heart, but some of his choices were definitely suspect ~ though when everything was said and done, I could empathize with all that he went through ~ thankfully he comes clean and I really did like the man beneath the armour.

I have to say that Erin and Ward’s journey to their HEA surprised me, but in a good way. There was a good bit of angst and the push/pull was real, but the connection they had ~ even though it was tenuous at best ~ showed me that there was hope for the two of them if one could come clean and one could forgive. I enjoyed their bantering, how they worked through the obstacles that stood between them and where they ended up when everything was said and done.

This is my first read by the author and I have to say I really enjoyed it. The writing was engaging, the pacing good and I liked the dual 1st person POV’s. This one definitely gets emotional and the triggers are real, but everything was well done and thought out and gave the story depth and realism. As for the characters, they were all well written and it should come as no surprise that my fav’s were Aiden and Jesse and I wouldn’t mind getting more of both in the future.

I have read several books by this author and so far I have enjoyed them all...This one is no exception, though I have to say that there were some things that did bother me. 

Erin has had a crush on her big brother's friend for some time...though she is eleven so I can't really take it too seriously. I had tons of crushes when I was 11 and none of them were to be taken really seriously. 

The hero is 19 at the time and he leaves her and her brother Tommy (his best friend) behind. I don't think any 19 year old should stay because of an 11-year-old girl...but I did want him to not abandon his best friend ... He had his reasons though, but I still think he should have gone about things differently. 

He goes off to make a fortune on an idea that wasn't just his...it was also his friend's...which is where the hero really pissed me off. I am a big fan of loyalty. Screwing your friend over like that...nope...you are in the doghouse my man !!

Fast forward more than a decade when tragedy strikes and they will come face to face again. I could understand that Erin hated Ward...her loyalty lies with her brother, as it should. She isn't able to hold on to her icy demeanor though...

This was a very nice "brother's best friend" / "enemies to lovers" / "second chance" love story. Lots of drama...even for me. Still, I enjoyed reading it. What I had a problem with were the accents. I love me some Scottish men..I really do and I have been to Scotland 2 times already and plan to go many more. But...there were times I had no idea what was being said... I may like Scotland and it's people, but that doesn't mean I understand what the hell they are saying :P

It took me out of the story a bit. It also sounded very funny in my head...I don't think I did the accent justice !!

ARC kindly provided to me via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

My reviews are posted on Wendy's Wycked Words

Argghhhh...this guy is no hero. So he may have had his reasons for leaving the Erin high and dry (he was much older than her and there was some stuff going on that no one knew about) but he never looked back. He developed an app along with Erin's brother, but then he was selfish and kept the glory for himself. He never credited her brother for his share of the work. (hated that!)

When Erin's brother is hurt, Wade returns. He's rich and a total manwhore. He's also living a fake life with a fake fiancee. He just seemed to lack a real genuine attitude. I just couldn't trust him. I felt no connection between Erin and Wade. She works like a dog, and he just has had it all.

Nope, this one didnt' work for me...not even a little bit.

Her Life Line is by far one of L.A. Caseys best books to date the connection between the characters is so intense you can feel the chemistry coming off the ages. AMAZING READ!

*I received this novel from NetGalley for an honest review.*

Alright so this is my first novel that I finished this year. Yippee for that :p Anyway this most probably will be a short review as I have so little time to type out my reviews because I am looking after my very sick and confused grandfather and books are the only thing that is taking everything of my mind. Though I can’t believe that I am saying this about one of my favorite authors but I actually struggled to keep reading the novel especially here at the beginning of the book. I mean I literally had to force my self to keep reading and if it was any other author, I would have given up long ago but as I said before L.A. Casey is one of my favorite authors.  

Yes this book was full of emotion and drama like all the other books from this author but it did not pull me in as much as it should have. Normally I don’t care about age between couples but for me having a crush already at the age of 11 is a bit to young and Ward was 19 and I mean that is a huge age gap and I really don’t see a 19-year-old going for someone that young. The age in the beginning was just plain weird for me. Them meeting again when both are much older was so much more natural for me and just plain better in my eyes. Like I said I don’t care about the age gap {well in my eyes no older than 10 years} but both needs to be off age.  And Ward left when Erin was still 11 so how can he have feelings for her when they haven’t seen each other in such a long time. I mean its just creepy if you liked an 11-year-old romantically because Ward saw her last when Erin was 11.

