NEW RELEASE & REVIEW - Save Me (Lost Souls #3) by Eliza Freed

I believe in full disclosure so here it goes --- I am a hot ass mess after finishing Save Me. A. Mess. I put this book down multiple times so that I could sob uncontrollably. Call it hormones, call it an obsession with all things The Lost Souls Series or call it a phenomenal story--. I don’t really think it matters what you call it, I was broken. My soul was shattered into a million pieces and then slowly and somehow put back together to create something completely different.

This is the third and final book in the series and Eliza Freed pulls no punches. She tugs at every emotion under the sun and sets them on fire. When I finished Forgive Me I was devastated. I was sad, hurt, angry and horrified at the choices made. Then I read Redeem Me and those emotions were put aside and I was filled with a sense of forgiveness. I have been a Charlotte O’Brien fan from the beginning. I felt so much love and admiration for this young woman and what she endured. Of course, she frustrated the hell out of me but that is to be expected, she’s imperfect. I accepted the way her life changed throughout the series and how she grew into a woman that faced life with both her heart and her head in the game.

I have made no secret that I am Team Jason Leer. Always have been and always will be. Don’t get me wrong, I love Noble Sinclair. Noble is perfection on a page. He is handsome, strong, level headed, supportive, kind, loving and passionate. Noble brings stability and unconditional love to Charlotte O’Brien’s world. For those reasons you cannot help but love Noble. But for me? Jason Leer is who I am drawn to.  Jason is equally as passionate and perhaps even more handsome. Jason is also impulsive, sad, lonely, hurt, lost and selfish. Both men love Charlotte more than the air they breathe and poor Charlotte loves each of these men. I’ve often wondered if the heart can truly love more that one person completely and through Charlotte’s eyes the answer is yes.

As I said in my review of Redeem Me I don’t know who was redeemed. In Save Me I can safely say everyone was saved. Every character is given the level of saving necessary for their soul. Charlotte is able to let go of so much of the pain and is accepted by those she loves as she is and for who she is.

I ended Save Me shattered and whole at the same time. I am often not at a loss of words and yet find myself unable to articulate the level of love I have for each of these characters (yes even Butch!) and struggles they each face and ultimately overcome. I will recommend this series to every person I know. I believe we can all learn a little something from Charlotte and her ability to love and care for two men so deeply.

When two lost souls find each other, are they still lost?

Charlotte O'Brien is lost in the devastation of her parents' death. With her foundation in ruins, she buries herself in an unlikely lover, Jason Leer.

When they're together it's everything, but when they're apart it's utterly frustrating. Can love survive when distance is measured in more than just miles?


Forgive Me is the first book in The Lost Souls Series.

Overwhelmed. That is the only way I can explain how I felt when I finished Forgive Me. I was filled with so many emotions I actually proceeded to dream about this book and its characters. I woke up thinking of how I was going to write this review. What words would I use? How would I explain how I felt? See.. Overwhelmed.

We meet Charlotte “Annie” O’Brien in what becomes a symbolic moment of her life. Having just gone against the expectations of not only her mother but her entire town, Charlotte is taking the long lonely road home both literally and figuratively until Jason Leer happens upon her.

Jason Leer is a cowboy - a New Jersey cowboy. And hot. Oh yes, we know the moment Charlotte encounters Jason on that lonely road that he is intriguing, sexy, strong, and completely at the mercy of Annie.

You’ll notice I changed our heroine’s name. Jason is the only person that still uses the nickname Annie had in 2nd grade. She is his Annie. At this moment you realize that not only does that fit perfecting into their connection, it is truly who Charlotte is -- two different people fighting within herself for self identity. Both love fiercely but Annie has a fire in her that nobody can deny.

After suffering a loss that only Jason understands, the connection Annie has with Jason is undeniable. Leaning on him and trusting him with her heart and what she needs for weeks and then months becomes almost who she is. The passion these two exude is scorching. The sex - they have a lot of sex - is hot and passionate and most importantly, loving and trusting. Throughout it all, everyone around Annie begins questioning her choices, forcing Annie to question them too. Is love enough? Can she simply accept that the person that completes her, supports her unconditionally, loves her with so much passion he almost can’t control? For Annie it is and she can. It is a fight she won’t lose.

