I’m not even going to lie – I totally picked this book out because of its cover. I LOVE the cover. It’s gorgeous! The colours, the poignancy, the emotions that are displayed – it is cover perfection. So, shallow shallow me – one-clicked it and got started. And I seriously loved this story!
Lifers is a story of love and redemption. It’s about learning to forgive your mistakes and carry on living. Jordan Kane made a tragic and fatal mistake one evening that changed his life, irrevocably. After either years in prison he returns to his home town where no one will let him forget his past mistakes and no one will ever let him move on from what he’s done. He is hated by all, and tormented daily. And he knows that he deserves it.
Torrey Delany is new in town and is running from a life of bad relationships. Consequently, she has sworn off relationships and spends her time pursuing meaningless hook-ups with no regrets. When Jordan and Torrey cross paths a friendship is formed and the two start spending their days together. Sparks fly, lingering looks are exchanged, and plans are made…but there are huge obstacles to overcome…maybe too big for them to get past.
“A lot can happen in six seconds. Your whole life can change in a heartbeat..”
Jordan is one of my all-time favourite male characters. His uncertainty and guilt tugged at my heart strings the whole time I was reading this. I loved him from the first second he was introduced in the story, and I was absolutely captivated by him for the rest of the story. I want to keep him forever! The blushes, the sad eyes, the head hanging….it all invoked so many emotions in me. I just wanted to give this poor guy a hug! The battle that Jordan goes through during the course of this book broke my heart over and over again. It was hugely emotional and I felt Jordan’s pain every moment of it. For me, Jordan really was the star of this book. His journey from a sad, lonely man to someone who could live, love and move on with his life was an amazing journey to read about.
“The loneliness hit me hard….I didn’t know what the boundaries were anymore. It was a game of life where I didn’t know the rules and couldn’t work them out – and I was losing. Big time.”
Torrey was an interesting character. She was plain talking and came across as quite harsh at times. She didn’t believe in niceties or beating around the bush. She was straight up and truthful at all times. Now, I myself have been known to be a little too blunt with my truths at times so this didn’t bother me at all. But I did find that often she was so blunt and honest with Jordan that it made him feel bad and she never really made up for that. Every now and then there was a whispered apology but the poor guy was getting it from all corners – it would have been nice to see her be a little softer with him.
One of the things I ADORED about this book was the role reversals of the main characters. I loved that Torrey was the one that was confident, experienced and out-going and Jordan was a little more shy, quiet and hesitant. It made for a really interesting dynamic between the characters and didn’t feel same-samey at all. The fact that there was no insta-love was also another big plus. Their relationship was slowly built up over a solid foundation of friendship.
“I didn’t believe life was worth living ’til I met you. I’m so, so happy I was wrong”
After reading Lifers, I’m really looking forward to reading more stories by this author. The writing style was engaging and interesting and the story was original. I’m looking forward to seeing what Ms Harvey-Berrick hits us with next!
photo credit: //ichael Patric|{ via photopin ccphoto credit: Linh H. Nguyen via photopin cc
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