We fell in love. Then our world fell apart. I wished so hard for Cole Danforth. And one day, he came true. He was my first crush, my first lover, my first and only love. He should also have been my last. But in a split-second, we were ripped apart, our lives broken, my heart shattered. After ten years, I’ve returned to my hometown, the place of my greatest joy and darkest pain. Cole is still … joy and darkest pain.
Cole is still here, but the beautiful boy I’d loved is gone. Now he’s a ruthless, unforgiving man determined to feed both my resentment and my lust.
Then our torturous past encroaches again, trapping us in a violent storm.
But this time, there is no escape.
The reading order of the WHAT IF series is:
IF WE LEAP
IF WE FALL
IF WE FLY
more
J’avais passé un bon moment avec le prequel et j’avais hâte de retrouver Cole et Josie pour de nouvelles aventures. Je ne m’attendais pas à la tournure que l’intrigue allait prendre et je me suis prise une belle claque. Nina Lane a su me tenir en haleine jusque la fin de ce premier tome et je peux vous dire que je suis impatiente de découvrir la suite car cette fin…..
Josie Mays revient à Castille après 10 longues années loin de cette ville qui lui rappelle tant de mauvais souvenirs. Un événement tragique va changer la donne et mettre un terme définitif à sa relation avec Cole. J’ai adoré le personnage de Josie car elle est d’une complexité très intéressante. Elle n’a aucun souvenir de cette nuit là mais il est certain qu’elle a laissé de nombreuses séquelles. Les traumatismes ne se sont jamais éteints et les stigmates très présents. Si elle revient à Castille affronter les démons du passé c’est pour deux raisons : d’une part être proche de sa soeur Vanessa qui est sur le point d’accoucher et c’est la seule lueur d’espoir dans les ténèbres que sont devenues sa vie. D’autre part, elle va faire preuve de l’étendue de tout son talent en réalisant une fresque pour un festival très particulier de la ville.
En dix ans, Josie a fait son petit bonhomme de chemin mais ses oeuvres portent la trace de ses souffrances. Si ses peintures sont un succès, elles dégagent une noirceur profonde dont elle ne parvient pas à se détacher. Elle doit lutter contre ses souvenirs mais surtout contre ses traumatismes qui lui gâchent la vie car non seulement les cauchemars ne lui laissent aucun répit mais les insomnies sont aussi de la partie. Quel n’est donc pas son choc et sa surprise de découvrir que Cole Danforth vit toujours à Castille . Tout va remonter à la surface mais elle n’a plus face à elle l’homme qu’elle a connu et tant aimé. Parviendra t-elle à aller de l’avant et tirer définitivement un trait sur leur passé commun? Saura t-elle sortir des ténèbres ?
Cole Danforth est un personnage qui m’avait fasciné dans le prequel grâce à sa personnalité et à son vécu. C’était un jeune homme qui luttait pour mener une vie digne de ce nom et qui avait su ouvrir son coeur à cette jeune femme pas comme les autres. S’ils ont eu une vie commune un jour, il est évidement qu’elle n’a plus lieu d’être et désormais l’amour a laissé place à la haine. Quand nous retrouvons Cole dix ans plus tard, il s’agit définitivement d’un homme complètement différent. Heureusement il peut compter sur son oncle Gerald pour le maintenir sur un chemin un peu sinueux car il est clairement devenu un homme froid, hautain qui ne fait pas dans la demie mesure. Il a su se venger des personnes de son passé et cela l’a complètement transformé. Il tente comme il le peut de mettre la distance entre lui et son ancienne petite amie mais cela ne sera pas chose facile. Il porte en lui les stigmates du passé et nous découvrons au fil des pages l’ampleur de sa responsabilité ou de sa culpabilité. L’ancien Cole est t-il définitivement mort?
Bref, la saga What If me plaît de plus en plus car Nina Lane a su nous offrir une intrigue très prenante et très poignante qui nous rend accro à ces personnages hors norme. Ils ont vécu le pire et sont encore figés dans les ténèbres. On espère qu’une lueur d’espoir sera permise et qu’ils sauront communiquer sur cette nuit qui a tout changé. La tension est palpable et j’ai hâte de connaître le dénouement.
