Review: Hard Time
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 29, 2014
***This book was provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.***Cara McKenna has quickly become an auto-buy author for me. I absolutely love how she works her plots. There is never any needless drama–everything that happens in her stories has a purpose, and they never go where I think they are going to.I loved both of the main characters in this story. Annie was a bit shy, but she was also tenacious. She was determined to put her fear aside in order to do her job in a medium security men’s prison. Then, later in the story, she would not give up when she didn’t feel Eric’s freedom was important enough to him. She’d closed herself off from relationships with no intention of ever going there again.Eric is almost like an ‘anti-anti-hero.’ You would think five years in prison would have hardened him and made him less approachable, but Eric has really taken his time inside to reflect on his life and the kind of person he wants to be–or more importantly, the kind of man he doesn’t want to be. His moral code has only strengthened in the years since he’s been put away. He’s an incredibly kind and generous man.While I enjoyed the entire book, I do have to admit the first part was my favorite. I almost felt naughty reading it; my heart raced when Annie’s did, and I spent most of that time afraid of getting caught! I loved their written ‘courtship.’ Eric’s initial letter was so honest, and it set the tone for their entire relationship. No matter how hard it was for them, they were (almost) always up front with each other.I felt like Annie and Eric needed each other. Annie needed someone who was gentle and kind to show her how she should be treated, and Eric needed Annie to show him that he needed to make himself a priority. It was a nice balance, because I felt like they needed each other equally.I really enjoyed the steamy scenes in this book. Cara McKenna knows how to shake things up without repeating the same scene over and over again!This story held true to the obstacles of life after prison and worrying about the stigma that was going to be attached to that. As I said before, I felt like everything that happened in this story had a purpose. The characters were real and raw–particularly Eric, and the plot was so fresh and well done.I can’t recommend this book enough!