Harder: A Novel (Caroline & West Book 2)

It’s been three months since West left Caroline behind, three months during which the hope that they would last dimmed away. But with one phone call, she’s on a plane to see him, to find him angry, all hard edges and cold eyes that show no matter how she tries to get to him, he’ll only push her away. The pain she felt when Nate exposed her online is nothing compared to the raw agony of knowing her life with West over, that he’s moved on, that she can’t have the person who carried her through the most difficult time in her life, who she fell in love with when she wasn’t looking. But as impossible as he tries to make things, now that she’s there in his hometown, she’s determined to see through the bitter armor he’s put up.The Verdict: Pretty sure I am just wrecked. Harder cracked open my chest, ripped everything out and shredded me, only to put me back together in a jumbled mess of emotions I can’t even explain.When West returned home to Silt, he crawled back into that inescapable darkness that told him life would never get better, that he didn’t deserve someone like Caro, and that she was certainly better off without him. His loss and grief, frustration and desperate attempt to act unaffected displayed itself in cruel anger and a callousness I didn’t think he was capable of. But Caro was nothing if not devoted, and while she couldn’t completely hide the hurt, she showed a strength we never fully saw in Deeper. But Harder isn’t a typical torn apart and found their way back to each other love story.Caroline’s still dealing with the revenge porn pic disaster and trying to get out from under her well-meaning but heavy-handed father’s thumb. And West… Well, there was a while there that I really came close to hating him. But the more I saw into Caro’s mind, the more I understood that her patience didn’t make her a door mat; it made her stronger than he ever was. And once I got a look into West’s mind, my heart broke for him. He’d been given a pretty awful start in life, managed to claw his way out, and then been pulled back into that hopeless place with a disaster of a family and no light at the end of the tunnel. It’s no wonder he was so angry and convinced that life for someone like him was never going to stop sucking.I thought Deeper was an incredible read, but Harder is beyond any kind of praise I can dish out. It’s an emotional roller coaster that takes a long detour through hell and doesn’t let you go until you’re safe on the other side, trying to wrap your head around all the intense feelings that still have you by the throat. And Robin York’s writing is simply amazing. There’s a poetic twist to the way she describes things, bringing everything to life — from the characters to the tension in the air to the snow on the ground. Her words don’t just describe scenes; they inject you with the sights and smells and sounds until you’re standing right there in the story, picking at the peeling laminate of an old kitchen table.If you love feeling stories as much as reading them and want a story layered in emotion from every corner of the spectrum, grab these books and get comfortable. The situation is heartbreaking, the characters are flawed, and the entire journey is painfully beautiful. You’re in for an incredible read.

I have to say though I loved both books, Harder was my favorite. As much of an ass as West was in the beginning of this book, even with what he did, all of which I hated. I understood why he was doing it and while I was so angry at him I still had some sympathy for him and the cards he was dealt in his life. So being able to watch Caroline forgive him and West work to accept and earn her forgiveness while supporting her and learning how to be a father to Frankie was so cathartic. I also loved seeing Caroline come in to and accept her strength and do what she felt was right, for her and her little family. I would have loved an epilogue set a few years in the future to show how they were doing. It would have made it perfect!

In an echo of Caro's words about West, you've ruined me for others, Robin.These titles are anchored by the kind of strong, smart, resilient female protagonist that makes me question finding other novels with women like this. (Is that hope a luxury I do not get to claim?, I could ask, mimicking West's doubts of a future with Caro) Even better than a great novel is one that you want to share with friends, have discussions about, and stop strangers on the street to recommend. If you have read the first novel, [book:Deeper|18525821], then this quote, "what [Nate] did was nasty, but what [West] did was so f@cking personal." gives you the premise for a knock-out follow-up.York does not neatly deliver life's answers after a few creative plot twists; these MCs are figuring out how to handle real-life hard knocks and go from surviving to thriving. I have no formal training in literary critiques, but this felt like a bildungsroman, with its examination of the timeless conflict between young women and the expectations for them - from society, their closest friends and family, and themselves. And, it moves past forgiveness, dismisses the empty promises of vengeance, and kicks the notion of one's life being 'ruined' by giving away too much power in the metaphorical nuts.Even simple transitions between scenes added elegance and depth: "Home is like a thrift store shoe--I love the way it looks, but when I put in on, it feels stiff, creased in weird places. I can pretend it fits if I need it bad enough, but when I'm honest with myself I know it never will." Who needs to hear about the old posters on the walls of childhood bedroom or the new eyes with which one sees a now-smaller home's sadly faded paint upon returning from college?For readers who might pick these two novels for a book club's monthly read or gather over coffee to discuss, York provides an abundance of themes to cover: taking risks - or spending inordinate amounts of energy avoiding them, trying to control the uncontrollable, the feeling of losing a promised future and having to find the desire to want to rebuild again, letting doubts take over, betrayal, forgiveness, rejecting silence and stigma to find one's voice, the many forms of love, and what endures after pain begins to fade.

