When my husband Oliver died, my life ended. My purpose, my passion, my everything bled out with him on the side of the Pacific Coast Highway.
Ollie was an organ donor. His eyes, his brain, his lungs, his heart…parts of my Ollie went out and saved lives.
Then His heart, beating in another man’s chest, found its way back to me, and I found myself faced with an impossible choice: hold on to the pain and beauty of the past and the memory of the man I loved, or reach for a bold new future, knowing each heartbeat will be a reminder of all I’ve lost.
•••
I wasn’t supposed to live past thirty.
My grandfather died at forty-five. Heart failure.
My father died at thirty-five. Heart failure.
The doctors told me my whole life that I wouldn’t see my thirty-first birthday. My heart was going to give out. It was just a matter of time: a rare blood type and an unusually large heart meant essentially zero chance of a transplant.
I proved them all wrong…by dying on my thirty-first birthday.
And then I woke up, alive, with another man’s heart inside my chest, and his widow on my conscience.
I spent my whole life preparing for death, and now I have to learn how to live. Only, as I soon discovered, living is the easy part.
Loving, and allowing myself to be loved…well, that’s a whole lot harder.
Jasinda Wilder is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of more than 100 titles including the #1 Amazon bestseller Falling Into You, the Audie Award-winning (best audiobook) Alpha, and the beloved, 17-book Badd Brothers series. She and her husband Jack Wilder have sold more than 7 million copies and have been translated into more than 20 languages worldwide. You can find them at their fairy tale cottage by a lake somewhere in Michigan with their 6 kids, 5 dogs, 2 cats, 2 bunnies, and way too many ducks and chickens.
When I first read the blurb and saw the cover for Yours, I knew it was a book I wanted to read. The cover is gorgeous and the blurb made me think it would be a book that would make me feel. Though it wasn't quite as emotional as some as Jasinda's other reads, it was still a heart-wrenching and slightly angsty read I enjoyed.
Lachlan Montgomery is a playboy. He's spent most of his life just having fun and living for the moment, because this moment could be his last. He was born with the same condition as his father and his grandfather, and due to his heart, he probably won't make it past 31. Niall James is a nurse with a medical relief agency that helps with natural disasters and things overseas. Her husband Oliver is a surgeon and he's her world.
One day changes all three of their lives. One moment. There is an accident and Oliver doesn't make it. Niall has lost the love of her life, and Lock comes out of it with a new heart. Lock doesn't know how to feel about this. He never in his wildest dreams thought he would be a candidate for a transplant. He feels like he has to meet Niall. Things get a bit complicated from there.
Niall and Lock's relationship started out on rocky ground. Both of them were on the way to a second chance. A second chance at love for Niall and a second chance at life in general for Lock. I loved that Niall was a nurse and that the book had a lot of medical stuff in it. That's my field so I always find it interesting. There were a few things that weren't accurate, and while most people won't notice, I did. Still, it wasn't enough to take away from my enjoyment. If you enjoy emotional second chance romances, give this one a go!
"When my husband died, my life ended. My purpose, my passion, my everything bled out with him on the side of the Pacific Coast Highway. He was an organ donor. His eyes, his brain, his lungs, his heart...parts of my husband went out and saved lives.
Then his heart, beating in another man's chest, found its way back to me, and I found myself faced with an impossible choice: hold on to the pain and beauty of the past and the memory of the man I loved, or reach for a bold new future, knowing each heartbeat will be a reminder of all I've lost."
Yours is one of those books where the book blurb was all it took for me to drop everything and dive in. It promised a fair amount of angst and with that, Jasinda Wilder delivered.
Lachlan Montgomery knew his life would be short. All the generations of men in his family died prematurely due to a congenital heart defect. The doctor gave his heart an expiration date of about thirty years so he's lived those years living his life on the edge- hang gliding, cliff jumping, swimming with sharks, you name it. Coming from a wealthy family has afforded him the ability to not work, never having any goals or desire for long term relationships. Why bother when he's planning on being gone by age thirty. So he chose to live it the riskier the better...
It's only a rush if it’s dangerous. I only feel alive if I’m encroaching on death, if I’m toeing the bleeding edge of insanity.
