Review/Giveaway/Inteview: Falling by Jolene Perry

  Falling
  Author: Jolene Perry
  Publisher: Next Door Publishing
  Publication date: October 24th 2012
  My rating: 4 stars

 

Dana is definitely not the kind of girl to be living in the dump of a wilderness lodge she finds herself waitressing in. But when Craig, the sexy cop who’s handling the murder case where she’s a witness, suggests it—it seems like a good idea. Now she’s got no BMW, no shopping and an assortment of hairy Alaskan men who definitely belong in a run-down old lodge. Her exciting visits from Craig are getting less exciting, and the lodge owner, Jason, is quickly moving from grouchy and judgmental, to funny, smart and unexpectedly complex.

Jason knows exactly the type of girl Dana is—beautiful, spoiled, and high maintenance. She’s everything that hurt him in the past, and why he now lives as far away from city life as he can manage. If he wasn’t so hard-up for help, he would have never said yes to his friend, Craig. Despite his reservations, Dana becomes the perfect antidote to everything in his life—both his disaster of a divorce and precocious little sister who shows up on his doorstep. Jason realizes he’s falling for Dana too late to stop it, or even slow it down.

As the trial approaches, Dana knows it’s time to move on with her life—but is her life back in the city she left or with a guy she never meant to fall for?

Falling is exactly the type of read I gravitate to.  Two people who DO NOT want to fall for each other and do, in spite of their best efforts not to.  A romance that creeps up when you least expect it, and with someone you wouldn’t normally choose.  Throw in some mutual dislike, and I’m sold!  

Dana is in Alaska temporarily.  Her goal was to remodel a home in a year and turn around and sell it.  It is a way to escape for a little while before she settled into her life plans.   You know what happens to best laid plans though?  Life always has the last laugh. 

While on her way to a party, Dana witnesses a crime and gets into an accident.  This is where she meets the oh-so-charming Craig, the police officer who handles the case.  There’s an immediate attraction, and all too quickly these two are at it, hot and heavy.  Dana soon finds out that Craig has been less than truthful about his situation (red-flag, Dana!!) and she has some doubts, but she’s not looking for anything meaningful or permanent, so she’s willing to overlook a few “minor” details to just have fun. *insert cringe and character slap here*  

In the middle of all this, Dana is threatened by the defendant in the crime she witnesses and suddenly needs a hideout.  Craig has the perfect place to stow her, a remote run-down lodge that Dana would NEVER stay at if she had a choice.  With Jason, the scruffy and grumpy lodge-owner throwing her judgmental looks, how will she survive this confinement?

Jason has seen Dana’s type a million times before, rich, pampered, and superficial.  Exactly the type he wanted to get away from after finishing college.  He doesn’t care that his lodge is run-down, it’s a work in progress, and allows him quite time for his passion: writing. 

This was written in alternating POVs from Dana and Jason.  I love this format of writing, because I always want to know what’s going on in the main character’s heads.  I didn’t care much for Dana at first.  She didn’t really know what she wanted in life, and makes some pretty stupid and thoughtless choices throughout.  But this is where Ms. Perry’s talented writing comes in.  By taking someone, like Dana, flawed and unlikable, and showing us how she grows and learns from her mistakes, and making her likable in the process.   I had no such problems with Jason!  Even when he was gruff in the beginning, I was immediately drawn to him.  (Yes, even with his scruffy beard!)  He had principals, and yet didn’t throw them up in Dana’s face when she finally realized the error of her ways.  I loved how he didn’t want to like Dana, but couldn’t help himself when he saw the real girl underneath.  That’s when the sparks begin to fly.  There were some steamy scenes in this: 

I'm not sure who moves first, but our lips come together. Everywhere Craig was confident and hungry, Jason is slow and deliberate. Every fiber of me is quaking at wanting more of him than he's giving. His lips brush against mine again, slightly parted this time, and when his tongue lightly teases my lower lip I let out a soft moan, which is a sure sign that I'm no longer in control of what my body wants.

That’s sure to get your blood pumping!   

I’ve always wanted to visit Alaska, so I loved this as the setting.  I felt like I was up at the lodge enjoying the winter quiet, (of course while reading a book by the fire!) and the fun of snowmachining, right along with the characters. 

I highly recommend this story for contemporary romance fans, and readers who are enjoying the new adult genre like I am.  It was an addictive story that you could easily read in one sitting!   I had a big smile on my face when I finished!  


