Ever since she was a little girl, thirty-year-old Rose dreamed of the day Harley would carry her across the threshold on their honeymoon. So what if this isn’t her actual wedding day, and that she’s only here because Harley was left at the altar just a few hours earlier?Trading San Francisco for paradise and swapping her bridesmaid’s bouquet for a Blue Hawaii, Rose hopes she can finally escape … escape the friend zone.
Once upon a time they had been more than friends, but life got in the way. She’s spent every day since wishing Harley would get a clue.
She’s always been his best friend.
He’s always been hers.
She’s in love with him.
He’s … not in love with her.
He’s … marrying someone else.
He’s … hiding something.
He’s … well—it’s complicated.
more
*5 Stars*
Somebody help me. This beautifully amazing and angsty book just broke me. It’s been on my TBR for a while now, and I decided I was brave enough to finally give it a go. I was expecting angst and emotion. I mean, Carmen wrote that I would need vodka and tissues inside the cover when she sold me a signed copy. And my book bestie also warned me about it, but did I listen? Hold your hats when you read this guys, you’re in for one hell of a ride.
I loved Rose. I really liked her character and I constantly had mixed emotions for Harley and the way their relationship would play out. They’ve been through everything with each other since they were five years old. Or pretty much anyway. You can tell they’re meant to be together too, even if the situation is just frustrating as all get out.
This book had me captivated from the very start, and I started it late at night, so I was very keen to get to my breaks at work, and continue reading. But let me tell you, boy am I glad that the worst parts of this book I was at home for. Because this is not for public consumption. WARNING WARNING! If I had been at work, everyone would’ve been wondering who the basket case was, because I was that much of a mess reading this. My bin is filled with tissues.
What a roller coaster of a book. If you love angsty and emotional books, this is for you. I honestly do not think a book has ruined me as much as this one before, and I’ve read a few by other authors who write angsty books too, such as Emma Scott. (Not to take away anything from her writing, I love her stuff too). This one though, it tore me apart. It broke me. I’m sitting here with puffy and sore eyes, after ugly crying my way through this. TO.THE. VERY. LAST. PAGE. My all time favourite emotional and angsty book.
Take a bow Carmen, because I don’t know where to go from here. Excuse me while I go and rock myself into an emotional ball in the corner…
Harley and Rose took me a while to get into. I felt like it was so much round and round, the same mistakes being made over and over again. These two best friends clearly had deeper feelings for each other, which they acted on more than once. But for some reason they could never get their acts together and make each other a priority. I started to wonder if these two should even be in each other’s lives. It took the plot twist for me to finally come around to these two needing each other.
Everything that happened after Harley’s admission, BROKE ME! I sobbed through the entire ending of the book. It wasn’t fair. It was sad. It was beautiful. It was gutting. I really liked the choices that Rose made and supported her outlandish life choices fully! The epilogue left me wondering if there could be more for Rose’s story!!!
“All I ever wanted , ever since I was 5 years old, to marry my best friend. All I want is to be your wife, Harley Hamilton”
And all carmen jenner does is ruin their love and twist the knife in my heart.
How can you sleep at night!! You’re mean!!
“Harley and I are complicated. We’ve always been complicated. From the day we met it’s been our thing, or maybe it’s been our thing, or maybe it’s always been simple and we’ve been the ones to twist it, turn it on it’s head and convolute what the rest of the world has already seen. All I know is that there isn’t a Rose without Harley or a Harley with Rose.”
Rose loves Harley with all her heart.
And he loves her with every fibre of his being.
Yet he leaves her. Again…..& Again….& Again
She’s left nursing her broken heart , wallowing in grief, soaking her soul with tears.
Then book moves to stage 2 .
I’m left nursing my broken heart, wallowing in grief, soaking my soul in tears
Carmen Jenner is an Angst-Ninja.
That. Is. All !!
4 stars for Wendy & Pan
There should be a huge warning on this book for a list of reasons. That you are going to need lots of tissues, that your heart will not only melt, but break and you are going to love these two characters, even if you want to yell at them –
“Not again!”
I know for sure that I am going to have one enormous book hangover with this one. I have only just finished and my head is swimming with What If’s…….. but I know that my what if’s can’t happen. And it wouldn’t be a great book if they did! The author had me laughing and crying and laughing and wishing and praying. It wasn’t what I was expecting, but it was so much more, it was so well written.
Even though it is an immense emotion ride of a book, you are going to want to read it. It starts in the present time, and has little flash backs throughout to give us a full rounded view on their time together. The epilogue was sweet and endearing and hopeful. You know it is a great book when you jump on line to chat with your book buddies the whole way through and having to debrief after. Don’t miss out on this one.
I’m devastated, my heart is broken and I’m an emotional mess.
