Book Review: Fall For Me by JC Emery

Good Morning Everyone!

I’m so excited to be a part of this blog tour for JC Emery’s latest novel: Fall For Me–the first book in her newest Ladder Company series. This book just released on April 30, so its still fresh on the shelves but also very much available for purchase! If you’re tight no time, check out my Need to Know section below.

I was given a free ebook ARC by InkSlinger PR in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my opinions or thoughts on the novel seen/read below

Melanie Kincaid is a trust-fund baby with a knack for sassy comebacks and unnecessarily complicating her privileged life. So, of course, she would have to fall in love with a man she can't have.

Jameson Hayes is a NYC firefighter for Manhattan’s oldest ladder company. He has big shoes to fill and a city to protect. He’s strong, sexy, and not looking for the complications Melanie brings. But he can't stay away from her either. The attraction between them is immediate, and the pull is crazy powerful. But she's only home for the summer and long-distance relationships never work.
Unfortunately, Melanie’s beauty and smart mouth are a lethal combination and Jameson isn't the only Hayes who's interested. As if his brother isn't enough to compete with, now the city's most famous arsonist wants to claim her as his next prize. Jameson can't stand to watch Melanie get hurt and she can't seem to keep herself out of trouble.

Fall for Me is the first Ladder Company novel, a stand-alone companion series about New York's most elite firefighting family with hot alpha heroes, snarky heroines, and an arsonist hell-bent on destruction.

Fall For Me by JC Emery follows Melanie Kincaid, a trust-fund baby with a sassy attitude who’s never really fit in among the female elite. Of course, she doesn’t really mind that at all. And when she bumps into a girl named Royal at the Heroes in Action benefit ball they become instant friends. Those who bond in the bathroom; bond forever. Plus it helps that Royal is the only normal girl there who doesn’t have her nose stuck up in the air. That same night, coincidentally in the same bathroom, Mel also meets another instant connection — Jameson Hayes. Jameson is one of NYFD finest and works for one of the oldest ladder companies in Manhattan alongside his two brothers (it’s a family thing). Gorgeous and flirty, Jameson isn’t looking for the complication that Mel brings, but he can’t stop thinking about her either. Soon Mel and Jameson try their best to fight the crazy attraction between them, even though they’re both falling and hard. It doesn’t help matters that Jameson is already in a steady relationship and that his brother Hennessy is also attracted to Mel. Add in a famous arsonist with his sights set on Mel and these two have a lot of obstacles to overcome. Will they end up falling together in the end?

Let me start off by saying, who doesn’t love a hero in uniform?! *Sigh* Jameson just screamed sexy alpha male who I wanted to get know. Emery does a great job of setting the scene for this novel. I loved how the two main characters first met and how even though they were instantly attracted to each other, Mel respected that Jameson had a girlfriend. She wanted him to be the good guy she knew he was and didn’t become the other woman physically–although cases could be made for emotionally. I also loved that Mel was a strong character. She was independent and checked her emotions when she needed to. I also loved how she wasn’t afraid to confront Jameson on multiple times. Instead of playing “what’s he really thinking?” games, she just plain out asked him on more than one occasion. Go girl!

Jameson on the other hand I could shake sometimes. I knew he was trying to do right by Lydia, his livein girlfriend of 5 years, but if he knew that he didn’t love her he shouldn’t have been stringing her along for so long. Then again, I can also understand that he didn’t fully know how much he had fallen out of love with her until he met Mel. Either way, that situation could have been handled a little bit better on his part. With that said, it does’t excuse what Lydia ended up doing in the novel to try and keep him. Ugh that was so not cool Lyd. Anyway, Jameson lived up to his swoon-worthy description. He was flirty, sweet and definitely showed off his hero-characteristics. He remained a good guy throughout the novel until I wanted to shake him for acting like a guy when things should have been progressing better between him and Mel, but I’ll just let you experience that on your own. You know how alpha males can get sometimes *eye rolls*.

Overall, Emery did a great job of characterization. I really felt these characters as well as the secondary ones were well-rounded. The Hayes family was adorable and I loved how instantly they folded Mel into their lives. They all have had their struggles and I hope we get to see more of the Hayes in the later novels of the Ladder Company series. Mel’s side of the family was also well developed. Claire, Mel’s sister, was seen more than her parents; although Mel’s father made more of an appearance toward the end.

I only had a few problems with the novel. The timing wasn’t always there for me. I felt like the transitions could have been smoother from suspense/action moment to the next. I felt like the suspense wasn’t always there because those scenes happened so quickly and then it just jumped to everything kind of being alright and then back into something else happening. I felt like this could have been a little smoother, so that the suspense lasted throughout the novel. Also, the timing in general also seemed a little choppy–from summer to Christmas to next summer–it just seemed again like it could have been a bit smoother of a transition. Also the only other thing that I wish I could have seen a bit more of was Mel’s personality and also more interactions with Royal.  Jameson would mention that Mel was over a lot and that she was this witty, made-friends-with-everyone type of girls, but I never really got to see that. This was more “tell” than “show” for me in the novel. Otherwise, Mel’s character was still spot on for me. I just wanted to see more of her personality shine, because she was an awesome character. I also wanted to see more Royal and Mel scenes because these girls were best friends now and we didn’t get to see a whole lot of bestie moments. Maybe if we get a Royal story…*nudge, nudge* 🙂

Overall, I really enjoyed this novel. It had the right amount of chemistry and I was rooting for Mel and Jameson throughout the novel. On top of that, the added suspense kept the pages turning for me. So if you’re looking for a quick romance read with a hunky firefighter, a headstrong main character and some suspense thrown in–then Fall For Me should be your next read!

My Rating: 

• Fall With Me follows Melanie Kincaid a strong-headed and witty trust-fund baby and Jameson Hayes, a member of the NYFD and one of the oldest ladder companies in Manhattan alongside his brothers (it’s a family thing 😉 ).
• The both have multiple obstacles to overcome: Jameson is currently in a steady (yet loveless) relationship (aka taken); Mel is only home for the summer; Jameson’s brother may also be into Mel; and oh yeah there’s a serial arsonist with his eyes set on Mel.
• Emery has created very well-rounded characters. Both Mel and Jameson kept me rooting for the two of them throughout the novel. Jameson lived up to his swoon-worthy description and Mel wasn’t afraid to confront Jameson a few times throughout the novel. Each held their own. Plus, the secondary characters, such as the Hayes family, were also well developed and played key roles within the novel. I’m hoping to see more of them in future Ladder Company novels…*nudge, nudge*.
• My only problems with the novel were the timing issues I came across and some lack of “showing vs. telling” when it came to Mel’s personality. I felt the timing seemed choppy between time frames and seemed to lack a smooth transition when keeping the suspense throughout the novel.
• Overall, I really enjoyed the novel. Mel and Jameson were a great pair to root for and the suspense storyline was believable throughout. I gave the novel 3.5 stars since I had the timing issue with it. In the end, I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a quick romantic read with a dash of suspense. (This a New Adult novel for ages 17+).

Genre: New Adult Contemporary 
Publisher: Left Break Press  
Published: April 30, 2015
Page: 260 
Price: $0.99 (Kindle)
Place: Amazon, B & N, GoodReads

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Thank you for stopping by!

What are your thoughts on Mel and Jameson? Are your planning to read Fall With Me? Whose story do you think is next up for the Ladder Company series? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! #jandm4ever 

Happy Reading!

Later BookNerds 😉