Book Review — After We Fall by Melanie Harlow

“I’m not asking for a promise. I’m asking for a chance. That’s all. A chance.”

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SQUEEEEEEEE!!!!! This was such a wonderful book!! It genuinely warmed my heart and left me feeling so happy. It was an incredibly well balanced story — it will make you laugh out loud in one scene, break your heart in the next, and then have you fanning yourself with how HOT it is!! The hero was former soldier who tragically lost his beloved wife and just never recovered from the loss. The heroine was his complete opposite, a city girl hired to help his business. When they first met, he was grouchy, grumpy, and wanted nothing to do with her — still lost in his grief — but the more they worked together, they were both unable to deny their chemistry… This book truly had it all — HEALING, HOTNESS, and an ADDICTIVE romance!! I seriously LOVED the story and highly recommend it!!

Jack Valentini isn’t my type.

Sexy, brooding cowboys are fine in the movies, but in real life, I prefer a suit and tie. Proper manners. A close shave. Jack might be gorgeous, but he’s also scruffy, rugged, and rude. He wants nothing to do with a “rich city girl” like me, and he isn’t afraid to say so. But I’ve got a PR job to do for his family’s farm, so he’s stuck with me and I’m stuck with him. His glares. His moods. His tight jeans. His muscles. His huge, hard muscles.

Pretty soon there’s a whole different kind of tension between us, the kind that has me misbehaving in barns, trees, and pickup trucks. I’ve never done anything so out of character—but it feels too good to stop. And the more I learn about the grieving ex-Army sergeant, the better I understand him. Losing his wife left him broken and bitter and blaming himself. He doesn’t think he deserves a second chance at happiness.

But he’s wrong.

I don’t need to be his first love. If only he’d let me be his last.

Now usually I’m rooting for the main couple as soon as I know who they are but in this case, Jack had been so crazy in love with his wife that even though we’d never met her within the story, we got to see her through his memories and I honestly wasn’t sure I was ready yet for him to move on (weird as that might sound) so I really genuinely appreciated how open Margot was to speaking about Steph and asking him about her, remembering her, not trying to replace her in any way but just exploring this new thing they had between them. This element of the story was very well done. And I just want to say that the ‘cemetery scene’ especially was SO WELL WRITTEN! I don’t want to give any spoilers about it but I just really felt like everything about the characters came together in such a pivotal way in that scene. It was beautiful!

“Is it strange?” she asked.
I looked over at her. “Is what strange?”
“Being in bed with someone else.”
Returning my eyes to the ceiling, I put my hands behind my head. “Yeah. It is.”
She turned onto her side to face me, tucking her hands beneath her cheek. “I’m glad you didn’t lie and say it wasn’t.”
I focused on her again. “I won’t lie to you. I promise.”

Tortured heroes have always been my favorite and poor Jack was a complete wreck. Between PSTD from his years serving in the military and suffering the devastating loss of the one person he loved more than life itself, he was so far from happiness that he didn’t think he ever deserved to find it again. And yet this unexpected city girl came to his farm and shook up his whole life, made him crave things he didn’t think he wanted, was sure he didn’t deserve, and yet neither of them could stay away from the other no matter how hard they tried…

“So you were looking for a bathroom in the woods?”
“Well, yes.” She swallowed. “Sort of. But then I heard a splash and saw you…” Her cheeks were practically purple now.
I played dumb. “Saw me what?”
“Saw you naked, OK?” she blurted, throwing her hands up. “I admit it—I saw you naked.”
I had no hang-ups about nudity, but I was damn serious about my privacy, and about people sneaking up on me. But her embarrassment was funny. The two times I’d seen her before, she’d been so polished and poised. It felt good to put her in her place a little. “So you climbed a tree for a better view, is that it?”

I read this book in one sitting and didn’t want to put it down. It’s a standalone Adult romance told in alternating first person POVs between Jack and Margot. It’s a full length novel but a fast read because there are just no good stopping points. And for those of you who love epilogues as much as me, you’ll be very pleased with the one in this book! It’s beautiful, heart-warming, and the perfect ending to this story!

“I know I can’t be your first love, but — “
“Shh.” He put a finger over my lips. “I’m not looking for my first love. I’m looking for my last.”

Equal parts humorous, romantic, heart breaking and sexy, this is a well-written, addictive read you won’t want to put down. I highly recommend it as one of my favorites of the year!

Rating: 4.5 stars. Standalone Adult Contemporary Romance.

• Buy AFTER WE FALL (Kindle)
• Buy AFTER WE FALL (Paperback)