Niall Emory James is a happily married nurse within the Doctors Without Borders organization. Her husband a doctor within the nonprofit disaster relief organization. Only their life of helping others is tragically cut short when Ollie passes away on the highway following a tragic car accident. She was the driver. It's all her fault... She donates his organs, packs up and moves to a tiny little town in rural Oklahoma. Work, eat, sleep. Repeat. Existing. Just barely...
Lachlan never expected to receive a heart and when he wakes from surgery he finds himself almost angry. He has no plans, no skills to offer the world. He finds himself venturing out to contact the family of his heart donor. At least he can offer his thanks...
I really enjoyed this book. Lock was one of those tortured souls that instead of feeling a new lease on life, feels lost. Packing up and just driving, he had no idea the widow of his donor would be the beautiful Niall. The book is angsty but I think it could've been more so. I still really plowed through it and my heart wept for both of these MCs. Both suffering for different reasons but somehow find solace, a connection, in their depression and loneliness.
Little filler side stories also added to the draw with Yours. Lachlan finds a homeless dog along the highway and named him Utah. He finally has someone to take care of and be responsible for. I LOVED that aspect of his relationship with his four-legged friend. We also get a fairly deep venture into the roles disaster relief agencies play in tragedies, be it natural disasters or third world country wars. It provided depth and a bit of suspense.
What made me deduct a star is the inaccurate medical information within the story- stuff that any medical beta reader could've straightened out. It's always a struggle being in the medical field and reading books strongly based on medicine and seeing these inaccuracies. The biggest premise of the book is organ donation and you cannot take a dead body out "in the field," put him in a body bag, and then later donate his heart to a living human being. Cells die in minutes making it impossible to transplant unless they're on life support. It's all a delicate process harvesting organs for transplant. Am I being picky? Maybe. But I found it distracting. If this was a debut author, I'd look the other way but an author of this best-selling caliber can have any number of medical beta readers at her fingertips. It could make this medically accurate and not change much of the plot whatsoever. I guess my expectations for Ms. Wilder are just higher than a newbie...
Regardless, I really enjoyed this story of second-chance at life... of happiness and love in life. The organ donation part of the plot was just an added bonus as the selfless gift of organ donation is a subject very close to my heart. I'm so pleased she chose to highlight it here in Yours.
Don't take your organs to Heaven... Heaven knows we need them here.
Yours is a gripping novel about love, lost and second chances. It will move you to tears and melt your heart to a puddle of goo and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Jasinda Wilder is my always go-to author for dramatic and emotional reads.
I was instantly hooked with the summary of this novel. It’s so different from any other book I’ve read and I just knew Yours would take me on a journey.
The book starts out with a bang and I was instantly hooked. I felt like the first part of the read was kind of setting up the characters. I really liked that. I liked getting to know Niall and Lock. I wanted to know what kind of characters I would be getting and how they would eventually change throughout the book.
Niall is a nurse and she is married to the love of her life, Oliver. When her husband dies, her world is turn upside down and she just now only lives to exist, nothing more and nothing less. She moves to a small town her husband is from to be closer to him.
I ached for Niall. I felt for her and I wanted to hold her tight and give her a big hug. We even get a glimpse of Oliver and Niall’s love story and after reading it, I was a weeping mess, but I loved it.
Lock is an interesting Hero. He’s dying because of his heart and because of that he is a dare devil. He jumps off of cliffs, goes hand gliding and lives life as if it’s his last day on earth. I found Lock very unique and different from what I would expect of a dying Hero. He’s a complicated rich man with a lot of issues. He struggles with knowing about his life expectancy span and because of this he hasn’t really amount to anything.
I had a love and hate relationship with Lock. At times I shook my head and questioned his actions, but I also sympathize for his situation. When he gets Oliver’s heart, everything changes and the book shifts.
So we have a widow, Niall and Lock has a new heart, what is next? A lot of angsty, high tension, but yummy romance. The dynamic between Niall and Lock is addictive to read and I couldn’t stop turning the pages to find out what happens. I love the sticky situation and I love how two broken people come together to find some peace or try to.
I love books like Yours because once you finish reading, you question life and take nothing for granted.