Amount of sex 3 / 5
How explicit is the sex scenes 2.5 / 5
Story 5 / 5
Overall: 5 / 5
After reading the prequel If We Leap, I couldn’t wait to read the first book in the What If Duet. As soon as I saw it on my Kindle, I dove right in and started reading! BTW, it was late in the evening, so yes, I stayed up way too late! I just couldn’t put it down. This book turned out to be so much more than I expected. It is fan-flipping-tastic, and I almost fell on the floor after reading the last sentence!
So, I am a bit tired this morning, but it is so worth it! There were so many twists in the story, I was constantly trying to figure things out. The storyline is top notch and absolutely gripping! The characters are so complex and multifaceted. I went from loving Cole to hating Cole, to maybe kinda liking him, to loving him again.
This is a must read series, and I definitely recommend reading the prequel before beginning this one!
*Voluntarily Reviewed an Advanced Copy*
If We Leap was a glimpse into young love at it’s most innocent and pure. Cole and Josie had the beginnings of something wonderful, but life got in the way. If We Fall delves deeper into the mystery of Cole and Josie’s heartache. What derailed their chance the first time around? What’s keeping them from trying again? Their road is one of doubt, pain and fear. What they need is faith. In order to find forever, we have to take the risk of heartbreak. If wishes were rainbows, Lane would keep us guessing till we reached that pot of gold. A heart-breaker read.
I need Book 2 – If We Fly now! I gobbled If We Fall up. Once I started I couldn’t put it down. I needed to know why Josie and Cole had been apart for 10 years. Why had he changed from a sweet, caring guy who dreamt about the ocean to a ruthless businessman. Why did he left Josie? What happened? All I knew was they had a pure love. A love that encompassed everything for Josie. Every firsts she had was with Cole. When they met when Josie was nineteen Cole didn’t own a lot but it wasn’t important to Josie. All she wanted was Cole and she made him feel invincible and that everything was possible. So what happened in those ten years.
If We Fall shows a brooding, isolated Cole who’s only concern is his work. He has his uncle but that’s it. When Josie returns after ten years he does everything in his power to drive her away and out of town. She hates him for how he left her. She’s in town because of work and for her sister. Josie is strong and resilient, tries not to let Cole rattle her but she’s struggling with who he has become. But underneath it all he’s still her Cole.
They still have so much unresolved issues and feelings between them and it comes across the pages. Their memories only made them struggle even more to hold their distance but when you have a love like Josie and Cole does it becomes pretty damn difficult to resist giving in to their lust and urges. Their chemistry is palpable and jumps off the pages.
If We Fall has a steady pace that kept me entertained and intrigued from start to finish. Questions answered and some left unanswered. A special cameo from a certain professor made me smile. Don’t get me started on that ending! Fantastic. Didn’t see it coming and I’m so excited to read If We Fly.
4.5 Sacrificing Stars
Review By TashaM
Yet again Nina Lane has written a magnificent Story. Now if you haven’t read the prequel please do so, if not you definitely will be missing out on a huge chunk. It’s absolutely important to the story that you do.
I promise you that you will be hooked from the first page.
If we Fall ,is so beautifully intriguing, it’s heart breaking and spell bounding.
Cole and Josie have been childhood friends. They fall in love and when they are 19 start a romantic relationship.
Cole is undoubtedly my favourite hero of Nina’s. He is this damaged hero, almost like an injured animal. He caring, protective. He is powerful and hot. Most of all through everything he has the ability to love like no other. I’m fucking in love with him.
Josie is a heroine that my heart breaks for as well. What she has been through no one not even my worst enemy should be put through. She is so in love with Cole and knows that with him by her side she can never fall. That is until one dreadful night everything changes.
One decision changed so many lives. It’s haunted them both for so many years. It’s something that ripped them apart at the same times changed them irrevocably.
This book is suspenseful, hot, soul crushing but even more it’s absolutely addicting. I Loved every single word and read it all in one sitting.
