If We Leap / If We Fall (What If Duet .5 & 1) by Nina Lane-Review & Excerpt Tour
IF WE FALL
(What If Duet #1)
by Nina Lane
Genre: adult, contemporary, romance
Release Date: August 30, 2018
Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo / Google Play
ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 30, 2018
We fell in love. Then our world fell apart.
I wished so hard for Cole Danforth. And one day, he came true. He was my first boyfriend, my first lover, my first and only love. He should also have been my last.
But in a split-second, we were ripped apart, our lives broken, my heart shattered.
After ten years, I’ve returned to my hometown, the place of my greatest joy and darkest pain.
Cole is still here, but the beautiful boy I’d loved is gone. Now he’s a ruthless, unforgiving man determined to feed both my hatred and my lust.
Then our torturous past encroaches again, trapping us in a violent storm.
But this time, there is no escape.
•••••••••••
REVIEW: IF WE FALL is the first full length instalment in Nina Lane’s contemporary, adult WHAT IF Duet focusing on artist Josie Mays, and distillery owner Cole Danforth. For backstory and history I recommend reading the prequel novella-IF WE LEAP (see below).
Told from dual first person perspectives (Josie and Cole) IF WE FALL follows in the aftermath of a rekindling relationship between artist Josie Mays, and distillery owner Cole Danforth. Ten years earlier Josie Mays’ life was destroyed; her heart broken; and the boy that she loved walked away without looking back. From childhood best friends to high school / college sweethearts and lovers, Josie and Cole had been everything for one another but one night destroyed it all. Fast forward to present day wherein Josie May returns to her hometown of Castille, Maine in an effort to pay homage to the people she loved by painting a mural for the Castille Historical Society. Enter Cole Danforth, the only man that Josie has ever loved, and the man that broke what was left of her shredded heart. What ensues is the rekindling romance between Josie and Cole, and the potential fall-out as the truth about what happened years before may send Josie into a spiral from which she may never return.
IF WE FALL is a story of family, friendship, secrets and revenge. Cole has struggled all of his life to fit into the mould his father endeavored to present to the world. In private, Cole’s earlier years were a living h*ll but the public only saw what his father wanted them to see- a dedicated and respected businessman whose only son struggled to fit into his life. Years later, Cole’s actions begin to divide a town that was once dependant upon his father’s power, a power Cole is unwilling to propagate and pretend. Cold and damaged, Cole keeps secret the truth about the who, how, and why including what appears to be a calculated attempt to destroy the town. Josie Mays had fallen in love with the misunderstood Cole from the time she was nine years old, a love that has never waivered in the face of rejection, heartbreak and engulfing darkness. Returning to Castille, Josie suspected she would come face to face with her past but her past continues to push Josie out of his life.
The relationship between Josie and Cole is a friends to lovers/ second chance romance between two wounded souls who have loved one another for most of their lives. Josie knew that Cole’s home life wasn’t all hearts and flowers, and in this Josie was determined to be Cole’s anchor in an every worsening storm. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate, without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.
IF WE FALL is an emotional, heart breaking and raw story line about love, lies and deception; hidden secrets and public perception. The premise is gritty and gripping; the romance is intimate and breath-taking; the characters are broken, tragic and lost. Nina Lane’s impassioned writing style is palpable; her characters and series come to life with every turn of the page. IF WE FALL ends of a cliff-hanger-you have been warned.
Copy supplied for review
Reviewed by Sandy
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IF WE LEAP
(What If Duet .5)
by Nina Lane
Genre: new adult,contemporary, romance
FREE ebook: Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo / Google Play
ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 18, 2018
Will he take the leap with me?
Cole Danforth was a troubled kid with a bad reputation. When I was nine years old, he rescued me from bullies trying to steal my Halloween candy. Thus began my decade-long crush on him.
Now, the summer after my freshman year in college, I discover the boy has turned into a gorgeous man who makes me melt. Every part of me wants him — my heart, my mind, my body. But Cole, struggling with the burden of his past, refuses to accept how good we are together.
I believe in us hard enough to take the chance. But will Cole take the leap of faith with me?
This novella prequel takes place ten years before If We Fall, Book One in Nina Lane’s What If duet.
••••••••
REVIEW: IF WE LEAP is the prequel novella in Nina Lane’s contemporary, adult WHAT IF Duet focusing on Cole Danforth, and Josie Mays.
