22 August 2014

The Fragile Fall Tour Stop!

I've destroyed everything in my life and now I'm left with nothing. 

Alone and scared. 
Broken and shattered.
But I’ve found a way to deal with it. 
Instead of all the pain being on the inside, I make the outside ache too. Anything to make it easier to breathe.
Until one beautiful morning when I look outside and see her.

She tries to help me…
But I’m lost.

And I'm not sure I can ever be found
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How do you ever overcome the tragic night that shattered your life and changed your world forever?  Even worse, how do you overcome the guilt you feel knowing that your rebellion is what caused you to lose your family?  This is what Will is going to have to deal with.  Growing up with strict, over protective parents, he finds himself and orphan and now living with his Aunt Liv whom he doesn’t really know.  He goes day to day playing video games and playing music to drown out the silence of being alone while his aunt works.  One day he noticed the neighbor girl at the pool and he begins to feel some emotions.   Fear and panic come quickly when there is a knock on the door and he prepares for the beautiful girl to yell at him for staring.  What he didn’t expect is to be opening the door to his first true love.
Ryanne isn’t immune to pain and heartache.  Raising her brother she has her own baggage to deal with but she keeps the spirited attitude that brought her over to Will and asked him to join her at the pool.  Jax her brother and Will develop a great friendship regardless of Will’s fears to allow anyone in his life.  When Ryanne and Will begin to develop loving feelings she finds that she is going to have to make a choice in life.  Should she allow herself the chance to see if Will and her have a future and risk it won’t work out, putting Jax in the middle or does she resign herself to loving Will from a far so the boys can have the bond they so need in life.  Putting her brother first has always been her plan in life.
True love between Ryanne and Will won’t fix his issues.  Plagued with the pain and agony that continues to occur every day she has to prove to him that she is there for him.  The road isn’t going to be short nor is it going to be easy but the three are committed to each other to make it to the end.
What I loved about this story is how each give to the other what they need.  Ryanne is a natural born nurturer with the loyalty to those she loves that can’t be broken.  Jax needs Will as much as Will needs him and they forge a friendship that not only is supportive but life giving.  I adore how the author didn’t just rush the story that true love and friendship fixes every problem, but it sure helps the painful steps involved in freeing yourself from the guilt and pain Will carries with him. 
If you want an emotional story that will grab your heart and hold your feelings this is your book.  It felt like one of the purest stories I have read in a long time with enough reality to keep it believable with an abundance of hope in overcoming the torment life brings.  Will has to learn that not ever choice he makes in life will result in the same horrific event and that everyone needs others in order to survive.  We watch him come from an isolated home to a reinforced cocoon that he feels he deserves to opening up his heart and mind to believe he deserves love and friendships.  He has to realize that it is ok to continue to live and be happy and that is what Ryanne and Jax intend to do for him.  
This is a beautifully written story of love, loss, and survival. If you are sensitive to mental health issues, proceed with caution as Will's mental health and his inability to cope with the guilt he feels surrounding his parents' death is one of the primary subjects of The Fragile Fall. Unfortunately, Will’s coping mechanisms are dangerous and all too common, especially for teens his age. If you can read such subjects, then I believe you'll enjoy this book as Ms. Love does an excellent job in treating the issue with care, sensitivity, and real-world knowledge.

I absolutely adored Will’s character. As his story progresses, you learn that he grew up in a very sheltered environment, being homeschooled by his mother and had high expectations placed on his behavior and future by his parents due to their highly religious nature. When his parents are killed in a car accident, he goes to live with his aunt, where after months of avoiding everyone other than his aunt, he befriends the next-door neighbors, Ry and Jax. I enjoyed watching the relationships develop between Will and Jax (best friends) and Ry and Will (romantic) – the camaraderie between the boys was entertaining, while I liked that the author didn’t feel the need to rush Ry and Will into a physical relationship, allowing them to become friends LONG before anything intimate occurs between them. While the reader is aware of Will’s situation from the start, it takes a while before we learn how bad Ry and Jax’s family situation is. Despite all that Will struggles through, I enjoyed watching his personal growth, especially once he is hospitalized. 

As these three teens learn to deal with all the blows that life deals them, both privately and with one another’s support, the reader learns that Will, Ry and Jax are survivors. And it is through the family they create with one another that they find the love they have been missing and the acceptance they needed so badly. The Fragile Fall is a wonderfully written story that will be an emotionally draining read for many, but so worth it – at least it was for me. I look forward to reading this book again and more of Ms. Love’s writing. 
August was winding down. School had started and I was spending some time with Will and Jax before my night class.

Well, that had been the plan.

Jax ended up leaving early to go hang out with his girlfriend, which left me alone with Will, something I avoided at all costs. I couldn’t fight my feelings if I were alone with him. He had offered to leave with Jax, but it wasn’t his fault that I couldn’t control my feelings, so instead, I sat by the pool while Will swam laps. I loved watching the way his muscles flexed under his skin. I could watch him move all day.

I felt like I was baking in the sun, so I moved to the side of the pool, dangling my feet in the water. I didn’t want to disturb Will, so I bent over and cupped some water in my hand, then rubbed it over my skin to cool off. Pouring some water over my neck and back, I closed my eyes and enjoyed the cool water against my hot skin. When my eyes opened, Will was standing in the middle of the pool, staring at me. His eyes were heated as he watched the water drip down my skin. I bit my lip, not wanting to break his trance. I liked the way his eyes felt on me. I liked that I didn’t have to pretend that I didn’t want him.

“Hot?” he asked. His voice was huskier, sexier.

“Yeah, a little.” He swam over to the side of the pool and put his hands on my thighs. My breath caught in my throat.

His eyes never left mine as he rubbed his thumbs over my skin. “I could help you cool off.”

“Oh, yeah?” I asked breathlessly. I didn’t recognize my own voice.

His hands moved further up my thighs until they were on my hips. He moved me closer to him until he was standing between my parted thighs. “Yeah.”

Our eyes never left each other. Chills raced over my skin even though the sun was intense, but when his hands moved behind me, I realized what he was trying to do. “No, no, no!” I squealed, attempting to get out of his grip. He overpowered me and threw me in the pool. I resurfaced, spitting and wiping water from my eyes. Will smirked as I tried to swim away, but he caught me and pulled me closer, tucking a strand of hair over my shoulder. My entire body was pressed up against his. I could feel his breath skating over my skin … his heart pounding … his muscles moving…

It took my breath away.

He brushed more hair out of my face and ran a finger down my cheek. “Are you cooled off?” I nodded and leaned closer to him, wanting to curl up in his arms and never leave. “Good.”

His eyes studied my lips as they parted. I wondered if he would kiss me. I wanted him to. God, I wanted him to kiss me so badly it had become a physical ache. His arms tightened around me and I found it harder to breathe. I was dizzy with the closeness of Will and how incredible it felt to be in his arms. I had never felt this way before.

I didn’t want it to end.

The sliding glass door opened, pulling Will and me out of our trance. Jax and his girlfriend Lindsey stood on the deck. Lindsey was smirking, but Jax had his arms crossed over his chest and his eyebrow raised, a slight scowl on his lips. Will dropped his arms and moved away. I missed him immediately. I wanted to move closer to him and tell Jax to leave, but I couldn’t.

I had to be strong.
From the time she was old enough to form words into sentences, Kristy Love has been writing stories. She attended La Roche College and graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Professional Writing. When she's not writing, Kristy can be found with her nose stuck in a book or spending time with her family and friends.

She lives with her husband and two girls in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.


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