I was really torn on whether or not I would give this book enough stars to warrant a recommendation to my readers, and the end result was that I would not. That is not due to the writing quality or the plot - it's more to do with the main characters. However, the plot was almost too full of tragedy and not enough happiness to balance it out. Just when things were starting to look up, something else bad would happen, and everything would be depressing again. I like realistic books, and I don't mind reading a book filled with dark subjects, but I don't want the book to be 90% heartbreak and only 10% happiness. That's just not fun for me.

As far as the main characters, my main issue was the whole "cheating" situation. See, for a large portion of the book, the hero has a fiance. Now, she's a fake fiance, due to blackmail, but even so, he is engaged. During this time, he literally pays prostitutes for sex (it's an escort service, but let's face it - when you have sex with someone you've paid for their company, that is high-priced prostitution). When he goes back to Scotland and sees our heroine again, she knows he is engaged but is not aware that it's a sham. They eventually have sex, literally minutes after she brings up the fact that he has a fiance, and then after the sex, a lightbulb goes off in her brain and she realizes she just had sex with an engaged man. Are we really supposed to believe that it just never occurred to her? Come on, now. Yes, the engagement is not real, but she doesn't know that. I would have much preferred the author had left it at a makeout session and not have them have sex until after the hero breaks it off with the heroine.

So ultimately, this book was just not for me. Too much depression and the romance wasn't doing it for me. However, the writing itself was well done, and I would definitely give this author another try with a different book.

I really thought I was going to life this one. The blurb sounded really good. That being said, I could not for the life of me get into his book. I understand that the dialect for the area was used, but I could not follow what was going on!!

Her Lifeline is a beautiful story of love, loss, and love reborn. Erin Saunders is smart, kind, and fiercely loyal to her family and friends. That loyalty is tested when, as a child, a friend she considered family left her on the worst day of her life. When Ward Buckley returns home successful and wealthy, she felt it was at the expense of those he was supposed to hold dear. In her mind, what Ward did was unforgivable, and Erin has to fight through some catastrophic difficulty to make the decision as to whether or not he can be trusted as a part of her family again.

L.A. Casey has penned a haunting and hear trending story. Her emotional connection to the characters comes through, and you find yourself thinking about them long after the story has ended. Erin is strong, loving, and fierce. Despite her stubbornness you find yourself loving her deeply. Ward is a man-whore you absolutely cannot help falling for. Learning his story gives you so much sympathy and understanding for his behavior it all makes sense. To see these tow learn to respect and care for each other after so many years of tragedy and adversity is really rewarding.

Casey has also created a fantastic cast of supporting characters you cannot help but adore. From brother Tommy to Mother to best friend Jesse, you'll find yourself rooting for them all. As expected, this is a lovely story told with the utmost tender care. I am truly grateful to Net Galley for the opportunity to review this book.

I LOVED this book. I typically don't go for books with angst, and this one had all the feels. But it was also SOOO good! The characters were well developed, the emotions were real, and the story line was great. I would highly recommend this and would definitely read it again.

So much heartbreak for one book.. gah! My heart was in my mouth like 70% of this book and i oddly loved it! It was like a train wreck bad things kept happening but you couldn't look away or in this case can't stop reading.
And by now you must think why would i put myself through that? Why would i read a book like that and I'll tell you. Ward and Erin thats why. Rainbows only appear after the storm and they got their rainbow.
Erin was a strong character and i really liked her. I have to admit at first i was quite surprised on how fiesty she was but the more you get to know her you find out family is life for her.
Ward was so so.. i don’t even know the word for him but i loved him, at times i wanted to shake him and tell him to man up and grow a pair but when your facing Erin and her wrath you better believe most men would tuck and roll.

Right I’ve rambled enough..
In a nutshell, buy the book and you won't regret reading this beautifully heartbreak tale of sorrow, forgiveness and new beginnings.

❤

The blurb for this one caught my attention right away and couldn’t wait to jump into this one. I have not read anything up till now by this author so I was also excited to find a new author to read and from the looks of her other books she is a popular one.

I really wanted to love this one, I loved the premise of the storyline and it stared out well but as the story started to progress I had several issues with this book.

First, the writing drove me nuts. The author gives a note at the beginning about this book being written with the dialect for the area it takes place in Scotland. So I was expecting to have parts refer to it the way Scottish people would say it, for example things like “i’m chuffed”. Didn’t know what that means but looked it up and in I went. I didn’t expect things to be written and spelled how they say it not the proper spelling of it. If I had to read one more time things like “I dinnae ken,” I was going to lose my mind. I get this is how it’s pronounced but it’s not how they spell it. I have never seen this before, other than a few small parts when it’s a toddler taking, which is okay in small doses but this was just plain annoying.

Second I get this is fiction but him creating “Friendzone” social media app was just lame . At least come up with a better more creative name. Ward is definitely no Mark Zuckerberg.