Harder é a segunda parte do livro Deeper, o qual eu simplesmente adorei. E, eu mal podia esperar para saber como a estória de Caroline e West iria terminar! Mas, Antes eu não tivesse aguardado tão ansiosamente, pois apesar de eu ter gostado da forma como a estória terminou a sua jornada definitivamente não supriu as minhas expectativas.Harder começa poucos meses após West ter sido obrigado a deixar Caroline, sua universidade e a sua vida para voltar para sua cidade natal e cuidar da sua mãe e da sua irmã. Caroline ainda não havia conseguido tirar West de sua cabeça ou de seu coração. Então, quando ela recebe um telefonema desesperado dele no meio da noite sobre uma emergência familiar, ela não pensa duas vezes: ela pega o próximo vôo para Silt a fim de ajudá-lo da forma que ela pudesse.Contudo, o West que ela reencontra está completamente diferente daquele garoto que ela deixou partir. Ele está mais irritado, zangado e de mal com o mundo. E, é evidente que ele não a quer ali. Ele faz de tudo para afugentar Caroline. E, eu devo admitir que após tudo pelo o que West passou é difícil culpá-lo por tentar afastá-la. Eu consegui me simpatizar com ele e entender completamente o motivo pelo qual ele sentia a necessidade de manter Caroline distante. Era óbvio que ele não queria que ela fizesse parte daquele vida, que ele julgava vergonhosa e horrível. Como eu disse, eu não podia culpá-lo. E, Caroline certamente também não o faz. Quanto mais ele tentava enxotá-la, mas ela tentava ajudá-lo.E é então que West faz algo incrivelmente horrível. De embrulhar o estômago. Ao meu ver imperdoável. E foi aí que o livro acabou para mim. Eu sim-ples-men-te não consegui perdoá-lo. Talvez se Caroline não o tivesse perdoado tão cedo, tão rápido, eu pudesse também aos poucos me ajustar a idéia. A verdade é que Caroline o absolve antes mesmo dele ter que implorar pelo seu perdão. Porque sim, era isso que eu queria ver. West se arrastando atrás dela. Talvez Caroline seja uma pessoa melhor e mais madura do que eu. Talvez o livro tenha se tornado muito “real” para o meu gosto. Talvez, eu não estivesse no clima para um livro tão cheio de dramas. Seja o que for, a leitura dali em diante se tornou menos atraente.Mas, meu coração não se fechou completamente para trama. Admito que o vínculo entre Frankie e Caroline é lindo. Ele derreteu o meu coração, e com certeza ganhou pontos comigo. Outra razão que me fez continuar a leitura é o fato do foco desta estória não ser o relacionamento de Caroline e West. Harder é sobre perdão, família, amizade, crescimento. É sobre encontrar a felicidade e aprender a fazer as pazes com seu passado a fim de criar um futuro melhor. É uma jornada de aprendizagem e auto-conhecimento para West e Caroline.Não sei. Talvez eu meramente não estivesse no clima. Mas, este livro não conseguiu roubar a minha atenção.

I truly loved this book despite being annoyed with West for a lot of it and thinking that more groveling was in order. All I can say about that is that I know I am nowhere near as mature as Caroline.I wasn't able to put down the book and still want more. I am sad that this is the final book in the series and would have loved for there to have been an epilogue. There are still a few loose ends that I wanted to know more about including what happens with the Dr. and his wife.This series really surprised me and I give both books a five star rating. I will miss these characters and hope for a novella *fingers crossed* at some point in the future.

This is the sequel to Robin York’s novel Deeper. The story of Caroline and West continues in Harder.At the end of Deeper, West was headed back to his home town Silt to deal with family drama and that is where this story picks up a few months on.I completely fell head over heels for West in the first book. There is something about him that is so wild and unrestrained that makes him sooooo appealing but there is also this kind and protective side to him and it’s that sense of protectiveness over his little sister that’s driven him back to Silt. He has a lot going on in this novel and in a way it’s more about him than it is about Caroline which is the opposite to Deeper.One thing that really stood out for me about Caroline in this book was her determination. Although this personality trait was obvious in the first book I think that now she starts to fight for the love of her life instead of fighting for her reputation that determination doubles. It might seem like she just lets West do what he likes but in actual fact it appeared more to me that she was so willing to stand by him when he needed her the most.The story is written again in a dual POV which I love in a story but it also lends itself to this in particular as there are a lot of complex emotions surrounding the actions of the characters and understanding them from both perspectives helps to complete the reading experience.There is a lot of self-discovery going on for both characters in this story and it is also a lot to do with faith in yourself and faith in other people. For West this meant allowing Caroline to share some of the burden that he’s carrying around. Each character has their own story but together they are so engaging that I read this in less than 24 hours.

I wish they will make these novels into movies. They are so good. I thoroughly enjoyed the continuation of West and Caroline's story. Even if some parts were sad or annoying, I can understand West's point of view for wanting t destroy the relationship. He did not reckon on Caroline's unconditional love for him though. Caroline never waivered that West was the man for her, her inspiration, the love of her life. The narrative was good. I routed for them from beginning to end and wanted their story to continue. I hope the author will do that.

Oh my goodness, this book fractured my heart into splinters. I'm talking events in the book that caused my jaw to drop , my tears to fall and my arm twitching to throw my precious Kindle across the room. Then, when I had almost abandoned hope, Robin York carefully pieced my damaged heart back together and made me cherish every beautifully damaged page of West and Caroline's story.This book concludes their story and you absolutely need to have read the first book or you will be confused. Excellent, well structured secondary characters that control the plot just as much as the Hero and heroine. A storyline that is truly addictive reading.HEA? YesCheating? Aargh....it's complicated. I hate cheating and its a no go for me but honestly, roll with this storyline and see where it takes you. It's worth going on one hell of a roller coaster ride for.