Falling for Autumn

This story begins with another “girl runs far away from home to a college campus trying to escape an ugly past.“ Even though this trope has been done numerous times in the New Adult genre, Heather Wood has managed to effectively invigorate new life into hers. <br /><br />Autumn Dorey isn’t looking for a boyfriend – much less a serious relationship with a sports jock when she meets the campus Romeo and football star, Blake Preston. However, it seems as if every time she turns around, she encounters Blake and they become study buddies and then good friends. Both are plagued by ugly secrets when they meet. But nothing stays secret forever and everyday is a countdown. What happens when those secrets are exposed? <br /><br />I applaud this author’s choice for the manner in which she chose to deliver a couple of elements to this tale. She kept a shocking and significant twist in the plotline close to her vest before revealing it late in the storyline maximizing the impact. And secondly, there was no insta-sex between Autumn and Blake and the slowly developing romance was portrayed realistically and meaningfully as well. <br /><br />This book stands on its own. There is no cliffhanger and readers should be very satisfied with the happy ending. <br /><br /><br />

Autumn goes to a party and meets super hot football player Blake and I was immediately like:<br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1396403063ra/9128615.gif" width="225" height="200" alt="love" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>Autumn went thru some messed-up shit but once they find each other, I knew she would be ok:<br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1398860259ra/9472466.gif" width="225" height="200" alt="romance" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>But then this happened:<br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1380222758ra/658910.gif" width="225" height="200" alt="omg" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>And I thought no way things would work out!!! Yet in the end....<input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="8476e3cd-28a7-4989-9f19-d1176d9441d6" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="8476e3cd-28a7-4989-9f19-d1176d9441d6">Blake and Autumn get their HEA</label><br></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]>

Stupid secret of doom was stupid. I saw it a mile away and it's so disappointing that Autumn didn't but that's how (most) NA books work. It's the same old formula. Blake was an asshole. What he lied (by omission) about, that was a deception of epic proportions. Hello, honesty, it's kind of a big deal. I couldn't even read those last pages once the reveal happened because I knew they'd make up and that would piss me off big time.

<img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1400593585i/9693331.jpg" alt="some_text" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>Review Originally Posted at: <a href="http://reviewsofabookmaniac.blogspot.com/2014/05/falling-for-autumn-by-heather-topham.html/" rel="nofollow noopener">Book Freak</a><br><br><b>Rating: 4.5 Stars</b><br><br>Autumn Dorey didn’t want anything else but to finish her high school, and leave her hometown, forget her past and live a new life. Her life in Newpine was a total nightmare after her so-called friends betrayed her, and her boyfriend joined in a little later – taunting her even further, hurting her and humiliating her every single chance they got.<br><br>It started one night during Spring when her world fell apart. Rumors were spread, people tend to believe what they tend to believe or what they chose to believe. It had toppled Autumn’s position from the most popular girl down to the bottom of the food chain. She was bullied so badly that she needed to be homeschooled to escape the people that have been tormenting her.<br><br>She wanted to start anew at college, in Cook University. But nightmares kept on haunting her, she may have new friends but she was careful on whom to allow inside her walls. Until Blake Preston came along. He was the type of guy she needed to get away from – he was handsome, popular and a football star – she had bad experiences with athletes. But resisting Blake, or ignoring him would require a total effort as he seemed to be present everywhere she goes. He confused her. He can be nice at one point, and rude at some point. He can be sweet, then he would want her to get away from him. He wasn’t good for her, or so he says…<br><br>She tries to avoid him, but to no avail. She was ready to trust again, to give her heart to the person who managed to break her walls and made her believe in love again – until his secret was out in the open and it managed to painfully collide with her past that have left her hurt, vulnerable, broken,<br><br>She didn’t really believed him at first, me too. I think he was a great guy, he can be confusing at times – but I like him. But just like Autumn, he has some secrets too. Yes, the driving point of this book are the secrets. Secrets both characters have been keeping since the first chapters. I knew something bad happened to Autumn, I didn’t know the extent of it, until she was finally ready to spill it out, and when she did, it broke my heart. Knowing how it broke her soul, her spirit, her whole life – and how she blamed herself for it. As for Blake, I had inclinations of what his secret was, I was ready to bet on it, only to still be surprise. I didn’t see some of it coming…<br><br>Falling for Autumn threaded carefully on issues that are still considered a taboo in our times. Issues that only a few could understand, and some people would easily throw judgment without first viewing facts. Although I didn’t like how Blake did it, but I was glad he was wise enough to dig facts rather than give his judgment easily. I fell in love with the characters, broke my heart when theirs did, and my heartbeat stopped for a while when the secrets were finally revealed. It wasn’t THAT easy to read, but every page was worth it.<br><br>✪Complimentary Copy was given in exchange for an honest review.✪<br><br>More of my reviews at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="http://reviewsofabookmaniac.blogspot.com">http://reviewsofabookmaniac.blogspot.com</a><br>

