Book Freak: Blog Tour + Book Review | The Hardest Fall by Ella Maise (@ellamaise)

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Free in Kindle Unlimited

Blurb

The first time you meet someone, you make eye contact. You smile, say hello. Should be simple, if you’re anyone but me. The first time I met Dylan Reed, I found myself making eye contact with a different part of his body. You see, I’m very good at being shy, not to mention extremely well-versed in rambling nonsense and, unfortunately, rather highly skilled at making a fool of myself in front of a guy I’m attracted to.

At the time, I knew nothing about him and thought none of what I said would matter since I’d never speak to him again. Turns out, I was very wrong. He was the star wide receiver of the football team, one of the few players expected to make it into the NFL, and I ended up seeing him all over campus.

I might have also propositioned him, run away from him, attacked him with a cooking utensil…and…uh, maybe I shouldn’t tell you all of it. It’s pretty normal stuff, things you’d expect…from me. Eventually, the time came when I couldn’t hide anymore—not that he’d have let me even if I tried.

Before now, he never knew I was secretly watching him. Now that we see each other every day, he knows when I have a hard time looking away. It doesn’t help that I’m not the most subtle person in the world either.

He smiles at me and tells me he finds me fascinating because of my quirks. I can’t even tell him that I think my heart beats differently whenever he’s around.

He thinks we’re going to be best friends. I think I have a big thing for him, and the more I get to know him, the more I don’t care that I’m not allowed to be his friend, let alone fall for him.

The thing is, that’s exactly what I’m doing—what we’re doing, I think.

Falling.

Hard.

ADD TO GOODREADS

Book Review:

Rating:5/5

I fell for this book. HARD. Like really hard.

Zoe and Dylan are pretty much great characters. Their first meeting was off the charts. Our shy girl Zoe met Dylan Reed, and she didn’t expect to see the rest of him. It was memorable, funny at best, embarrassing at its worst - but things didn’t go as expected and it wasn’t the right time. She didn’t expect who he was, what he was in campus. It was okay when she knew, because there was no way their paths are going to cross again. Until they met the second time. Second time was bad timing again.

“Third time is the charm, so maybe next time we’ll make it happen.”

The third time they met, she hit him with a cooking utensil. But then good things starts to happen. She couldn’t run away or hide from him anymore. Before she knew it, she was discretely watching him. And he knows it.

“I like having your eyes on me, Zoe.”

I managed to force a nervous smile. His thumb moved on my cheek, rendering me… basically completely helpless.

Forgetting myself, forgetting where we were, I whispered, “I like watching you.”

If only Zoe’s life isn’t laced with secrets and lies. It would have been easy. But things are just complicated, and Zoe can’t do anything about it. Or maybe she could. She deserves the best anyway. Question is, is she brave enough?

I am totally head over heels over these two characters. Zoe and Dylan are the best! Dylan is ever charming, not your typical jock, he helps his family when he could and he doesn’t fool around. He can be a little alpha, but not too much that will make you roll your eyes.

Zoe gives a new meaning to word-vomit. I like her. Maybe some of us (like me) can relate to her. When she’s nervous, she tends to ramble, and its adorable. But sometimes, it tires the heck out of you to listen to her, and you just want to shut her up. So its a love-hate relationship. Nevertheless, Zoe will win you over when you get to know her and what she had been through. She’s a brave girl who was willing to do anything for the sake of family. Did I tell you she'd die for pizza?

The first part of the book, I was laughing out loud - it was already hilarious and I was expecting the rest to be great as well. Ella Maise delivered marvelously. The Hardest Fall is a slow burn romance. It will make you wait. Make you anticipate. Make you crave. Then gives you the best in the end. There are surprises that you can guess along the way, and there are those that will still make your jaws drop.

It was a whole lot of feels - you’ll laugh, you’ll smile, you’ll get irritated, you’ll hate you’ll feel embarrassed, you’ll cry, you’ll feel sad, you’ll feel jealous, you’ll feel suspicious, you’ll break your heart and you’ll fall in love.

Purchase Links

$2.99 for a VERY limited time!

US: https://amzn.to/2HdWIrv
UK: https://amzn.to/2HGUTjH
CA: https://amzn.to/2HaooNI
AU: https://amzn.to/2HJYOfw

Free in Kindle Unlimited

Excerpt:

I stopped speaking when Dylan’s gloved hand—his huge gloved hand—cupped my cheek and gently tilted my face up. The world around me slowed down, and I stood still. I swear to you, I watched his eyes roam my face in slow motion.

“I like having your eyes on me, Zoe.”

I managed to force a nervous smile. His thumb moved on my cheek, rendering me…basically completely helpless.

Forgetting myself, forgetting where we were, I whispered, “I like watching you.”

His tongue peeked out and touched his lower lip. “I know.”

Oh, Dylan, why did you do that?

“I meant I like watching you—liked watching you play tonight. I didn’t mean it to sound like I like watching you when you’re not playing. I definitely wouldn’t watch you if you were just standing there, or I don’t know…I wouldn’t watch you when you’re working out, and I would never watch you if you were—”

“You know why I like watching you?”

The question shut me up pretty quickly, which was probably for the best; who knew what else I would spew out.

“Because I can’t take my eyes away from you. Everything else…it all disappears, and…”

And… And…

“And?”

I tried my best not to look eager for his answer—or let’s say not too eager, because there was no way he couldn’t tell I was very interested and invested in hearing what he was about to say.

He let out a heavy breath and decided not to finish that particular sentence. I’d seen it in his eyes, a slight change, there and gone.

Goddammit!