Grab this book now but don’t be shocked at that Cliffhanger cos it’s a warper…
Enjoy ladies….
I’m still trying to stitch my heart back together, and open a new box of tissues. This was a really…ugh…gut wrenching read. Just…such broken characters and raw emotions. Nina Lane really knows how to dig in deep.
First thing I’ll say is, make sure you read the prequel first!!! There’s too much you won’t understand if you don’t!!! Now, Cole and Josie are NOT in a good place. It’s VERY emotional and angsty. Josie comes home from California after 10 years to find that Cole isn’t the same person that he was before. Really Josie isn’t the same person either. They were both affected by the crash that happened all those years ago. Josie has amnesia and she cannot remember what happened after she left the anniversary party, until waking up in the hospital. She reads the police report over and over trying to remember what happened that day. She has nightmares and scary faces that she painted when she was in California. But now since coming back home she seeing the scary faces when she’s awake.
I don’t want to say too much and ruin the story for you. So I’m going to make this review a short one. But it’s interesting because it’s a little bit of a mystery, there’s romance, but then there’s angst and a lot of emotion. Then we’re left off wanting to know what happens in book two of the duet, IF WE FLY.
There were times that the book got me so emotional, and I haven’t been in a good place lately, that I thought I was going to hate this book. But Nina Lane has some unbelievable talent! She has won me over. I will be checking out some more of her books!! I am definitely giving this all the stars for all the feels!! I can’t wait to see what’s next!!!
Gut. Punch. I had prepared myself for an emotional hurricane when I started If We Fall, but I was unprepared for all the twists and turns Nina Lane took us through in this book. Particularly when it ended, and I started to piece together all the little hints places throughout the story regarding the night that forever changed Josie and Cole’s lives.
After reading If We Leap, I couldn’t fathom what could have pulled Josie and Cole apart. When I finally found out the ins and outs of their separation, I was devastated, and from what we’ve learned of their time apart it was evident neither of them fared well alone. My heart ached for what Cole had sacrificed – and why – and for everything, Josie had lost in one fell swoop. I’m still reeling from all the pain and heartbreak they’ve suffered, and I don’t know how my heart is going to hold up through If We Fly if its even half as emotionally draining as If We Fall was.
I am thrilled I had the opportunity to meet Cole and Josie first in If We Leap; the changes in them were so stark in If We Fall I’m not sure if I would have appreciated how much they’d changed without that first glimpse at them. I loved them in both iterations and just want to see them find the pieces of themselves they’ve lost over the years. Getting to see little glimpses of their former selves has lit a spark of hope for healing and wholeness for them. Both Cole and Josie deserve love and happiness, and I can’t wait to see how Ms. Lane delivers the future they both deserve.
If We Fall is the first book in Nina Lane’s What If duet. These books are not standalones, and the series should be read in its entirety for comprehension. There is also a prequel If We Leap, that tells the story of Josie and Cole’s first chance at love and I highly suggest reading it before starting this series. If We Fall is written in dual first-person perspective, narrated by Josie and Cole.
Nina Lane has only recently appeared on my radar, and I’m impressed. Her work is profoundly emotional and pulls deeply on my heartstrings. The stories she tells are fascinating and complex, her characters sympathetic and real. With both of the books I’ve read by her, I’ve found myself thinking about the stories and characters for days after I finished reading.
If We Fall picks up where from where If We Leap ended and boy let me just tell you….this is going to be such a great duet, it sucked me right in starting from page 1!
Josie had left her little town after what happened with her family and Cole and she needed a change and move on especially when Cole left her with no explanation or answers. Josie was beyond devastated.
Now, it’s 10 years later and she returns to draw a mural in honor of her parents but Cole is adamant that he doesn’t want Josie to draw that mural, and he doesn’t want her back home at all. He tries to be this cold hearted beast, but deep down inside he knows he can’t. As much as he wants to treat her bad, he just can’t.
Josie has always loved Cole and even though he hurt her profusely, she doesn’t hold a grudge against him. How could she if she could never get over him. As much as she’s tried to move on, she just couldn’t forget him. Now that she’s back home for a month to paint that mural and help her sister, she ends up forming a bond with Cole again and they pick up right where they left off 10 years ago. The question now is, can they hold that bond? Can they have a happy ending, or are they destined to always have something or someone come between them??
