Book Description:
Sometimes it takes someone else to show us what we are truly capable of becoming.
Suffering from years of violent abuse, Ryan Campbell has learned how to keep people from getting too close. But when you shut yourself off, people get hurt along the way. Never caring much about others, Ryan creates a world in which he doesn’t have to feel.
When Ryan meets Candace Parker, all of his walls slowly begin to crumble. Not sure of the truth of who she is, he feels his mind is playing tricks on him. Unable to force out the thoughts that consume him, Ryan is haunted by visions that torment him every time he looks at her. He finds himself swallowed by guilt and blame, but he’s unwilling to turn his back on the one person that could possibly save him.
You’ve heard Candace’s story in Fading, now hear Ryan’s.
Find it on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17874546-falling
Our Review:
**ARC Received for honest review**
Reviewed by Donna ~ 5 Stars
“cause that’s what's happening here – I’m falling. I never wanted to before, but with her, all I want to do is fall. Fall into her. Fall so deep inside of her heart so that I never have to be without her.”
This journey was an unexpected one, it started with the cover of Fading, a cover so dark that it drew me in…I was captivated by the simple lone figure and immediately bought the book, this was a cover that held an even greater meaning once the book had been read. Now I have just read the third book in this series and once again the COVER…EK Blair knows how to pick them, knowing the premise behind them I knew I was in for one emotional ride.
Once again this ride was emotional, powerful, poignant, insightful, passionate, sensitive and thought provoking. This whole series has been one emotional roller coaster. I can’t even say one particular instalment is a favourite as they have all been amazing pieces of work, each one bringing us a different perspective on one young girls life. EK Blair has a knack of drawing you in and once she has those claws in she never lets you go until the very end and Ryan’s story was no different.
I have said before that EK Blair’s writing style is addictive, once you start reading you cannot stop, your emotions are raw, they are toyed with, your heart aches and breaks and then slowly you are pieced back together again. I loved Ryan in Fading, but one thing you never really truly understood or got to know was just how broken Ryan was too. It seems fitting that these two broken souls found each other and ended up healing together. It was as if fate somehow had intervened and made something so brutal and ugly turn into something so beautiful.
“That’s the thing about love…it’s a pretty powerful force that can show a side of you that you never knew existed. Show you that you’re capable of becoming someone you never thought you could be, and you do it for the other person because you love them, because you want to put them before you.”
Reading this story from Ryan’s perspective was heart breaking, truly heart breaking. He was so conflicted and his head was totally at war with his heart. He wanted to be honest but he knew that it could only result in heart break and it was a heart break that he didn’t think he could survive. He had really put himself “out there” with Candace and you never truly appreciated how “all in” he actually was. He loved her with everything he had and his conversations with his mum were so heart felt they often reduced me to tears. The extremely close relationship he had with his mum was beautiful and so endearing; these two really were confidantes, friends as well as mother and son.
“Just a piece of advice,” she adds, “Don’t ever lie to her about who you are. If she ever asks, be honest.”
I really connected with Ryan in this book, I loved him in Fading and now totally adore him. I just wanted to give him big hugs and tell him it was all going to be OK as I had read the end of Fading and he gets the girl! Alas, his childhood was painful, he had such a hard time as did his mother and he had to grow up really quick, but he was selfless, always putting his mother and family first and everyone else too. It was painful reading about his past through memories and you felt like you were living through it with him, they were ugly and had left permanent scars in more ways than one. His inability to have a relationship were all borne from his past and that was why he was so shocked how strong his feelings were for Candace. He couldn’t comprehend how so suddenly this girl had waltzed into his life and completely changed him. He had to put his own problems and insecurities aside as he lived through Candace’s, he wanted to take her pain away and absorb it himself. His father had physically and mentally abused him and his mother. In order to try and “forget” he buried himself with self-destructive behaviour as a means of coping, drink, drugs, meaningless hook-ups with women and anger. He didn’t like the person he had become and felt that he was his fathers’ son and was more like him than he cared to think.
“Because for most of life I’ve been lost…I dealt with a lot of shit growing up and I used women as my way to escape…you’re nothing like those women. Nothing. I’ve never looked at them or wanted them the way I do you.”
We know how the story goes and I will not go into the finer details but it is through this story that you finally see how affected Ryan was by what he witnessed. We also see first-hand the slow build up in their friendship until they eventually become more and you see the family side of Ryan, how dedicated and close all his family are. The hardest part to face was when the truth was revealed, I cried a lot…Ryan was decimated, heartbroken, inconsolable and on a path to self-destruction. He always said that when he gave his heart it was forever and it was. I was devastated all over again.
“You’re not gonna lose me, babe. I love you too much to let you go.”
“Candace has long fallen asleep in my arms when I feel the first of many tears roll down my cheeks and into her hair.”
“Candace has long fallen asleep in my arms when I feel the first of many tears roll down my cheeks and into her hair.”
I am a sucker for a good epilogue and this does not disappoint. All I can say is that this is one AMAZING series and should not be missed, it is a must read. I highlighted so much of this book, so many poignant lines that stab straight through your heart. The same story from three different perspectives, but even though you know the story the other two books carry their own weight. It is so novel to get three sides to one story, how one mindless piece of violence can affect so many people, not just the victim. This whole series is intense, emotional and truly memorable and one that has left a permanent imprint. I cannot recommend this series highly enough. Once again EK Blair, you have blown me away. I cannot wait to see what this author delivers next.
“You are the only reason there’s light in my life. Before you, there was nothing but darkness.”
“You will never have to doubt your place in this world again because I swear I will spend forever making sure you’re right where you belong.”
“I see you in colours that don’t exist.”
“You will never have to doubt your place in this world again because I swear I will spend forever making sure you’re right where you belong.”
“I see you in colours that don’t exist.”
Playlist
Book Trailer
About the Author:
USA Today bestselling author and International Amazon bestselling author, E.K. Blair takes her readers on an emotional roller coaster with her FADING series. A former first grade teacher with an imagination that runs wild. Daydreaming and zoning out is how she was often found in high school. Blair tends to drift towards everything dark and moody. Give her a character and she will take pleasure in breaking them down, digging into their core to find what lies underneath.
Aside from writing, E.K. Blair finds pleasure in music, drinking her Starbucks in peace, and spending time with her friends. She's a thinker, an artist, a wife, a mom, and everything in between.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EKBlairAuthor
Twitter: @EK_Blair_Author or https://twitter.com/EK_Blair_Author
Website: http://www.ekblair.com
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