Rowena
Written on Nov 18, 2018
The first time I met Jax Blackwood things went a little sideways.
In my defense, I didn’t know he was Jax Blackwood—who expects a legendary rock star to be shopping for groceries? More importantly, a blizzard was coming and he was about to grab the last carton of mint-chocolate chip.
Still, I might have walked away, but then he smugly dared me to try and take the coveted ice cream. So I kissed him. And distracted that mint-chip right out of his hands.
Okay, it was a dirty move, but desperate times and all that. Besides, I never expected he’d be my new neighbor.
An annoying neighbor who takes great pleasure in reminding me that I owe him ice cream but would happily accept more kisses as payment. An irresistible neighbor who keeps me up while playing guitar naked–spectacularly naked–in his living room.
Clearly, avoidance is key. Except nothing about Jax is easy to ignore—not the way he makes me laugh, or that his particular brand of darkness matches mine, or how one look from him melts me faster than butter under a hot sun.
Neither of us believes in love or forever. Yet we’re quickly becoming each other’s addiction. But we could be more. We could be everything.
All we have to do is trust enough to fall.
- ISBN10 1728735289
- ISBN13 9781728735283
- Publish Date 23 October 2018
- Publish Status Active
- Imprint Independently Published
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 450
- Language English
Reviews
stacey_is_sassy
Written on Oct 27, 2018
***4.5 Stars***
I’m struggling to write my review for Fall. It was SO BLOODY GOOD!!! This is my FOURTH attempt and I’m ready to just say...It’s good...Buy it. I’m exhausted after spending most of my day reading this emotional book. My eyes are still puffy from the few times I’ve cried today. I even went willingly with hubby to do the grocery shopping today, just to step away from all the emotions.
The characters were real, and I absolutely LOVED them. The storyline had me enthralled from the very first page and I couldn’t wait to get to know John and Stella better. The love story was sweet and at times heartbreaking, but it was realistic that there were hiccups along the way. Sure, there were plenty of tears, but there were also laughing moments and times where I wanted to jump into the pages and be a part of their world.
Seriously, Kill John (the band) and their entourage are wonderful. The VIP series has been brilliant, and I love that we’re not expected to just move on and forget about the previous couples. They are all part of each story, we see them moving forward, growing in their relationships and changing as time goes by. If you were a fan of Managed, you should read this story just to see Scottie in all his happy ever after glory. I loved having Mr Gandy (Scottie) back and he’s better than ever, in all his suited glory.
Fall does touch on the subject of mental illness. I found myself reflecting on the times in my life when I too felt lonely or in my head. I could completely relate to John wanting to just be left alone to deal with it by himself. His fame and fortune made it seem strange for him to have moments of doubt or loneliness.
John isn’t the only one who has issues though, Stella has her own brand of things to deal with. Stella is quite lonely, which is surprising as her business revolves around friendship. Her father was and is an absolute douchewaffle and I hated that she was left with emotional scars from dealing with him. With Stella coming into John's life, it was great to see their friendship blossom before they even contemplated a romantic relationship.
Kristen Callihan has written a smart and thoughtful story. It was obvious that she knew her subject matter and she made sure to make it as realistic as possible. We’re not expected to believe that John is “fixed” by Stella’s love. It was obvious that there will always be times of struggle for both John and Stella. Love is worth the risk and the effort for John and Stella.
I did remove half a star because I was a little disappointed in the number of errors I noticed. I don’t expect perfection but these were glaringly obvious.
I enjoyed the journey to love that Stella and John travelled. Their initial meeting was a crack up and there was a sizzling connection from the start. Fall is not an easy read or a light read and I have the puffy eyes to prove it. It was a good read and left me thoroughly satisfied with a big goofy grin on my face. I can’t wait for more in the VIP series.
Cocktails and Books
Written on Oct 26, 2018
Cocktails and Books received this book for free from Inkslinger PR in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect our opinion of the book or the content of our review.I've enjoyed this series, but Kristen Callihan gives us something special with Fall.
If you've read this series, you know what happened with Jax two years ago and what that did to Kill John. Finally, we get to see how John is dealing with his life and trying to make changes. It's clearly not as easy for John as he wants everyone to think, but he's trying. Enter Stella.
Stella has her own baggage, dealing with her sudden lack of a home and the abandonment of her father, but when she fights with John over a pint of mint chip ice cream, she has a connection with him. A connection neither of them can deny.
The setup to get these two connected again seemed hokey, but I let that go to continue on with the witty dialogue these two had with each other. It was clear Stella gave John that bit of grounding he needed to turn off his dark thoughts, but I kept wondering as I read on what was going to be the tipping point that was going to set John off.
Mental illness is such a tough topic and the author does it justice by giving us a realistic view on what people go through and what it means to love someone with it.
Romance Schmomance
Written on Oct 8, 2018
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The VIP series were the first books that I've read by Kristen Callihan and I've been dying to read Jax's story. To be honest, it has been a long time since I've read this series, so I think a re-read is in order. I can't say that I have a whole lot of rockstar romances that I absolutely love, but this book will always be a fave. We get to see the much deeper side of this life and how absolutely crazy it can be. I fell head over heels in love with Jax and Stella and just their story, overall. It's emotional, it's real and absolutely beautiful. With all the fame, there can also be a much darker and painful side that many never see.
I could never imagine being famous nor would I ever want to be. To me, there's nothing appealing about being in the spotlight, I feel like eventually, it takes its toll on you and just sucks your soul! In this book, we witness 2 years after Jax hit rock bottom and he's still trying to figure everything out in his life. And in enters Stella Grey, who just comes crashing into his life. The first chapter was easily one of my favorites, it's when they first meet and it's absolutely comical. Every man should know that you should never come between a woman and her sweets! My husband knows better and reading this hilarious event unfold had me in fits and I fell in love with Stella almost instantly.
I really enjoyed how their story started off with a lot of humor and banter that'll have you snickering for days and it transitions into another layer where we see some depth of Callihan's main characters. When a new job that Stella takes on ends up having her being neighbors with Jax, once they get past all that loathing, she begins to see past his attractive ways. And she quickly realizes that she understands him more than he thinks she does, there's definitely something akin between these two.
Jax has a bit of a battle to get through before we see that happy ending. And I appreciated the way Kristen wrote about Jax and handling his mental health. It's something that's very real and relatable and I loved that she didn't gloss over it or try to tuck away in a corner to be ignored.
Stella was more than willing to walk next to him and give Jax everything he'd need to get past his demons. But Jax needed to take that big leap into the unknown with her. To love, to trust; something that didn't come easy for the both of them.
I can't tell you enough about how much I loved this book, it's easily my favorite in the series. It was easily a one-sitting kind of read and don't even get me started on the number of times that I teared up reading their beautiful story. Callihan flawlessly weaves us a story where we're quickly transitioned between lightheartedness and the feels.
FALL is a book that everyone needs to add to the top of their TBR!