A lust story. Only meant to be temporary. A love story. Always meant to be permanent.A hate story. Never meant to be.This… is all three.NicoleIt started in an elevator in California. Our lust story.You know, the kind you know going in is a bad idea, but… the nagging desire and all. A few drinks in the hotel bar across from our workplace. A few nights in a luxury suite twenty floors above. … bar across from our workplace. A few nights in a luxury suite twenty floors above. What could it hurt?
Innocent fun would be had by all, and I’d walk away a well-satisfied woman. Ready to continue my life of brokenhearted loneliness.
Grady
It started on a ridge in Afghanistan. Our love story. You know, the kind you felt in your soul at first sight, but… the tragic circumstances and all. Intentionally casual conversation over Irish whiskey. Intentionally casual sex over the course of two weeks. How could I refuse?
Guilt-ridden bonds would be built, and I’d confess my darkest sin. Beg for forgiveness five years overdue and clean my conscience along with it.
It started with the cold hard truth. Our hate story. You know, the kind that could end a surprisingly beautiful beginning.
All books in the LOVE HAPPENS SERIES are standalones. They can be read on their own, or as a companion to the other books in the series:
Next to Me (Sam)
Wrong then Right (Beckett)
True to You (Asher)
Have a Heart (Jason)
Down to Fall (Grady)
more
I really liked this plot line. The connection. The attraction. The regret. The meaning of the tattoo. All of it just layered together made for a book that keep you wanting to fix them both. I loved the pants quirk with Cash. The only thing I had a hard time with was my head keep mixing up Cash and Casey’s names and making to take a second to stop and refocus. Once I righted myself, i was off running again!!!
Love Happens Series.
Book #1 = Next to Me
BOOK #2 = Wrong then Right
BOOK #3 = True to You
BOOK #4 = Have a Heart
BOOK #5 = Down to Fall
Down to Fall is the first book I have ever read by Jodi Watters. It is book 5 in the Love Happens series, they each can be read alone though. I have not read any of the other books and didn’t have any trouble following this story.
Love Happens is about Nicole and Grady. Nicole, a widow who lost her husband in the military. Nicole and Grady meet at work. What Nicole doesn’t know is that Grady is former military and has his fair share of secrets to share.
The connection between these two is intense and complicated and written so well. Nicole is closed off to any type of relationship but Grady was kind and patient so attentive to her. He was exactly what I was hoping for in his character when I first started reading this book. The tension and emotions between Nicole and Grady was wonderfully written and both characters were exceptionally well developed.
I would recommend this book.
Oh my, get you a box of tissues (because you will need them numerous times) and settle in for an emotional journey. This book has: The Sexy Sixteen (aka a group of gorgeous ex Special Forces working at a security company. Flirting in an elevator. A woman still dealing with loosing her husband in a war-torn country and an attraction to a sexy man she rides the elevator to work with most days. A man (one of the Sexy Sixteen) obsessed with the woman and dealing with the death her husband because he was responsible for it. A proposal of a two week affair for just sex by the woman where both start feeling this can be more. A cute 4 year old with an aversion to pants. The truth…then the aftermath. You are in for an amazing and emotional ride. Buckle up and enjoy the ride.
Down to fall is intense and emotional the fifth In the series but complete standalone! Grady and Nicole their chemistry wow just wow! Great book!
Wow, wow, wow. Consider me blown away with this book. I never expected to fall in love with this book as much as I did. Once I started reading I honestly could not put it down. Fantastic read and highly recommended.
This is book 5 in the Love Happens series but can be read as a stand alone. It is written in 3rd person with a dual POV. Main and other secondary characters from previous books play important roles in this one, supporting Grady with friendship and tough love. Scorpio operations are in the background as the team runs special ops missions as private contractors. Their military special teams backgrounds and their operator jobs at present are important to understanding their depth of bravery and determination and also the brotherhood shared by the entire team.
Grady was one of my favorite secondary characters from the previous books and I have been waiting for his story. In previous books, I knew him as flirtatious and charming with a big heart; committed to his job and his team. What I did not know was the amount of guilt he was carrying from a mission gone wrong as a Green Beret or that the failed mission was the turning point that led him out of the Army and into Scorpio. I did not know that he developed an obsession with a widow from an Army Ranger KIA on that mission. When he sees the widow in an elevator, his obsession becomes more like love at first sight. Grady carries his secrets about that day, his immeasurable guilt, and a desperate need for Nicole’s forgiveness for something she has no idea happened.
Nicole has her own secrets. Thrust into a media spotlight after her husband was killed, she told a story that was not quite complete. When she starts over and sees Grady in the elevator she falls in lust. She does not know that their lives were already intertwined forever on a day in Afghanistan five years ago. She struggles with her own feelings of anger, guilt and remorse while attempting to move on with her life, not expecting or seeking another love.
This story is well written and full of emotion. Truths are revealed slowly. The reader follows the present relationship of Grady and Nicole that begins in the elevator. Flash backs through character memories reveal the rest of their story in bits and pieces. There are many twists and turns. What I guessed in the beginning was not how the story played out. I was not sure how they could end up together. There were times when I seriously questioned the motives of both Grady and Nicole, but once all was revealed it made sense. I believe the tension added a lot to this book and I could not put it down until I finished it. I recommend this entire series. I find that this author’s stories and writing stays with me for days after finishing a book. Her understanding of the military and how it can affect our soldiers and their families gives her books a very realistic yet emotional feel that stays with me.
Two characters so beautifully written their lives brought together by fate and irrevocably intertwined. One filled with so much grief and longing for what would have been and one filled with so much guilt and what was. This author created a story that was beautiful and heart wrenching and left a part in your heart as you root for these to imperfect people to make perfection together.