I knew going into this book that it could be very hit or miss for me, for a variety of reasons. One--Jasinda Wilder's books are angsty. Sometimes that angst hits me just right, and other times it makes me roll my eyes. Two--and this was the biggie--my husband is a transplant recipient who's back on the waiting list after losing his first transplant (kidney), and I knew that if there were any details regarding organ donation that were wrong that it would drive me bonkers. That being said, the premise was interesting so I went ahead and bought the book.
***spoilers most likely ahead, so read at your own risk***
First, I want to say that the writing itself was good. In typical Wilder fashion Yours was angsty with lots of hot sex, and my reason for giving this book a two star rating doesn't necessarily have to do with the quality of the writing. It's more because there were simply some things I couldn't get beyond as a reader, and as someone who knows far more than most people about organ donation and transplants.
There were several things I got hung up on.
1. Lock had a DNR, but his mom somehow managed to persuade the hospital to keep him on life support just in case a heart became available. I'm usually pretty good at suspension of disbelief, but this one had me scratching my head. In today's sue-happy HIPAA world, I just don't see this happening (it could, I just don't see it).
2. Lock died in California but when he woke up post-transplant he was in the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, NY. First--it's in Rochester, MN. Second--why the hell would he be taken to New York from California when California has some of the best transplant centers in the country? It makes no logical sense. Lock also states that the doctors had told him his "body had successfully accepted the new heart" and that he leaves the Mayo Clinic after being told that. Yes, the first six weeks or so post-transplant are the trickiest, and a patient is most likely to have a rejection episode within those first three to six months. But rejection can happen at any time. It isn't a matter of, "Oh, your body accepted it, everything's good now, so fly away little butterfly." It doesn't work like that. You can have a transplant for YEARS and then one day your body just decides, hey, let's reject this organ that's been keeping me alive.
3. The first time Lock and Niall have sex, they don't use protection. One of the things that's drilled into your head as a transplant recipient is to be incredibly careful, including sexually, because you're more susceptible to STDs.
4. The only way Lock's life changed was that he'd lived past his 31st birthday. Here's the thing about being a transplant recipient--your life changes in ways that go so far beyond actually being given the gift of life. There are antirejection meds that have to be taken every day at the same time every day. Tests that have to be run on a regular basis. You take your temperature and blood pressure and weigh yourself EVERY SINGLE DAY as a way of monitoring your body for rejection. Hand sanitizer becomes your constant companion, and you get really, really diligent about washing your hands. I get that you wouldn't necessarily want to wax poetic about all of those things, but those things DO effect recipients. They create complications and things you have to work around. Never once did Lock remotely worry about taking his pills on time (which quite frankly would have been a great way to ratchet up some tension between him and Niall before he came clean about receiving her husband's heart, because she could have asked questions and would have asked questions, being a nurse and all), or any of those other things, including during the aftermath of the tornado during which he was covered in other people's blood. His immune system is suppressed. This could have been an issue that could have been addressed and resolved.
5. Niall's already lost her husband pretty early on, and then she falls in love with the guy who received her husband's heart. With the advances that have been made recently regarding transplants, a lot of recipients can expect their new heart to last 20 to 25 years if taken care of properly, which is fantastic. BUT that means 20, 25 years down the road he'll have to go through the transplant process all over again if he wants to live. There was no discussion about that, not even a thought about that. And when you're entering into a relationship with someone, that's a pretty big thing to take into consideration (for both parties), but especially for someone who's already lost a spouse.
I realize this stuff is probably nitpicky to a lot of people, but these things really kept me from enjoying this book. In fact, the BEST part of this book was the fact that halfway through reading it my husband got The Call about a potential kidney for him (it ended up not being a match). All this being said, it's always great to have a light shone on organ donation (I just appreciate it when things are correct and realistic *g*). If you've read through this and want to know more about organ donation, UNOS is a great place to start. :)
I liked it for the most part but felt something was missing, didn't get the "feels". The book is definitely hotter than I thought. I think it had a great concept but the execution fell a little short. Regardless, I love this author.
So I have to say I'm reading more romances now! I loved every minute of this story. The characters had me cheering for them from beginning to end.