My gosh, I was so freaking hyped when I finished If We Leap and jumped right into If We Fall and now I’m desperate for If We Fly because that ending, oh lord that ending! These cliffhangers are the death of me!!
This is my first series by this author and even though I’ve heard nothing but great things about her, I hadn’t had the opportunity to read any of her other books, but now that I got a little taste of her beautiful writing, I’m going to try and get my hands on some of her other books.
5 Stars!
Josie Mays fell in love with a boy named Cole Danforth. She had everything she’d ever wanted and he was the one thing in life she was always certain of. Then in a split second her entire life is obliterated. Her heart is demolished and in its place is anger and resentment. Darkness flooded her life and she’s left feeling shattered and broken. She can’t let go of the past and all that’s left of the boy she loved so wildly is memories and her occasional vivid fantasies. After ten years she returns home to Castille and comes face to face with Cole. He’s changed drastically. He’s all man now, and hardened and intense. The town had always viewed him in a negative light, but now his reputation was as the town villain. He’d turned into a ruthless, ambitious, corporate tycoon. She doesn’t see any traces of her Cole when she looks at him. Is the boy she once loved still in there somewhere?
Cole Danforth has tried to move on with his life after Josie. He thought he’d never see her again. She was never supposed to come back home. Now she’s everywhere he turns, and as much as he tries to avoid her he can’t escape the old emotions from resurfacing. She was the woman who once gave him hope for the future, but nothing went as planned. He will have to endure being around her, and try to keep his distance as much as possible. He believes he’s not worthy of Josie, and is determined to do right by her.
As much as Josie and Cole try to fight their undeniable connection they will always share an unbreakable bond that time and distance can’t erase. They both miss the love and friendship they once shared. When the flame between them is once again ignited they burn for one another and can’t resist the passion that’s still between them. Will they get a second chance at love, or will their past destroy them?
I absolutely love this series! Nina Lane has me on the edge of my seat with this story and constantly just wanting more. I adore this couple and the beautiful, deep love between them. I can’t wait to get my hands on the next book! I NEED MORE!!!
GAH!! After that shocking cliffy in the prequel, I could not read If We Fall fast enough!! OMG!! I absolutely loveeeeed this story!! Set in the amazing town of Castille, off the coast of Maine, I could not help but rejoice at the The Secret Thief easter eggs throughout the story. Lane once again wrote a story filled with passion, love, loss and mystery. I could not devour this fast enough!!
Without giving away any spoilers, it is now ten years after that horrific tragedy at the end of When We Leap and Josie has returned to Castille to paint a mural for the town. But when she returns she sees that Cole Danforth is the not the same boy she loved and the same man who rejected wealth and power. He is now a moody, intensely hardened tycoon who had zero sympathy and mercy for the town who always hated him.
This book was astounding! I absolutely loved Cole!! Cue all the swoons. He was arrogant and broody and growly and alllll of the things I loved. The story was filled with secrets and shrouded in mystery and lies. I could not turn the pages fast enough. The raw emotions between Josie and Cole were almost tangible. You could feel their pain, longing and suffering and that ending was WTF CRAZY!!! I seriously can not wait for the second book!!! Bravo! 4.5 stars! ~Ratula
Wow. Wow. Wow. Do I ever have questions!! I mean what did I just read?? And how could it end like that??? If We Fall threw me for a loop and turned my world totally upside down…
If We Fall follows the story of Cole and Josie. Once upon a time, Cole and Josie had the most epic love. That is until one day, tragedy struck and ripped these two lovers apart. Now, 10 years later, Josie has returned home. And while things seem familiar and unchanged, the one thing that mattered the most is now a complete stranger. Cole is nothing like the man she remembered. He is cold and standoffish. There were many times where I found myself annoyed and wanting to yell at him that he was being a jerk. I didn’t understand what changed and why he needed to keep Josie away. He just made me utterly crazy!! And Josie….she too has changed. Gone is the light and happy girl. Josie suffers from insomnia and nightmares. Her only outlet is her art. She misses her family and is so desperate for answers. She’s not really ready to come home, but she has hope that maybe she’ll find some closure.