I just, my god, I’m literally lost for words.
I knew before I picked this novel up that it was a novel that required tissues, so here was me thinking okay we have a tear jerker here, easy I can handle that, I can do sad….
Ha right!!!
Sad….sad….Nooooo sad doesn’t even cut it!!
I underestimated the impact. I misread the warnings, I underrated the whole you need tissues thing.
Crying myself to sleep isn’t a good look, but that’s what I did and I loved every single minute of it.
Meeting both Harley & Rose in this exquisite novel full of charm, angst, wit and humor, but also full of hurt, anguish, sadness and grief is something that will stay with me for a long time to come. Although my heart is hollow, my tears have finally dried up, and I can honestly say that Harley & Rose should be a read that everyone should consume. A beautifully written heart-warming but tragic story that doesn’t leave any emotion untouched. Packed with everything one’s heart can withstand, it’s everything that I personally could’ve hoped for.
I know my review seems lacking somewhat and reading it back myself a billion times it does seem awfully short and may even lacks context, but personally I think Harley & Rose needs to be devoured without a spoiler, a clue or any sort of explanation. It undoubtedly needs to be read without any presumption or assumption. It’s a definite MUST that will command your attention and demand you to read.
5 stars
OMG, Harley & Rose gave me all the feels! Pure, raw emotion intertwined with beautiful storytelling. Will it break your heart? Probably, but it’s a story that will stay with you. No words can describe how powerful this story is. A true must read.
This book was beautiful from the start to the point it has one of my absolute fav covers and I thought this was going to be such a beautiful story of best friends become lovers. Which don’t get me wrong it was but I didn’t expect to be ripped apart while this was happening.
Holy moly what a journey this book takes you on, you laugh, you get angry, you get frustrated and you lose yourself. This is the second book this year that has broken my heart, ripped it out, stomped on it and torn me apart. Warning make sure you have tissues.
I loved Rose so much she was an amazing character and was loyal and beautiful loved her. Harley I loved then hated, then loved and then hated and then my heart broke for him so I was in love him.
Normally I will write a review as soon as I finish the book I couldn’t I needed to regroup cry myself to sleep and then write the review and I’m still crying writing the review.
Besides Nicholas sparks books I don’t ugly cry and haven’t for a while but I’m ugly crying all over the place and can’t stop utterly destroyed in the best way. You can’t not read this book
The was my first book by Carmen Jenner and it certainly won’t be my last after that emotional whirlwind she took me on I can’t wait to read more
If u feel like an emotional, heartfelt, emotional rollarcoster type of book then you have to read this book it was bloody fantastic. 5+++++ stars for this book
I can understand why this story rips out readers hearts. It was a beautiful friends to lovers read. My heart did ache by the end of the book for the injustice that they had to go through. I’m not going to spoil it but it is one of those reads that makes you like “what the heck!!” By the end. I do wish we would have seen Harley and Rose together more. The flashbacks were great but at times it was hard to see them in a more romantic light. I have a feeling that’s what the author was going towards, but at the same time it wasn’t. I’m glad I read this. If you a fan of non typical type HEA then this book is perfect. 4 stars #2OCCJD
Uuuuuummmmm….. I am not quite sure how to even review this book. I don’t know where to begin and I don’t know where to end.
This story is so devastatingly beautiful that I found myself actually clutching at my heart.
Getting to know Harley and Rose was sheer joy. They are gorgeous characters that are emotional, witty and loving.
I love a story where the two main characters were childhood best friends that then become each other’s first love.
Harley and Rose have been best friends since they were 5 years old. Their parents were best friends. They lived next door to each other, and when Harley was old enough – he would climb into her bedroom window every night and cuddle Rose to sleep.
Rose has been desperately in love with her best friend…. Since she was 5 years old. Harley has broken her heart so many times that she has lost count. But what else can you do when you know that person is the other half of your being?
At 30 years old and feeling like her Peter Pan, to her Wendy, will never come around and realise he is in love with her too; Rose decides it is time to let Harley go and move forward.
Until Harley opens the universe and watches Rose teeter on the edge.
I was so completely unprepared for what I was about to read in this book. And I can sit here now and say I have never read anything like it.
I was feeling such gut wrenching sadness and was sobbing, that I had to put the book down; as I couldn’t see through my tears. I didn’t want to pick it back up again because I just couldn’t bear to keep reading and feel my heart hollow out.
In the end, I did pick it back up – and am so glad that I did – even if I did continue to sob, because it just confirmed to me how very much I loved this book.
Harley & Rose now takes place in the list of some of my favourite books of all time. For Carmen Jenner to be able to illicit that kind of emotion, through writing, is an amazing gift. I thank her so much for putting her heart on the line to tell the world the story or Harley & Rose.