Brand new stand alone from NYT and USA Bestselling Author Cora Brent. Forbidden friendships and small town secrets. Enemies-to-lovers and tragic legacies.
“Why are you trying to make me hate you?”
“Because you should.”
We should have been enemies from the beginning.
But we were children when we met and children tend to ignore such rules.
Even if the rules exist for a reason.
Because Jonathan … reason.
Because Jonathan came from a family of savage killers.
While I was born into the broken aftermath of their victims.
For one short season we were inseparable.
All it took was one terrible day to turn us into strangers.
For years I refused to even think about him.
Until he shows up here, far away from where we started.
The gentle boy I remember has grown into a volatile man with a steely glare and a different name.
He won’t admit to who he is.
Or where he comes form.
Or who we are to each other.
And I knew I shouldn’t have provoked him.
I knew I shouldn’t have touched him.
Most of all I knew I shouldn’t have given him my heart.
Yes, Jonathan and I were born to be enemies.
And maybe that’s how our story will end after all…
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When you start a new book from a favorite author there is always a sense of dread. Will I hate it? Will this book end the series? When will the next book come out? Well with Cora Brent there is never a worry. I will always love the books she writes. Even if the book ends the series she has many more series to choose from. Even if she takes a while to continue a series I will patiently wait. Long Lost is another great book by this talented author. I read this book yesterday but it’s still with and it will probably be with me for a while. This book is raw and emotional. You can’t read it without stoping and digesting what you just read. In the middle of all this big emotional roller coaster surfaces a beautiful love story that will make you wear a goofy smile for a few days after.
Caris and Jonathan were briefly young friends. Family and circumstance separate the unlikely pair and years later, fate brings them together again. Jonathan’s life hasn’t been pretty. In fact, its been raw and gritty. He has struggled and managed to rise above his past. If anyone deserves a happily ever after, he does. But before that can happen he needs to realize his self worth. Caris has also overcome obstacles on her path to adulthood. Life for her hasn’t always been easy yet her determination has helped her through. When they meet again, they struggle to find their place in each others life. And while Caris she has always been unwavering in her acceptance of Jonathan, there are still secrets. Her determination may not be enough this time. This is an emotional story, intense at times and beautifully written.
This story is a friends to enemies to lovers romance. And I really enjoyed it. There is a lot of flash backs from past to present and some mystery to the story line which Cora nailed.
Johnny and Caris met one summer when they were teenagers. The unlikely pair quickly became friends. Both were battling separate issues with their own families that ultimately came between them and ripped them apart.
Johnny has grown to be a bitter man, but under all that tough exterior and anger he’s a natural care giver, no matter how hard he tries to be indifferent. He’s a loyal friend even though he didn’t grow up with great role models. He’s spent the last several years trying to forget his past.
Caris has a heart of gold. She’s loyal to a fault and tries to see the best in everyone. Growing up the way she did, it’s a miracle that she has any optimism left, and after so many low points she keeps forging on.
After many years fate has Johnny and Caris crossing paths again in the most unlikely way. Johnny’s spiteful and hell bent on keeping distance from Car is. Can she break down his walls and rekindle their once strong friendship or are they destined to end up as casualties from their families history.
4*
Caris is sent to stay with her aunt while her mother is ill.
Johnny isn’t ready to go home so bumping into a new girl in town he makes a friend.
However not everyone is happy with the friendship.
Years later his friend Shane asks for his help but is he ready to face is past?
I enjoyed reading this story, it shows how hard things can be when people presume without the full facts.
Another beautifully written and intricately woven story from Cora Brent. As always her writing style was flawless, it’s one of the reasons she never fails to draw me in with her words.
Long Lost is a story of friendship and an unforgettable bond that two teenagers shared over one summer.
Jonathon and Caris became friends at a young age, both their families were shrouded with secrets but they didn’t care, until one awful day they parted ways becoming strangers.
Years later they meet again but the secrets are still looming between them, they’re supposed be enemies but they can’t forget what they once meant to one another.
I loved the way this story went back and forth giving us glimpses into the past from both Jonathan and Caris. It helped give me a better understanding of not only them but their families too.
This story was emotional and raw at times, but it was also a story about survival, strength and second chances and I loved every minute.
I’m really hoping Cora has future plans to write stories for some of the characters in this book. There’s a couple of them that I’d love to catch up with.
Jonathan “Jay” Hempstead wasn’t raised in what you would call a normal family. They were Evil…but you can’t change your heritage.
His grandparents were notorious in town for what they did to one family. Her Family…Caris Marano. As an adult, Jay might try to start a new life and leave to past behind but can you really ever leave it truly behind? When Jay goes to help a friend out with a bakery he finds more than he bargained for with a familiar faced girl…Caris. She was a childhood friend until the truth of his past came to light. They might be from different kinds of families but these too are destined to be connected. Friends to Strangers…Enemies. Can they find what they once had while forced to work together? This is told from when they met at 13 going back and forth from past/present. Caris and Jay is a unique story that I enjoyed. Not everything is at it seems. Told in dual POV