I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Series: Beautifully Broken #3
Published by Forever, Hachette, Hachette Audio on December 3, 2013
Genres: Contemporary, Contemporary, Love & Romance, New Adult, Romance
Pages: 362
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
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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.
Courtney Cole’s Beautifully Broken Series has me returning each book to learn more about a side character from the previous book that is brought to the forefront and paired with a brand new character. Their tumultuous relationship goes through the ringer while they deal with very harsh and difficult issues of their own before they can finally find their own form of a happily ever after–together.
Before We Fall focuses on Jacey, the 23-year-old waitress Jacey who’s now living in Chicago while she goes to school. She works some special in-house parties, and it’s at the home of rock n’roll star Sin Kincaid that she meets his brother Dominick Kincaid. She doesn’t fall over herself for the hot actor like all the other girls, so Dominick is immediately intrigued. But when they get arrested and forced into three months of community service at a gym for underprivileged teens, they really find that neither one might not be able to make it through the three months without killing the other one.
Jacey has her share of baggage, growing up with a father who was never around, leaving her big brother to pick up the slack. And her ex-Army Ranger brother’s overprotectiveness doesn’t end just because he lives on the other side of the country, his best friend Brand lives in Chicago and is a constant form of support and savior for Jacey. But growing up like that made Jacey strong willed, blunt, and pretty fearless, so she calls Dominick out on a lot of his crap right from the start. Having daddy issues has certainly led Jacey to date the wrong men throughout her life, and she’s determined to not make the same mistakes after the last boyfriend turned out to ruin so many of her loved ones’ lives.
Dominick Kincaid is used to getting what he wants since he’s one of the hottest young actors in Hollywood. He’s arrogant and closed off, almost unapproachable to anyone but his family. The only way he can enjoy himself it to feel a little pain with his pleasure. But due to a trauma that he keeps tucked away deep inside since high school graduation, he won’t let any woman close. Jacey’s the first woman to get anywhere near his heart–as a friend. And he’s definitely not used to being treated like a normal human being by women, so when he realizes that Jacey has made a place for herself in his life–he panicks and lashes out the only way he knows how. If I didn’t get to see things from his POV, I would have totally hated his character since he’s a grade-A jerk for a good portion of this book. But he definitely has his reasons for acting this way…
I give Before We Fall a 4.5 out of 5. All of the elements that I come to expect and love out of a book in the Beautifully Broken series are here: angst, fun banter, complex family relationships, realistic dialogue and situations, and the seriously steamy hookups. There’s a new element in this one in that Dominick is into lighter BDSM, but it doesn’t play that large a part in the book. This is definitely heavier on the angst side while Dom gets his crap together, but the journey is definitely worth reading!
I listened to the audiobook provided by Hachette Audio
Get your own Audiobook at Audible: Before We Fall.
Narrators Shannon Gunn and Bunny Warren give a great performance for this audiobook. They are both capable of delivery such raw emotion with their voices–especially Shannon as Dominick towards that latter parts of the book–and it really enhanced my enjoyment and immersion into this story. I’ve listened to the first three installments of this series so far, and I’m definitely going to listen to the fourth when it comes out on audiobook. I highly recommend the audiobooks for this series.
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Hoo-boy, that might be too much drama and angst in one book for me. I like a little, sprinkled with a bunch of levity. But yay for a great HEA story!
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Before We Fall was the angsiest book out of the Beautifully Broken series so far, Mary. I’m not an angst-wimp, so I loved it!
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