Review - Borrowed Heart by Linda Lamberson

Author - Linda Lamberson
Publisher - LAOL, llc
Release Date - December 2nd, 2011, 424 Pages

Evie Sanders is pretty good at heeding that gnawing feeling that she gets when trouble rears its head--or at least she used to be. Things change when she meets Quinn Harrison one morning after class. Evie would never do anything intentionally to hurt her long-distance boyfriend or jeopardize their relationship, but she finds it increasingly difficult to resist Quinn. Just when things can't seem to get any more complicated, Evie is involved in a fatal car accident. Yet, her death marks a new beginning--and her new existence as an immortal. It's not long before Evie and Quinn's paths cross again, and she finds herself trying to walk a fine line between bending the rules she must now obey and breaking them.

                            *A review copy was provided by publisher for an honest review*

Eve (Evie to her friends) has a regular teenage life attending college away from home while her long term boyfriend Ryan is attending another college over an hour away. Evie has never questioned or gave her relationship with Ryan a second thought but after the run in with campus hottie Quinn, things change. They are drawn together for unknown reasons, maybe the thrill of someone new, but after that one kiss…that changed everything. Evie had to know if what she has with Ryan is still there. That day would forever change everyone’s lives. Things are set into motion and they will never be the same.

Eve is killed in an accident and wakes up to meet Peter. He informs her that she is dead, she is immortal, a Shepherd to be exact and he is her mentor. He explains that she is now to watch over and protect humans, or charges as they call them. Peter unloads tons of information on her about her new self, what she is expected to do, what she can now do being immortal and all, and most importantly some of the rules. Eve doesn’t just except what she was being told, she asked questions, threw a bit of a tantrum and then went back to questioning Peter. I love that she didn’t just say “I’m immortal…oh, well, ok then”. As a reader it’s always great to know the background information and Linda didn’t lack in this area at all, we were given so much information about what is was like to be a Shepherd, what it would entail, what Eve could and couldn’t do. Eve’s training was cut short for her first assignment which just happens to be the one and only Quinn.

The love factor in Borrowed Heart is beautiful yet heartbreaking all at the same time as it’s a case of forbidden love yet they will always seek each other out. We get to see what it was like for Quinn to lose her and now that she is back, he isn’t letting go! I often found myself smiling with things that Quinn did with his small yet big gestures. Quinn isn’t a perfect guy, we see some of his flaws but that makes it just that much more real. You want to hold him tight and never let him go and then at a point you want to slap…well…both of them really.

Evie is a very strong character, she takes her job seriously and when things get out of hand she steps up, admits her mistakes and takes responsibility for them instead of hiding behind something or someone to correct the issue for her. She knows that she should walk away, knowing that it will break her heart, she knows that it will cost Quinn his life and possibly hers if she doesn’t but he isn’t willing to let her go.

It is so easy to get wrapped up in their story, the things that have happened to Eve throughout. At some points I felt that there was too much information about what being a Shepard entailed but everything worked itself out and we really needed all that information. Linda didn’t leave any stone unturned. You will find yourself wanting Eve and Quinn to be together, even with the knowledge that you have. I feel that this is just the beginning for them that something big is going to happen in the next installment and cannot wait to get my hands on it. Would I recommend this, of course I would, have you added it to your list? If not then you should!

-Shellie