10 years may have passed, but that isn’t enough time to kill the connection between Cole and Josie. They try to fight the pull, but their connection is too hard to deny. Despite Cole’s standoffish behavior, I couldn’t help but hope for him to get his head out of his butt and make things right for Josie. Josie and Cole worked so well together when they weren’t fighting. I had such high hopes for them and couldn’t wait to see how their story was going to play out.
If We Fall was an intriguing read from beginning to end. My emotions have gone for a crazy ride and my head is spinning from the way this story has ended. I have a million and one questions and am just dying for all my answers. I can not wait to get my hands on the next book in this series!!
Okay so as I thought after reading the prequel, this was a totally epic on the edge of your seat ride of emotions. It was filled with sorrow that will have you grabbing the tissues and sobbing for these characters.
There is no escape for Cole and Josie and getting by whether it be ruthlessly or living each day just one at a time is all they can both do. Cole doesn’t want Josie back in town because he needs to protect her from those tragic events 10 years ago. Josie is back to paint a memorial in the town but Cole decides to throw obstacles in her path because he thinks the best thing for her is not to be back in Castille at all. Cole is certainly not the man Josie remembers, he is cold and calculated and likes to turn everyone against him, meanwhile she still hurts and suffers from nightmares that cause insomnia. It seems like both of them need answers but one of them is harbouring secrets but how long will it be before everything comes to light?
Well I need book 2 like yesterday and I’m hoping it isn’t to long before it’s in my grubby little hands. There are still a lot of unanswered questions and because this book ends on a twist I am dying to get the answers which I know we will get in the next book for sure. The characters are extremely well written and matured and the plot itself is filled with such emotion that will leave you admiring these characters for all they have been and still going through. I am so glad I picked up my first book by Nina Lane last month or I wouldn’t have came across another author who has so much talent to give. Roll on book 2 as I can’t wait to read the conclusion.
5 STAR Review by Jodi for Ruby Red Romance Review
OMG…Nina Lane knocked it out of the park with this amazing story. This story is full of emotion, passion, drama, and heartbreak. I loved every second of this story. Book three can’t come soon enough
Josie has returned to complete a mural for her town. She never expected to see the boy that broke her heart. Cole isn’t the man Josie remembers. In fact, he’s the exact opposite. I loved these two. Tragedy and heartache are prevalent in this story. But there is no denying the chemistry between Josie and Cole is still there.
This book is beautifully written. I loved every second of this. Now the wait for book three is on. I don’t want to give anything away, but I know you will love this book. Please check it out.
Wow! I am so in love with this duet and I haven’t even read the second part yet! This book is so raw and so beautiful! I was not prepared for that ending, but it was epic! LOVED!
If We Fall is the continuing of Cole and Josie’s story. A heartbreaking and beautiful story with a cliffhanger that make you wonder what happened to Josie’s family ten years ago. I loved reading and following their story, and am looking forward to reading book two
After reading the prequel (If We Leap) which is free, I was expecting If We Fall by Nina Lane to be an all out tear-jerker and was surprised when it wasn’t. Don’t get me wrong, this is a very emotional story that will brings a lot of feeling to the table. It’s a well written at times heart-wrenching and soul-crushing story of two broken people who can only find peace with each other.
Cole and Josie have known each other since childhood and finally found love when she was nineteen. They thought it was forever until the worst event in their lives tore them apart. Now, ten years later, Josie is back home in Castille and she and Cole are soon bound together. She should hate him for what he’d done but a love like theirs couldn’t be forgotten or ignored. There were some questions raised from events in the prequel, some answered others not and I can’t for If We Fly to get the final truth of what really happened that night so long ago.
After how “If we leap” ended I thought I would be in for a tearjerker. Don’t get me wrong this is a sad read and you find out what contributed to Cole becoming ruthless and unforgiving.
