ARC Review: Falling Away (Fall Away #3) by Penelope Douglas

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: January 6, 2015
Publisher: NAL Trade
432 Pages

From the New Adult sensation and New York Times bestselling author of Rival

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 they grow closer, 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.…

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I tend to pick up a lot of New Adult novels either at the second or third in the series. Luckily for me, most NA series can be read as individual books and still be understood. Falling Away was no different. Jaxon and K.C. have a history, not in the way that they have dated, but they went to high school together and they definitely noticed each other. 

Now it's after high school and K.C. has gotten into a bit of trouble. Forced to leave college and serve out her sentence in her hometown, she ends up running into the one boy she thought she had left behind. K.C. tries her hardest to stay away from Jaxon, but Jaxon won't stand for that. Having K.C. this close again is something he won't let slip away.

There were parts of this book that I liked and there were parts that rubbed me the wrong way. Douglas doesn't really touch on anything new in the NA genre, just follows pretty much the same formula of other authors. It's a predictable journey but it's what the author brings to the table that makes or breaks the book. In this case, I kind of stand in the middle. 

I enjoyed K.C.'s spunk. She knew her life was in a rut and she was trying to figure out how to change that. She also knew that Jaxon was probably the worst person for her, yet she couldn't ignore him or their attraction. What I didn't like about K.C. was how she hid behind who everyone thought she was. She came from a pretty messed up family situation (really messed up) and I guess I just wanted her to fight more for independence. And also that it wasn't so much a guy who made her see her worth.

Then there was Jaxon. A troubled kid with a temper. Typical bad boy with a heart, one who rarely shows emotions. Jaxon is now a king of sorts in the town K.C. left behind. Everyone knows him and everyone loves him, but he's hiding the demons of his past and with K.C. around, they just keep threatening to slip out. I honestly still cannot tell you if I liked or disliked Jaxon. But one thing I will say is, I didn't like how he handled his anger or how possessive he was. That is just not attractive.

The part of this story that I liked was the fighting for freedom from the past. Both characters had horrible back story's and I liked reading about them breaking through those walls. Unfortunately, I felt those scenes were too far and in between. They seemed to get weighed down by the heavy drama and the sex. Same goes with the chemistry between K.C. and Jaxon. I didn't feel it. Their attraction seemed to be strictly based on sex and that was all that happened anytime they were within five feet of each other. They were either fighting or having sex.

While this book maybe didn't rub me the right way, I did like Douglas's style of writing and am interested in reading the others in this series. Jaxon just wasn't my swoonworthy guy.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Blog Tour: Falling Away Countdown + Giveaway!

I am so excited to be a part of the FALLING AWAY countdown to release! The third in the Fall Away series that asks about the one that got away. What if you got another shot at an opportunity that you thought had passed you by long ago? 

FALLING AWAY (FALL AWAY #3)

by Penelope Douglas

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: January 6, 2014
Publisher: NAL Trade
432 Pages

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 they grow closer, 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.…

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NAL is offering up 10 sets of FALLING AWAY and RIVAL to 10 lucky winners (2 books each). US residents only, sorry international folks. To enter, simply fill out the Rafflecopter below: 

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     As he made his way back through town, the only sound we could hear was the water on the streets being kicked up under the tires. He’d silenced the radio, we weren’t talking . . . and I felt as if he’d switched off.

     Everything had felt alive when he kissed me. His heart under my palm. His breath in my mouth. His hands roaming over my skin as if they were trying to memorize every inch of me.

     Now he was a bullet. Going from point A to point B without hesitation. 

     Until his flat tone finally filled the car. “Come home with me.” It wasn’t a question, and I couldn’t hear a trace of emotion.

     I turned to him, stunned. “Are you serious?” I asked. “I don’t think I’d be enough for you.”

    “Don’t do that,” he shot back. “Don’t ruin what happened between us. You were fire in my hands, and I want you to remember it, K.C.” 