<a href="http://s1005.photobucket.com/user/sheylas1/media/BOOK%20COVERS/FallingforAutumn.jpg.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"> <img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1397440555i/9276873.jpg" alt=" photo FallingforAutumn.jpg" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a><br><br>Autumn Dorey ran away to college. She left her town behind and the awful rumors that tormented her. She was tired of dealing with what happened in the last few years before she finished high school. Her friends and boyfriend had turned on her and she had become an outcast. However, this girl is determined to reinvent herself and dedicate her school years to study. She especially wants to stay clear from the football gods.<br><br>Blake Preston is the football running back star for Cook University. He is not only a football god but he is also the hottest guy that everyone wants. When he meets Autumn he seems to be angry at her but later on he is always wanting to spend more time with her.<br><br>It doesn't take long for them to discover they want more than friendship but secrets have a funny way of resurfacing when you least expect it. The question is can their relationship survive it?<br><br><i> <b>“Things from before that I can’t tell you. I should tell you, but I don’t want it to ruin everything. Because it feels like what we have is fragile and the more you get to know about me, the more likely it will all shatter.”</b> </i><br><br><br>Autumn is a very interesting character. She has been hurt and bullied to the point of rock bottom. I like that she had an open communication with her parents to what happened to her. Both parents were very supportive of her and her mother's advise at the end really surprised me. It made me like her even more.<br>Blake was a loyal guy despite having an awful mother. I could see the struggle he faced and even though, I'm not happy he kept the secret for too long, I understood why he was so frightened to reveal it.<br>I loved when Blake dealt with the high school bullies especially Autumn's ex. A fist pump was in order.<br>I'm very happy with the ending and there was no cliffhanger.<br><br><b>“I love you and what we have is stronger than anything I felt before. We have something real and I never want to let you go. I see you smile at me when you wake up in my arms and I want that every day for the rest of our lives. I want to be the kind of man that gives someone as incredible as you a reason to smile.”</b><br><br>4/5 Fangs<br>Complimentary copy provided by author in exchange for an honest review. <br><a href="http://mrsleifs.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow noopener">MrsLeif's Two Fangs About It</a><br><a href="https://www.facebook.com/MrsLeifsbookreviews" rel="nofollow noopener">Facebook</a><br>

I was chomping at the bit when I heard Heather was releasing another book. Boy, was I in for a surprise. I'm not a romance fan, and was astonished to find she'd written something along these lines. Once I learned the genre, those niggling little doubts began to form in the back of my head: Would I like it? Should I read it? So, I bit the bullet and snagged a copy on Amazon. I'm so glad I did. Enough of my rambling, let's move on to the good stuff.<br /><br /><b>From a Reader's Perspective:</b><br />I hate bullying. Let me begin by saying that. This book re-created some of the true-to-life teens I had to deal with in high school and it really struck a chord with me. I felt for Autumn, and could see myself in her shoes. Though I made different choices about who my friends ended up being in the long run, I understood why she made the decisions she did. I read through this book in two days. Usually I'm pretty good about being able to see where the story is going, but I missed the mark big time on this one. Blake was your typical ladies man who was misunderstood, but that's what the genre calls for. I liked him. He reminded me a lot of my husband. Pacing was fast and the plot was a great one. I loved the scenes where the author showed Autumn's past and didn't shy away from getting inside her head or giving the gritty details about the incident. I do have a favorite quote (this is also very odd for me) which I'm sharing with you now: <i>"There was no phoenix that could rise out of the ashes left behind by his betrayal."</i> *swoon over the language*<br /><br /><b>From an Editor's Perspective:</b><br />I found a couple of little things; but nothing that threw me out of the story and the errors weren't super troublesome. Probably not things the normal reader would even pick up on.<br /><br /><b>Rating:</b><br />+1 Star for giving me a main character I could relate to in so many ways<br />+1 Star for pacing<br />+1 Star for holding my interest so tightly, I read the book in just two days<br />+1 Star for the rich language that made me favorite a sentence<br />+1 Star for lack of errors<br />Overall, <b>5 out of 5 stars</b>. Wow. Highly recommended for anyone who's looking for a wonderful, captivating read.

? Free on Amazon today (4/27/2020)! ?

