After We Fall

There is nothing better than a good book on a long road trip to pass the time. The next thing I knew, we were two hours away from home, (having been on the road for nine hours) and I had just finished what is sure to be a favorite for those that are fans of Melanie Harlow.She has written a sweet and sad story about a man that loved his wife. He grieves for her, yearns for her touch and blames himself for her death. If you are a lover of romance books, you have probably already read this familiar trope. The great thing about this story, is that the characters have such great depth and chemistry that this familiar story line does not get old. Rather, we get to see how tragic once again death of a loved one truly is.Jack is a farmer. A rugged, dirty, damaged hot ex-army farmer. He lives his life, takes care of his family's farm and punishes himself with the idea that the love of his life's death was his fault. He will never love, marry, or have children. He believes he does not deserve to.Well....Then we get Margot. A spoiled rich girl/marketing genius. She loves luxury and the country club, but not in the way one might think. She loves to help people achieve their dreams. Small businesses pay her a sum to help with PR and Valentini farms is her next project. What she doesn't account for is super hot farmer, swimming naked...in a lake...climbing a tree for a better look. Shame on Margot! She got an eyeful for sure. Jack, standing on the pier, water rivulets streaming down his body. Tanned and toned and oh so big...She has not experienced men at their greatest. She almost married a total douche of a man, (pink polo shirts and white shorts) just for the sake of getting married. Experience she lacks, but she wants to experience Jack. Even though he is a brooding grumpy farmer who seems completely irritated with the fact she wants to change things on HIS farm, she wants him. And quite honestly, he wants her too, even though it totally pisses him off.That mad irritation leads to some pretty crazy amazing sex. Up against a tree, in a truck, on the floor. They are electric together. When crazy hot chemistry leads to true feelings, Jack is not sure he can do it. She isn't asking for any promises, just a chance to see what they could be together. Jack on the other hand, is scared to death that he will betray his wife's memory by learning to love another. He shouldn't get a second chance he already had his first. Could he find his last with Margot?I absolutely loved Melanie's take on loss and how difficult it is to find that love again. Margot is sweet and lovely and not at all the typical spoiled rich girl. She is understanding and sassy and fun and everything that Jack wants but doesn't. She never pushes him to be something he isn't, she just gives him everything that she is. I loved them together. Their chemistry was off the charts, but their true connection was what really made this story. Margot just wants her first love, Jack is not sure he deserves a last.

4-4.5 starsThis was a really good story. I loved Margot and Jack...although I wanted to slap Jack more than once. This is the first story I've read by this author and I liked it well enough that I'm planning to try more of her work in the future.Margot works in PR and lives in Gross Point, which is north of Detroit. Margot was born into "old money" and was raised with certain expectations from her perfect mother and her politician father. She did what was expected of her and thought she was happy (or at least content) but a blowout with an Ex that she'd once thought was "the one" made Margot rethink her life.Jack is one of three brothers than co-own their family farm. Jack was in the military and came back troubled. He was recovering with the help of his wife but when she died in an accident, Jack was thrown for a loop. The farm was something Jack and his wife had shared a dream for so he decided to live in lonely misery, just focusing on the farm.Jack's brothers and sister-in-law decided that they needed more marketing/PR to help their organic farm bring in more business. They hire Margot's firm to come consult regardless of Jack being very un-thrilled about it as he's unwilling to make any changes. Margot needs to get out-of-town for a bit while things calm down after her public blowout with her ex so she goes to northern Michigan to consult on the farm. Jack and Margot's first meeting isn't great and things don't go well between them at first. A lot of this has to do with Jack realizing an attraction to Margot that makes him feel guilty and unfortunately, Jack tends to lash out at others when he's hurting and he does this to Margot. Margot isn't one to take things lying down and although she starts to understand why Jack acts the way he does, she's not willing to take it. Jack does realize his actions were wrong and they are able to make peace and even start to enjoy each other's company. But during this time, Jack is constantly fighting his guilt and determination that he deserves to live out the rest of his life alone and miserable. But what does that mean for Margot when she starts to feel for Jack and he's determined to be miserable? Well there's some angst and such while that questions is answered but things turn out great once Jack pulls his head out of his nether regions and he and Margot end the story starting on a HEA together.This was a really enjoyable story. I loved Margot...she was smart and sweet without seeming false or fake. She had understandable reactions and wasn't spoiled even though she grew up with a trust fund. Jack was a good guy, even if there were a number of times before he came to his senses that I really wanted to slap him. Overall, this was a really good story with characters I really liked so I'd recommend it. :D* note - I listened to the audio and there were 2 narrators, a male for the parts from Jack's PoV and a female for the parts from Margot's PoV. Both narrators did very good jobs.