     I could feel his eyes on me as I clasped the strap of Tate’s messenger bag sitting on the floor. 

     “Clothed, naked, I don’t care . . . ” He trailed off, sounding almost sad. “As long as your lips are on me again.

     I shifted in the seat, trying to buy myself time. What I wanted and what I should do were two different things. I’d fought that battle with Liam, my mother, and hell, the list went on. It was true when I told Jax that I wanted to be a mess. But I didn’t want to get hurt. 

     “Thanks for the lesson,” I said. “And the ride. But I’m not like you, Jax. I don’t just ignore the rules and take what I want.”

     “You don’t know me.” His tone turned defensive. “You know nothing about me.”

     “And what do you know about me?” I threw back. “Other than you wanted me to spread my legs in high school? You want to have fun with me and nothing more, Jax. Find someone else.”

     He jerked the steering wheel to the right, and I grabbed the door handle to keep from vaulting over to his side of the car as he sped up into his driveway. 

     My heart jumped into my throat, and I shot out my hand, grabbing the dash when he skidded to a quick halt in front of his garage. 

    “Jax, Jesus!” I scolded. 

     He shut off the car, yanked the parking brake up, and turned to look at me, leaning his forearm on the steering wheel. “You think I don’t know you?” he challenged.

     I pursed my lips. “Other than that I’m gutless and helpless, no.”

     He shook his head. “You want to travel. To unusual and dangerous places. You hid a binder full of National Geographic pages in your locker in high school because you didn’t want your mom to see all the pictures you’d torn out to keep track of the places you wanted to visit.”

     My jaw dropped slightly, and I widened my eyes. What?

     He continued. “You didn’t eat lunch for an entire month senior year, because you saw Stu Levi not eating and found out his single mom was out of work and couldn’t afford to put money on his lunch card. So you put your own money on it. Anonymously.”

     How did . . . ?

    “You love dark chocolate,” he kept going, “Ricky Gervais, and any movie with singing and dancing.” His voice filled the car, and my heartbeat was in my ears. “Except The Wizard of Oz, because the witch freaks you out, right? And you’ve collected almost an entire set of vintage Nancy Drew books. You had the most badges in your troop in Girl Scouts, and you had to quit swimming when you were fourteen because your mom said that your shoulders were getting too muscular and you wouldn’t look feminine. You loved swimming,” he added.

     I wrapped my arms around my stomach, the air turning cold. Tate and Liam didn’t even know all that.

     “I didn’t drool all over you in high school, K.C. I listened to you. I paid attention to you. What the hell do you know about me?”

     And he swung the car door open, climbed out, and slammed it shut, not waiting for an answer.

     I sat there, watching him walk into his house and close the door.

     Then the tears spilled over, and as much as I wanted to prove him wrong, I couldn’t go after him. He didn’t know that I’d watched him, too. He didn’t know that I’d paid attention as well.

     I always saw him.

     “Music centers you,” I whispered to an empty car, staring at his front door. “You listened to your iPod between classes and while you sat on the bleachers before school every morning.” I smiled, letting more tears run down my cheeks and thinking back to him and his black hoodies, looking so dark. “You love popcorn. Almost every kind and flavor but especially with Tabasco sauce,” I said, remembering the times he would come into the theater where I worked. “You hold the door open for women—students, teachers, and even old ladies coming out of Baskin-Robbins. You love movies about natural disasters, but they have to have some comedy in them. Your favorite one is Armageddon.” I swallowed and thought about how little I’d ever seen Jax truly smile. “And while you love computers, it’s not your passion,” I concluded. “You love being outdoors. You love having space.” My whole face hurt, the last words barely audible. “And you deserve someone who makes you happy. I’m just not that person.”

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So who wants more? Don't forget to come back tomorrow when I will be posting my review of FALLING AWAY!

Thank you to NAL Trade for letting me join the tour and providing both an excerpt and giveaway!