The angst of finding out was a killer, however, this story went in a different direction than I thought. I imagine how this ended the last book is going to be the real tearjerker.
This is my first Nina Lane ARC. I also received a free copy of the prequel, IF WE LEAP—which gives us the backstory of Cole and Josie during their younger years.
At the end of the prequel, it was hinted that there was no happily ever-after… that Josie wished she hadn’t known Cole Danforth… of course it left the readers curious and hanging because Josie and Cole were inseparable and were so in love… but as we all know, life happens…
In this book— IF WE FALL, it tells us the story of Cole and Josie a decade later… It has some memory hits that’ll give you a glimpse of what went wrong during their relationship.
This is a second-chance romance but it’s not all rainbows and unicorns. It’s angsty, and at one point it got me exasperated. And even though Cole and Josie became two very different people from who they were before, and despite the tragedy that changed their lives forever, their hearts still recognized eachother.
What I didn’t expect was the ending… the plot twist. I was shocked to say the least. I didn’t see that coming… definitely gripping, and I can’t wait to read the next book!
4.5 stars–IF WE FALL is the first full length instalment in Nina Lane’s contemporary, adult WHAT IF Duet focusing on artist Josie Mays, and distillery owner Cole Danforth. For backstory and history I recommend reading the prequel novella-IF WE LEAP.
Told from dual first person perspectives (Josie and Cole) IF WE FALL follows in the aftermath of a rekindling relationship between artist Josie Mays, and distillery owner Cole Danforth. Ten years earlier Josie Mays’ life was destroyed; her heart broken; and the boy that she loved walked away without looking back. From childhood best friends to high school / college sweethearts and lovers, Josie and Cole had been everything for one another but one night destroyed it all. Fast forward to present day wherein Josie May returns to her hometown of Castille, Maine in an effort to pay homage to the people she loved by painting a mural for the Castille Historical Society. Enter Cole Danforth, the only man that Josie has ever loved, and the man that broke what was left of her shredded heart. What ensues is the rekindling romance between Josie and Cole, and the potential fall-out as the truth about what happened years before may send Josie into a spiral from which she may never return.
IF WE FALL is a story of family, friendship, secrets and revenge. Cole has struggled all of his life to fit into the mould his father endeavored to present to the world. In private, Cole’s earlier years were a living h*ll but the public only saw what his father wanted them to see- a dedicated and respected businessman whose only son struggled to fit into his life. Years later, Cole’s actions begin to divide a town that was once dependant upon his father’s power, a power Cole is unwilling to propagate and pretend. Cold and damaged, Cole keeps secret the truth about the who, how, and why including what appears to be a calculated attempt to destroy the town. Josie Mays had fallen in love with the misunderstood Cole from the time she was nine years old, a love that has never waivered in the face of rejection, heartbreak and engulfing darkness. Returning to Castille, Josie suspected she would come face to face with her past but her past continues to push Josie out of his life.
The relationship between Josie and Cole is a friends to lovers/ second chance romance between two wounded souls who have loved one another for most of their lives. Josie knew that Cole’s home life wasn’t all hearts and flowers, and in this Josie was determined to be Cole’s anchor in an every worsening storm. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate, without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.
IF WE FALL is an emotional, heart breaking and raw story line about love, lies and deception; hidden secrets and public perception. The premise is gritty and gripping; the romance is intimate and breath-taking; the characters are broken, tragic and lost. Nina Lane’s impassioned writing style is palpable; her characters and series come to life with every turn of the page. IF WE FALL ends of a cliff-hanger-you have been warned.
OMG!!!! What just happened at the end? I am hanging off my chair trying to comprehend what happened here. Josie Bird just has it rough from the get go. Who can blame her. The nightmares, the visions she sees in those dreams are terrifying to the core. She has been successful and now it is time to go back home.
Cole seems so cold and calculating. I couldn’t imagine how his life had been all these years later. The ending broke my heart as we see our old Cole back. Josie starts to put some pieces together to try and figure out that one tragic night. What seemed like a joyous reunion may be the worst awakening for Josie and Cole. The emotions I have flowing right now are indescribable. I am hanging on for book two and see what happens next…..