Das Buch "After we Fall" von Melanie Harlow hatte ich ja schonmal Ende 2017 gelesen .Selbst als re-read hat es noch genauso viel Spaß gemacht, wie ich es in Erinnerung hatte.Es ist total gemütlich, verbreitet eine sehr heimelige Stimmung, ist dennoch sexy. Griesgrämmiger Farmer trifft auf städtische Frohnatur.Natürlich passen die beiden von Anfang nicht zusammen, müssen aber zusammen arbeiten, denn Margot wird von den Brüdern Jacks engagiert sich um das Marketing der familiengeführten Farm zu kümmern.Somit geraten sie schon aneinander, denn Jack will gar nichts ändern, aber Margot sieht, dass sich im Erscheinungsbild etwas ändern muss, um Kunden anzulocken.Des Weitern kämpft Jack immer noch mit dem Tod seiner Frau, was noch eine zusätzliche emotionale Bürde bedeutet die erklommen werden muss.Die Geschichte der Beiden ist niedlich mit anzusehen, denn Margot kann Jack gut Konter geben. Dennoch wird es sehr sexy zwischen den beiden.Auch beim zweiten Mal lesen noch eine Freude.

This story had me feeling so many different emotions! I felt happy when Margot was, annoyed and angry when Jack felt that way and the heartbreak they both suffered was palpable. I loved the tension between Margot and Jack, it was realistic and their chemistry was off the charts. Jack's past was heartbreaking and you weren't sure if he'd be able to move forward with his life. Margot was this shining light that pushed Jack to move on and see what he could have. But, could Jack accept a new way of living by forgiving himself and moving out of the shadows? I really, really enjoyed this book! I loved Jack and Margot, enemies to lovers has always been one of favourite tropes and Jack's brooding tormented nature was addicting! Another great read by Melanie and I can't wait to read about Claire in If You Were Mine!

After We Fall foi um sucesso de críticas quando do seu lançamento, super comentado nos blogs e motivo de elogios a autora. Merecidamente, os elogios são plenamente justificados pela delicada e emocionante história de amor que une Jack e Margot.Este é o que se pode chamar de um romance clássico que combina um herói atormentado pelo passado e uma heroína que o salva de uma vida triste e insatisfatória.Jack é um veterano de guerra que passou por diversas situações de estresse e que vê sua vida tomar um rumo inesperado ao perder a jovem esposa Steph. O estresse da guerra e a perda da esposa o tornam um homem recluso, triste e que recusa tratamento médico e não tem ânimo para recomeçar a viver plenamente sua vida. Quando ele conhece Margot sua vida muda, porém ele reluta em deixar o passado e seguir em frente.Esta é uma história bastante bonita, centrada nos personagens principais, suas interações, na construção do envolvimento inicial, a atração física rapidamente se transformando em afeto.Tanto a trama quanto os personagens conquistam a atenção desde as primeiras páginas do livro. Jack e Margot são concebidos de forma realista, com falhas, medos, inseguranças e imperfeições. Fáceis em inspirar simpatia, foi natural torcer por seu final feliz. O conflito que se estabelece e afasta o casal é resolvido de forma bastante realista e sem excesso de drama. A autora deu a ambos, Jack e Margot, tempo para refletir sobre suas vidas e seu futuro, e sua reaproximação em nada pareceu falsa ou forçada.Recomendo, com toda a certeza, aos leitores que apreciam uma história bela e super romântica.

Nice easy read. A sweet story of a widowed farmer and a city girl who meet and fall for one another

I love a good second chance story, whether the leading characters have known each other in the past or it's just two people being given another chance at love and happiness.I really liked both Margot and Jack from the off, even though to begin with he was a bit of a jerk towards her and at times he needed a bit of a kick up the backside! They were so very different but as the old saying goes, opposites attract.Margot with her high heels, pearls, her lack of knowledge about anything to do with farming and her scone throwing abilities had me laughing, feeling all sorts of emotions and hoping like hell she got the happy ever after she so desperately wanted. She was feisty, strong and had such a big heart. She came to care deeply about Jack, knowing that she would never be his first love just wanting to be able to love him regardless.Jack was such a deep character. He was broken, both in heart and spirit and had so many issues that he struggled to deal with that even though I wanted to yell at him at times, I felt so sad and sorry for him. He wanted to be loved and cared for but didn't think or see that he was or could be worth it. He was so convinced that he had lost the one person meant to truly love him that he was unable to open his heart to the possibility of a second chance. Seeing him battle his heart and head and start to realise what he truly wanted had me on a bit of an emotional roller-coaster, desperately hoping that he could fight through his darkness and get to a brighter, happier place with someone to love!The banter, verbal sparring, attraction, sexual tension and passion between the pair all made for superb reading. Seeing just how Jack interacted with his nephew was so cute - who knew a big, gruff farmer could be such a sweetheart.I really enjoyed catching up with Margot's besties Jaime and Claire and meeting Jack's brothers and his sister-in-law.After We Fall was well written, Melanie Harlow has a knack of pulling you into the story, bringing out the best (and if required, the worst) of her characters, making you feel so deeply for them, that she so easily manages to coax all of your emotions into play as you read.It is a standalone but if you read Man Candy first you'll understand Jaime and some of the phone conversations between her an Margot will make more sense. I can't wait for Claire's book to see how things work out for her....I honestly CANNOT give After We Fall enough stars! This was, for me, a fantastic read. Melanie's books are an auto-buy for me and I'd definitely recommend giving them a shot!