In A Heartbeat by Liz King

For the past eight years I haven't been living, just ... Existing.

The pain, the guilt, and the shame I carry have been locked away deep inside me for so long that it's impenetrable, until him. Until Connor Reeves.

With a sexy smile and seductive eyes, the bad boy rocker walked right into my life without warning, and now the walls I built that hid all of my grief for so long are now crumbling at my feet.

Now I am left wondering if it's possible that just as life can cause pain, it can also heal wounds in a heartbeat.

I'm a bit torn as to how I feel about this book. It is definitely a good read as it is well written with likeable characters. Rather than the usual rock star romance, Ms. King has written a book in which one of the main characters, Connor, is in a rock band without making the book all about the rock and roll lifestyle. The story is more about Connor helping Lynae overcome something that happened eight years earlier - an incident which caused her to shut most people out. The fact that Connor is not perfect and, at times, far from it gave the book an interesting twist - just how interesting remains to be seen as I expect more will come to light in the sequel.

I believe what confuses my feelings about this book is Lynae's character. While I felt badly for her and what she endured, I didn't connect with her initially. Now as I write this review and ponder why it took so long for me to connect with a character that I ultimately liked, I realize that this may have been the author's intent. For Lynae to be closed down and effectively keep those around her held at bay, her emotions are held in check more often than not. When she did feel, most of what she was feeling was anxiety, which is not conducive to relationship building - even when that relationship is between the character and the reader. Whether intentional or not, I now think that I didn't connect with Lynae until she opened up and began to connect with Connor and guys in the band, and this makes for a brilliant display of writing skills.

In a Heartbeat is a really good read complete with great characters, hot sex, heartbreaking pasts, and one heck of a cliffhanger. Fortunately for me, I have the sequel cued up and ready to go.