In This Life

When something beautiful comes from heartbreak... That is exactly what this story is about and i absolutely loved it!!!!! I mean hold it to my heart and smile loved it!!!Nash is a loner. He's living a self imposed exiled life. He needs and wants no one. He works pretty much from home and only has his dog Roxie for company. He's pretty much estranged from his family and only keeps in touch by the occasional phone call. One night after a brawl he gets a call in the early hours of the morning informing him of a tragedy. He jumps in his truck and drives to the town he grew up in. There he suddenly finds himself the guardian of a baby brother he's never met. He has no idea why they chose him. He's never looked after a baby before and doesn't know what to do.Kathleen is a single mom to a beautiful little 3 year old by the name of Emma. She's struggling by doing accountancy work for local businesses. She ran home from college after getting pregnant with no qualifications to her name. Emma is the best thing in her life and she'll never regret having her but her life has turned out nothing like she expected. Always the high achiever at school she was the one most expected to succeed.When a relative of her dies she steps in to look after her baby for a while until the guardian arrives. When he does he's just as she remembers at school. Hot, brooding and totally a badboy. She always had a crush on Nash but he never noticed her.Nash has no friends in town and Kathleen is about the only person he can ask for help off. Nash struggles to deal with his grief and regrets and looking after a baby. Kathleen does the right thing and helps him. Can they just be friends with maybe some added benefits. Can they keep their hearts and emotions out of it for the sake of raising the children?Gah!! I just fell so in love with this book it's not even funny. I'm swooning all over the entire darn thing!!! Honestly there wasn't one single thing i didn't like.I fell massively for Nash. He's on my Book Boyfriend list for sure!!! He's just sooooo YUM!!!!! The scenes... scratch that every scene with him in with a child or baby made me hot under the collar!!! Yes at the start he is a little bit of a moody so and so but he'd been through a lot in his young life and he didn't just edge into my heart he pretty much smashed his way in there. Even though he'd never looked after a baby i loved how he instantly connected to the baby and stepped up to look after him even though he had no idea why he was chosen.Kat was just perfect for him. Bossy but not too much so she made sure that Nash would accept her help. She also held him up when i think he might have fallen. But my favorite thing about her was that although she comes across as kind of innocent she was also massively sexy!! It actually made me laugh how sure she was of herself that way and when Nash got that about her then the sparks flew!!There is a fair bit of angst here. Poor Nash had lost a lot in his life and Kat had her own personal demons to fight. But they completed and mended the broken pieces of each other so perfectly i can feel my chest constrict with happiness for these two.The kids play a major role in this book and baby Colin was just adorable!! But Emma... oh my goodness i wanted to pluck her out the pages and give her a great big cuddle!!!The plot grabs you right from the start. The lows will break you. The video clip?... That's where my tears went!! The highs will make you feel on top of the world. They're like a mini Brady bunch!!! I didn't see the little twist of Kat's past coming and i loved how it was dealt with. There were laughs and tears throughout in a perfect balance.Just brilliant! This is why Cora Brent is one of my favorite authors. You always leave her books with a smile and little spring in your step that maybe everything will turn out ok in the end!5 beautiful stars!!

Really enjoyed this. Bad boy goes good, good girl went bad. A meeting of minds, a strong love & a family.

Fabulous standalone story from Cora Brent... tragic circumstances brings Nash home. You feel the tension immediately and soon realise the relationship between him and his father has been strained but there is so much more.Kat has a daughter Emma, there’s no mention of Emma’s father but you know there is more to their story because you soon sence Kat is hiding something.Circumstances bring Nash and Kat together, there’s an understanding between them because they have quite a bit in common, what starts of as friendship soon turns into so much more.In This Life is beautifuly written, sadness and regrets play a big part for many reasons, the loss of Nash’s parents, wishing he’d have made more effort with his father... nobody could predict what would happen otherwise things might have been different however Nash would do the right thing now.Kat was receiving some worrying emails and texts that’s what you are made to feel and at this stage you are not sure what to think, it could be something to do with Emma’s father either way you know you are about to find out and of course it happens spectacularly.With everything out in the open, although at first you wondered about Harrison’s true intentions the situation turned out pretty good having said that it doesn’t come without it’s fair share of sadness the whole situation was very emotional and portrayed very well.Loved the relationship between Emma and Roxy and you can’t help rooting for Nash and Kat it was definitely meant to be....perfect family.!!