I couldn't imagine being in love with someone and loosing them in any sense of the word. The heartache that one must feels takes me back to my mom and dads story.
If loved the characters as they developed throughout the book and I loved the action. The book kept me reading and wanting to know more until the end. I wanted more of their story, but the ending was pretty good for a closing. I would recommend this story several times over its that good!
This was a heart wrenching, emotional audio listen for me.
Nial was devastated to lose her husband Ollie in a terrible accident. He was one of those people that gave everything he had towards helping others, the sort of death that makes you wonder why someone so good was taken.
Lach is is 30 years old and slowly dying of a non curable heart condition. He has accepted his fate but while his life slowly chips away he lives it completely in the moment. Exhilarating, life risking extreme sports and adventures are how he copes with his pending death.
Two people withe very different lives are about to cross paths in the most extraordinary way and it will be life changing for both of them.
Spoilers! I can't review this one with spoiling...
2-2.5 stars. This book just did not work for me. I was looking forward to this one because the story sounds interesting and different, but I was disappointed. This was the story of Niall and Lachlan. Niall was married to Oliver and they worked together in foreign countries with MSF (Doctors without Borders). Oliver died in a car wreck and Niall is devastated. She goes back to Ollie's hometown and lives in a one room shack. She has no life, beyond her work as a Physician's Assistant, and drinks too much, with no hope for the future. Lachlan had a congenital heart defect and was not expected to live beyond thirty years old. He is a rich, spoiled playboy and he sails around the world, taking risks with his life by doing extreme sports like skydiving and cliff diving. He pushes his body to the limit, drinks too much, doesn't form relationships, and doesn't really care if he lives or dies. When having a threesome with two random socialites on a beach at his thirsty-first birthday party, he dies. He is able to be revived and he is given Oliver's heart. After his transplant, he can no longer drink and he has to figure out what to do with his life. He knows he can't live like he's dying anymore, but he really flounders for a long time. While he's floundering, he decides to seek out information about his heart donor. He goes to Niall and is drawn to her right away. She doesn't know who he is at first and she's mad and shocked, but for some reason, they can't keep their hands off each other. But neither of them know what their future holds and they are very reluctant to be together or have a relationship. They both need to heal and then see if they have any chance for a future together.
I liked the idea for the story and the writing was not bad. There was potential for it to be much more though. I liked Niall and Lachlan okay. Lachlan took a while to grow on me. He is a self-described "fuckboy". He has never had a job. He's a rich, spoiled playboy that has no goals or takes anything seriously. After his heart transplant, he knows he wants to change, but he doesn't know how. He flounders for most of the book. He does mature by the end of the book. Niall was ok, but I didn't love her either. And I didn't love them together. They both pushed each other away a lot. There are pretty much no other characters in this book. Neither Niall or Lachlan have any friends, and I think that says a lot about them and their likability.
The pacing on the book was strange. There was a buildup of background information on Niall and Lock's past for a good portion of the book. Then they meet and the book goes okay for awhile. Their chemistry was believable to me at this point. Their sexy times were hot at first. But then they both got scared and pushed each other away for a lot of the book. Lock ran away. Then he decides to become a better person and works on that for 2 years, starting his own relief organization. Then he goes to Niall, where she is back working for MSF in another country. And they don't really even get together right away. I just didn't feel they were happy to be with each other or that they really had anything between them. They aren't together physically for several months, so I wasn't sure if their chemistry was still hot or not. And there is no epilogue so I have no idea what their future held. Was Niall still going to be working for MSF? Was Lock going to be there? Were they going to stay together but live apart in separate countries? I had no idea.
The main reason this book didn't work for me was that it just didn't make me feel anything. For a book that has such serious subjects (death, grieving, being a widow, trying to move on, etc.), I just didn't buy into it. I wasn't convinced they were meant to be together or that they were feeling real feelings for each other. I didn't feel a real connection to Niall and Lock as a reader, nor did I feel a connection between them. We are told that they have this unexplainable, almost magical connection, especially physically, between then, but I just didn't feel it.