Told from dual first person perspectives (Josie and Cole) IF WE LEAP takes place ten years (and more) prior to the events of book one IF WE FALL. The reader is up close and personal as seven-year old Josie Mays meets her would-be rescuer, ten-year old Cole Danforth, a trouble young boy who grows into a broken young man. From first love to heart breaking sorrow IF WE LEAP follows the building relationship and romance of two college age sweethearts whose lives are about to spiral out of control.
IF WE LEAP tells some of the backstory and history between our leading couple, and Cole’s dysfunctional family fall-out as a troubled reputation follows wherever he goes. The premise is revealing and inviting; the romance is passionate and tender; the characters are spirited, edgy and tragic.
Reviewed by Sandy
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IF WE FLY
What If Duet #2
by Nina Lane
Release Date: September 13, 2018
Pre Order: Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo / Google Play
We fell in love. Then our world fell apart.
I wished so hard for Cole Danforth. And one day, he came true. He was my first boyfriend, my first lover, my first and only love. He should also have been my last.
But in a split-second, we were ripped apart, our lives broken, my heart shattered.
After ten years, I’ve returned to my hometown, the place of my greatest joy and darkest pain.
Cole is still here, but the beautiful boy I’d loved is gone. Now he’s a ruthless, unforgiving man determined to feed both my hatred and my lust.
Then our torturous past encroaches again, trapping us in a violent storm.
But this time, there is no escape.
“Name?”
“Josephine Mays.”
“Let her in.”
I turn off the intercom and unlock my office door. A few minutes pass before the door flies open. Josie barges in, her hands fisted and an angry light in her eyes.
“You are an asshole,” she snaps.
“I’ve been told.”
“How dare you pull that kind of stunt?”
“It’s the truth.”
“And we both know damned well you brought it up only because I’m involved.” She tosses her backpack and art portfolio onto a chair. She’s trembling with anger. “I don’t care what you think about me, but bringing the people of this town into our personal shit is low, even for you.”
My shoulders tense. “Even for me? What do you know about me?”
“Nothing anymore.” She slams her hands to her hips, her features twisting. “But I used to know everything about you. Do you remember that? Then you walked out on me right when I needed you the most, proving you were never the man I thought you were. Now I find out that you run this company like a dictator, you’re crushing independent businesses and putting people out of work, and you’re publicly trying to stop me from creating a mural that’s intended for both this town and my parents. What the hell happened to you?”
“You happened to me.”
The words fly out of my mouth before I can stop them. The pencil I’m holding breaks in two with the force of my grip.
Josie steps back, her eyes widening. Her dark hair is windblown, her cheeks flushed, her chest heaving under her old army jacket. I’d once had the right to comb her hair back from her forehead, slide my palm over her neck before edging my fingers into her V-necked T-shirt…
Anger crushes my chest. I shove away from my desk and stride toward her. Fear flashes in her green eyes, which pisses me off even more. When the fuck was she ever afraid of me?
I grab the lapels of her jacket, yanking her closer. Our lower bodies collide. She gasps, a little catching noise in the back of her throat that used to get me hot in a second.
It still does. My blood starts to boil. She tilts her head back, her eyes flashing. I lower my head to look at her, fighting to ignore her scent—goddamned summer leaves and cherry candy.
“I once would have done anything for you.” The words grate roughly from my throat. “And then I failed you in the worst possible way. I failed you, I failed Teddy, and I failed your parents.”
She stares at me, her eyes widening. “Cole, I—”
“When you left, I hoped with everything I was that you’d have a chance at a normal life.” I pull her closer, anger warring with the undeniable flare of lust. “That you could be happy again if you weren’t constantly surrounded by reminders of everything you lost. Everything I took from you.”
“Goddamn you, Cole Danforth.” Fire flames over her expression. She plants her hands on my chest and shoves herself away. “The only thing you took from me was you.”
New York Times & USA Today bestselling author Nina Lane writes hot, sexy romances about professors, bad boys, candy makers, and protective alpha males who find themselves consumed with love for one woman alone. Originally from California, Nina holds a PhD in Art History and an MA in Library and Information Studies, which means she loves both research and organization. She also enjoys traveling and thinks St. Petersburg, Russia is a city everyone should visit at least once. Although Nina would go back to college for another degree because she’s that much of a bookworm and a perpetual student, she now lives the happy life of a full-time writer.
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