The entire time I waited for the title of the book to come into play. When was the forgiveness going to be necessary? Many times I hoped it was Jason and Annie forgiving the people in their lives. Never had I seen a group of secondary characters so  completely frustrating and quite frankly unsupportive. As long as Annie was Charlotte and doing what everyone expected they supported her. The moment she chose her happiness and what her heart needed that support fizzled. Were these the people asking for forgiveness? I forgive those people. They simply don’t understand the undeniable need Jason and Annie have to be together. Nobody really can. It is more than words can express, it is something you experience. Then finally the moment comes. The very last few moments of the book. The signs were there. The foreshadow to the slap to my face. The feeling you held deep down - knowing it would happen. Turning to the final page, I cried. I gasped. I don’t know if I can forgive. I look forward to Redeem Me and how I will try to forgive.

Charlotte O'Brien should forgive God for her parents' death. She should forgive her boyfriend for his one horrific mistake that separated them, and she should forgive herself for cutting them both off, but instead she hates everyone. 

But when her childhood friend Noble Sinclair arrives, his passion reignites the spark that had vanished so completely in Charlotte's gray existence. And in Noble's arms, Charlotte finally begins to wonder if she might be ready to choose the future with Noble over her shattered past.

Redeem Me is book 2 in the Lost Souls series. 

I’ll be honest, I don’t even know where to start with Redeem Me. First, I will say that while you can read Redeem Me as a stand alone, you will not fully appreciate, understand, respect and feel the level of emotions necessary without reading Forgive Me.

Unlike Forgive Me, this story is about Charlotte. This is her story, her emotion, her feelings and her darkness before light. I used similar words to describe Charlotte and Jason in Forgive Me and it pains me to still see so much darkness in her (their) life. This isn’t necessarily a second chance story per se, it is more like the next story for Charlotte.

Without giving too much away for anyone that hasn’t finished Forgive Me (what are you waiting for?!) I will say this .. Jason screwed up and we are there with Charlotte from almost minute one and instantly feel her pain. Just as I felt Charlotte’s pain and loss, I also felt utter irritation and frustration with her. I’ve never been through what she has nor can I imagine the sense of loss and disappointment but truly I wanted to grab her by the shoulders and shake some sense into her! Thankfully, we have her friends to do that for us and I’ve never been so grateful.

This is the moment I remind everyone of Noble Sinclair. Oh sweet Noble. We met him early on in Forgive Me and his friendship, undying love and complete commitment to Charlotte was always obvious. I suppose, even to Charlotte herself. Noble is the polar opposite of Jason - selfless and supportive without being asked. Yet, at times, he is equally brooding and standoffish. Either way, Noble is nothing short of Book Boyfriend perfect.

I loved watching Charlotte mature and recognize the friendships and love staring her in the face while still mourning the loss of Jason. Chance encounters and fate’s intervention force her to think with both her heart and mind for a change. The revelations and love for herself tht she finds in the process made me a huge fan of Charlotte.

I’ve had a few weeks to ponder the ending of Redeem Me. I’ve talked with the author. I’ve expressed my level of emotions and concerns for each of the characters with her. I voiced options so that each character can perhaps have their happily ever after. She, in turn, laughed and just thanked me for loving Charlotte, Jason and Noble. And I do. I feel such a connection to each of these characters. They are a part of my heart and soul. I suppose that means in some way I too have been a Lost Soul and through these characters and the words used to draw me into their world, I appreciate that about myself.

I still don’t know who is truly being redeemed in Redeem Me but I’m forever grateful to be part of his/her journey and cannot wait for Save Me, where I hope to learn that perhaps Charlotte saves herself and figures out the man that completes and fulfills her.

Eliza Freed graduated from Rutgers University and returned to her hometown in rural South Jersey. Her mother encouraged her to take some time and find herself. After three months of searching, she began to bounce checks and her neighbors began to talk; her mother told her to find a job.

She settled into Corporate America, learning systems and practices and the bureaucracy that slows them. Eliza quickly discovered her creativity and gift for story telling as a corporate trainer and spent years perfecting her presentation skills and studying diversity. It’s during this time she became an avid observer of the characters we meet and the heartaches we endure. Her years of study have taught her laughter is the key to survival, even when it’s completely inappropriate.

She currently lives in New Jersey with her husband, two children, and a beagle named Odin. An avid swimmer, if Eliza is not with her family and friends, she’d rather be underwater. While she enjoys many genres, she has always been a sucker for a love story...the more screwed up the better. 

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