Last, when Ward walked out he was 19 and Erin was 11. Now 11 years later his best friend who he hasn’t spoke to since he walked out gets hurt and he gets on a plane and comes back, and has feelings for Erin, who is 8 years younger and was 11 when he lefty. Nope wasn’t feeling it and found it a bit creepy if he had feelings for her before he left.

I tried, I gave it to 50% but I couldn’t keep up with the annoying dialect being written into the story nor could I stay engaged with the story that just kept going down hill. Sadly this one was a DNF for me.

WHERE TO START!?! I have never read from this author so I took a chance on this book and to say I am so very glad I did!! I was pulled in with the first chapter and crying in the next! I am a bit of a softy, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book! This is a great story and it tugs at your heart strings! Thomas and Ward have a friendship that comes with hardships in their later years. Erin has a whole lot of pent up emotions regarding Ward and to say I felt every one of her emotions is not giving this author justice! The ability to draw you into a story and feel the characters emotions is so hard to come by. The talent and sheer ability is something I love in an author. I have already looked up another of her books and have downloaded it. I loved it! You won't be disappointed!

I received this ARC from the publisher via Net Galley for my honest review at my request. The opinions written are solely my own. Thank.you Net Galley!!

Loved this! The characters were great, not exaggerated or excessively clingy / moody / manwhoreish which is always a bonus. The story line was easy to grasp and at times I was in the edge of my seat waiting for it to unfold. I did feel like the ending was rushed though and that I didn’t get the build up / climax from all that had happened. Love the author and not disappointed with this story.

Man, this one was a wee bit emotional. There were a couple of parts where I thought some sad water was going to come out of my eye holes. I’ve never read anything by this author before so I did not see that coming. I do have a bunch of her other books in my tbr that I desperately need to get to but I’m glad that I started with this one. The writing and storytelling was really good, I finished it all in one sitting.

Her Lifeline was my first book by L.A. Casey, and I was not expecting to get sucked into it the way I did. Almost from the first page, the writing gripped me and the story held me fascinated, flipping pages while my heart and my mind got a little lost in Erin and Ward's love story.

I mean, this is bigger than a love story. There's a fair amount of family drama and some pretty difficult subject matter packed into this book. It read a little bit like a soap opera - and was equally as addicting as one. But even with all the drama going on around them, I was able to attach to Erin and Ward's story. I felt their chemistry and their connection and all-in-all I thought this was a nearly perfectly executed hybrid of second chance, enemies to lovers, and best friend's little sister romance.

That said, there were a couple of things that didn't really work for me. I felt like some of the drama (perhaps the biggest bombshell) was wrapped up a little too quickly and a little too neatly given the weight of the storyline. There was also a twist near the end that sent the book spiraling into unnecessarily depressing territory. In fact, for me it wound up coloring the entire book with this sort of depressing wash and left me feeling a bit deflated.

Don't get me wrong, the epilogue went a long way toward helping with those feelings. There's a happy ending here, after all, and it's gorgeous. But some of the twists and turns along the way felt like cheap emotional punches, and had me skimming ahead for more of the "good stuff".

In all? I really enjoyed reading this one. It was one of those rare books that I didn't want to put down, and I thoroughly enjoyed the writing. I even enjoyed the Scottish dialect, which - for me - did not detract from the story at all. I will absolutely be back for more from this author! ~ Shelly, 3.5 Stars

I love this book ! This was emotional roller coster and this book deserves more than a 5 stars .I love Scottish accent , I love chemistry between main characters and I am so glad that I have opportunity to read this .Thank you Net Galley and Montlake Romance, I enjoyed .
https://carobnicaiklubmagicnihknjiga.wordpress.com/2018/12/28/book-review-her-lifeline-by-l-a-casey/

Where to start? Ms.Casey writes a book with characters that suffer in silence, feel shame, guilt and fear. While this book is extremely well written you need to prepare yourself for the contents.
There is a love story in Her Lifeline but it’s a small part of an intense and often troubling book.
I have mixed feelings about Her Lifeline. On the one hand the writing was excellent and kept my interest along with the well developed characters. On the other hand it’s hard for me to read a book filled with so much angst and negativity.
The story is also about redemption, acceptance, forgiveness and moving forward.
There are real life problems, real life reactions and real life sadness. But if you can keep reading you’ll eventually get to a HEA In the end.
Fair warning though. This book.is a happy go lucky, easy to read romance.

Her Lifeline is a new series from LA Casey and definitely comes with some heart wrenching moments.

Set in Scotland, this is a story of childhood friends that part ways under tragic circumstances. What starts off as a childhood crush unfortunately turns into a resent and hurt. Once again tragic circumstances bring the two main characters together but the reunion is less then friendly.

