New Adult Contemporary Romance
Release June 2, 2014
Fall to You is
the second book in the Here and Now series. It is not a stand-alone and is
intended to be read following Lost in Me.
Hanna’s story concludes in book three, All
for This.
Torn between two men…
When I woke up after the accident,
I couldn’t remember anything from the last year—including my relationship with
Max Hallowell or anything about Nate Crane. Now my memories are returning, but
instead of answering my questions, they’re leaving me with more.
The man who broke my heart and wants to be my future…
Max is all I ever wanted, and
now he wants to marry me. He’ll do everything he can to fill my life with love,
family, and security. I need those things now more than ever. But can I trust
him?
The man who stole my heart and wants to let me go…
Nate never made me promises,
and I never asked him to. I’d been on the rebound, looking for a distraction,
and he made me feel beautiful and wanted when I needed to feel those things
most. He says he has to let me go, but what if I can’t let go of him?
With every revelation and
every passing day, I feel more like Alice down the rabbit hole. I’m falling.
Who will catch me?
Fall To You is a fantastic follow up to Lost In Me from the Here and Now series. I absolutely give this book 4.5 stars! After the OMG cliff hanger from Lost In Me, I have waited (not so patiently) for the follow-up book in the series because I desperately need the answers to so many of the questions that ran through my head while reading. Will Hanna regain the all of the memories from before her accident? Who was behind her fall down the stairs? Does Max truly love her, or is she still not his type? And the most important question of all, WHO is responsible for the dramatic last line in Fall To You???? Lexi Ryan surpassed all of the expectations that I had and then some with this book! I loved that this book was written from Hanna, Max & Nate's POV (I am team Nate all the way) and that the plot traveled back to a time frame that started before her accident, filling in details to many of the scenes that took place in the first book. Hanna has an internal struggle throughout this book, even more so then in the first, to accept herself, in whatever shape or size she comes in. To understand that she is beautiful and worthy of love, as well as learning and accepting that her feelings matter and she can't always shove them aside to help others. Although the book ends with another stellar cliff hanger, I wouldn't have wanted it to end any other way. I will wait once more with baited breathe for the next book because I need to know what will happened (like yesterday!). This series is a must read for all! You're heart will break at times for each of the character's internal struggles and will burst with happiness at the strength that you can feel Hanna begins to have while reading.
A couple of my favorite lines from the book:
Hanna~"I didn't come here looking for forever. I came here looking for tonight. I'm not worried about tomorrow. Worrying about tomorrow never got me anywhere. The only thing that matters is here and now"
Max~ "You aren't my type because you give and give and give and that scares the fuck out of me. Someone like Meredith could never hurt me. She's too hardened to get close enough to hurt me. But you? You open your heart so much and get so close that I'm more vulnerable than ever."
A couple of my favorite lines from the book:
Hanna~"I didn't come here looking for forever. I came here looking for tonight. I'm not worried about tomorrow. Worrying about tomorrow never got me anywhere. The only thing that matters is here and now"
Max~ "You aren't my type because you give and give and give and that scares the fuck out of me. Someone like Meredith could never hurt me. She's too hardened to get close enough to hurt me. But you? You open your heart so much and get so close that I'm more vulnerable than ever."
Nate~ "You came along right when I needed an escape. You smile and I forget the bullshit of the world."
Fall to You was the second book in the Here and Now series and you need to read Lost in Me first because it isn't a standalone. This book does end with a cliffy! The first book had a cliffy too but this cliffy by far blew my mind. But I sort of figured it would be but damn did the ending blow my mind. Lexi Ryan knows how to write a very suspenseful and sexy novel. She is now on the top list of one of my favorite authors! This series has kept me on my toes and begging for more. I devoured every page, and just when you think you have it all figured out and you think you know who Hanna is going to choose she will twist it around and give your mind a hangover. If your reading this review I really hope you read the first book and know that its a love triangle between Hanna, Max and Nate. I have to say I am still torn between who I want Hanna to end up with, I will not be able to make my decision until all the little dirty details are revealed. I did cry in this book and had an almost kindle throwing moment. But I have to say I love books that can bring out emotions in me. This is not just a typical romance story it deals with many issues and I am thankful for that. I love when its a twisted romance and obstacles stand in the way.