Another thing that I did not like that much was all that Scottish dialect. I mean I love hearing the dialect but reading it was just so different for me that I did not enjoy it so much. The characters needed more depth for me, and there was so much heartbreak in this story for me. I mean I really wanted to love this story, I really did because this sounded like a good story but it just didn’t do it for me.

I really hate giving reviews less than 3 stars but sadly this novel only reached 2.5 stars in my eyes. I mean overall this would have good for if I did not struggle to figure out all those Scottish dialects and too much sadness. Don’t get me wrong I will read sad stories but now was just not a good time for me. Sadly, this book just was not for me, though I can still say that L.A. Casey is one of my favorite authors because me not liking this book that much will not change me loving her other novels.

The description did not do the story justice. It is by far more deeper and heavy than you can imagine. What a great story with such emotions through both Erin and Ward and their struggles. Absolutely a page turner and very well written and detailed. I have read this authors Slater brother series and loved them. It is great that she can change genres a little a still bring great quality in the story.

Let’s start with the bad:
Trigger warnings galore. Alcoholism and child abuse. Child abuse including pedophilia described in just enough detail to make a weak stomached person vomit, even though it’s an adult facing down their childhood attacker. There’s also a completely inappropriate nickname between the main characters given one of their issues, and I’m not sure how no one mentioned that to the author before she published.

The good: it’s impossible not to feel for the characters, which may very well be part of what makes the bad in this book so bad. Early on, you start to feel like this is all happening to friends of yours and your just a silent bystander watching from the sidelines, unable to stop the events unfolding, and there are definitely points in the story where that left me feeling more than a little raw.

I feel queasy admitting the one sex scene (between two very consenting adults) was definitely great, but only because I had a hard time when the next chapter included a little girl who had been rescued from a sexually abusive parent.

I couldn't get enough of this book, I really enjoyed the story even though it was hard to read in some places and made me feel like crying, To me Lee put a lot into this, it made me feel part of Erin's story and i just wanted to give her a big hug, Ward at the beginning i wanted to punch him so bad lol but as the story went on i found him to be a great guy. The only and only thing i had trouble with in the beginning was understanding the language, some of the words were hard to understand but after reading 4 or 5 chapters i was ok. Please give this book ago it's such a great read i one of my top read for 2019

This book pulls at your emotions. This book has more to the story than a typical feel good romance. The ending is tied together nicely.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book (given by Netgalley)...

If you read Until Harry, then you know what to expect from this book. This book packs a lot emotion right from the beginning and the emotional rollercoaster never stops. It does tackle some serious issues that may be triggers for some, although nothing is explicitly shown, just mentioned.

I really wanted to love this book, but there were some things missing for me which made it hard to see the connection between Ward and Erin. Ward and Erin were very close until a tragedy occurred and Ward had chosen to leave Erin and her family to pursue his dreams. This book had my emotions all messed up and that ending practically destroyed me.







Possible Spoilers:

I really wanted to love this story, but I didn’t feel the connection between Ward and Erin, it all felt rushed and insincere. Ward leaves for 11 years and comes back when his best friend, Tommy, is in a terrible accident; Erin, Tommy’s baby sister, hates Ward for abandoning her family in their time of need; Erin proceeds to hate Ward when she sees him; Ward apologizes to Erin alone and boom their together and in love. Erin was shown as self sacrificing person who would work herself to the bone to help those she cared about; while Ward was presented as an escort banging playboy who was obsessed with his reputation, which explained his issues with Tara. Basically everything went from I hate you to I love you forever; from unapologetic playboy to completely devoted lover, all in a matter of three weeks.

Oh my this story had everything! Grief, trauma, rejection, love, hot scene, hope, forgiveness, redemption and more. I managed to read this in the one day and from the very first chapter I was hooked into the story. The sadness about Erin & Tommy's family and their friend who went away from it all for other reasons. Then 11 years later, their friend Ward comes back when Tommy is injured in a car accident.

There were some very hard hitting storylines especially towards the end, in fact I found myself sobbing whilst reading! Such a good strong story with great characters who you care for very quickly especially Erin, Ward, Jesse and Aidan.

