Review: Lifers by Jane Harvey-Berrick

Lifers

By Jane Harvey-Berrick

Contemporary romance/adult romance

Mature adult, with scenes of a sexual nature and drug-taking. 18+

Published: 7 Feb 2014

After eight years in prison, twenty-four year old Jordan Kane is the man everyone loves to hate. 

Forced to return to his hometown while on parole, Jordan soon learns that this small town hasn’t changed since he was sent away. He is the local pariah, shunned by everyone, including his own parents. But their hatred of him doesn’t even come close to the loathing he feels every time he looks in the mirror.

Working odd jobs for the preacher lady, Jordan bides his time before he can leave this backwards town. But can time or distance erase the pain of living?

Torrey Delaney is new in town, and certainly doesn’t behave in a way the locals believe a preacher’s daughter should. Her reputation for casual hook-ups and meaningless sex quickly spreads. And that’s on top of her budding friendship with the hardened ex-con handyman – the good Reverend is less than thrilled with her estranged daughter’s path.

As friendship forms, can two damaged people who are afraid to love take their relationship to the next level? Can Torrey live with Jordan’s demons, and can Jordan break through Torrey’s walls? With the disapproval of a small town weighing heavily on them, they struggle to find their place in the world. Can they battle the odds, or will their world be viciously shattered? 

Is love a life sentence?

Amazon / Amazon UK

I was asked to read this ARC and to give my honest opinion in a review

Until I read Lifers by Jane Harvey-Berrick I never knew what went on in a person’s head as they were being released from prison. I never thought about the obstacles one might face after spending years incarcerated. This book opened my eyes to what a person may have to go through, to what they feel, as they try and integrate themselves back into society. 
I loved the fact that this book by Jane has both Jordan and Torrey’s POV which is great to read in books, I felt it gave a bit more prospective of the characters and their journey

Jordan makes one fatal mistake one night and it costs him his life, literally, that is until he meets Torrey.  Jordan needs someone who will look beyond the mistake, beyond the prison and who will help him see that he can be forgiven, he can be loved and it is ok to feel love.  

Torrey the Preacher’s Daughter--- what a firecracker she is, she is headstrong, impulsive and speaks her mind, but she is also a young lady who has been so hurt by people who were supposed to love her, to always be there for her. Trusting and acknowledging love by people and herself is a huge step and a hard one to take for Torrey.She needs someone who is not afraid to hear what she has to say straight up, who will love her unconditionally and never leave her, someone who has the strength to put up with her and her ways.  Torrey and Jordan they may not know it at the beginning but they both need each other.

“Yes, I drank alcohol.  Yes, I’ve gambled in dens of iniquity and Yes, I’ve had sex with a really nice guy who just needs a break”

Yes they begin their journey as friends, and it progresses from there, Jordon loves how Torrey does not hold back, she says what she means, she stands up for him, no one has ever done that before, she listens and talks to Jordan who is blown away by it.  Torrey loves the safeness she feels around Jordan, she knows he would never hurt her; she is at peace with him, not to mention his smoking hot body, oh yes she loves that too and his tattoos.
There are problems and lots of drama along the way but one thing these two know is that they need each other and want to be with each other, the obstacles they can deal with as long as they are together.

“I could guess what they’d be talking about and I was certain that the preacher’s pretty daughter wouldn’t be talking to me again anytime soon.  That was okay.  I didn’t deserve anything good to happen.  Just talking to her like a normal person was the best conversation I’d had in eight years!

Jordan tried everything to stay on the straight and narrow after coming out of prison and luckily he had Torrey to help him, however, niggling at the back of his mind was always will it last will she still talk to me when I mess up, the insecurities were real and he did not want to lose that.  He is also torturing himself insisting that he had a ‘debt’ to pay but will he lean on Torrey in these times, will he open up and accept things, will he make his peace?.

This book will make you laugh, it will make you angry at how people can be but it will also make you cry, it has so much emotion, determination and heartwarming situations in it that you just want to find Jordan and hold him tight all night

“For the first time since I’d met her, she looked scared-scared of me.  A Sharp, stabbing pain threatened to split my chest open.  She was scared of me.  But maybe that was a good thing even though it killed me.  She needed to know about the darkness inside”

My favorite quote from the whole book has to be this one:-“Do no fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul”

I loved this book in that although we go through life with trials and tribulations just like Jordan and Torrey had, it is how we chose to deal with those situations in life that make our lives what they are.  I have no doubt in my mind that while reading this book there will be times you will identify with something in there, a feeling, a situation, a saying that has hurt you but how we deal with it is what makes us who we are.  
This book had me hooked from the first chapter, I would highly recommend it

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About Jane Jane was born on the 13th, which explains a few things. She published her first romcom, ‘Dazzled’ in 2013 and has been praised for her portrayal of disability in ‘Dangerous to Know & Love’. She’s also shown that she’s spent more time than she should watching cute surfer boys, if ‘The Education of Sebastian’ is anything to go by. “All my books have a little me in them, and I’m inspired by the personal stories of those around me. It’s often from a simple discussion overheard in the train, in a café, or in the street, where ideas for characters or scenes come to me. I fall in love with them as I write, and even once a book is finished, they whisper their continuing stories to me.” Jane lived in the city for many years, but now enjoys a life living by the ocean and walking her dog, Pip. Writing is her addiction, and she has no plans to quit in this lifetime.

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 Twenty Things You Didn’t Know About Jane Harvey-Berrick

In my hippy-punk phase, I lost my skirt in the middle of a night club when my spiked heel caught in the fringe of my skirt. Yeah, embarrassing. 

I’m terrible at remembering people’s names, but if they’ve got a dog, I always remember their dog’s name. “Oh, hey, you must be Trixie-pom-pom’s dad!”

My hobby is watching surfers getting changed in the beach parking area. Possibly my inspiration for ‘The Education of Sebastian’.

I dedicated ‘Dazzled’ to my brother because he’s a sax player like Miles. But he doesn’t read ‘those sort of books’, and he was really embarrassed.

I believe that if you break a piece of chocolate, the calories fall out. It’s true. I gave my love of chocolate as one of Clare’s attributes in ‘Dazzled’.

In the village where I live, no one knows the kind of books I write. I prefer to listen and lurk, because you never know what you’ll hear.

At the London Author Event, I was asked to sign a woman’s chest. Take a bow, Kelsey!

Blue and green are the only colors that I haven’t ever dyed my hair.

I can pick up pieces of paper with my toes.

I have a book called ‘The Stormrider’s Guide’ about good surf spots around the world. It taught me to say ‘Can you wax my stick’ in twelve languages.

Jerry Smith, the gay guy in ‘The New Samurai’ is a real person. And yes, he really did answer a questionnaire about sexual harassment from a male leisure center employee with the words, “unfortunately not”.

When I write, I ‘see’ the scenes that I’m describing. Someone told me this is called ‘skull cinema’.

My first full-time job was working for a sexual health charity. I met a lot of different people. A very nice prostitute told me to steer clear of a certain brand of condoms because the spermicide took off your nail varnish.

In the same job, I saw condoms being made. I got free samples, too.

I once sold two copies of ‘Becoming Orgasmic – A Sexual and Personal Growth Program for Women’ to a man. I’ve always wondered who he was buying them for.

The next job I had after that was working in an art gallery. I had to rethink my vocabulary.

Writing is an addiction. I get high on it. Feeling like I’ve written a good scene is like eating great chocolate – but without the calories.

My favorite book is ‘Persuasion’ by Jane Austen; because it’s about love second time around and second chances. Someone pointed out to me that my books are about second chances, too.

My husband hasn’t read any of my books.
My mother has.