From the other reviews, I seem to be in the minority, so maybe this was just a case of "It's not you, it's me". But this was my first book to read by Jasinda Wilder and I'm not sure if I will try again in the future.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This beautiful, gut-wrenching and poignant novel was inspired by a song - "Yours" by Russell Dickerson. There is one particular line that sparked the idea for Jasinda Wilder to write this story - "You put a new heart beat inside of me".
The compelling blurb was one of the many reasons why I one-clicked this story without a second thought. I simply knew that I needed to read this book! I was expecting an emotional roller coaster of epic proportions. My heart was ready to be broken into million tiny little pieces. And OMG did this book make me feel. So freaking much it was hard to breathe. There were times I couldn't see the words on my kindle through all the tears. But it was so worth it. Jasinda has always been one of my favorite authors since I've read Falling Into You. This woman has a way with words like almost no other. Her writing is captivating, touching, vivid - it's simply flawless. With Yours her full talent shines through on each and every page.
Niall James lost her beloved husband Oliver in a tragic car accident. Since he was an organ donor parts of him have been used to help save other people's lives. To Niall Ollie was her whole world - her family, her lover, her friend. Now she has to face a life without the person who meant everything to her. How do you go on with your life after experiencing such a terrible loss? What should you do now? Where do you go? Niall feels lost and lonely. The spirit and energy that once made her an adventurous person are completely gone. She is in a state of emotional stagnation until the moment a handsome stranger comes suddenly into her life making her feel and desire things she thought she would never want again.
Lachlan - Lock - Montgomery is living on borrowed time. He was born with a congenital heart defect. Lock's doctors have predicted that he won't live past thirty. He therefore doesn't leave out any opportunity to live his life to the fullest. Lock is circumnavigating the world with his sailing ship indulging in lots of alcohol and meaningless sex. On his 31st birthday his heart finally gives out. When Lock wakes up months later there is a new one beating inside his chest. Given a second chance at life is so unexpected to him that he has no clue what to do with it. He needs to start over and find a purpose for his being on this earth. Meeting the beautiful widow of his organ donor will forever change his view on life and love.
Niall and Lock are two characters that will stay with you forever. Both have engraved themselves permanently on my heart. I can't emphasize enough how inspiring their strength was to me. I admired them for their courage, for the ability to cope with such challenging situations in their lives. I loved the sizzling chemistry between Niall and Lock. It was loaded with raw sexual attraction and something more both were too afraid and unwilling to acknowledge at the beginning. They found themselves in a difficult situation. Lock feeling survivor's guilt and Niall feeling like she is betraying her husband.
There were many beautiful and thought- provoking messages this talented author wanted to convey with this amazing story. The one that stood out the most for me was that the only true measure of a person is what they do with their life.
Yours is definitely going on my favorite reads of 2016 shelf. Jasinda once again put me under her spell with her fantastic writing and lovable characters. Grab this book and read it now! You are going to experience an unforgettable emotional journey. I promise you will not regret it!
'I was one in one-hundred billion A burned out star in a galaxy Just lost in the sky wondering why Everyone else shines out but me I came to life when I first kissed you The best me has his arms around you You make me better than I was before Thank God I'm yours' (Lyrics from the song "Yours")
A very emotional and heart wrenching read that brought two lost souls together in the most meaningful way possible. Loch and Niall were well drawn and dimensional characters. Completely different in many ways. Their chemistry was off the charts. At times I wished for more relationship building than the wham bam sexual ride they embarked upon. The story seemed to call for more explanations and reciprocations -- maybe that sounds weird but it's how I felt. All in all, the storyline was deeply moving and kept me in each moment -- until the end where it fell apart for me. That ending was far too rushed and a bit of a letdown in almost every way. Oh there was great sex between the two of them and a happy ever after with them together for now anyway -- but no future plans established or even a peek into the future they eventually shared.
The cover: beautiful The blurb: makes you want to read it The writing: It's Jasinda Wilder, can't be bad The story: smutty, beautiful, intricate, and memorable
There is so much to unpack in this story. Can you imagine having an end date to your life? Watching others in your family die and knowing your fate is to follow them early. And then it happens, on the day, your birthday, but it ends up your fate may just take a different road.