This story will jump from past to present so some may get a little confused but I feel like it needed to happen that way so we could get all the details...even though there are some I am dying to know! I can't wait for the next one because I may just be sitting on the edge of my seat until it comes out. You will fall more in Love with Nate and Max in this story and you will swoon hard over both of them. Lexi does make it hard for you to choose, but I have a feeling in the 3rd book if the thing I think is going to pull it all together happens I may already have my choice of who I want her to be with!
I wont really mention many details of this book because it may spoil it for some that haven't read the first. But I will tell you this you will get some answers but not all the answers. Be patient I know Lexi will bring an excellent ending because her writing is freaking amazing! What I will leave this review with is some of my favorite lines from all 3 characters. Oh and this was a rocking 5 stars no doubt, and I don't ever rate a cliffy 5 stars!
Hanna-- With every revelation and every passing day, I feel like Alice down the rabbit hole. I'm falling. Who will catch me?
I need this. I've been in such a dark place this week. Since I got the text message and my world imploded. I want to get lost in this man, to spend my evening revealing in superficial attraction---even if it's completely irrational coming from a music god who dates celebrities and can have any woman he wants. But it's there, thrumming between us as clear as the notes he played on his guitar. And that is exactly what I need.
Max- "No." I shake my head and lift my gaze to the ceiling. "I fell so hard for her. I mean, it's like she looked at me and saw this amazing man, and suddenly I wanted to be that guy. I wanted to be better. To earn it. Does that make sense?"
"Not that night," he whispers softly. " That night, I saw you laughing with the bartender and suddenly I saw you for the first time. Before that night, I hadn't seen you as anything other than a little sister, a friend. But suddenly, something clicked and I really looked. When I dragged you upstairs that night, I wasn't thinking about babies or the future. I sure as hell wasn't thinking about your self-esteem. In that moment, all I wanted was to get my hands on this body, make you scream, and fuck you till you were exhausted and in my arms."
Nate- "Because you're sweet, Hanna." His hand moves slowly, tortuously on my thigh. "Too sweet for me to touch right here." He finds my panties with his fingertips and, with whisper-soft pressure, sweeps over my center. His breath is hot and heavy against my ear. "To sweet for me to finger fuck just because I want to feel how wet you are. Too sweet for me to make you cry in pleasure where anyone could hear. To make you come just because I want to feel you fall apart in my arms."
"Oh, but you are." I nuzzle her neck. "You came along right when I needed an escape. You smile and I forget the bullshit of the world. And the sounds you make when I touch you? I could drown in that along. Lose myself in the sound of your screams when you come."
Three Months before Hanna’s Accident
He pushes one dress strap off my shoulder and tugs on the fabric until one lace-covered breast is exposed.
He groans softly. “Your bra matches your panties.”
“What happened to those?”
With a boyish grin, he produces them from the pocket of his jeans. I take them and hold them up. They’re ruined. Torn at both hips. And I’m not the slightest bit upset about it.
I prop my hands on my hips in a pretend pout. “Now what am I going to put on after our shower?”
“If I have my way? Not a damn thing.”
Dropping his head, he puts his mouth to my breast and sucks me through the lace. The sensation is too much—the wet heat of his tongue, the rough texture of the lace, the painful pleasure of his rough mouth. I cry out, and the sound echoes against the walls.
Before I realize what he’s doing with his hands, my dress falls away, puddling at my ankles and leaving me standing there in nothing but my bra and my strappy heels. He slowly drags his mouth from my breast, and my nipple puckers harder in the cool air as Nate steps back to take me in.
