Review: Hard to Fall by Marquita Valentine

Hard to Fall by Marquita Valentine

Series: Take the Fall #4

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: October 18, 2016

Format: Kindle

Source: NetGalley

Find it here: GoodReads | Amazon


Synopsis

As a hardworking, hard-partying firefighter, Hayden Walker values his career and his freedom. But as the eldest son of a U.S. senator, he agreed long ago to follow in his father’s footsteps and run for office, and that means settling down and marrying the picture-perfect wife. Hayden just isn’t ready for that sort of commitment . . . not with women like beautiful, curvy Saylor Dean—the naughty bridesmaid he recognizes the morning after his buddy’s wedding—tempting Hayden to stay single forever.

The unwanted love child of a well-known politician, Saylor has always felt isolated and alone, her only solace the animal shelter she runs in Forrestville. Then she meets Hayden at her best friend’s wedding. During their impulsive and unforgettable night together, Saylor feels desired like never before—only to wake up and find that Hayden doesn’t remember his drunken proposal, or their hasty marriage, or her. But when the truth comes out, Saylor finds it’s a lot harder to fall out of love than in love.
My Thoughts

In this fourth outing in the Take the Fall companion series, Hayden and Saylor take an unconventional path to happily ever after.

Firefighter Hayden Walker takes pride in his work and loves what he does. Among his friends he's known for his easy-going personality and his womanizing. Privately, he's feeling immense pressure from his father to leave a career he loves and instead enter the world of politics, something he has zero desire to do. With his father issuing an ultimatum, Hayden feels obligated to keep a promise he made to his father years ago.

Saylor is passionate about the animal shelter she owns. With a famous actress for a mother and a politico father she's never met, Saylor is happy to live a quiet life out of the spotlight. Her turn as a bridesmaid leads to a night with sexy groomsman Hayden. But she doesn't know what to do when a very hungover Hayden has no memory of their night together... or their quickie marriage. 

Hayden and Saylor are characters that were introduced in After We Fall, the third book in this companion series. I enjoyed both of them as secondary characters and was excited to see them get their own story here. 

Hayden was an alpha male without being an alpha jerk. I loved his openness with Saylor and his sense of duty to his father and family, even when it went against what he really wanted. I also loved that even though he made concessions with his father he did so with a sense of fairness and compromise and he was always willing to stand up for Saylor. 

As for Saylor, I enjoyed her quirkiness and that she didn't try to hide it or change who she was. She had a good head on her shoulders and while she didn't always make the best decisions, she was trying to do the right thing. Even though I appreciated Saylor's quirkiness, she had a way of technically answering questions without really answering and at times I grew frustrated with her. She was purposely evasive, although technically honest, and it often created unnecessary misunderstandings. 

I really enjoyed Hayden and Saylor's relationship and their willingness to see where things went and be open to the possibilities. Hayden, in particular, was so open to his developing feelings for Saylor and I loved the care and concern he had for her. It was easy to become invested in their story and see how they pulled together in tough situations. Despite a lightning fast, and unexplained, conclusion, I thoroughly enjoyed Hard to Fall and hope there's more to come in this series. 

3.5/5 Stars

Note: This title was provided to me in exchange for an honest review. This does not change my opinion of the book or the content of this review.
How do you feel when a conflict is resolved too quickly or without explanation?
Does it change how you feel about the story as a whole?

12 comments

  1. I'm glad to hear he wasn't an alpha-jerk. I'm really getting fed up with those kinds of "alpha men." Plus, I like the sound of Saylor. She sounds like a fun character. These two sound like great characters to read about.

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    1. The same old tropes get so tired and played out, don't they? It was so refreshing that Hayden was actually a total sweetheart.

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  2. Great review! I think it would depend on the conflict as to whether I don't like if it s resolved too quickly or without explanation -- some conflicts are so dumb! The unnecessary ones bug me so much. I like that she owns an animal shelter.

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    1. Don't you hate it when the conflict is overblown into some huge thing and it's really something so stupid? Ugh. Unnecessary for sure. It's like, if you're going to include a conflict at least make it worthy and believable.

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  3. Great review Tanya! I've grown a bit tired of the whole "waking up married after a drunken night in Vegas" premise but this book sounds like a fun twist on that!
    Also, Saylor sounds like my type of girl if she works at the animal shelter:)
    Emily @ www.rabbitholereviews.com

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    1. I know what you mean, Emily, but this wasn't as bad as that. LOL It wasn't Vegas (haha) and there was kind of a story behind it. But it did strain believability that Hayden remembered nothing of it. I just went with it. :) In the third book in this series there's a dog from Saylor's shelter that plays a pretty big part in the book!

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  4. Yes, this book was not my favorite of the series, but I still liked it. Saylor was almost too quirky at times in my opinion. But, I still loved her and my heart hurt for her!

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    1. As much as I loved Hayden and Saylor together and thought this might end up being my favorite in the series, I just couldn't get past that ending. The mom whispers something and poof everything is fixed? Meh, I wasn't loving it. And yeah Saylor was almost too quirky but I loved how Hayden just "got" her and went with it and even played along. :)

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  5. The ending is concerning, but it sounds like a decent read over all. I don't care for the name, Saylor. I know I'm nitpicking but it sounds so weird to my ears. Great review, Tanya! :P

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    1. LOL I hate when I don't like a character name! It's like, I hold it against the book the whole time I'm reading it. Unfair, but what can you do.

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  6. Yeah, I'm not so fond of the abrupt ending. I don't like things to wrap up so neatly. Hmm, what does that say about me?!? :) But I like the sound of this story overall - especially Hayden. I like his loyalty - that's a very nice attribute. I don't like Saylor's evasiveness though - makes conflict seemed contrived.
    I've not read anything from Valentine even though I own at least a few. I'll have to get to them sooner than later. :D

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    1. I've read three of the four books in the series now (all arcs from NetGalley) and they're the kind that I like not love. They're good, enjoyable stories but nothing phenomenal or unforgettable, y'know? But sometimes it's fun to just pick up something easy. :)

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