Autumn Dorey had no problem leaving her hometown of Newpine and the friends there who’d betrayed her. Everyone thought they knew what happened the spring night Autumn’s world fell apart. Vicious rumors about the incident circulated, and she had to be homeschooled the last year of high school to escape her tormentors. All she wants now is to get away from it all and start over at Cook University. She leaves everything but the memory behind—something she swore she’d never forget—and sets off to rebuild what was broken.
Blake Preston is precisely the type of guy Autumn wants to avoid. He’s gorgeous, arrogant and the college’s beloved football star. As much as she believes he’s someone she should steer clear of, avoiding him proves to be impossible. He shows up everywhere around campus, offering her a no-strings attached friendship.
Autumn can’t deny Blake stirs up emotions she thought fled years ago. But things he’s been hiding begin to emerge and collide with her past, leaving her heart ravaged in their wake.
Autumn
Dorey didn’t want anything else but to finish her high school, and leave her
hometown, forget her past and live a new life. Her life in Newpine was a total
nightmare after her so-called friends betrayed her, and her boyfriend joined in
a little later – taunting her even further, hurting her and humiliating her
every single chance they got.
It
started one night during Spring when her world fell apart. Rumors were spread,
people tend to believe what they tend to believe or what they chose to believe.
It had toppled Autumn’s position from the most popular girl down to the bottom
of the food chain. She was bullied so badly that she needed to be homeschooled
to escape the people that have been tormenting her.
She
wanted to start anew at college, in Cook University. But nightmares kept on
haunting her, she may have new friends but she was careful on whom to allow
inside her walls. Until Blake Preston came along. He was the type of guy she
needed to get away from – he was handsome, popular and a football star – she had
bad experiences with athletes. But resisting Blake, or ignoring him would
require a total effort as he seemed to be present everywhere she goes. He
confused her. He can be nice at one point, and rude at some point. He can be
sweet, then he would want her to get away from him. He wasn’t good for her, or
so he says…
She
tries to avoid him, but to no avail. She was ready to trust again, to give her
heart to the person who managed to break her walls and made her believe in love
again – until his secret was out in the open and it managed to painfully
collide with her past that have left her hurt, vulnerable, broken,
She
didn’t really believed him at first, me too. I think he was a great guy, he can
be confusing at times – but I like him.
But just like Autumn, he has some secrets too. Yes, the driving point of
this book are the secrets. Secrets both characters have been keeping since the
first chapters. I knew something bad happened to Autumn, I didn’t know the
extent of it, until she was finally ready to spill it out, and when she did, it
broke my heart. Knowing how it broke her soul, her spirit, her whole life – and
how she blamed herself for it. As for Blake, I had inclinations of what his
secret was, I was ready to bet on it, only to still be surprise. I didn’t see
some of it coming…
Falling
for Autumn threaded carefully on issues that are still considered a taboo in
our times. Issues that only a few could understand, and some people would
easily throw judgment without first viewing facts. Although I didn’t like how
Blake did it, but I was glad he was wise enough to dig facts rather than give
his judgment easily. I fell in love with the characters, broke my heart when
theirs did, and my heartbeat stopped for a while when the secrets were finally
revealed. It wasn’t THAT easy to read, but every page was worth it.
✪Complimentary Copy was given in exchange for an honest review.✪
♥∞♥∞♥∞♥∞♥∞♥∞♥∞♥∞♥∞♥∞♥∞♥∞
PLAYLIST
“I actually bought you something,” Blake said and picked up a shopping bag set on the floor beside him.
I removed it from his hands when he held it out for me. My eyebrows lifted as I noticed the cylinder shape of the package. I looked at the tag on the packaging before giving him a questioning look.
He explained, “They had a poster version of the flower painting you liked. I thought you could hang it up. Maybe get rid of those bare walls you’re so fond of.” I watched his Adam’s apple bob as he tried to bring a little levity to the mood. “You can’t hold me accountable for any dirty thoughts I may have when I come over though.”
He rendered me speechless and I was desperately trying to put a lid on the emotions wanting to bubble over. My only companion for two years had been fear and anxiety. But Blake was eliciting feelings I had forgotten about. He made me feel like there was a world of possibility open. Blake Preston had managed to get under my skin.
“Thank you,” I managed, my eyes dropping to his sneakers. I had so many questions and I wasn’t ready for him to see them yet. Were we only friends? Or was every day we spent together leading up to more? For someone who insisted on keeping things platonic, he was becoming the master of changing the rules.
Heather Topham Wood’s obsession with novels began in childhood while growing up in a shore town in New Jersey. Writing since her teens, she recently returned to penning novels after a successful career as a freelance writer. She’s the author of the paranormal romance Second Sight series and the New Adult standalone novels The Disappearing Girl and Falling for Autumn.
Heather graduated from the College of New Jersey in 2005 and holds a bachelor's degree in English. Her freelance work has appeared in publications such as USA Today, Livestrong.com, Outlook by the Bay and Step in Style magazine. She resides in Trenton, New Jersey with her husband and two sons. Besides writing, Heather is a pop culture fanatic and has an obsession with supernatural novels and TV shows.
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