Organ donation. So worthy and yet if you sit too long and think about it the implications of living with someone else's organs inside you is...deep. How would you feel? Different, the same?
And most importantly, what if you met the spouse of the person whose heart is beating in your chest?
This book has all that and more. It will stick with you for a long time.
And...the smut was hoooooot! The sexual chemistry was all there, every time, even in their fantasies. These two have the best imaginations!
Jasinda Wilder a vraiment un talent qui lui est propre, une façon de construire ses livres, très personnelle. Cela lui permet d’appréhender tous les sujets qu’elle veut quasiment avec une très grande habileté, notamment le thème de ce roman qui pourrait sombrer dans le mélo, manquer complètement son objectif ou enfiler les lieux communs. Il s’agit en effet, de la rencontre d’un homme transplanté avec le cœur du mari de l’héroïne. On sait combien un tel sujet est difficile et peut accumuler les erreurs mais si le livre n’est pas parfait, il touche et atteint totalement son but.
Lock est une jeune homme qui brûle la chandelle par les deux bouts et on peut le comprendre : il sait qu’il souffre d’une déficience cardiaque curable uniquement par une transplantation improbable puisqu’il a des caractéristiques physiques particulières. Il ne s’attend pas à dépasser son trentième anniversaire et s’est construit une vie où il risque tout et voyage dans le monde entier sur son bateau, parfois en galante compagnie. Niall, l’héroïne est elle dans une style de vie totalement opposée ; infirmière, elle a rencontré son mari, chirurgien, après une intervention traumatisante pour elle. Tous deux travaillent pour MSF et se donnent à fond pour cela jusqu’au moment où l’impensable arrive.
The premise of the book is quite predictable if you're into that. It flowed well for me overall. I liked how the author established the characters as individuals and went into depth on their backgrounds and stories. I really enjoyed that part.
However, I did NOT enjoy the insta love. She spent not even one day with Lock and all of a sudden she's so freaking attracted to him she starts making out with him? This stranger who had your car towed and fixed...you're not suspicious of that?? I think they spend a total of two days together then get stuck in a storm and spend maybe a few more days and all of a sudden they're in love. Niall is over her grief and wants Lock to be at her emotional maturity level as well. And we're talking about a woman who moved to the middle of nowheresville bc her dead husband was from there once upon a time. The emotional flip flop was too sudden.
I did like the disaster relief and how the author tied that in. I love the redemption with his mom although I wish she got to meet Niall. The ending was also too sudden. I didn't feel like we got enough of them together. They were constantly apart and months would go by. They barely spent any time together. How could they be in love?!
Overall, 2.5 stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Sorry but I just could not like this one. Synopsis sounded interesting and I expected lots of emotions and tears but instead it was just a mess with lots and lots of foul language and unlikeable characters. And who names their characters Niall and Lock?? Is Niall a man or a woman? Turned out Niall was a woman in this one. I hated the way it was written, how it jumped in timelines, foul language, too much sex without emotional connection, and too little content. I really disliked Lock and his way of living. He though he was dying, so he must do all the dangerous stunts, hobbies, bed as many women as he could...he was portrayed as capable, popular, rich but instead sounded immature, cold, spoilt, careless, someone who just drifted through life and had death wish. It was very hard to like him. I also didn't understand why Lock was told he would live till his 31th birthday when his father and grandfather lived longer? And after getting new heart he did not worry that transplant ejection can happen at any time and why not continue to live one day at a time? Anyway it just sounded stupid that everything was solved with a new donor heart.
This was another great book with a lot of depth from Jasinda. I was once involved in a heart transplant between a daughter and her father. The father received the daughters heart after she died in a traffic accident. I could not help to think of that case as I read this book. I have always pondered how difficult that burden must have been for the recipient and his family. Once again I was blown away by the depth in this story, much like "Wounded" it touched on deeper subjects and I appreciate that in a story. Thumbs up on this one!!
