Harder: A Novel (Caroline & West, #2)

by Robin York

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY LIBRARY JOURNAL

In Robin York’s provocative new novel, two young ex-lovers find themselves together again in the shadow of tragedy—and an intense, undeniable attraction.
 
Caroline still dreams about West. His warm skin, his taut muscles, his hand sliding down her stomach. Then she wakes up and she’s back to reality: West is gone. And before he left, he broke her heart.
 
Then, out of the blue, West calls in crisis. A tragedy has hit his family—a family that’s already a fractured mess. Caroline knows what she has to do. Without discussion, without stopping to think, she’s on a plane, flying to his side to support him in any way he needs.
 
They’re together again, but things are totally different. West looks edgy, angry at the world. Caroline doesn’t fit in. She should be back in Iowa, finalizing her civil suit against the ex-boyfriend who posted their explicit pictures on a revenge porn website. But here she is. Deeply into West, wrapped up in him, in love with him. Still.
 
They fought the odds once. Losing each other was hard. But finding their way back to each other couldn’t be harder.

Praise for Harder
 
“York’s beautiful prose and vivid descriptions enhance the realism and impact of Caroline and West’s story. Deeper and Harder are sensual and profoundly moving. The books are told in first-person from both Caroline’s and West’s POVs, and I sat on the emotional roller coaster right beside them as West learns to hold tight to Caroline and embrace life to the fullest. . . . They are books I will cherish.”—Lea Franczak, USA Today
 
“[York] again brings exquisite writing to contemporary New Adult romance with Harder, the sequel to her much-acclaimed Deeper. . . . As with all this author’s work, the prose itself is on a higher plane than readers of New Adult have come to expect. With searing metaphor and visceral descriptions of love and all its attendant pains, Harder will be loved by many . . . and talked about by everyone.”—New York Journal of Books
 
“Part two of Caroline and West’s story will really evoke emotions from readers, once they get past the steam factor included in this powerful novel.”—RT Book Reviews

“Bursting with chemistry, emotion, and heart, Caroline and West’s story will take your breath away!”—Katy Evans, New York Times bestselling author of the REAL series

“Robin York writes exceptionally real characters in achingly real situations. Harder had a hold on my heart and didn’t let go until the very end.”—New York Times bestselling author Cora Carmack

• ISBN10: 0804177031
• ISBN13: 9780804177030
• Publish Date: 1 July 2014 (first published 1 January 2014)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Random House USA Inc
• Imprint: Bantam Dell Publishing Group, Div of Random House, Inc
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 352
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780804177030

Reviews

[Ashley]

I'm doing this book the courtesy of not rating it. I bought it knowing I didn't love the first book so it doesn't feel right to me to rate this one.

As for my thoughts, I'll let my updates speak for themselves. Mostly negative with a sprinkle of positive here and there.

[Leah]

If you follow the site regularly and keep up with my reviews, you'll have read my review of a novel called Deeper back in March, which was Robin York's first New Adult novel, and which I LOVED. It was such a wonderful story, and Caroline and West really spoke to me. I was absolutely gutted that I had to wait until July for the sequel, but you guys, July has arrived (well, June has arrived as this is when I'm writing my review) and it's arrived quicker than expected (where has this year gone?!) and I was super excited to be asked to take part in Robin's blog tour for Harder! It wasn't even a question, let's be honest. I did a bit of a happy dance when I received my bound proof and I could not wait to get stuck in!

Harder picks up a little while after Deeper ended, when West left Caroline to go back to Silt, his home-town to take care of his sister, Frankie. It was very heroic, but very devastating for me because I just adored those two as a couple, so it brought me much joy to see Caroline heading to Silt, after a frantic phone call from West informing her of his dad's demise. But, sadly, West keeps Caroline at arms length, and the tension is super high. We're back to Deeper, and me desperately screaming at the two of them to just kiss each other, damn it. But West has gone off the deep end, and doesn't want her there in Silt, and does something awful (my poor eyes) and pushes Caroline away for good, until West realises Caroline takes a helluva lot of sense, and that if he doesn't get himself and Frankie away from Silt, neither will become anything at all, period, so off to Putnam we go and the whole crazy rollercoaster between Caroline & West starts again.

I have to be honest, what West did to push Caroline away when she was in Silt was icky. ICKY. I wish it could be wiped from my mind, and I didn't really know whether they'd come back from that. But West and Caroline are this once-in-a-lifetime couple, perfect for each other, so even though West did a really icky thing, I was quite pleased that Caroline didn't just give up on him for ever, because well, that would be quite a depressing book. Instead, I liked how Caroline wormed her way back into West's life, whether he liked it or not. He was being a jerk, and he needed to see that. I liked how Caroline and West weren't the same people we met in Deeper. They'd grown, hardened, but that spark was always there, and I will always enjoy their easy banter, about anything and everything and nothing. It takes a special kind of writer to write a relationship like that and it's the kind of relationship you dream about - you want someone you can just talk to and listen to and have listen to you, and Caroline and West have that. Sure, they're not the same people on the outside, but on the inside they are and they just melted my heart all over again.

Harder was such a great sequel, and the addition of young Frankie was genius - I adored her in the first book, so to have her literally in the action this time around was ace. I felt so sad for her about everything she'd witnessed and everything she went through and she was such a little fighter and her relationship with Caroline was the sweetest thing I've ever witnessed. I just adore the little bubble that Caroline and West seem to inhabit. No matter how hard West pulled away, Caroline would never give up and I admired her spirit and determination. That's one touch chick. She's my kinda girl. It was a fantastic sequel, and a sequel that more than lived up to its predecessor. I liked that it didn't end on a cliff-hanger and I suspect we are done with the lives of Caroline and West, which I'm surprisingly okay about - I think they've been through the mill, and they have endured tough times and come out the other side.... I'm still hankering after a Bridget/Krishna book so there's definitely reason to stick around Putnam for York's next New Adult adventure, and I'll be there will bells on.

[Cocktails and Books]

Wonderful, wonderful ending to Caroline and West's story. It was by no means an easy read, often times West making things 100x harder on the two of them, but it was a path he needed to take to discover who he was.

Full review to come.