Next Time I Fall, the second book in the Excess All Areas series is live!

An emotional, sweet and heartfelt story of redemption, with wonderfully written family drama and a gorgeous love story

 

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Blurb

Jase

Love sucks.

Especially when your own brother and fellow band-mate stole the woman you were in love with.

Sitting in a Michigan recording studio with him, singing lyrics he wrote about her, is a special kind of torture.

The only thing more frustrating might be the producer’s assistant who radiates sunshine and has more motivational quotes than a greeting card company.

Cerys

Love rocks.

Heavy guitars, a voice with the burn of pure single malt, and lyrics that distil the meaning of love are the greatest things.

If only the man singing didn’t have a temperament as foul as the Michigan winter. Jase sitting in her car while yelling at her to get him out of there is a surprise. Why she hits the accelerator and takes him to her father’s cabin on the lake is an even greater mystery.

How was she supposed to know they’d end up snowed in for days? Or that when they got out again, their relationship, and her views on love, would be changed irrevocably?

 

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Review

“The next time I really fall in love with someone for all the right reasons, it’ll be you, if you’ll let me.”

4.5 stars!

This is the second book in the Sad Fridays series, and it’s an emotional, sweet and heartfelt story of redemption, with wonderfully written family drama and a gorgeous love story.

I love rock star romance and I adored the first book in this series (One Day Like This), and I’ve been desperately waiting for this one. In the first book, Cole set up Sad Fridays lead singer, Jase, as a selfish, irreverent, entitled a-hole. She created herself a big job to redeem him and present him as a romantic hero, and she absolutely nailed it.

Jase is the younger brother of Matt (Sad Fridays band member and hero of book #1). He has a whole lot of issues stemming from his brutal childhood and his own bad behaviour, and the fact that he hasn’t dealt with any of it. His role in the band is tenuous, and with the boys travelling to the US to record their first album, he knows he’s on shaky ground.

Cerys loves music. It’s her dream to open her own production studio, and she’s taking advantage of her famous (but absent-for-her-whole-life) father, who is a music producer, and she has travelled from the UK to the US to work with him for three months and gain some experience in the business. So she is there when the Sad Fridays come into the studio, and she witnesses the band’s dysfunction and their lead singer, Jase, throwing one of his epic tantrums. It’s a difficult situation, but she is bright, perky and positive, and wants to do whatever she can to help the boys find success.

When Jase has yet another meltdown and escapes the studio, Cerys just happens to be outside in her car on her way out of town. Desperate to get away, Jase invites himself along for a road trip, but the two of them end up snowed in at her father’s lake house, and the next few days will change their lives forever.

“Every morning, if you are really lucky, you get to wake up. You get to make a choice of how you want to spend the next twenty-four hours on the planet. You have the opportunity to make a difference.”

Cerys is determined to help Jase and the band, and that starts by getting to the heart of his attitude. And over the course of a few snowy days, that’s exactly what she does. Jase is angry and he’s hurting, you can see that he wants to change, but he has no idea how to go about it. Cerys gives him that outlet, encouraging him to confront his demons, own his pain, embrace his emotions and pour his heart out through music, and the ride is full of feels.

“The songs are Matt’s songs. The lyrics are his experiences. I’m just the way he shares his emotions with the world. He thinks I don’t understand him, but I do. I sing his truth, his pain, the stuff that happened to him every fucking time I stand on that stage.”

Oh, I ached for him. It’s heartbreaking reading, but he’s so ready to change, and he just happens to have found the right person to help him do it.

“I’m sorry. Did I go too far?”
…
“You went further than anyone else has . . . and I needed to hear it. Your faith in me makes me feel like I could conquer all of it.”

Cerys is this bright ray of sunshine that is the Jase finally facing his issues, and while they’re unearthing his deepest hurts and desires, attraction blossoms that neither of them were expecting. It’s quick, but it’s heartfelt, their chemistry sizzles, and they are so open and honest about it.

“You know we’re going to happen, right?”

“You’re my choice, Jase. I don’t know where this will go, but I’m committed to figuring that out with you.”

It’s not all deep feelings and drama, there is a wonderful playfulness to Jase, and I couldn’t help but laugh at some of his antics and the witty banter between him and Cerys. Their romance is sweet, fun, passionate and emotional, and they are so functional! They hold nothing back while sensibly, playfully, tenderly exploring each other and all that they feel, and it’s an absolute dream watching it all unfold!

“Have I told you I’m going to fall in love with you? All the way in love with you.”
Her heart exploded in her chest. “You might have mentioned it.”
“Have you had any thoughts on whether you might do the same?”
“Jase, come on,” Matt yelled again. “Flirt with Cerys later.”
Jase looked down the corridor. “Gimme a minute.” He focused his gaze back on her. “I need an answer, Cerys.”
“Yes, Jason Palmer, I think I’m going to fall in love with you too.”
Jase grinned and walked down the corridor with his fist in the air like Judd Nelson at the end of The Breakfast Club. She couldn’t help but laugh.

The romance goes hand-in-hand with Jase’s journey, and the band is another big part of that. When Jase reveals his truth to the guys and starts the process of making amends, my heart was pounding. Those emotional scenes brought tears to my eyes, and I hurt for all of them, but it was so beautiful to watch, and it’s such a game-changing moment for all of the boys, their relationships with each other, and their future together. I love how Scarlett Cole has tied all of the different elements of the story together, and the direction that it took the band, the book, and the future of the series.

“Some bonds are so fucking durable they can be tested every day our entire lives and they just won’t break … I might fucking stumble. But I know the next time I fall, you’ll catch me … I won’t feel like I’m on my own.

I loved being back with these characters in their world. Cole has written this story so well, giving us glimpses at all of the boys and their family, which I loved, and also I loved the added drama of Cerys’ family situation and how that all played into the story. The book ends in a great place, and there’s an epilogue which leads into Luke’s book up next, and I could not be more excited!

I’m loving this series so much, and loved Jase and Cerys’ story.

4.5 stars!

An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

 

Excess All Areas

 

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Meet the Author

The tattoo across my right hip says it all really. A Life Less Ordinary. Inked by the amazingly talented Luke Wessman at the Wooster Street Social Club (a.k.a. New York Ink). Why is it important? Well, it sums up my view on life. That we should all aspire to live a life that is less boring, less predictable. Be bold, and do something amazing. I’ve made some crazy choices. I’ve been a car maker, a consultant, and even a senior executive at a large retailer running strategy. Born in England, spent time in the U.S. and Japan, before ending up in Canada where I met my own, personal hero – all six and a half feet of him. Both of us are scorpios! Yeah, I know! Should have checked the astrological signs earlier, but somehow it works for us. We have two amazing kids, who I either could never part with or could easily be convinced to sell on e-
bay.

I’ve wanted to be a writer for a really long time. Check through my office cupboards or my computer and you’ll find half written stories and character descriptions everywhere. Now I’;m getting the chance to follow that dream.

I am represented by Beth Phelan at The Bent Agency, NY.

 

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