We've all seen movies and read books where the heart plant patient finds the donor's loved one and realizes their new heart still belongs to them. These gut wrenching stories never fail to have me in tears and emotionally wrapped up in the characters lives. It's the same story told by different storytellers that always touches a piece of my heart. Jasinda Wilder put her own spin on the story. She gave here characters more than a second chance at life, love, and happiness. She made them earn their happiness. She took them both on a journey long after their hearts began beating once again. It wasn't the physical rhythms that enabled their hearts but rather the metaphysical beats that defined their souls. This book was not an instal-love or my heart only belongs to you sort of story. It's a story of two people brought together because of one heart and staying together because of two hearts. It's the true gift of giving your heart and soul to another and trusting them to cherish it.
Lachlan Montgomery had only one goal in life. His goal was to make it to his thirty first birthday. He lived his life waiting to die. Rather than making the most of his short life, a life that would leave his legacy behind, he chose to live life on the edge, flirting with death daily. He selfishly abused each moment he was gifted. He carelessly philandered his precious moments with booze, women, and adrenaline highs. Why not... he was never meant to live after thirty. He was supposed to die. He did die. A miracle happened that changed everything he's ever known, hoped for, or desired. Now he's hopelessly lost. He doesn't know who Lock Montgomery is or who he should be. His new life leads him on a journey to find out about the heart that beats within his chest. He never imagined that journey would lead him to finding his true heart, the one that was always hidden by the defective one that beat in his chest.
Niall James died the same day her husband died in the horrible car accident. Her body was still alive but her soul was dead. She's existing but not living until she meets Lock Montgomery. Something about the man calls to the soul she thought died. When she's finally coming to life she finds out Lock's horrible secret. He has her husband's heart. The heart that chose her. Can she accept Lock for the man he is or is she just trying to hang on to her dead husband?
Lock's secret is the easy part for both of them. Learning to live is the most difficult journey they both will take. It will take soul searching, trials and tribulations, self truths, and sheer determination to find what really makes their hearts tick.
Jasinda Wilder added so many layers to this story. She took her characters on a journey of self discovery. She gave them each their own crosses to bear and their own moments of truth. What made this story stand out besides the romantic side was the journey they traveled. They had to earn their gift of living full, complete lives.
3.5 beautiful stars. It is quite beautiful and sweet. I was expecting to feel more emotion, though. This is just where I expected something different than what I read. I was expecting some angst and heartbreak, and it was sweet and sad at times, but not heartbreaking. I'm a sucker for a rip my heart out book and thought I would be getting that with this blurb. So, that's just why I might have a different reaction than others. It's written well and the characters are likable and the steam is off the charts hot. Like hot!
I'm a Wilder fan, straight up. Be that as it may, this book was my least favorite from her thus far. there were too many coincidences and I honestly didn't care for Niall. I know I'm supposed to feel for her but her character did nothing for me. It was the least believable story I've read by Jasinda.
Nonetheless, I will continue to read her work and still enjoy her writing.
Amazing!! Absolutely loved it! Beautiful! Heartbreaking! Utterly thought provoking!! A MUST read!!! Jasinda you hit it out the park by a mile!! Loved it!!
