4 stars-- Until Harry by L.A. Casey

Well dammit! This one made me cry. I wasn't expecting that. I really wasn't. Honestly Until Harry was a total pet-the-pretty-cover-impulse-buy type deal and other than that there were no expectations going into it. lol

But, yall, it was a nice surprise.


The Gist 

Years earlier Lane abandoned her life and moved across the world to escape a broken heart. The unexpected death of her uncle-- the person she's closest to-- sends her back home for his funeral and to face her estranged family. And the man she's loved since she was a child. The very one who shattered her heart and sent her running. The one she still loves with every piece of her being.

"Damn you, Kale Hunt," I cried, and turned to him once more, wrapping myself around him.

He held me to him and kissed the crown of my head. "There isn't a hair on your head that isn't beautiful, Laney Baby. Everything about you is beautiful; I've know that since the first day I saw you."

I surprisingly laughed through my blubbering. "You met me when I was two hours old. I probably looked like a shriveled-up prune."

"You did," Kale agreed, "but a beautiful shriveled up prune."

Yall. These two. Their journey absolutely broke my heart. I really came to love both Lane and Kale. Lane especially. She killed me. I didn't always agree with her choices but I honestly didn't want to leave her. I wanted to make sure she was going to be okay. And Kale. He got to me, too. He wasn't perfect but goodness he had a good heart and the way he said Lane's name just made me melt.

The book alternates between little bits of present day and then large flashbacks to Lane and Kale's relationship over the years from the time they were six-ish until their thirties. I typically dislike this format but Casey impressed. I loved it. It gave such insight into each of them and how deep their feelings were for one another. Seeing the sweet moments, the hard moments, the painful ones when they hurt one another on accident or on purpose over the years. It had such impact. It was incredibly well done.

The only thing I would have changed was the very ending. It wasn't bad but, man, I would have loved one more chapter after they'd figured things out. They had so many troubles finding their way to one another and it would have been nice to see just a bit more of the happily ever after bits.

The Narration: Heather Wilds

I listened to the entire 9 hours in just slightly over one day. And I'd listen to it again. This was my first time with Heather Wilds. Honestly at the beginning my first impression was 'wow her male voices are very feminine' but then realized it was actually her voice for the female character and she's just got a huskier voice than I'm used to with a female narrator. But, yall, once we settled into each other it was easy to get lost in her narration. I was totally loving it and her inflections. So a narration win. 

Coming home is hard for Lane. Hard because Harry, her beloved uncle, has died suddenly, but also because of him. Kale.

Kale Hunt has been her best friend since childhood. But it was never that simple. He was Lane’s reason for leaving home and moving to New York. Seeing him with someone else, in love with someone else, shouldn’t have hurt. But it did. It really, really did. So she upped sticks and left, started a new life and cut herself off from her past.

But now she’s back, and all the feelings are right there. As if she had never left.

Emotions are running high for everyone, and tragedy has a funny way of bringing people together. But is Lane reading the signs right? Are they still just friends, or is there something more?

Amazon | Goodreads | Casey on HCBS

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