I enjoyed the characterisation and the storyline of this book, but it was a little bit two dimensional.Also I don't like books that finish and then you get chapters of previous books to fill up the word count. Hence the 3 stars

Recently, I have read mainly happy, fun romances, perfect for bright early summer days. But I need light and shade in my reading and this fits the bill perfectly in that it is heavier and sadder. I relish books that I know are going to make my heart feel like it's breaking at certain points. I accept the lows because the eventual high is so worth it.Cora Brent is an absolute master at making her male main characters feel real. They are full of doubt but never once do they shirk responsibility and always try to do the right thing. Nash Ryan is portrayed as a loner, but it is clear he is crying out for someone to love and be loved in return. He has known so much loss that it seems impossible that the future may be brighter one day.Kathleen is my kind of heroine, strong, capable, kind. She has her share of demons and failures but keeps trying to move past the hand she was dealt. On top of that, she is a great single mother. Too often single parents are seen as lacking and struggling. Kat may doubt herself but she is written as having a core of steel.The love story between the two feels very natural and hits all the right emotional spots. I needed these two together and happy, ready to face whatever challenges life throws at them.A deeply affecting, triumphant romance.

So so so good

In This Life was a really great book from start to finish. I was enjoying it so much I really didn't want it to end. The more I read the more I fell in love with the main characters Kathleen and Nash. A really beautiful, emotional story and one I would definitely recommend.

A wee bit of a twist as this book covers inter generational relationships, babies, love interests and more than one story line yet it seemed to blend in a harmonious manner.It was a light read and true to Cora Brent's form, well written.

This is the first of Cora's books that I have read. I am going to find more now!!! This is a must read!! I am super picky with books and I LOVED this story. Super sweet and hot read

This is a nice easy read that I could not put down until I finished the book! Loved Nash and Kat and each of their stories was full of heartbreak. Nash with all the turmoil with his father and loss of his mother had played a huge part of the way he lived his life. Now, after hit with tragedy again he has been told he is the guardian of his 4 month old baby brother. Kat is a single mom who has a little girl and is there to help Nash whether he wants her to or not. The relationship that builds between them is just what Nash needs to help him through those first weeks with the baby. As time goes on and he starts to make changes in himself, Nash has many emotional feelings of his past. Anger, regrets, love and facing his future. It is a beautiful story of facing your past and looking to the future and realizing what you have become. Change is possible. Love and relationships are possible. The author has written Kat as a strong and loving person willing to help and love a friend. I loved this story! I will read it again in the future and I highly recommend this book.

Yet another beautiful read from Cora Brent. I couldn’t put this book down- such an emotional roller coaster. Kat & Nash are exactly what each other needs.Nash returns home after the tragic death of his estranged father & step-mother to find he now has sole custody of his baby brother, the family souvenir store and family home. Overwhelmed, he accepts help from Kathleen his step-mothers cousin who used to have a crush on him.Kathleen was a smart girl who left Hawk Valley in hopes of concurring the world only to come home pregnant at nineteen with her own secrets. Now she’s the mother of a three year old and has built a life for her and her daughter. At first she has her reservations whether Nash can take care of his baby brother but with her help Nash proves he’s the best man for the job. What started in friendship soon turns to a steamy affair and more.With each having secrets of their own, they both grow through the book. Cora as always has written a wonderful story, it’s emotional but definitely worth the five star read

When the worst happens to his dad and stepmom, there is nothing left for Nash but to come home and deal with the aftermath. But Nash didn't plan on becoming guardian to his months-old baby brother. Nor did he expect his reliance on Kathleen, the quiet girl from his past and is step-mom's cousin, to grow into something more. But Kathleen has her own demons re-emerging from the past.His tearjerking store has very touching and sad moments laced with enough sinfully hot times.In the audiobook, Brooke Bloomingdale does a great job with portraying the quirky, nerdy character of Kathleen. Alexander Cendese has away about his narration that brings out the rebellious nature of Nash. I definitely recommend both the book and the audiobook.

What a beautiful story with amazing characters. You get captivated into the lives of the characters. I couldn’t put it down awesome