Didn't finish after page 95. I just want to know one thing? Why do all these authors write clones of so many other romance novels? Maybe clones isn't the right word, but maybe I should say follow an exact pattern. Here is the pattern that is so overdone and stupid in the first place it should never have even been copied once, let alone a million times: girl meets guy. Describes in detail how incredibly hot/god-like/perfect/*insert any 20 synonyms for good looking here*/and let's not forget insanely rich. Girl is also extremely hot, which we also hear from when it's the guys turn to monologue. Girl acts really rude/uptight/prissy/over-reactive/bitchy/*insert any other annoying female personality trait here* and acts that way only because the guy is trying to help her, so without any reason whatsoever. Yep, the guy is always the cool nice one coming to the rescue and the girl responds by being super rude. why again? Authors? Anyone? Can anyone explain this? No. Nobody can explain it because no matter what your excuse would be, I'd come back and say nope, there is no reason to be pissy when someone is being only nice to you. Next up, the pattern continues with the girl constantly admiring the guys perfection but has to immediately berate herself for her desire because *insert annoying reason/conflict here*. Guy will probably do the exact same thing in his monologue as well, but about her. Example: "He is so attractive! But no stop! I mustn't be thinking about his attractiveness. Oh but he's so sexy. Wait no! I shouldn't think about how sexy he is!" And then repeated a million times by her and him until I am ready to throw my nook across the room and pray that they actually don't get together then if they are so unwilling to just let their life progress naturally. So I think there must be a "romance writing for dummies" that gives authors this pattern to use and then tell them to just change the characters names and add their own conflict and background and stuff but then follow that guideline perfectly. That's the only thing I can come up with as to why so many authors would recycle characters and personality traits that exist in so many other dime a dozen romance novels. There are millions of different personalities to choose from and unique character traits authors could use. Why be so unoriginal? Also, why do the main characters always have to be the most gorgeous beings ever created? Why seriously? It is just so uninteresting. It's so much better to have two normal characters who become insanely attracted to one another because of their personalities and personal connections and chemistry. I'd so much rather read about two normal or flawed characters any day over perfection. This story was also just boring. I had to skim a bit to even get to where I was. Also, I hate lauchlin. He follows the cliche romance novel male character but with an added dose of lameness. Lame because he's a dead beat. He wastes his life being 100% selfish all because he's going to die young. Also, he's a douche bag to his own mother. A mother who cares about him. Why is he a douche to her you ask? He says it's because she's a pretentious snob who's always drinking. Um, earth to lauchlin!!! Look in the mirror you hypocrit. He just described himself. Except for the fact that his mom actually works. She runs the family business. The business he benefits from to be able to live his life without lifting a finger. From the interactions I see between the two she's actually a great lady even if she's into her country club friends and has a butler and lives the high life. At least she worries and cares about Laughlin and isn't rude to him or trying to get away from him all the time. It's more than I can say for him. Lauchlin is so cocky and thinks he's Gods gift. I actually would have just stopped reading because of him but I thought maybe the author was trying to give him a good starting off point for him to turn his life around and start becoming a better person. So I waited to see where he'd go. But then this is where the romance novel cliches just started piling up. He meets Niall, tries helping her. She's rude and annoying and uptight. I don't care if she's had a hard day. That's when I like to see if a character can shine is if, on their worst day, they can still manage to be awesome. But nope she fails. Then, by the second time they meet I didn't think it could be any more cliche but boy was I wrong! when lauchlin comes over, she "accidentally" answers her door wearing only a teeny shirt and no underwear. Hehehe oopsies!! Ugh EYEROLL!!!!! Are authors for real with this? And Niall immediately notices a huge buldge in lauchlins pants. Oh. My. Hell!!! I just can't with this novel. I can't with the ridiculousness of it. Why do authors try so hard with the dumbest stuff? It just makes me cringe. So I don't like these two characters. You know the character I did love? Ollie, Nialls first husband. But he dies quickly and we only get to see glimmers of him. In fact, the author goes into some detail about their romance and how it started and I wish that that was the novel I was reading about. It was delightful!! It was told using 0 cliches. There wasn't an over emphasis about how attractive the other was. Yes it's still mentioned but it wasn't over the top. Their romance took awhile to get going. And they both seemed like hard working, normal, selfless people who were kind. That's who I want to read about!! Not the dick who is Lauchlin and not the bitch who is niall. Why would the author make Niall so grouchy toward Lauchlin. She's supposed to be a nurse who is willing to risk her life to go into fighting countries just so she can help others. So her being so rude to lauchlin just makes no sense. I don't care if she's mad that she's attracted to him or that she misses her husband. Those reasons give her the right to be aloof or distant. But she's just not pleasant with lauchlin and I hate it. And, Are there really women out there who like to hear, in extremely great detail, about the perfectness that is the female character's boobs, curves, lips, cheekbones, eyelashes, butt, face, hair, areolas, etc? Yes I'm serious, those are the body parts lauchlin describes and I mean, each of those body parts takes paragraphs to describe!! Please comment if you actually like that. I'm actually curious. Maybe it's just me that hates over emphasized, unrealistic writing. Plus the last cliche I read was that of course, when lauchlin sees Niall he's instantly seeing a future with a woman for the first time ever. Yep. That's the nail on the coffin for me. I cannot read one more story with any one of these elements in it let alone all of them together!!!!!