From New York Times bestselling author L.A. Casey comes an irresistible tale of first love and second chances.Erin has had a crush on her brother’s best friend Ward for as long as she can remember. But eleven years ago he disappeared from their lives—breaking Erin’s trust, and her heart.When the person they both love most—Erin’s brother Tommy—is nearly killed in a terrible crash, she and Ward are … terrible crash, she and Ward are thrown back together for the first time. Their lives couldn’t be further apart. Erin still lives at home, working two jobs and dealing with a series of family disasters. Ward, now a multibillionaire entrepreneur and a household name, seems determined to make amends—but it may just be too little too late. And while Erin can’t deny feeling a spark at the sight of Ward, is it a spark of love or burning resentment?
At odds with one another but forced to share their heartache, have Erin and Ward really drifted apart forever, or have they finally found the anchor they both so desperately need?
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Giggles, Anger, Resentment, Grief, Tears, Steam & Love!!
(Read using Kindle Unlimited)
An emotive, beautiful & gripping 4.5 Star read A definite must read in my opinion!!
Debbie, 1970, UK
Her Lifeline had me from the first accented word. Call me an aural tart but put an accent in my hearing range and I lose my mind. So clearly, Her Lifeline was a tease from the start but the premise had me from the get go.
Intense feelings and tragic situations compound decisions and hurts. Her Lifeline is a seething cauldron of hurt. Pain, bitterness, and loss are a high part of the story but so are hope and love. It’s a beautiful thing reading this book and the crying is cathartic even at 2 AM when you meant to go to bed hours ago. Only, I’d advise, avoiding late night listen/reading if you dont want to be a puffy eyed freak when life comes calling!
I enjoyed the story even when it hurt- and it cuts deep. I enjoyed the characters and will miss them. But I guarantee that no matter how deep the cuts are, you will end this book with a smile and even more hope.
Make sure you have tissues!
Listened to the audio.
So well written that you emerge yourself into the story from page one. Such great characters and storyline that I couldn’t put it down. So emotional. So heart wrenching. And so lovely. And in the end… you get a happy ever after. Fabulous!
Her Lifeline is a stand-alone and its a very emotional read it will certainly tug at your heartstrings, it’s a book that will take you on an emotional roller coaster as you read about family, love and loss.
Her Lifeline starts in the past with Erin’s POV and then takes us back to the present time when tragedy strikes and Erin’s older brother is in a awful accident and Ward comes back into the families life . Erin doesn’t want the man she once crushed on to be anywhere near Tommie all she sees is Ward left her brother and his best friend to set up his very successful company with the ideas Ward and Tommie worked on together she doesn’t know the real reason why Ward left all those years ago.
This story tugged at my heartstrings and just when I thought I had it all together this author threw any spanner in the works and the tears started all over again. This wasn’t an easy read and yes you will cry but this author has given us a beautifully written love story and she covered some heartbreaking situations with compassion as we learn why Ward left all those years ago we learn why Erin and Tommies mum is the way she is and we are left wondering how we would react if life had dealt us the hand it dealt this family. Emotional read that I couldn’t put down.
Goodness me as soon as soon as i turned that last page i literally had to sit there and really take in the story that i had read.
Oh my this was hurting the heart kind of story so emotional and raw and just a beautiful read and i am so glad i picked this book up, i didn’t know what it was about went in blind which i am so glad a did, I’ll be honest i will read anything that LA Casey writes she is one of my favourites and she did not disappoint.
This story is of loss, heartbreak, it shows the consequences of what other people’s actions can do to someone it shows us that you need to live everyday as it’s your last and to hold on to the ones you love and don’t hold onto anger.
I don’t want to say too much as i think everyone needs to go in blind but i will day i loved both main characters they had both been hurt in totally different ways and that there is always a way back to each other. I loved Erin she was a strong, and honourable heroine and i really loved the fight she had for what she believed in. Ward was an interesting character who you never thought he had gone through what he had and why he left.
I loved everything about this story yes i cried and i laughed and did it at the same time, this is a very emotional read and one that i would recommend to anyone and if your a fan of LA Casey already you will love it.
I needed to gather my thoughts for this one. I’ve been a big fan of L.A. Casey from the moment I met The Slater Brothers. In that series the brothers’ stories deliver comedy and suspense as well as emotional love connections.
