6 Stars"I wasn't always in love with Colton Calloway; I was in love with his younger brother, Kyle, first."
Um, wow! I am a bit speechless right now. I did not read the blurb for this book. Jasinda asked Kim and I to read and review, the cover looked awesome so I said ok and just dived right in. Glad I had no clue what the book was about because at about 26% Jasinda rocked my world and handed me my shredded heart on a silver platter. If I had known what I knew at that point beforehand I don't think I would have had the same reaction or connection to Kyle. I loved that I was so clueless. I loved that my heart dived to my stomach and my eyes filled with big fat tears that just kept right on pouring through half the book and then some. Falling into You was filled with a roller coaster of emotions, including angst, love, fear, pain, guilt, and a glimmer of hope.
I adored Nell and Kyle together. I loved that they had been best friends since they were wee tots. Their love was strong and it was a true love, well as true as it could be at 16-18 years old. I found myself smiling over the romantic things Kyle said and did. I was completely and utterly invested in them. Then out of nowhere, Nell's world turned upside down and fell out from beneath her and so did mine. I hurt with her. My heart shattered into pieces for her and Kyle. I felt as broken as Nell did. I wondered how the author was going to pull off her healing, how she would help her move forward past the grief, the pain, the guilt, the loneliness.
"It wasn't a tear. I wouldn't cry. Couldn't. To let it go would be to open my soul. It would never stop. I would break...just shatter. The liquid on my cheek was blood, surging out from my ripped and tattered heart."
Enter Colton Calloway. Colt was perfection wrapped up in his own pain, his own loss. He had walls wrapped so high around his heart, allowing no one in until Nell. Colt lived the life of a bad boy until a few tragedies struck and he found his self-navigating the "straight and narrow." He no longer wanted a life that offered him nothing but destruction. Colt understood the pain and the guilt that riddled Nell. He pushed her, but not so hard that he couldn't catch her when she fell. My heart ached so many times for this misguided man who showed tremendous loyalty, protectiveness, and vulnerability. His choices were not always smart, but they shaped him into the man who will stand strong next to Nell offering her the strength and love she will need to move forward.
"But Colton is...I'm safe with him. He draws the truth out of me. He draws the pain out of me. Colton knows pain. He's intimately familiar with it. Lives with it. Guilt too. Colton has secrets, and I want to know them all."
I was blown away by Colton and his determination to love Nell while helping her face current day reality. Although, he moved slow he didn't enable her, in addition, he also didn't allow her to continue on a destructive path. Colt helped find the courage to search within herself to find the forgiveness she needed from herself in order to move past the guilt she had been holding on to for years. Their relationship was so hard to read at some points. The pain just radiated off the page, it was raw and intense. The need they felt for each other was agonizing and all-consuming at times. Their chemistry was off the charts, and scared the living day lights out of Nell, making her doubt everything she knew with Kyle. Colt and Nell struggled, emotionally and mentally she was a train wreck, but he stood next to her side through it all. Each felt their own brand of guilt as they journeyed through the pain.
"Feel. Grieve. Let yourself feel all the anger at the fact that he was taken from you. Feel the loss of him. Feel the sadness and the missing him. Don't block it out, don't cut so it stops, don't drink yourself numb. Just sit and let it rip you apart. And then get up and keep breathing. One breath at a time. One day at a time. Wake up, and be shredded. Cry for a while. Then stop crying and go about your day. You're not ok, but you're alive, and you will be ok, someday."
"We understand each other, Nelly. We've both have scars and regrets and anger. We can do this together."
This is my first read by Jasinda Wilder, and boy did she wreck my world while slowly placing it all back together piece by piece. This was a story of how light can shine through the bitter darkness and offer a second chance at life. I really enjoyed her writing style, her characters and story line were so well developed. I will definitely search out more reads by her. I also enjoyed the alternating point of views, it helped keep me well invested in them and their outcome. I highly recommend this book and author!
Thank you to Jasinda Wilder for the opportunity to take this wild ride with Nell and Colton. Author provided an ARC of Falling into You in exchange for an honest review.
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I'm left slightly speechless and grasping for the right words to describe what this book has done to me. I will confess that during the first 30% I was happy, sad, nervous, excited and so many more emotions but the one that struck me hardest was the heart wrenching grief. It's ok it gets better but Gee it was so soul tearing I cried big ugly tears. I had puffy eyes and a runny nose and I had to put the book down at 1am in fear of looking like a crazy zombie who had an allergic reaction my eyes were so red, bloodshot and swollen.The start of the story introduces us to Kyle and the girl next door/ best friend/ possible girlfriend Nell. They have grown up together, literally their birthdays only days apart. We see at age 16 they realise they have an attraction and love beyond just friendship. We see this love develop over a couple of years and then we see it ripped away and hearts shredded in the process. Lives change and futures affected. The writing is so brilliant you can't help but feel the crushing grief and heartbreak Nell feels. Nell meets Colton, Kyles older brother by 5yrs, and there's an instant attraction, a feeling of safeness and a calm that seems to soothe her broken soul. Ultimately Nell pushes Colton away in a feeling of guilt and betrayal to Kyle.
2yrs later we see them meet again and express to each other how they feel through songs they busk at Central Park NY. We learn Nell hasn't let herself grieve for over 2yrs, we learn she has developed a habit of replacing emotional pain with physical pain and drinking herself numb. It takes a lot of persistence from Colton and an understanding of her cutting habit due to his past that allows them to "trade" secrets.
The characters have many deep issues and the writing style allows you to delve into their thoughts with alternating parts from each characters perspective. They have many hurdles to overcome, some mental, some emotional while others are physical hurdles. We are there for their journey and I found myself rooting for a HeA between Nell and Colton. It seemed they were perfect for each other and just what the other needed to heal the wounds of the past.
**************I STRONGLY URGE YOU TO READ THIS BOOK*******************
It is a rollercoaster of emotions and there will be some big fat ugly tears so prepare the tissues. I particulalry loved the refrences to songs throughout the story and found when they were mentioned I would hunt the song on iTunes and listen to it whilst emerging myself in that scene.
The way the book ended left it open for a possible follow up with a deeper story about their journey in the future. At the same time the ending didn't leave me feeling like I didn't get closure because I did.
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This is one of the most interesting books I have ever read. I couldn't put it down once I started. It had so many twist. This book makes you very in touch with your emotions. I felt like I was in there conversations I found myself putting in my input even when I know they couldn't hear me! I would recommend this book for anyone that loves an awesome romance!Want Falling Into You [Kindle Edition] Discount?
This was a nice young love story at the beginning, then turned into a hot adult, intense, love story. I love books that bring you from happy to sad to happy and so forth. This book definitely did that.
