BLOG TOUR STOP: REVIEW, EXCERPT, AND GIVEAWAY: Sweet Fall by Tillie Cole

Title: Sweet Fall (Sweet Home #3)
Author: Tillie Cole
Genre: New Adult Contemporary
Publication Date: 26^th August 2014
Blog Tour Organised By: Kelly @ Have Book Will Read

BLURB

From the USA Today Best Selling Sweet Home Series, comes Sweet Fall; a tale of heartache, beating the odds and finding strength in the most unlikeliest of places.

We all have secrets.

Secrets well buried.

Until we find the one soul who makes the burden of such secrets just that little bit easier to bear.

Lexington “Lexi” Hart is a senior at the University of Alabama. Surrounded by her best friends, her loving family and having fulfilled her life-long dream of making the Crimson Tide cheer squad, everything is going exactly as she always dreamed it would. But beneath her happy exterior, demons lurk, threatening to jeopardize everything Lexi has worked to achieve.

When events in her life become too much to cope with, Lexi finds herself spiraling down into the realm of her biggest fear. Lexi falls hard, victim once again to the only thing that can destroy her and, on the way, finds herself falling straight into the dangerous tattooed arms of a guy from the wrong side of the tracks.

Austin Carillo, starting Wide Receiver for the Alabama Crimson Tide, must get picked in this year’s NFL draft. He needs it. His brothers need it. Most importantly, his mother desperately needs it. Brought up in a world where the poor are forgotten, the sick are left to fend for themselves and no hero miraculously appears to pull you out of hell, Austin had no other choice but to make a living on the wrong side of the law—until football offered Austin the break to get his life back on track.

But when a family tragedy drags him back into the clutches of the gang he believed he had left far behind, Austin finds himself falling. Falling back into criminal ways and falling deep into a suffocating darkness. Until a troubled yet kindred spirit stumbles across his path, where Austin quickly finds he is falling for a young woman—a young woman who might just have the power to save him from his worst enemy: himself.

Can two troubled souls find a lasting peace together? Or will they finally succumb to the demons threatening to destroy them?

New Adult/Contemporary Romance novel—contains adult content, sexual situations and mature topics. Suited for ages 17 and up.

*CAN BE READ AS A STAND-ALONE NOVEL*

Goodreads link:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18759345-sweet-fall

Buy Links:

Amazon UK – http://amzn.to/1pBlocQ

Amazon US – http://amzn.to/1vJtzEJ

REVIEW

Inner demons – no matter how much someone tries to cover them up, they always have a way of showing themselves, and if they work at it hard enough, there comes a point where they can ultimately take over and consume someone, making it very difficult for that person to overcome them. These demons may come in many forms, but their goals are all the same; they’re looking to knock their victims down enough so that there’s no hope of seeing past them. Ultimately, the negativity wins out and the fight in the innocent vanishes.

For Lexington Hart and Austin Carillo, the main characters in Tillie Cole’s Sweet Fall, their insecurities and dark thoughts are hidden underneath a made up face and tattoos, but no matter how hard they try to conceal them with a smiling face or colored ink, their flaws are always there, mocking them and threatening to expose who they truly are behind their shields. But if these two kindred souls can help each other to quiet that voice within, perhaps they can prevent one another from falling into old habits, making that once destructive fall nothing but sweet.

Lexi and Austin’s first interactions are not the least bit pleasant. Lexi finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time, forcing Austin to threaten her to keep her mouth shut and forget what she saw. But in a twist of fate, Lexi then finds herself comforting Austin as he comes to terms with his mother’s illness, and in that moment, a bond is formed – one that is mutually beneficial. They become each other’s saving grace, silencing the voice inside Lexi’s head and showing Austin that he is worth more than his background or past misdeeds. But when Austin’s old life comes calling again, in order to protect his brother and help his mom, he has to become someone else – someone he thought he would never have to go back to, and this choice not only seals his fate but Lexi’s as well, and by the time Austin fully sees the results of his decision, Lexi’s fall may be too much to overcome.

Lexi and Austin’s story is beyond amazing – the writing, the characters, the honesty, the heartache – every aspect of Sweet Fall consumes the reader in a way that makes it impossible not to be changed by it. Tillie Cole’s words alone illustrate her connection to Lexi’s struggle and the deeply personal perspective she brings to it. Lexi is a character that many readers can relate to; whether it’s her quest for perfection or the insecurities that consume her, most of us, in varying degrees, understand her struggles and sympathize with the pressures she puts upon herself. Regardless of how far Austin has come, he still feels like his background and his past define him, causing him to remain broken and lose sight of what could ultimately help his family.