I really enjoyed Falling, so I was beyond thrilled when Jolene agreed to answer a few of my questions about her writing, and this story.  But that’s not all!! This fabulous lady offered to sponsor a giveaway of not just one, but two e-book copies of this wonderful story!!  Make sure you scroll down, after the interview, for a chance to win a copy.  Two winners, yay!! 

Interview:

  
Q: Jolene, I was checking you out and I don’t know how it escaped me that you’ve written so many books.  I count twelve, wow!  Is it easy for you to write?  Do the ideas just float out of your head? 

A: Someone asked me once where I come up with ideas, and I have NO idea but I will say that most come from an idea for a scene that is NOT part of the beginning of a book and also that my stories are usually driven by the character. Nyrae Dawn and I counted our completed projects (even the ones that weren’t ready) and I have 25, she has a few more. But no. No real idea where the stories come from. I have a harder time NOT coming up with new ideas.

Q: How did you get into writing? 

A: I always liked to write, but didn’t actually start until 2009. My first novel (which is horrible writing and shelved, lol) I didn’t think would be a novel, but I wanted to write this story and after 100 pages, I realized it was going to be a whole book. Once I knew I could write a whole book, the next came a lot faster, and that was my first published book, The Next Door Boys.

Q: Falling is set in Alaska, which I see is where you grew up and currently live.  Did you base the setting, the Denali Lodge, on a real-life place?   

The Lodge Jolene used for inspiration

 A: I TOTALLY did!! My parents have a very small (no running water) cabin about a quarter mile from Kenney Creek Lodge. The place is almost as worn down as I describe in my book, but they make great pizza and know to drop a Mountain Dew in front of me when I come in :-D It’s the only way to have internet access when I’m out snowmachining, so I spend a lot of time there in the winter.

Q: How about the characters?  Are any of them based on people you actually know? 

A: James, Josh and Rory, who are Jason’s two brothers and cousin. They’re based on my brother, James, his red-headed friend Josh, and my cousin, Rory. All three are fabulous on a snowmachine. Also – Boz is a combination of about three guys I knew in high school, and yes, one of them had a dad who grew marijuana in a greenhouse all winter long…

Jolene's brother James snowmachining

Q: There are some pretty steamy scenes in Falling, (yay!).   Did you find them challenging to write?  

A: Nope. Those are the most fun!! I stay pretty mild in my YA, and by some standards my steamy scenes aren’t super steamy, but yeah…I had a lot of fun. It is weird being inside a guy’s head for those moments, though. And Jason really enjoyed her body…

Q: Brace yourself, this may be the most important question of the whole interview:  Are Alaskan men really hairy in real-life?!!  

A: There are very sadly way too many beards covering up handsome faces L But seriously, there are so many guys up here that are into the extreme sports, so the bodies…

Q: Can you tell us about what you’re working on now?   Will there be any companion novels to Falling? 

A: I have a few ideas for Falling companion novels. I know what happens to Jason’s little sister next, and that would be fun. I also know what happens with both Dana and Jason next, so I don’t want to squeak the word, “sequel” but there is a possibility. I guess it mostly depends on if people love the characters as much as I do because I had a lot of fun with this cast. I’ve thought about writing Boz a nice story, but finding a girl equal to him would be a challenge.

Thank you SO much for the review and questions!! That was fun!!!

So now you know ladies, there is a nice selection of well-muscled men in Alaska, just bring some clippers and maybe a razor or two!!

Thank you so much, Jolene, for the generous giveaway and for your time! We loved having you on the blog!

Jolene Perry is an enigmatic figure. She is most often seen behind her laptop, staring at the words flying onto the screen with reckless abandon.

She survived growing up in rural Alaska, driving like a lunatic, and her husband’s careers in the military, as a perpetual student, and an Alaska State Prosecutor. She also survived as a middle school math teacher using her degree of Political Science and French.

One day Jolene was playing her guitar (probably some-thing juvenile for her kids) when she wondered what it would be like to write a song for a rockstar, and her first book was born. (that book is shelved)

She now lives a very glamorous life as a stay at home mom, elbow deep in dirty dishes and peanut butter sandwiches. She doens’t even attempt to keep up with the laundry because non-writing time is precious, and her family is sorta awesome.

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Jolene has generously provided two e-copies of Falling.  Enter the rafflecopter below and we will pick two winners.  The giveaway is INTERNATIONAL and will run for two weeks.  The only requirement is that you follow the blog via GFC.  Good luck!

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