What she delivered in Her Lifeline practically blew me away. Not only was this a great story, but it touched on subject that cause the characters to eventually live their truths. Unimaginable loss, variations of abuse and the different ways a person copes.
The emotional journey that Erin and Ward took me on with their story had me filled with so many emotions. It’s been so long since I’ve had to buckle up and brace myself for a rollercoaster ride, but this book did that.
I’m in awe of how this story was written and how much I felt connected to the characters. I’d also like to thank the Outlander TV series – for without having heard their Scottish dialect – I wouldn’t have been able to properly pronounce those words in my head. That was just one more aspect of this story that made it all so real for me, as the reader.
***Small Spoiler***
I don’t even know where to start with the emotional roller coaster this book took me on. The amount of pain and heartache the main character Erin has to endure in her lifetime is crazy!! Fear not she gets as happy as and ending that you can get after all that. I love how this book tackles a lot of real life issue without making it feel Hollywood made up. This is real and raw emotion that anyone would feel given the circumstances. Sometimes you don’t get passed bad things happning to you. Much like Erin’s mom in this novel. Others just try to survive the best the can. We all have demons not matter how perfect our lives may seem to the outside world and this novel shows just that. So beautifully written and shows us not to take for granted what we have because it may not always be there.
L.A. as always thank you for sharing your amazing talents with us. You prove time and time again why you are my favorite author.
Wow this book packed some emotional punches. You will be sucked in from page 1. The characters are gripping and the way LA Casey has written their stories. The pain and anguish is all so raw and beautifully emotional.
Having a side of my family come from Scotland, I felt like I was back with family with the Scottish dialect. I could honestly hear the accents in my head reading this.
This is the tale of 3 friends, Erin and her older brother Tommy and his best friend Ward. They are so close until one heartbreaking night when Erin and Tommy lose their father. What should bring them closer in their grief ends up tearing them apart when Tommy stays behind whilst Ward goes off to University.
11 years later they are reunited but its not under happy circumstances when Tommy is in an accident. All the years of anger and pain end up coming full force against Ward when he returns to support Erin. Despite the anger he is steadfast in being their for Erin. Being her strength whether she wants him there or not. He walked away once before and he can’t do it again.
LA Casey has written this book so well. The pain and emotion really does seep off the pages, I had to read through tears a few times. The flow of this story is flawless and really embeds itself in your soul.
Well done LA Casey for a great MUST read
Her Lifeline was on okay read for me. Numerous times I had to go back and reread the sentences, I had a problem with the scottish wording. This is a brother’s best friend, who was part of he family until he turned into the enemy. It was an emotional story, that I even shed some tears. The characters Ward and Erin felt forced at times, I didn’t feel their connection. I have read previous books from this author and liked them, this one just fell flat for me.
I received this book from Netgalley.
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.
Even though I gave it 3 stars I still recommend you read it and decide for yourself. I didn’t like the ending. So much tragedy that seemed senseless. Not my story to tell only my opinion. It was still a well written, original story. I love LA Vasey novels.
4 Stars
Review by Lisa
Late Night Reviewer
Up All Night w/ Books Blog
Second Chance at its best, Her Lifeline by L. A. Casey is one of those stories that will make you cry, swoon, cry some more and then put you back together. Very well written. In the beginning, the author gives us a note with regard to the dialect. The story is based in Edinburgh, Scotland and she has incorporated the best she can the dialect. To me, she did a great job of bringing the story, its characters, and the setting together.
At eleven years old, Erin had it all, until her crush, and brother’s best friend, Ward left. Erin’s life is turned upside down and she has now grown to hate the man he has become. Erin is a hard worker and is struggling to keep her family together. She is at the end of her rope and doesn’t know how much more she can take.
Ward has moved on with his life, launching the app both he and his best friend designed, but not giving credit where it is do.
When Erin’s brother is nearly killed in a car crash, Ward is on the first plane home. When old grudges, new feelings being sparked and guilt play into a heartbreaking time, only one thing can happen…sparks fly!
This is not just a story about a second chance romance. It also depicts second chances in different areas of our lives. There are situations that may cause triggers for some. This story is well written, the flow moves at a pace that makes sure you won’t get lost and you will feel all the feels.
Her lifeline is a life changer
Erin is eleven when her whole world implodes! Now eleven years later, her life isn’t what or where she thought it would be and when another life changing event occurs, it almost brings her to her knees. The one person she never thought would be back in her life pushes himself back in and she fights against it and him.