This is the part I hate. Men’s assessing eyes on all my imperfections—the stretch marks at my breasts, the extra fat around my stomach, the cellulite on my ass and at the tops of my thighs. There’s nothing sexy about any of these parts of me. And there’s nothing that turns me off more than the disappointment in men’s eyes when they get me naked. It wasn’t like that with Max. But then again, I’ve never let him see me naked—not entirely. And by the time he saw me semi-nude, he was already in love with me.
Or you thought he was.
I focus on Nate and will myself to stop thinking about Max. I won’t let my broken heart ruin this night. This isn’t about love or men who make you feel whole. This is about sex and pleasure and—
Nate lifts his eyes back to mine, and what I see there brings my overactive brain to a screeching halt. Not disappointment. No. The heat in his eyes is undeniable. And it’s for me.
“You couldn’t be more perfect, Hanna.”
I look down, confused. Has someone else’s body magically replaced mine, because…? It’s true that I’ve toned up a bit in these last months while working out with Max, lost maybe ten pounds, but I still don’t have anything near the bodies my sisters have. I’m still the size-sixteen embarrassment I’ve been since adolescence.
Nate tilts my chin up with his thumb. He cocks his head as he studies me. “You really don’t know, do you? Our conversation earlier wasn’t just an act. You have no idea how gorgeous you are.”
I want to shrug it off, but he’s looking at me so intently, I know he expects an answer. “I’ve never been with a guy who was…into big girls.”
He grunts. “Is that what you think this is? Some sort of fetish?”
I shrug and drop my gaze to his throat.
“Hanna, I’m not ‘into big girls,’ as you put it. I like women. Beautiful women. Women who have curves.” He steps forward and twists the front clasp on my bra until it releases. The straps slide off my shoulders, and the bra falls to the floor. “I like breasts,” he murmurs, cupping mine in his hands and brushing his thumbs over my nipples.
I shudder at his touch, that knot of pleasure tightening between my legs.
He steps closer, and my breasts press against his chest. He slides his hands around my back and down until they’re cupping my butt. “And I’m not ashamed to say, I’m a bit of an ass man.” He squeezes. “Fabulous to look at and something to fill my hands when I’m fucking you from behind.”
My breath catches at the image. Fucking me from behind. No doubt he wouldn’t be talking to me like that if he had any idea how inexperienced I am.
“Nate—”
The sight of him dropping to his knees cuts me off. “And this.” He presses his mouth against the curve of my belly. “I’ve been with women who have flat stomachs and women who are soft here. Beauty comes in different shapes, colors, and sizes. There’s no cookie cutter for sexy.”
At the gentle pressure on the inside of my thighs, I widen my stance instinctively, bracing myself on the counter as the most intimate part of me is exposed to him. I shudder as he takes two fingers and traces some invisible line from just below my pubic bone to my center.
“This,” he murmurs. He lifts his gaze to mine and touches his fingers to his lips for a moment. “How turned on you get when I touch you? When I talk to you? It’s is the sexiest fucking thing in world.”
New Politics—Tonight You’re Perfect
Snow Patrol—Chasing Cars
Sarah McLachlan—Angel
Christina Perri—Human
Brooke Fraser—You Can Close Your Eyes
Ed Sheeran—Kiss Me
Coldplay—Magic
Ed Sheeran—Lego House
John Legend—All of Me
Alicia Keys, Adam Levine—Wild Horses
Once a college English professor, I now write full time. I live in rural Indiana, where, when I'm not writing, I get to hang out with my husband and two kids--a six-year-old boy and a two-year-old hellion, er, girl. Not surprisingly, reading and writing remain my favorite activities, though both come in bits and pieces these days, not the big hunks of time I enjoyed before I had children. When I'm feeling virtuous, I like to go running (I use that word liberally. I'm really, really slow) or do yoga. Don't worry, I'm always careful to balance out such activities with a hearty serving of ice cream or a chocolate martini.
