Harder is book two in the Caroline & West series and I have been waiting patiently for this next book not only because I grew to love these two characters and wanted to know what happened to them after they separated but also because I love Robin York’s writing and was excited to have more of it.

Book two picks up months after book one ended. West is back in Silt and they have been apart for a little while. Add to that, they haven’t even spoken since West told Caroline he was seeing someone else…about 2.5 months ago. So of course, Caroline is surprised when West calls her to tell her that his father is dead. Despite this, she decides that this is her opportunity to go to Silt and find out what is really going on.

Immediately when Caroline meets West outside the airport, she knows something is off. He isn’t his normal self and he is closed off from her. No matter what she tries to do to get him to talk to her, he does whatever he can to distance himself from her. I can’t say what happens (and it wasn’t ok) but eventually West gets what he wants (or says he wants) and Caroline leaves Silt.

Caro is a strong character and willing to do what she thinks is right even if the end result has the potential to impact her negatively. She has grown so much over the course of these two books and I really enjoyed seeing the change in her. Let me interject here that Caroline is definitely a better/stronger woman than I am. Based on her response to what happened and how I imagine I would respond, she is absolutely the better person. I don’t know that I could have come back from that and everything would be fine but kudos to her.

As the story progresses, West finally decides to get his crap together. Where he originally felt he would be trapped in Silt so that he could care for and protect Frankie, he realizes that Caroline was right. He can do that and get an education due to the scholarship Dr. Tomlinson was offering him. Because of this, he decides to go back to Putnam which puts him back in the vicinity of Caroline. While it is true that there were times I was thoroughly pissed off at West, I also felt so bad for him. He clearly had a horrible childhood and it was evident that his family was a disaster. I completely understand why he didn’t want Caro pulled into that life.

With all of that said, this book is ultimately about hope and forgiveness. Robin York pulls you into the lives of these characters and absolutely pulls you through all the emotional ups and downs they go through….and I loved it. There is sadness and pain but there is also love and friendship and these are the things that make me love York’s writing. She seamlessly ties all of these things together to create a story that I couldn’t put down. If you like the New Adult genre I recommend you check out these books. I admit that Robin York is on my auto buy list (including her books under her other pen name – Ruthie Knox) and if she isn’t on yours, you should put her there immediately!

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for the review copy.