Falling Hard: A Colorado High Country Novel

This book was graciously provided by netgalley for an honest review.

I've been wanting to try Pamela Claire for a while now, and this was a perfect introduction to her writing. She captivated me from the beginning. I'll definitely be going back and catching up in the Colorado High County series.

Ellie Meeks is a nurse and single mother of boy/girl twins, widowed by her Army Pilot husband while she was 4 months pregnant. Ellie moves back to Scarlet Springs, a small town were everybody knows everybody, from Kentucky to be near family.

Jesse Moretti is a former Army Ranger from Louisiana, who upon coming back stateside after his retirement, took solace in the mountains to escape memories from his deployment and childhood. Jesse is a member of the TEAM and a full time ski patroller at a local ski resort. Jesse purchases the cabin behind Ellie knowing she is Gold Star widow swearing to keep his distance because he doesn't believe he can handle her grief on top of his own.

Fate had other ideas in mind.
Jesse runs into Ellie as she's having car trouble. Ellie and one of the twins are sick and her car refuses to start. Jesse takes Ellie and her twins home, and despite Ellie being sick, their chemistry would not be denied.

Jesse and Ellie's story happened in a short amount of time but never felt rushed or implausible. It was very natural. Jesse was drawn to Ellie because of her heart, her compassion and her sweet nature. He absolutely found her beautiful but he wasn't over the top gaggy as many heroes are and I loved that about him. Ellie was drawn to Jesse because of his fierce protectiveness, his since of adventure and his service to others. Things she swore she would not be looking for in a partner when she ever felt ready to move on. Jesse made her feel alive and ready to move on. Jesse never wanted or asked her to forget her deceased husband, in fact he made sure to include him and made sure his memory stayed alive for Ellie and the twins. It never felt that Jesse came 2nd in Ellie's heart.

If you're looking for two people who fall hard, who's relationship is a slow burn with explosive sexual chemistry, Falling Hard is for you.

Ah! I need tissues! This story will pull you straight into your heart. Pamela has given us lots of different ways to tear you apart. I love her books! Ellie is a widow with two 2 year old twin toddlers. Their dad has died in Iraq. Jesse is her neighbor and he finds her in a parking lot with a car that won't start and her son who has strep. He helps her home. Ellie is a nurse part time. She finds he has been doing her outside chores. Jesse has PTSD and worries that he will be dangerous. He joined the Scarlet Mountain Resort to take care of snow and ski lifts. He was also a Ranger. Now he volunteers with Rocky Mountain Search and Rescue Team. Soon there will be a festival, Snow Fest. Daisy is a curious toddler and gets away from her grandmother to check out the Polar Bear hole. Of course she falls in and Jesse tries to save her. He is bringing up a previous rescue that wasn't happy. There is more here. Please keep the tissues nearby. I hope you choose to read this story. You won't regret it. Enjoy reading this book! I volunteered to read and review this book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book through Netgalley

Ellie Meeks promised her pilot husband that if anything happened to him while he was deployed she would continue on with her life, now 3 years later she is struggling to get through each day. The grief of her loss is staggering add in the fact that she has twin 2 year olds that her late husband never got a chance to meet.
Jesse Moretti is dealing with PTSD, He has gone to Colorado to live and now works with the Rocky Mountain search and rescue team.
Can these two tortured souls find happiness again. Will Ellie help heal Jesse? Will Jesse help Ellie heal and become a father to her two babies.
This book is the first of this author I have read and I have to say wow, Pamela Clare has a writing style that sucks you right into the story. This book was an emotional rollercoaster ride. I cried so hard. when a book can cause you to feel such deep emotions along with the character I have to say it is amazing.

Sweet, heartfelt, and real. If you aren't brought to tears by the epilogue, you are not human.

I'm a big fan of Pamela Clare's I-Team series, but wasn't that keen on the first two in her Colorado High Country series. The author completely redeemed herself with Falling Hard, a truly lovely ode to single moms, widows, military veterans, family, first responders, small towns, and even psychologists. Seriously, this story was wonderfully done, without veering into sappy, cheesy Hallmark movie territory.

