REVIEW: The Harder You Fall by Gena Showalter

In The Harder You Fall (The Original Heartbreakers #3) by Gena Showalter, Lincoln West has overcome his modest beginnings as a foster child and since then has created a successful tech business with his best friends Jase and Beck. After the loss of a loved one sent his life spinning out of control in his late teenage years, West has managed his life by sticking to a strict routine. Moving to Strawberry Valley and meeting Jessie Kay has brought chaos back into his life, but he can’t imagine going a day without the gorgeous blonde in his sight.

She shook a fist at him. “Don’t you know the very moment you start flirting with temptation, you’ve lost the entire war?”
“We’re at war?”
“Yes! Your body clearly wants to invade mine.”
He snorted, then looked down and said, “At ease, men. We’ve entered hostile territory.”

Jessie Kay Dillon is turning over a new leaf and has given up her partying ways. She’s determined to make her beloved sister Brook Lynn proud of the person she’s become. But she’s also hung up on newcomer West. He’s notorious for his unbending rule on dating only one woman a year for two months and then flying solo the rest of the year. Jessie Kay knows she and West could be perfect together, but she’s looking for forever, not a two month stint. Maybe she can show him that change isn’t always a bad thing.

“You are the sun, and I’m one of the lucky planets allowed in your orbit. Nothing and no one else exists for me.”
Oh, sweet heaven. …”What am I going to do with you?” she asked on a sigh.

The Harder You Fall was a super fun, uber romantic story in a series that has somehow gotten better with each new installment. Gena Showalter outdid herself with West and Jessie Kay’s wild ride to a HEA.

I wasn’t sure what to expect out of this one, I’ll be honest. Jessie Kay had a party girl reputation that preceded her over the first two books so I didn’t know if I’d really ‘get’ her. But I’m happy to say that she was an absolutely cool chick. She was smart, outspoken, creative, funny, and totally head-over-heels for West and no one else. I loved that there was a lot more depth to her character than the mere glimpses we had of her previously. I connected way more with her than I thought I would which was great.

Jessie Kay and West both had a lot of guilt eating them up inside that I don’t think anyone else would have understood or commiserated with so easily but the two of them. West himself was ruled by his past and used it to punish himself daily. I thought he was a perfect example of a tortured soul alpha male who had a true heart of gold. As we’ve seen all along, the connection West had with his best friends Jase and Beck was just as strong, and honestly, rather touching. I loved seeing them interact. It was comical and heartening at the same time.

Showalter has been able to wrap each story around the lead characters so well, showcasing their personalities and basing the dialogue on it and their actions to match. This time around with West being a bit, ahem, nerdy and with Jessie Kay being trendy, I laughed continuously over their conversations. They had a wonderful rapport together, both flirty and comfortable. That’s not to say there wasn’t a ton of heat smoldering between them because, wow! They were not lacking in that department at all. 😉

Loved. It. Seriously…if you have been following this series and were on the fence about the infamous Jessie Kay, this book will prove that people can redeem themselves and find the love and happiness they so deserve. And if you’re new to The Original Heartbreakers, you should be able to jump in with this book fairly easily. Either way, I definitely recommend this one!

Book Info:

Publication: Published November 24th 2015 | by HQN Books | The Original Heartbreakers #3

From New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter comes another scorching Original Heartbreakers tale featuring an aloof bad boy and the rowdy Southern belle who rocks his world…

Millionaire video-game creator Lincoln West has a dark and tragic past. The sought-after bachelor lives by a rigid schedule and a single rule—one relationship per year, lasting no more than two months. No exceptions. He moved to small town Strawberry Valley, Oklahoma, with his brothers-by-circumstance hoping to escape the worst of his memories—until a brash beauty dredges up long-buried emotions.

A reformed party girl, Jessie Kay Dillon is determined to walk the straight and narrow. But her love-hate sizzle with West is just too irresistible. They can’t be near each other without tearing off their clothes, but the last thing she needs is to be his next two-month dump. Can she be the one exception? Because as any former girl-gone-wild knows: rules are made to be broken.