SERIES: Fall Away
SERIES PLACEMENT: #3
AUTHOR: Penelope Douglas
AGE GROUP: New Adult
GENRE: Contemporary Romance
RELEASE DATE: January 6, 2015
PUBLISHER: NAL - Penguin
FORMAT: eBook and Paperback
PAGES: Approx. 429
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As the Pages Turn
COPY PROVIDED BY: Author
MY GOODREADS REVIEW LINK
RATING: 4 Stars!
CLIFFHANGER: No
BOOK BLURB:
Jaxon is the guy she’s supposed to avoid. K.C. is the girl he won’t let get away....
K. C. Carter has always followed the rules—until this year, when a mistake leaves her the talk of her college campus and her carefully arranged life comes crashing to a halt. Now she’s stuck in her small hometown for the summer to complete her court-ordered community service, and to make matters worse, trouble is living right next door.
Jaxon Trent is the worst kind of temptation and exactly what K.C. was supposed to stay away from in high school. But he never forgot her. She was the one girl who wouldn’t give him the time of day and the only one to ever say no. Fate has brought K.C. back into his life—except what he thought was a great twist of luck turns out to be too close for comfort. As the bond between them grows, he discovers that convincing K.C. to get out from her mother’s shadow is hard, but revealing the darkest parts of his soul is nearly impossible.…
Reviewers Note: Falling Away is book three in the Fall Away series and is a New Adult, Contemporary Romance written by Penelope Douglas. I was gifted a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review through As the Pages Turn.
4 "Only Summer Fun" Stars!
A Heartbreaking, Beautiful, All-Consuming Love Story!
Only. Ever. You.
The Review:
Huge fan here! I love Penelope Douglas’s stories and I knew the moment we met Jax in Bully his story was going to be epic. That belief was cemented when we got more of him in Until You. Reading Falling Away saw that belief realized! His story was emotional, angsty and so damn torturous to read. I loved every minute of it. But what I didn’t expect was to absolutely fall in love with Juliet. Her story was so much more than I expected and so much deeper than we ever knew.
This book was wonderful!
Story/Characters...
Jax blew into town two years ago on his brothers coat tail and turned K.C.’s life upside down. But she denied her heart and followed the path her mother forced upon her literally living someone else's life. But these things never work out and she finds this out the hard way when she’s confronted once again with a disastrous relationship and a broken spirit. She’s been living a lie and the demons in her past are finally catching up to her. Heading back home with her head low, she’s set for a summer of tutoring at her old high school and living in Tate’s old home... across the street from the one guy she knew she needed to stay away from.
I loved getting to know K.C./Juliet. I was ambivalent towards her in the first two books because to me, she seemed superficial, flippant and a bit of a traitor to her BFF, Tate. But I should have known she had a story hidden behind all that fluff. This author can make you dislike a character only to have you adore them in the next book. It happened with Jared and Juliet was the same. Juliet wasn't flippant or vacant as she allows people to believe. She has substance and layers and she was so full of self-doubt and pain it was heartbreaking. As she slowly came into her own, you would catch glimpse of the girl she was and see the fire underneath all that restraint. And when she was fully reborn, it was amazing to see!
And then there’s Jax....
Jax’s past is riddled with painful events. Betrayed by the people who should have loved him unconditionally, he’s had to grow up depending on no one but himself. After moving in with his brother Jared, who fought to rescue him from that life, he sees things can be different if he only has the courage to take it. But he refuses to allow himself to be put back in the position where he has no control over his own life so he takes risks and is instantly labeled a bad boy.
The moment Jax sees K.C., he knew no one would ever compare. But two years later and he’s still not got the girl of his dreams on his arm and what's worse is no amount of life altering, rule breaking or girl chasing can erase the demons trying to catch him or the memories haunting his nightmares. Loud parties, fast cars and loose women might tide him over but when K.C. storms back into his life, he knows he has to have her... no matter what.
Jax was no longer just Jared’s mysterious little brother. The man was smokin’ alpha hot... and also a douche! He said some remarkably hurtful things to Juliet but those things also helped her. It was both tragic and empowering. And in the end, they helped each other become stronger, better versions of themselves.
Jax comes off as self-assured and this mighty force but we soon see that it’s a mask to cover all the horrors he’s endured. We get glimpses into his past and it’s almost more than we can bare. The things he went through at the hands of someone who should have protected him was torturous to read but it also explained a lot. I knew his story would be epic and getting to know him would be hard and exquisite at the same time and I wasn’t disappointed.
And the steam factor?? Holy smokes people. This book was more adult/erotic than new adult/contemporary. Penelope Douglas has graduated from sweet and sultry to deliciously wicked and sinfully sexy. I was blown away by the love scenes. They were well written and butterfly inducing.
And I’m REALLY glad these characters were over eighteen or else I would have felt really icky afterwards... well, maybe not but I would have at least pretended to feel icky :D
We also get to see plenty of our favorites from the past. Jared and Tate, who are on shaky ground. Maddox and Fallon who are delightfully married and we also get to see some other interesting characters plugged into this engaging and wonderful story that just rounds everything out perfectly.
Now For the Buts... Yeah, I Know.. Everyone’s A Critic!
I’m sure you’re wondering, if this book was so perfect, then why not 5 stars, right? Well, though I totally got off on the angst and the steamy-sexy, there were some things that I didn’t care for. First, the recreation of the Jared/Tate conflict with the loud music, slamming parties, skirt chasing and the alpha-jerk playing meanboy to the innocent girl left me a little disappointed. Though Jax did class things up, it felt like something that was wonderful and uniquely Jared and Tates was being rebooted.
Second, Jax’s douchebaggery comes to an all time high when he tries to push Juliet away after realizing she loves him and the length he goes to was, in my opinion, hurtful to his character. I understood it and even accepted it, but it also made me see something in him I didn’t like.
Lastly, Jax, in his epic downward spiral, decides to take Jared with him. He throws down a complete mindfuck on Jared causing him to “see a future” that scares him right out of Tate's arms. I knew this was a set up for the next book but it BROKE. MY. SOUL!! Jax twisted something beautiful and now I kind of need to give him a spanking before I’ll feel better about that.
The Wrap Up:
All in all, another win from Fall Away Lane. I knew the moment we got word we would be getting this story that I was going to love it... and I wasn't disappointed. It was heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time.
PS...
Dear Penelope, that sneak peak at the end of the book GUTTED ME!!! Jared and Tate are still my absolute favorite and I'm beyond broken.. I cried... I CRIED!! And I LOVED it! I’m sooooo excited for the continuation of their story. Bring on the angsts woman! I got a stockpile of wine and an entire bin of chocolate! April can't get here soon enough...
Oh and Thank You in advance for the "more" :D Jared and Tate needed this closure and I know it’s going to be perfect!
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