Reviewer: Rowena
Fall (VIP, #3) by Kristen Callihan
Series: VIP #3
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: October 23, 2018
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Point-of-View: Alternating First
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 568
Add It: Goodreads
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Series Rating:

The first time I met Jax Blackwood things went a little sideways.

In my defense, I didn’t know he was Jax Blackwood—who expects a legendary rock star to be shopping for groceries? More importantly, a blizzard was coming and he was about to grab the last carton of mint-chocolate chip.

Still, I might have walked away, but then he smugly dared me to try and take the coveted ice cream. So I kissed him. And distracted that mint-chip right out of his hands.

Okay, it was a dirty move, but desperate times and all that. Besides, I never expected he’d be my new neighbor.

An annoying neighbor who takes great pleasure in reminding me that I owe him ice cream but would happily accept more kisses as payment. An irresistible neighbor who keeps me up while playing guitar naked–spectacularly naked–in his living room.

Clearly, avoidance is key. Except nothing about Jax is easy to ignore—not the way he makes me laugh, or that his particular brand of darkness matches mine, or how one look from him melts me faster than butter under a hot sun.

Neither of us believes in love or forever. Yet we’re quickly becoming each other’s addiction. But we could be more. We could be everything.

All we have to do is trust enough to fall.

Fall is the third book in Kristen Callihan’s VIP series and it features our troubled hero, Jax Blackwood. You’ll remember Jax from the previous books as the member of Kill John that tried to kill himself. He finally gets his happily ever after and it wasn’t easy to come by. Jax battles a bunch of internal issues and I thought that Kristen Callihan handled the entire thing like a champ.

Jax meets his heroine in the aisles of the grocery store. They seem to be following each other throughout the entire grocery store and when he goes for the last pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream, Stella pulls a stunt that makes sure Jax never forgets her again. Stella never thought she’d see the stranger from the grocery store again but when she takes on a job that will have her house and pet sitting right next door to him, things get real interesting.

Jax is stunned that the ice cream thief is living next door to him. He’s also stunned that the more time he runs into her, the more he wants to run into her. The attraction takes him by surprise because she’s not normally his type but she’s definitely memorable and with each interaction, she becomes more and more..his. Stella can’t believe the guy from the grocery store is her next door neighbor. She still can’t quite believe that he’s not stalking her, all over a pint of ice cream but when they keep running into each other, she finds herself wanting to keep running into him. There’s chemistry between them and it’s starting to feel worth the effort of getting to know him.

The romance between Jax and Stella was hard and it was heartbreaking but man was I glad that I read it. I thought that by the end, these two had definitely worked out every single problem that lie between them and that happily ever after was definitely going to stick. It was hard to be in love with someone who was deeply depressed and easily triggered. I thought Callihan wrote Jax’s character so well that I cried more than once during the reading of this book.

Both Stella and Jax were great, compelling characters that had me firmly invested in what was going on with them and between them. I enjoyed every one of their scenes together and my heart hurt for both of them. I really felt for Stella and her desire for real friends. With her job, it was easy for her to be there for everyone but not a whole lot of people were there for Stella. Not in the way that she needed and wanted. I loved seeing the girls of Kill John gather around Stella and become her squad even when things were off between her and Jax.

It was good to see everyone and when Stella calls Killian and tells him to come home, that Jax needed him, I was a hot mess. Kristen Callihan wrote a great story about two people coming together in love after going through deeply personal issues and I was here for all of it. My heart went out to both Jax and Stella throughout the entire book and I was rooting for them to find their ways back to each other. This was another great romance in this series and I’m really looking forward to Brenna’s book. I just know it’s going to be great!

If you’re a fan of this series then I just know that you’ll enjoy this one. I definitely recommend!

Grade: 4.25 out of 5

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