Harder

A Novel

By: Robin York

Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain, Lynde Houck

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

Critic reviews

“[Robin] 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

Worth it!

This drew me in over and over again. Even when it wrecked me and I thought I couldn't continue I still kept going. life is hard and love of every kind is difficult. this story pulled me in over and over again needing to find out how these characters were going to manage and overcome the difficulties. I'm glad I stayed with the story to the end. it was worth it!

3.75 stars

I hate that this book went from a Revenge Porn Plot to a "save him from his hot mess family" angsty NA. The Revenge Porn thing is not been explored that much so I was really enjoying it. But I guess the author defaulted to NA standard, rude boy from a messed up family who needs that love to give him the strength to aim higher.

The same narrator, same narration style so if you liked the way narrator told the story of Wes and Caroline in book 1, then it is the same but reverse here. In Book 1, Caroline was drowning in misery after her ex Nate released her pictures on social media. Wes gave her space, encouragement and used the bakery to give her something else to focus on. In this book Caroline was the anchor for Wes after his father died and his family was in a tailspin. Caroline had to endure some seriously mean attempts by Wes to push her away before he finally gave up fighting her and gave into their love. He found peace and joy and a clearly path to a new future.

I have mixed feelings about Caroline. When she wants something, she just ignores everything else. Some would call it focus and determination, I call saw her as having tunnel vision. I get her need to save Wes the way he saved her, but I found she sacrificed Bridget, her father's efforts on the lawsuits and even her own dignity at times to the altar of Wes. Maybe Wes was worth it, but I wanted more of a focus on the issue with Nate--on that crime that needed to be addressed more.