Ahh poor Grady! He had himself quite a dilemma in this story! He proved himself to be a real stand up guy though! Nicole is trying to start living again, I felt as though I could feel her pain and confusion. I am really enjoying watching the sexy sixteen get their HEA’s.
Nicole is a young women living in pain and heart break. Grady knows Nicole from TV and Social Media and news. She makes an offer to Grady for 2 weeks and then they say their goodbyes. Which Grady doesn’t want and with all of Nicole’s anger and sadness and heartbreak she can’t seem to get pass all the hurt. She makes this offer to feel again but not love just to feel again and to relieve some pent up energy. By doing so, Grady has feelings for her and is holding on to a secret that can devastate Nicole and put her back to the non living. Grady needs to prove his worth and that she is worth everything she has, but that’s not always easy to do when some feelings just don’t go away. This is a great story. I truly enjoyed it.
Down to Fall by Jodi Watters was ridiculously intense and emotional and left me with all the feels!
Nicole, widowed and left in the spotlight for who her husband was. She can’t truly move on and is stuck in an unforgiving limbo. Grady is also stuck in the past and needing forgiveness for what he feels are his sins, knowing that he’ll never receive it. One event changed them both irrevocably forever. Then a chance meeting in an elevator years later and an instant attraction becomes the start to a romance that can never be . . .
These characters! I don’t even know what to say. Nicole is so strong. She is finally letting herself live a little again after she has been through so much. She is hurt and left devastated by choices made and has anger at what happened, guilt that she wasn’t enough and sadness that her life feels like it ended when her husband’s did.
Grady is being eaten alive by guilt. He is so wonderful and loving and trying to do the right thing even when he knows it is all wrong. I love how he is the one to push for more and for everything even though he doesn’t feel like he deserves it.
Down to Fall was simply beautiful. A real roller coaster of ups and downs emotionally. So much so that I I felt wrung out in the best of ways and was left with a major book hangover! This was one of the hardest fought for happy ever afters ever, and it was beyond worth it. 5 stars!
I loved this book. It was in a few places a little repetitive but it wasn’t a distraction from the story. I enjoyed the storyline and the characters so much. I enjoyed the twists and turns throughout the whole book. It was a very enjoyable story.
Jodi Watters always gives us interesting, complex characters that are relatable, likable, and downright huggable. Grady and Nicole’s story was compelling and held my attention from start to finish. what was meant to be short, hot, and scratching an itch for Nicole, means so much more for Grady. Both characters were strong and determined and both had baggage to overcome. This book as well as the other books in the Love Happens series are free to read with your KU Subscription and this is certainly binge worthy series. Solid 4 stars from me.
Love this series. Nicole and Grady’s story is so beautiful. Finding love with each other after such a tragedy. Loved it
Down to Fall by Jodi Watters is book 5 in the A Love Happens series.
Even though this is book 5 of the series it can be read as a stand-alone,however characters from previous books in the series are featured.
Wow, Grady and Nicole have so much tension and everything is against them from the start. I found the story original and heartfelt. These characters were strong, strong willed and in a hard position for most of the book.
I absolutely adored all the secondary characters as well, special mention to Cash.
Great book.
A little lust-filled fun with the Sexy 16, Grady, she’s been riding with in the elevator to her job on the 19th floor would be a harmless way to blow off some steam and help scratch that itch Nicole has felt since the tragedy that was her adult life began. Except, two weeks isn’t enough for either of them. Deeper feelings surface along with secrets that could take them both to a place where they might not be able to get back up.
I fall in love with each of these characters as the author writes them and am always waiting for the next one she brings to the table. This one was no different. All of the men on the 16th floor are mouthwateringly hot, and I can’t imagine walking away from any one of them. This story is deep, heartbreaking, full of angst, fear, and forgiveness. And this author knows just how much heat and charm along with pain and insight needs to be included in order to take us where she planned. What a wonderful love story. I’m on the edge of my seat in anticipation of whichever man she chooses from the security firm to fall next.
This story was nothing short of amazing. Nicole and Grady are such well created and multidimensional characters and this story drew me in and captivated me.
This author knows how to write a compelling and original story. I have not read the others in this series and was able to follow this story without any issue.
I highly recommend this book that I am volunteering to leave a review for.
This is my first book by this author and it will definitely not be my last. A roller coaster ride of emotions that os both realistic and heartbreaking. With lots of steamy romance too! The characters have great chemistry and humor and I love how the plot unfolds throughout the book. A great read.
How can two people with such big secrets even manage to talk much less have a relationship. Grady has been lusting after Nicole for five years and when he sees her in his building he can’t help himself but Nicole wants him for a one night stand and he wants forever. I thought Nicole was rather stubborn but the more you learn about her you can kind of sympathize. You aren’t sure how it will end but you are routing for them.
This isn’t the first book i’ve read by Jodi Watters, just like the rest I absolutely loved it.
This is the 5th book in the series but can be read as a standalone.
Down to fall is about Grady and Nicole.
Nicole is a widower who lost her husband in the military. She meets Grady at work, with a guarded heart she only wants two week’s unattached sex. The more hookups the more he falls for her and the more she feels like she betraying her late husband.
It was a page turner that you didn’t want to put down, you wanted to know more about these characters.
The series is a must read.
I’m a huge fan of Jodi Watters and this book did nothing to change that! I inhaled every word and fell in love with Grady Foster. He’s a wonderful hero – thoughtful, caring, completely hot and delicious. This book made me swoon and laugh, and is everything I love about romance. Highly recommend this author and this book.