Jessie and Ellie both have their own burdens and their romance isn't glossed over. There are awkward moments, not to mention both make painful mistakes with each other. But that is what makes watching them fall tenderly, fully in love with each other so worthwhile. Kudos to the author for honoring the military dead, the widows left behind, and the veterans still recovering from their service with a story so heartfelt and detailed that it felt very, very real.

This was much sweeter than I expected. With everything I knew about Jesse I was thinking we would get a gruff veteran adrenaline junkie, while we do we also get one whose heart is so big it could fill the Colorado sky. If you like your heroes to be so great they're almost too perfect you're in luck, this is the book for you. This book tackles some very hard to deal with subjects that happen all too often in real life. The war widow with young children, the veteran with PTSD, how to get past the survivors guilt on both sides to see they deserve happiness as well. I laughed and cried and mentally fist pumped through out this book. Definitely a 5-star read!

I was generously provided an ARC via netGalley

Another success for Pamela Clare. Falling Hard is a story of two people overcoming their painful pasts and trusting that the other will have their back no matter what. In this journey we see Jesse and Ellie learning to have faith in each other, and in a love that trascends flaws and broken souls.

As usual with Pamela Clare, the hero and heroine were surrounded by strong secondary characters (and adorable babies!) that feel as real as if you knew them, funny moments, sexy times (I think she's upped her heat level since past books) and heartbreaking scenes that make you shed a tear or at least swallow hard with a painful knot in your throat.

This is contemporary romance at its best.

Jesse Moretti, the hero, gave a realistic portrayal of the heartache of PTSD. He had nightmares from his military action and life as a Search and Rescue Team member in the Colorado mountains. Ellie Meeks was a widow with 3 year old twins. He husband had been killed in combat while she was pregnant. Two wounded, guarded hearts who eventually found each other. They slowly learned to share painful memories and believe they were worthy of love.

Pamela Clare books never fail to make me happy. If I want a good, solid romance novel I pick up one of her books. Normally I'm a fan of her romantic suspense books but was given the opportunity to read a book from her new contemporary series I jumped at the chance.
Falling Hard is full of my favourite catnip - small town, single parents with cute kids, injured heroes- it had it all. Overall a wonderful, enjoyable, contemporary romance novel.
**ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy of this book. Love this heartwarming emotional story about second chance at love. Ellie is a widow and single parent of twins. Jessie is Elle’s neighbor. They are both attracted to each other both his reluctant to engage in a relationship due Jesse’s job and lifestyle. Jesse is reluctant due to his past. Once they decided to pursue a relationship; they both learn to let go of each other’s past and insecurities and trust in their love. Recommended read.

Falling Hard is a perfect name for this book... as a reader you will also be Falling Hard. The characters were well developed and felt very real. The author's descriptive writing not only brought the characters to life, but also put you in their small town.
I laughed, swooned and cried ugly, happy sad tears and fell in love. This book was AH-MAY-ZING!!!

Pamela Clare-the Queen of a GREAT ending! What starts out and feels like a nice light romance deviously sucks you in until you are reading until 1:30 am. This is a great book and one I will read again. (When I really like a book I read it a few times). Love the characters of Scarlet Springs. In a genre where so many books which are truly not worth reading Pamela Clare continues to write really heartfelt reads that are really worth reading!

Ellie promised her husband she would carry on with the family if anything happened to him. Jessie come to search and rescue to overcome the past haunting him from his service. These two discover a connection to passion and to love if they can heal their pasts.
This book is a page turner the reader won't want to put down. Good addition to the series.
Ebook from Netgalley and publishers with thanks. Opinions are entirely my own.

Falling Hard is a sweet, sexy and emotionally charged read that I quite enjoyed. I think the author did a great job of balancing the relationship between Ellie and Jesse and Ellie, Jesse and the twins. Although there are still issues that need to be worked on like where Jesse is mentally I found the end o be very satisfying.

If you enjoy Contemporary romance featuring children and an enjoyable storyline I recommend this book.