Sweet Fall is a very emotional and heartbreaking read, but it’s also uplifting and hopeful. Because the story is told through both Lexi and Austin’s perspectives, nothing is concealed from the reader. All of their secrets and fears are laid out before us, forcing us all to truly see who they are behind the masks they wear. Their weaknesses and their strengths are exposed, but ultimately what wins out is up to Lexi and Austin and what or who they choose to listen to and become.

Without a doubt, Lexi and Austin’s story is one of my top ten favorite reads of 2014.

A complimentary copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

5++ poison apples

EXCERPT

Walking behind Axel, I gripped his arms and wrenched him back. “Back the fuck off, Axe,” I ordered as Axel stumbled back. Looking over Axel’s shoulder, a pair of huge green eyes glanced up at me, and I stilled.

Hell. It was that cheerleader. The one I’d spoken to after the game.

I tipped my head up to the sky. Someone up there really fuckin’ hates me.

Axel was suddenly in my face. “The bitch saw too much. She needs to know she can’t talk. I gotta deal with this shit now! Can’t have no loose ends,” he hissed out, his hands fisted at his sides as the cheerleader seemed to sink her tiny body back even farther against the wall, eyes darting everywhere but on us. She was crying, for fuck sake. Her black makeup was all over her pale face.

“She won’t.” I looked at the chick. “Will you?” I practically growled. She was frozen with fear. “Fuckin’ tell him!”

More water filled her eyes and she began shaking her head. “I-I-I won’t.”

Spinning Axel around by his arm, I said, “The cops are just about here. You need to split. I’ll make sure she doesn’t squeal.” Axel spit on the ground at her feet before pushing past me, but not before I grabbed his bicep again, my mouth at his ear. “You and me need to talk. You’ve fucked up, brother—Levi dealing for the crew, bringing this to my school, everything! I’m not gonna let this shit go.”

Scoffing a laugh at my threat, Axel ripped his arm from my hand and marched off in the direction of the parking lot. I watched him go, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I wasn’t getting a good feeling about something. Like some big fuckin’ omen was following my brothers. It was obvious Axel was getting in deeper with the crew, moving up, getting in tighter with Gio, and by the looks of things, dragging Levi with him.

Dragging him straight into hell.

A shuffling sound from behind me pulled my attention.

Shit. The chick. I’d almost forgotten about her.

Just as I turned around, I caught her edging away, trying to make her escape. That is until she saw me watching and froze, like a damn deer caught in headlights. I had to sort this shit quick, protect my family. No matter the cost.

“What the fuck did you see?” I snapped coldly.

“N-nothing, I saw nothing…” she whispered, all huge eyes on her tiny face. She must have only been about five feet flat.

“You’re lying,” I said coldly.

“No… really…” she whispered. I could see her pulse slamming in her slim neck.

What the fuck was she doing here in the quad, on her own, at this time of night anyway? Only reason I was even lifting weights this late was because Rome and me always put in extra sessions, way more than anyone else.

I pushed my chest against her body and heard a short sharp inhale of breath. “You saw my brother. What was he doing? And don’t fuckin’ lie.”

I knew she knew what was going down, of course, but I needed her so fearful of me that she wouldn’t say shit even to her closest friends. I had to make sure she kept her mouth shut. Couldn’t go spreading rumors around campus.

With a slump of her shoulders, I saw the fight leave her body. “Drugs. I think he was selling drugs.” She sighed in defeat. “No. I know he was selling drugs.”

Breathing in through my nose, I tipped my head back.

Fuckin’ A.

ABOUT TILLIE COLE

Tillie Cole is a Northern girl through and through. She originates from a place called Teesside on that little but awesomely sunny (okay I exaggerate) Isle called Great Britain. She was brought up surrounded by her English rose mother — a farmer’s daughter, her crazy Scottish father, a savagely sarcastic sister and a multitude of rescue animals and horses.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tilliecoleauthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7074846.Tillie_Cole
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tillie_cole
Blog: http://tilliecole.com/

GIVEAWAY

Tillie is giving away a Kindle Fire HDX and this is open internationally

a Rafflecopter giveaway