Break My Fall by Jessica Scott (spotlight, excerpt and review)

 

Break My Fall
by Jessica Scott

For Josh Douglas, broken by the impotent rage of combat and loss, pain is the only thing that feels real until he meets Abby Hillard.  In Josh, Abby sees a puzzle for someone else to solve even though she deeply feels the pull to free the darkness that cloaks him.  

Break My Fall by USA Today Bestselling author, Jessica Scott, is the second book in an emotional new adult series about a group of young veterans adjusting to life away from the military. They've got a lot to learn about life away from war - and college may or may not be the place for them to learn it.

Title: Break My Fall

Author: Jessica Scott

Series: Falling #2

Genre: New Adult

Release Date: February 15, 2016

Synopsis:

Violence. I’m addicted to it. It’s how I feel alive. It’s the only thing that’s real any more.

And now I have to sit around and discuss it like it’s physics or calculus.

I can’t do it. I can’t pretend that it’s some sterile academic topic.

Violence isn’t sterile. It isn’t calm. It’s pulsing. It’s alive.

It’s my drug.

Until I met Abby, I never wanted anything beyond the next fight.

Never considered that I might finally find a way back to the land of the living.

Now? Now I find myself dreaming of a woman with golden eyes.

But I can never be with her. Because I am not whole. And I never will be again.

But I cannot stay away. And loving her might finally be what breaks me.


EXCERPT:

I want to know his name. I've decided that already. I should text Graham and ask him if he knows it. But that would clue Graham in that I was interested, and while I love Graham like a brother, he has far too much invested in my love life or lack thereof. He'd give the guy my number, home address, and blood type if he thought it would get me laid. 

I might make jokes about it, but I'm not that open when it comes to sex. It's not that I'm morally opposed to it. But it hasn't been exactly…earth shattering for me. Robert was…more concerned with his own pleasure than mine.

And wow, do I need to think about something else. Something other than the man next to me with the haunted eyes and thick, blunt fingers that are currently toying with a pencil.

Down, girl.

I'm better than this. I'm not boy crazy. I don’t let myself get distracted from why I’m here and guys definitely fall into the distraction category these days. I know who I am and what I want in life. And while the fantasy of having a guy stroke my neck and whisper things to make me laugh might be appealing, it's nothing more than a fantasy for girls like me in a place like this.

Fantasies are safe.

Fantasies don't ruin your life and crush your soul and try to change who you are. They don’t pretend to love you.

And in my fantasies is where he'll stay. In the dark and the shadows, where I can take out the idea of him and play with it for a little while, then put it safely away where it can wait until next time.

Because fantasies can’t hurt you.

And as interested as I am in the man who did such a simple thing by sitting next to me, I am far too cynical to pretend that this is anything more than it is—a kind gesture.

Nothing more.

Get More information at:  
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Author info:

Jessica Scott is an Iraq war veteran, an active duty army officer and the USA Today bestselling author of novels set in the heart of America’s Army. She is the mother of two daughters, three cats and three dogs, and wife to a retired NCO. She and her family are currently wherever the army has sent her.

She's also written for the New York Times At War Blog, PBS Point of View Regarding War, and IAVA. She deployed to Iraq in 2009 as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF)/New Dawn and has had the honor of serving as a company commander at Fort Hood, Texas twice.

She's pursuing a graduate degree in Sociology in her spare time and she's been featured as one of Esquire Magazine's Americans of the Year for 2012.

Jessica is also an active member of the Military Writers Guild.

Connect with Jessica at: 
Website | Facebook | Twitter| GoodReads | Amazon | Instagram

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My review:

4 out of 5 stars

Break My Fall by Jessica Scott is a contemporary military new adult story that is part of the ‘Falling’ series and features Josh Douglas, who has come home from the Army and is attending college, but still has many issues to cope with left over from his time at war. He forms a connection with a young woman named Abby Hilliard who has her own pressures to deal with while attending the exclusive college. Each has scars from the past that define the present, and their attendance in a class on violence brings up issues that are all too relevant to them, complicating the attraction they feel for each other. The struggle to get past the fear and search for a solution other than violence to deal with past demons may be almost impossible until each can trust the other enough to let down their walls, and that may never happen.

It always impresses me that this author can pen such memorable characters in her stories that it doesn’t matter what genre she’s writing in, I am still mesmerized by the story. I am not a ardent fan of first-person stories, and it’s been some time since I was personally experiencing all of the angst and drama that is associated with the college years, yet I connect with the characters and experience their emotional highs and lows right along with them.

I love that there are multiple levels of bigotry and misconceptions addressed in this story, even as I ache at the fact that the scenarios described are still very relevant to our society today. There are so many beautiful passages in this emotional tale that shares the fallout from violence, both at home and in war, but I savor the journey that leads to the realization…”I understand what it means to find someone who fits you and what it means to love them no matter what. I understand what it feels like when someone loves you for who you are. Not who they want you to be.” After all, isn’t that what all of us want? Someone who ‘gets’ us and accepts us just as we are, while supporting us in our attempts to improve.

Just as in this author’s other stories, things are not tied up with a tidy bow at the end, because these people are a work in progress, just as we all are. The realism and emotional impact of these stories is such that I remember them long after I have read them and look forward to seeing these characters again in their journey, just as I would like to know more about how Beth and Noah are doing after their trials in Before I Fall. This was a touching and emotional read that reminds us of the price we pay for violence and I am anxious to read more by this talented author.

A copy of this title was provided to me for review

The previous title in this series is:


And my review of it can be found at this link