Ward left Scotland eleven years ago, for reasons he can’t tell but also some he can’t refute. Now, he’s back to help his best friend that he left behind years ago and has to confront the one woman he thought would treat him with anger but what he gets isn’t what he expected!
This book was a massive roller coaster of emotions, from sadness (yes, keep the tissues close by) but also to heartbreak, fear and even love This is by far one of my favourite reads for this year and I hope you love it as much as I did
Heartbreaking emotional story. This book cut you deep in the heart while reading it because so much happens to main character Erin and it seems that she can’t get a breather. Ward comes back in his hometown after his best friend has a sever car accident. But he is not welcome home because his action from the past is still haunting him, but the only one to not forgive him is Erin. The hate relationship soon disappears and lust, attraction takes over when waiting for Tommy to get better. Ward takes action and decides to completely change his life and to fight for Erin’s love. At first, I didn’t like Ward but page after page the layer that he had surrounded himself falls off and we see a caring man that was badly hurt in the past. I liked how Erin lift Ward up when she found his secret from the past. I guarantee you that a few shared tears will fall reading this heartbreaking story. Loved the and how love is the one that helps them through the darkest hours.
I volunteered to review an ARC of this book for Netgelly
Her Lifeline by L.A. Casey is the story of Erin and Ward.
Ward was Erin’s brother best friend. Erin always had a crush on him but Ward up and left them with no real word or reason. Ward has become a successful business man designing the app that he and her brother came up with. But now in the present day her feelings are harsher towards him but still have the underlining thread of love but she tries to push that down. Ward had reason for leaving had hurting those he cared for but now he is back but can he work toward the present when the past is still so fresh for them.
Enjoyed their story.
All those highs and lows of the emotional rollercoaster in the book kept me turning the pages till the very end.
I’ve read other books by this author and I had to read this one too.
I enjoyed the story, the drama, Erin that had so much that is happening in her life and her struggling with all that life served her… Can’t wait to read the next book by L.A. Casey
I was home sick and decided late Saturday night when I couldn’t really sleep to start this book…. let me tell you probably not my best idea (not negative to the book)… an already stuffed up nose and a story that gets me sobbing barely a chapter in made for quiet the snotty mess, lol. This book ran me through absolutely EVERY emotion and was also very cathartic in a way. I’m not much of a crier and there are times that I desperately need the emotional release and when I come across a book that can help me just let go, it really helps me feel some relief. This book was that for me this past weekend it helped me shed the stress of my mom having surgery this past Tuesday and helped me hold it together for her when I had to take her to the hospital. I have to say that this is probably one of L.A. Casey’s best books yet, she dealt with some very heavy topics in a realistic but sensitive manner. Things that could have really derailed the rest of the story she didn’t gloss over but woven into the story so well that you just had to keep going to see how it wall would come out and how the characters would respond. Thank you for writing this story L.A. it was beautiful and definitely a stress reliever for me… kind of weird I know considering how heavy some of the topics were.
5 stars! Loved it! Another amazing standalone novel by L.A. Casey. Steamy, tragic, twisted, funny and full of love. When I woke up this morning I have never been so happy to be sick in my life to miss work and dive right into the story of Ward and Erin. It honestly took me a while to get some of the thick Scottish words that were used…not an issue, it made the book incredibly interesting (…and then again, some people would struggle with Australian words). So excited for what happens next!
4 star Review Her Lifeline by L.A. Casey
Hard to believe, but this is the first book I have read by L.A. Casey. Her Lifeline was an emotional read that tugged at the heart strings and yet frustrated me. It was an emotional, story of love, heartbreak, drama, forgiveness and second chances; be prepared tissues may be needed. The writing was strong and I certainly felt the emotions as I was reading this story.
The book contained may Scottish “isms” and I admit to being lost at times as I struggled to figure out what was happening.
We all make mistakes in life and Ward’s mistakes were not ones that I could easily brush aside. In fact he acted like a jerk, particularly to his best friend Tommy (who also happened to be Erin’s brother) and I struggled to like him at times. It takes Tommy’s near death experience for Ward to wake up to himself.
Can Erin and Ward come to terms with the past in order to create a future together?
I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book through NetGalley from the publisher.