A really good read and I am keen to read more from L A Casey. Thank you to NetGalley & publisher for the chance to read this advanced copy in exchange for a honest review.

This book didn’t really work for me. I disliked the characters (mainly the hero) and the dialects of the characters bothered me. Don’t get me wrong, I love hearing the Scottish dialect, but reading it felt really strange.
The story wasn’t anything special either.

- I received a free copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. -

I did enjoy the story. However I'm afraid I had to unfinish the book. I just couldnt carry on with all the Scottish dialect. I felt that there was just way too much. I wish I could know how the story finished, I just couldn't read anymore.

This book was full of emotion and drama right from the start. Erin had a crush on her brother's best friend, she was 11, he is 19. (That seemed weird for me) They were both young, but in today's society it didn't sit right with me. Time passes and they haven't seen each other in awhile, but they reunite and being older now, it felt more natural.

Overall a good, quick read. The story line did flow nicely, never feeling like you missed something or was dragging on. Characters development was perfect. Good quick romance, not completely wowed, but a good read.

ARC proved by netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

WTH!!!! This author is great at writing tragedy on top of tragedy. I feel like someone slapped me senseless. This book is very sad and it's been a while since I've cried reading a book. This one broke the dam. But there is no doubt this is a story about second chances. The amount of commitment, loyalty, love, dedication, but at the same time feelings of betrayal, loneliness and despair, is overwhelming.

When it touches the subject about different types of abuse, even with details it's still done in a delicate way. One were you as a reader can learn from it and can still be proud of these characters at the end. They take to much time consumed by fear. Which is another important topic in the story. But that only allows you as a reader to watch them grow. Watch them make changes to better their lives.

Erin and Ward are pulled together by an attraction that goes beyond looks. They simply care for each other deeply and more than anything respect each other. Tragedy pulls them apart. But it also brings them back together. It's very rare to find an author that can have you feeling deeply the words on the pages. The sadness and despair of the characters. So get ready with a box of tissues because you will need it.

OMG the emotions with this one! I'm on a kick of emotional reads and once again I started this book in tears and ended it in tears. But I loved every minute.

Erin at the age of 11 had a bit of a crush on her older brother's best friend - Ward. Ward and her brother Tommy were 8 years older and about to take off for University when the unthinkable happens. Tommy decides to stay with his family and Ward ends up leaving...

Now 11 years later, Ward is back - with another tragedy, this time with Tommy. He has fulfill the dreams that the two best friends, more like brothers, had dreamed of all those years ago and Erin is grown up and mad as hell that Ward has decided to come back at a time like this.

Ward had his reason's for leaving and he's devastated to realize that Erin and Tommy haven't had the best life over the last decade he's been gone. But that's all going to change, starting now.

I loved Erin. She was a spitfire and strong in many ways but she was also damaged. Ward is just the person she needs in her life and he needs her even more than he could have ever imagined. As the two try to make up for their past, their future is the biggest question of all.

I love Lee's writing, and this book shows how much she has grown in character development and writing skills, taking them to a new level of awesomeness. We still get the humor that we are used to in her writing but also a new depth that I really enjoyed with these characters. I highly recommend this book.

I love myself a nice romance/drama/emotional read of love, tears, healing and acceptance from time to time. Her Lifeline by L.A Casey managed to tick all the boxes in bold!
I wouldn't want to get too much into the plotline as it is a fairly simple read and I would end up with a lot of spoilers here.
The story was decently structured with only a few instances where I felt it went a bit tangent. At times, there were too many things going on simultaneously that the situation at play didn't get the desired impact or attention. Overall, it has a nice start, the incident , the consequence , the domino effect and so on. One thing really caught me off guard was the ending i.e that ok now one would think the story has ended and expects to see the epilogue next. But BOOM!, that was not the ending , there was more to come. Good one!
Usually when I read , I lean towards a character, it may not be the protagonist, could be one of the side characters. I would have loved a little more depth to the characters and their interactions and less of inner monologues.
Overall it was a decently nice read.
Readometer rating - 3.5/5
Suggestion - It a good read for a journey!

Going in, I knew it would be a love, lost, redemption kind of story. That being said, I just found it really depressing. For that reason, it's just not for me.