Author: Courtney Cole
Date of publication: 3 Dec 2013
Genre: Romance, New Adult
Author's links:
Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads
My rating: 2.5 stars
Goodreads Blurb
Sometimes, one dark moment is all it takes to turn your world black...
For 24-year old Dominic Kinkaide, that moment took place on the night of his high school graduation. One dark incident changed him forever. He's a hardened actor now, famous in the eyes of the world, but tortured in his own. He doesn't care about much of anything, except for losing himself in the roles that he plays.
23-year old Jacey Vincent doesn't realize how much her father's indifference has affected her. She is proof that sometimes it isn't one specific moment that wrecks a person, but rather it's an absence of moments. She's like a bird with a broken wing-strong yet fragile, as she tries to float through life, finding acceptance in the arms of random guys, one after the other... to fill the void that her father left in her.
Until she meets Dominic.
After jaded Dominic and strong-willed Jacey are thrown together, his secret and her issues create a dark and damaged energy that will soon turn their attraction to each other into an explosive storm.
Even though when the clouds have cleared and the dust has settled, both of them are almost obliterated... they've learned a priceless lesson.
Sometimes, before we fall... we fly.
My Review
This is the third book in the Beautifully Broken series. I read and liked the first one, If You Stay, but I still haven't come around to reading the second one, If You Leave. Before We Fall can be read as a standalone, since it is focused almost exclusively on the new couple, Dominic and Jacey.
Sadly, I have to say that I was rather disappointed with this story. It stared interesting but quickly deteriorated. I found the story repetitive - the characters went over the same thoughts and inner monologues again and again. They were both stuck in their heads for most part of the book and I didn't feel like they made any progress or evolved much. It is true that both Dom and Jacey were both completely changed by the end of the book, yet it seemed abrupt and forced.
I found the heroine, Jacey, immature and her behaviour was rather annoying. She was constantly trying to act nice with everyone but ended up interfering too much in other people's lives. She kept acting like a know-it-all, giving advise to Dom, trying to save him, to change him, to make him a better person. At the same time she allowed Dom to treat her in a totally inappropriate manner on more than one occasion which I found rather off-putting. On the other hand, some of things she did were also completely unacceptable for me (snooping around Dom's house, reading his love letters).
Dominique was a broken hero, yet he failed to earn my sympathy. His love for Jacey in the end wasn't enough to redeem him for his earlier actions. The tragedy in his past cannot be used as an excuse for his abusive behaviour. His dark side - the preference for kinky sex, seemed out of place for me. I felt that the author just included it in order to keep up with the current trend in romance/erotica.
Story wise, the plot twist , involving Dom's brother was unrealistic and wasn't handled very well. After the big reveal, all past mistakes were quickly forgiven and forgotten and everybody moved on. The big issues were sort of swept under carpet in a rush to a happy ending.
The ending was far too perfect bordering on cheesy. All the problems were magically solved, there was love everywhere and for everyone. Generally, I appreciate a good epilogue, but this one was rather bizarre and completely out of place. It connected with the prologue bringing things full circle yet it was far-fetched added a paranormal element which didn't fit the story at all.
On the plus side, I liked some of the secondary characters - Brand and the guys at the gym were a good addition to the story.
Overall, this book was a mixture of mixed messages and confusing characters and events. It had a bit of everything in it, but it was not fused well together making a meaningful, coherent story. Still, I did like Brand a lot and would love to read his story, that is if Ms Cole decides to give him a book as well.
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