Blog Tour Review + Playlist + Giveaway: Before We Fall by Courtney Cole

Today, I have the tour for Before We Fall by Courtney Cole, hosted by Inkslinger PR, on the blog. I heart this series so HARD and Courtney did not disappoint with this book. I am excited to share my review and y'all know I love music so instead of my IPOD picks, I am sharing Courtney's playlist. Check it out below and enter the giveaway!

Before We Fall

(Beautifully Broken #3)

Author: Courtney Cole

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Publication Date: December 3, 2013

Genre: New Adult

Source: eARC from publisher via Inkslinger PR/NetGalley

~Synopsis~

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.

~Review~

Before We Fall was so incredible and I am once again in awe of Courtney Cole and her exceptional writing talent. She really knows how to tell a story, but more importantly, she creates remarkable characters. You can't help but fall in love with the broken men and admire the women who put them back together. Gabe will forever be my favorite but Dominic definitely snagged a little piece of my heart.

This book was definitely a little darker than the first two but in a really good way. Dominic is so intense and it is obvious right away that he has a very dark and troubled past. He is a complete sexual deviant so Before We Fall is a little bit naughtier than her other books but it was right for this story. Dominic carries immense guilt and sorrow for something tragic that has happened in his past and this has really shaped the man he is today. He is lonely and doesn't allow people to get close and this seems to be his self punishment for the things that have happened to him. He doesn't really care about anything or anyone, except for his family, and he does what he wants, when he wants. He is instantly intrigued by Jacey when he meets her because she is different from all of the other people he has met as a celebrity. Everyone wants something from Dominic but Jacey just wants to know him.

Jacey is notorious for making the wrong decision, about her life choices and the men she dates. After everything that happened with Jared in If You Leave, she is really trying to put her life back together. Dominic is the exact kind of guy she should be staying away from but she can't help feeling a connection. She sees more to Dominic than anyone else does and she wants to know him. She can clearly see that he puts on a front to cover some dark demons and she wants to open him up and help him fight them. I loved Jacey's growth in this book as she works really hard to break her old patterns. Dominic may seem like a "bad habit" on the outside but really he is proof that Jacey is changing. 

"Oh yeah, right. Trust him. For some reason, I can practically see Lucifer himself saying the same thing with the same expression on his face. In all honesty, Lucifer might be safer than Dominic."

Gabe makes a few apearrances but Brand is a rock for Jacey and someone she can always rely on. It becomes clear that his feelings for her are more than "brotherly" like she always thought they were and my heart broke a little for him because he is such a good guy. Jacey really handles Brand's feelings for him well and she lets him down easy. He's a real gentleman about it and that just made me like him more. As much as I like Brand, Jacey and Dominic are right together and I know he'll get his HEA one day soon.

I really enjoyed watching Jacey break down Dominic's walls and open him up. He gets her into a bit of trouble and they're forced to do community service together at a youth center for 3 months. Jacey is like no other woman Dom has ever met and she doesn't fall all over him or put up with his bullshit. She's REAL and that intrigues him to no end. It's obvious they are attracted to each other and when they decide to just have a no-strings attached physcial relationship, you know there's going to end up being feelings and heartbreak will ensue. As he really begins to care about Jacey, Dominic refuses to believe he can give her his whole heart. I liked that Jacey stood strong with Dominic and made him prove himself to her. When he opened up about his past and the things that have made him who he is, my heart broke in half for him. The fact that he shared things with Jacey that no one else knew about really proved his feelings and trust in her. This was Dominic's defining moment and the fact that he had Jacey by his side when secrets were revealed and his world came crashing down again made me believe he could get through it. He drew strength from Jacey and became a better man because of her. After six years of suffering, he was finally able to let go of the past and move forward. 

This book was all about healing and garnering strength from those that love you to keep moving forward during difficult times. Dominic stopped really living when times got tough and he allowed that guilt and grief to consume him. Jacey helped him realize that he carried unnecessary guilt and that he still had plenty of life to live and things to live for. 

"But the important thing to remember is always this: Life is hard sometimes, but it can only break you if you let it." ~ Courtney Cole (Author's Note)

Courtney put an author's note at the end of this book and it seriously made me cry. I have been through some difficult times over the past year, especially in the last 3 months and this really spoke to me, especially the quote above. Some days are better than others but I've been inspired by Courtney to "flip life the bird and live the heck out of it."

PURCHASE LINKS:

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE

~BEFORE WE FALL Playlist~

By Courtney Cole

Okay, so I’m one of those weird writers who don’t listen to music while I write… it distracts me. BUT, I do listen to it when I plot, and whenever else I can… like when I’m driving, just so that I can get in the right frame of mind.

This is the playlist for Before We Fall <- (Spotify Link)

I know it’s a rather eclectic list… I go from Baby did a bad, bad thing to Bleeding Out by Imagine Dragons. Haha. That’s because Jacey and Dom are sort of mercurial at times. There are times when they are just flat out naughty—and then other times when they’re sweet and angsty. I had to have music that reflected that.

The three songs I listened to the most were:

1. Bleeding Out by Imagine Dragons:

Because it was so haunting and gutting. Because of what happened to Dom in his past, he feels gutted and empty. But he felt this need to be near Jacey—deep down, he knew he’d climb mountains for her, but he also felt that he shouldn’t… because he was afraid he’d annihilate her. It was a tricky place for him to be in… and since he felt this way a lot, I listened to this song a lot.

2. Pull Me Down by Mikky Ekko:

Momo from Books Over Boys turned me onto this song—she said, THIS SONG is Dom and Jacey. And she was right. Dom continually felt that he would pull Jacey under… and she kept going back for more.

3. Counting Stars by OneRepublic:

When I was first writing Before We Fall, I listened to this song over and over. Most of the lyrics are a perfect fit for Dom and Jacey… He feels right doing the wrong things…everything that kills him makes him feel alive. That’s Dom through and through. And the Hope is our four letter word part? That’s Jacey.

Okay fine, I have to add a fourth song that I listened to a lot.

4. Wicked Games by James Vincent McMorrow:

Why? Because it’s haunting and deep and Dominic does want to love Jacey. But he doesn’t know how. It gutted me every time.

Courtney Cole Bio:

Courtney Cole is a novelist who would eat mythology for breakfast if she could. She has a degree in Business, but has since discovered that corporate America is not nearly as fun to live in as fictional worlds. She loves chocolate and roller coasters and hates waiting and rude people.

Courtney lives in quiet suburbia, close to Lake Michigan, with her real-life Prince Charming, her ornery kids (there is a small chance that they get their orneriness from their mother) and a small domestic zoo.

Links:

Website | Blog | Twitter |Facebook | Author Goodreads | Amazon author page | Grand Central | Grand Central Twitter | Grand Central Facebook 

Trailers:

Book Trailer 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbmzcdcLF14&feature=youtu.be

Book Trailer 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiT9pJrFlWk&feature=youtu.be

Also by Courtney Cole

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