Review: After We Fall by Marquita Valentine (Take the Fall #3)
Note: This ARC was provided by Random House Publishing Group - Loveswept in exchange for an honest review.
After We Fall is the third and latest novel in bestselling author Marquita Valentine's Take the Fall series. The main characters here--twenty-eight-year-old police officer Hunter Sloan and twenty-six-year-old animal shelter tech Evangeline Ambrose--were introduced in the previous novel, When We Fall, just as Hunter was escorting Evangeline to a women's shelter in Forrestville. I'm going to recommend that the two books be read in order so as to give new readers an idea as to what exactly Evangeline was like when she was rescued from the side of the road by Hunter. The series starter, Take the Fall, doesn't necessarily have any direct bearing or connection this third novel, but there is connection between it and the novel that follows it, so if you're like me and you like having complete back stories on all the characters that you come across in a series, read the three currently available novels. That being said, I was a teeny, tiny bit surprised that this latest installment was about Hunter and Evangeline, but that was greatly due to the fact that another supporting character in the second book, Emmett Dunning, had featured more prominently.
It's been six months after Hunter took Evangeline to a local women's shelter, but he still hasn't been able to forget about her. She isn't the first woman he's ever helped from a dire situation, but she's the only who's affected him. Maybe it's because she's the victim of domestic abuse, something that resonates with Hunter since he and his mother endured far too many years being regularly abused by Hunter's father. When Evangeline ends up being his new neighbor, Hunter wants nothing more than to become close to her. However, Evangeline is wary of men in general and while Hunter may have been her rescuer, she doesn't trust him and doesn't like the idea of owing him anything. Slowly but surely, though, Hunter shows Evangeline that he's nothing like her soon-to-be ex-husband, allowing her to get used to him and earning her trust in the process. But Evangeline's past refuses to fully set her free, and when she learns that Hunter is keeping secrets, she may soon find herself wondering if she truly knows the man she's falling for.
This was an interesting story that has Evangeline not just learning to trust Hunter but learning to trust herself and her feelings as well. While I wouldn't call what Hunter feels for Evangeline as insta-love, he is somewhat overly attached to her, considering that all he knows about her prior to them becoming neighbors is what was in her case file. I think the fact that she was in a similar situation as his mother is the main reason he was so drawn to her. I did like, though, that he gave her as much time and space as he could in the beginning, and that he didn't pressure her for more than she was able to give. I do wish, however, that there was a bit more attention paid to Evangeline finding ways to overcome the trauma her estranged husband left her with instead of glossing over and focusing more on the romance element. Two of the brightest spots in the story belong to Saylor Dean--who gets her own story with firefighter Hayden Walker in book four--and Jake the foster dog, and they helped make After We Fall more of a four-star level read. ♥
Release Date: 26 April 2016
Date Read: 26 April 2016
Learn more about Marquita Valentine.
Purchase After We Fall on Amazon | B&N | Kobo.
It's been six months after Hunter took Evangeline to a local women's shelter, but he still hasn't been able to forget about her. She isn't the first woman he's ever helped from a dire situation, but she's the only who's affected him. Maybe it's because she's the victim of domestic abuse, something that resonates with Hunter since he and his mother endured far too many years being regularly abused by Hunter's father. When Evangeline ends up being his new neighbor, Hunter wants nothing more than to become close to her. However, Evangeline is wary of men in general and while Hunter may have been her rescuer, she doesn't trust him and doesn't like the idea of owing him anything. Slowly but surely, though, Hunter shows Evangeline that he's nothing like her soon-to-be ex-husband, allowing her to get used to him and earning her trust in the process. But Evangeline's past refuses to fully set her free, and when she learns that Hunter is keeping secrets, she may soon find herself wondering if she truly knows the man she's falling for.
This was an interesting story that has Evangeline not just learning to trust Hunter but learning to trust herself and her feelings as well. While I wouldn't call what Hunter feels for Evangeline as insta-love, he is somewhat overly attached to her, considering that all he knows about her prior to them becoming neighbors is what was in her case file. I think the fact that she was in a similar situation as his mother is the main reason he was so drawn to her. I did like, though, that he gave her as much time and space as he could in the beginning, and that he didn't pressure her for more than she was able to give. I do wish, however, that there was a bit more attention paid to Evangeline finding ways to overcome the trauma her estranged husband left her with instead of glossing over and focusing more on the romance element. Two of the brightest spots in the story belong to Saylor Dean--who gets her own story with firefighter Hayden Walker in book four--and Jake the foster dog, and they helped make After We Fall more of a four-star level read. ♥
Release Date: 26 April 2016
Date Read: 26 April 2016
Learn more about Marquita Valentine.
Purchase After We Fall on Amazon | B&N | Kobo.
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