The moments between Erin and Ward are tense at times. There are clearly unresolved issues between these two and Ward definitely has some explaining to do. Erin's got it extremely tough, burdened with family responsibilities and now with her brother in serious condition she could use some shoulders to lean on.

This story will definitely give you emotions, so many instances of hurt, betrayal, heartbreak. LA Casey definitely doesn't hold back in terms of throwing the emotional angst out there.

While I enjoyed this book I didn't feel as connected to Erin and Ward's relationship as I had hoped I would be. As well being set in Scotland there is a lot of Scottish dialect used in this book which I will be honest and say threw off the flow for me. I found myself pausing and rereading the Scottish dialect used trying to understand exactly what they were saying and it distracted me a bit from the storyline as it was often.

Overall am I glad that I read it. Yes absolutely and I would definitely read the next one in this series. I enjoyed the book, and I do think that if you like an emotional read you will like this one. Prepare yourself for some heartbreak and if you are a crier I definitely say prepare yourself cause those tears will come. I look forward to the next one.

I absolutely loved this book! I was surprised because I flippen adore her Slater Brothers series and her alien one (still waiting for more of that). It's different than her usual writing style but still amazing in greatness! Can't wait to read more

Her Lifeline is a story about Erin's life before and after the loss of her father. The characters are very relatable and true to life at the response to loss. Through Erin's life journey she has reached out to find strength in few people. This story has several unexpected surprises which will keep you reading to the very end.

I truly enjoyed this book. I recommend reading it.

Her Lifeline draws you in from the very beginning. Erin is the baby sister of a sweet and loving family that is absolutely rocked by a tragedy. Many lives are changed in that moment and paths once forged are turned into different directions. Ward, the family friend and Tommy's best friend, heads of to London without Tommy and leaves wounds deep with a young Erin.

Years later, Tommy is in a terrible accident and Ward reenters the picture- to Erin's complete dismay. The raw emotion she still feels with her anger with Ward is one the reader gets to wad through as Erin comes to terms with a past she didn't know so much about. There are so many life problems addressed beautifully in this book that I loved reading it. Some are heartbreaking and blindsided me!

A five star read for my first book written by L.A. Casey. This story is an overwhelming and intense read; it’s an opening path towards a second chance in life but along the way there are a series of events that the reader doesn’t expect to encounter. All the characters face life with great difficulties and have a heavy burden on their shoulders but thanks to love they are able to overcome all the hardships. From my point of view I loved how the author developed the entire plot, making all the characters fit in well. It is indeed a romance between two characters that have wasted their time hating and regretting owing to circumstances and misunderstandings but fortunately as the story evolves they will realize that they are meant to be together and thanks to this great strength defined as “Love” they are able to pick up those shattered pieces and restart from the beginning.

Casey's books are books I fall in love with. There hasn't been one book of hers that I didn't connect with.

This book had me in tears, and was so touched by Ward and Erin's story. This wasn't just a romance story. It was a story about the deep love Erin had for her family. How hard it is to let go when you can't follow them. Erin thought she was weak, but to go though losing someone who you love, and surviving it made her stronger.

Ward is trying get redemption to get past the guilt. In the beginning he calls himself a coward. It does take a brave soul to admit his wrongs.

This has been one book that I won't soon forget. It was exceptional!

When I saw this was a childhood crush all grown up and her brother's bestie, I was all over this. I love it when they have a shared history. I settled in for a good read.

Sadly, it didn't really work for me.

Erin's brother's bestie - Ward - moved away when she was 11 and he's done well, becoming a gazillionaire complete with faithful manservant and steady yet reassuringly unfanciable female sidekick at the end of his phone. He's got himself a fiancee but all is not what it seems. Meanwhile Erin is still living in Scotland, caring for her mum and working two crappy jobs to support herself.

Did I mention the characters are Scots? I cannot lie, I can't be doing with lots of dialect where it slows down my reading and forces me to try to figure out wtf someone's saying and boy was there a lot in this. I get that it's there to be authentic, but literally every conversation included a 'dinnae' or a 'ken' or an 'aye'. And they were the bits I understood. How about: “Haud yer wheesht.” Or "Please dinnae fash yersel with me.” Or “What’s fur ye’ll not go by ye?”

*scratches head*

The impenetrable dialect grated why nerves and yanked me out of the story, and because it was so frequent, it really ruined my enjoyment of this book. So, if there was good tension between Ward and Erin I missed it because I was too distracted grinding my teeth at the dialect.

Aside from my issues with the dialect, there was a huge amount going on in this, much of it emotional drama, and pretty powerful at that, so it wasn't a total dud. Have some tissues handy though, jeez it's a sad one.

If you're after an emotional read with lots of drama and you like some authentic dialect then you'll love this I'm sure.

After an accident brings Ward back after 11 years, it creates a second chance for Erin and award, but will it all work out? Not normally a fan of second chance romances but this one was an enjoyable story.