<br />Why the hell do authors take sex, rape, and alike mature content and dumb the writing down to a junior high reading level and make the character voices sound like hormonal 15-year-olds on repeat?! ?!? <br /><br /><b>This read like a horny, emotionally screwy teenagers' diary of pissing and moaning and angsty bs on repeat.</b> <br /><br />The book talks you to death. It's like that ditzy friend that annoyingly smacks her gum and twirls her hair as she chatters in your ear for hours about the importance of liquid vs gel eyeliner. <br /><br />Female MC ...<br /><br />Josh is sweet and cute... Josh is sweet and cute... Josh is sweet and cute.... But, he's just a friend &amp; don't make my toes curl like Blake...<br /><br />Blake is a friend... Blake is just a friend... Blake doesn't feel anything romantic for me... Blake is a friend... But, my God is he hot and makes my toes curl at the thought of kissing him. F it I want him. Oh, no I'm just a friend. I'm just a friend. Boo hoo. But he's so hot...,<br /><br />My hs friends betrayed me... College was a new start... My hs ex is an ass. My hs friends are asses. I should forget hs cuz college is a new start. Oh, my god that reminds me of hs. I don't want to talk about hs. My hs friends betrayed me. My hs ex was so sweet until he wasn't. College is a fresh start and I don't want to think about hs. <br /><br />I'm a virgin... I was slut shamed... I was betrayed... I'm a virgin.. I don't date... I want Blake... I'm a virgin... I want to have sex.. I was hurt in hs and betrayed.. I was slut shamed... Did I mention I'm a virgin and that Blake's toned body is yummy? Did I? Yes? Well, let me digress some more and tell you I'm a virgin, Blake is toned, hs was a nightmare, and I'm trying to move on <i>by not talking about anything high school related</i> even though I mention some reference to high school every other sentence. <br /><br /><b>Plot</b> <br /><br />Nonsensical moves, unbelievable plot points. <br /><br />True love overcomes all obstacles. I'd argue that true love here just threw in the towel and said 'do wtf you want if you'll just shut the f up.' <br /><br />The mystery of Blake's moods. Well, that took a damn genius to figure out, right? Not! Wasn't believable. Didn't even make sense! She was a cheerleader. Step dad was high school football coach. He's superstar football player that <i>everyone </i> knows in college. Yet, he not only didn't play at his step dad's high school but never went to any of the games, was never big talk for her to know who he was in high school? Okay, yeah that's believable. Not! <br /><br />She's f'ing frantic about her home town shunning her and her family after what happened to her. She doesn't want Blake to know about it. So, when he wants to go to her hometown and take her out on the town, she, of course, jumps at the chance. Okay, that makes a lot of sense that she's bring him to ground zero and expect her secret to stay a secret. Meh, ehh. <br /><br /><b>Bottom line</b> <br /><br />Listen, I'm not trying to be mean, but some stories just shouldn't be written, some authors should be refused pen and paper, &amp; some reviews need to be blunt. The writing was bad, the story was horrible, &amp; the characters were torturous. I mean it's bad when an author can take such an emotional &amp; jarring subject as attempted rape and bullying and make such an ass out of it as for readers to just not even give a shit; yeah, that takes some serious doing!! <br /><br /><br />

OK, just so you know...I'm not good at writing reviews but I will try.. <br />SIGH! Now I just have bad luck when I pick the books I read...This is the third book I read where I feel a half missing. :(<br /><br />Half of the book is slow in a bitter pattern.. then... what happend? The end? WTF?<br />Autumn is cute, but I do not like people who make themselves the victims .. Not that much .. <br /><br />I've been through my share of very nasty life events. Therefore, I also attracted to read books with a lot of heart behind them.I want a warm pretend world to get lost in when I read.<br /><br />Unfortunately, I can not relate to Autumn through major parts of this book. She makes sense, but at the same time to bitter and to much "I'm a victim" mindset. <br /><br />Blake is a total stereotype, but he works, no more no less. Unfortunately I got no relation to him either.<br /><br />The story works but personally I missing something ... something important.<br />I skim past some background history, It doesn't make me feel more for Autumn. I am totally impartial to how things happen in the book. Pity. <br />SO sorry I can not give the book a good rating .. I need to relate and FEEL the characters in the books I read ... this ... does nothing for me.

What if the man you fell in love with had a secret awful enough to destroy every thing you thought you knew about him? Could you still love the man and make it work? Blake was such a great guy and even though readers don't get to hear his p.o.v., I could still sympathize with him. I liked the message of love being more important than any thing else. The characters both learn to love the one person they know they shouldn't.