Her Lifeline

By: L.A. Casey

Narrated by: Chloe Lynn, Richard Sawyer

Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

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 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?

©2018 L.A. Casey (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Hard Story but a good story overall!

Is this a multi-part story? No
Does it end in a cliffhanger? No
Genre(s) : Drama Romance
Instalove? No
Do the MCs act like: HS, YA, NA or Adult - Preteen to Adult
Was cheating involved? Yes and No but really no
Any major triggers to be aware of? Child abuse / sexual abuse - briefly discuss in light detail
Listening Speed? 1.25

4.5 Stars for me!
My rating range of this story... 3.5 - 4.75 Stars
If significant, why?
Biggest deduction?

Main Character Ratings...
H (Ward) = Start 8/10 to 2/10, Mid to end 8/10
h (Erin) = Start 7/10, 10-50% - 1/10, 70-end 8/10
TSTL Moment(s)? No

Narrator Rating(s)
M (Richard Sawyer) = 8/10
F (Chloe Lynn) = 7/10
If below 5/10, why?

If Comedy... Type? N/A
Funny, Cute, Cringe Inducing, Mixed or Just No!

Angst Level? Heavy
Light, Moderate, Heavy or Please Stop

Internal Monolog/Dialog? Heavy
Light, Moderate, Heavy or Please Stop

Scenes with heat... Yes
When does it start? Sort of 10%, really 50%
How much of the story? 5%
Anything beyond M/F?
If yes, explained

Heat Rating... 6/10
Clean or Fade to Black - 1 or 2
Normal to Descriptive 3-5
Detailed Descriptive Sex - 6-7
Um, Wow, Beyond Descriptive Sex - 8 or above

Was there so much sex or unrealistic sex that you rolled your eyes and/or skipped forward? No

The back story... The h is 11 and has a light crush on her brother's 19 year old best friend (the H) when they get the devastating news of her father's death in a car accident. The H refuses to stay when the brother decides to skip college for now to help with the family. 10 years later, the h's brother gets into a car accident and is in critical condition. The H, now head of a Facebook type company, comes home and encounters an extremely upset h and her dysfunctional mother.

Romance or Gist: Based on the first 40% of the story, I figured there would not be any as the h was insanely angry at the H. Little by little, the H softens her and they fall in love.

The drama explosion... There were several but the Gray's Anatomy ending was probably the biggest.
Did it feel Real, OK or contrived? Real mostly
Was it OTT? Yes
Separation involved? Slight
Was it resolved properly or rushed? Properly

Final Notes... This is a heart wrenching story which covers many bad things that can happen. The h and her family suffer a ton of tragedy, some as a result of poor decisions and refusal to communicate about serious family issues.

HEA or HFN? HEA
Book Source: Kindle Unlimited

wow. I think I'm gonna need therapy after this one

Ward & Erin: TRIGGERS: DUI, child abuse, sexual assault of minor, alcohol abuse, depression, parental alienation. This book... This book was not what I expected but it was so good and it wasn't long into the book before I was spilling big ugly tears. On the surface, it seems like the book is really superficial but as you dig down into the story you'll peel back so many layers that will pull all the emotions out of you. Such a good story... Did I say that already... OMG. I am not gonna breakdown the book because the synopsis tells you all you need. As soon as you start this book and hit that first tear.... You'll realize.... "Oh, this is gonna be one of THOSE books .." you know.. the kind that will run you raw with emotions. I definitely recommend this book.

all the feels

Touches a lot. Funny, sad, inspiring and a little heartbreaking.
loved the Scottish accents. Enjoy this book. Cheers!

Beautifully Written

Loved it. It was very emotional, I could feel the pain of the heroine, I have never cried with a book before, but this one made me. I also have never written a review before either, but I was compelled to do it for this one.

More than I expected

Her lifeline sounded like a typical romance. But then the plot thickened and the carachters fleshed out. It was a so much more. And the narrator made the everything real!

MUST READ!

On several books I’ve listened to I found myself skipping parts and being uninterested... Not this book thou! I was completely invested throughout the entire book! It’s a sad story but with a silver lining... I’d 100% recommend this book to anyone looking to read a story based off situations that real people face everyday! I literally sobbed at some points and laughed at others... Great story and perfectly Narrated!!

Emotional Goodness!

I knew this one was going to be emotional, but it thoroughly chewed me up and spit me out. I'm complete mush. It's been a while since I've cried so much during a book. It was just what I needed to break up all the dark romances that I've been reading lately.

Warning - tissues needed

First off I have to say beware of driving and listening to this book because tissues are needed. As difficult as it may be, you are going to want to take this book slow. The author takes her time building the characters that you really feel as if you know Erin, Ward, and Tommy. The story starts with Erin at the age of 11. Sure there is a gap in time but the character development is there, so that you don’t feel as if you have missed that time. There are so many emotions with this story, you really feel for each of them. That was one of the things I really enjoyed about the story was it was a story about Erin, her brother Tommy and his best friend Ward. The author had a few hot and steamy sexy scenes but that was not what this story was about. Life is unpredictable and things may happen that you can’t control.
I so enjoyed listening to the story because the narrators did such a great job in bringing each character to life. I loved the accent of them as well and the way they said various words. They also brought that emotion into the telling of the story, you could hear the laughs and cries. I could listen to them speaking all day.
My only wish was that the author would have extended the last chapter more, like the first chapter was very long, so that a little more was filled in between those last two chapters, but that is just me. The story had a great wrap up after all the emotions through the story.

Wow.

I went into this completely blind. It was a roller coaster. Wow. Brilliant writing. Great narrators. Loved it.
It is emotional. Not a lighthearted love story.

Tear Jerker

I absolutely adore all of LA Casey's book, but this one had me ugly crying, the raw emotion you feel throughout the story is emphasized by Chloe's performance.
Definitely a must read/listen for all those romantic enthusiasts out there.