Ellie Meeks is raising almost 3 year old twins by herself after her husband is killed in combat. She is a nurse. Her parents live nearby and help her by babysitting when she works and any way they can.

Jesse Moretti is ex-military now working ski patrol and volunteering with search and rescue. He has lived in the cabin behind Ellie for the last 2 years without ever making contact. A fluke encounter at the supermarket when Ellie and one of the twins are sick starts it all.

The interaction between these two is very immature for two people who have been through such significant life changing events in their lives. Jesse’s actions do not support the fact he says he doesn’t want a relationship or kids. He actively pursues Ellie and spends time playing and interacting with her kids. Ellie’s conversations with her sister had my eyes rolling. I was shaking my head and rolling my eyes frequently throughout this book.

An excessive amount of time is spent on the dead husband, including the epilogue.

SPOILER:
I have a hard time believing a nurse would expose her daughter, who had been revived from hypothermia only a day or two prior, to freezing temperatures to watch her boyfriend race.

This is my first book by this author and I struggled to finish it. I couldn’t connect to the characters.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC provided by NetGalley.

Reading Progress

Wow! Pamela Clare did not disappoint! This is the third in the series A Colorado High Country. It hit all my emotions and found me in happy tears at the end. It was a non-stop page turner. The characters are full of surprises and it left me wanting more! Her writing is wonderful!! Do yourself a favor and download it now! I would suggest starting with Barely Breathing then Slow Burn, but you can read this one and not feel lost in the series. Thank you Pamela Clare for putting your stories to page!

Falling Hard is great heartbreaking ex-military love story. After being two years of neighbor Ellie and Jesse path are crossed and from there on is like domino effect and before you know it they are in some kind of love relationship. But everything is not so easy. Jesse is still fighting with his PSDT and is not easy when he works in a risk job on the mountain. Ellie has lost her first husband and is hard for her with Jesse having such dangerous job. They are both very good characters, develop interesting with great personality and you cannot be to be happy for them that they find each other. Story with full emotionally scenes, heartbreaking but also powerful funny and just great.
I volunteered to review an ARC of this book for Netgelly

This was fantastic and my favorite in the series. This is the sort of contemporary romance that I enjoy. Great characters with believable back stories, cute (babies) ,romantic angsty sexy... what else do you want?

Falling Hard is the third very emotional love story in The Colorado High Country series written by author Pamela Clare. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. This is a voluntary review.

Received an ARC for voluntary review for netgalley. This book had it all, sadness, love, and happiness. I was happy to read Jesse story, after last book when they mentioned him, I wanted his story. Jesse was a complex individual, to read how he grew up, breaks your heart. Even though he went thru so much, he was a hero and always willing to help others, so I was happy for him to have a love interest. Ellie was his neighbor, but she was also a mother and war widow, she also deserved happiness. They go thru there ups and downs, but in the end, reach for happiness. It also enjoyable to read of the rest of the cast in Scarlett Falls.

Wow! Double Wow! Could not put this book down! Ellie and Jesse are so right for each other and this is a story I will not soon forget. Ellie is a widow whose husband was a helicopter pilot and killed in the war before their twins were born. She has been raising them on her own, they are almost three years old and she is a nurse getting by in her life. She didn't think she was ready to move on until Jesse. Jesse has been her neighbor for a view years and they had not met. He helps her out at the grocery store, her son is sick and her car will not start. Jesse is suffering from all kinds of guilt of things in his past and is also a veteran of the war and has PTSD. He had casually known her husband who had saved the life's of Jesse and other rangers out on a mission several times. He doesn't think he can do relationships or be a father and tries hard to resist Ellie but can't. This is a couple so right for each other and help each other heal the wounds they have felt. Things are not easy at times, especially for Jesse, but Ellie and the twins become everything to him and finally after a huge accident he sees the possibilities that are in front of him. A family he didn't think he needed. Love this book and I highly recommend it!!

Some books make you really feel for the characters like somehow you are really involved in all the trials and tribulations they face. This is one of those books! I laughed outloud and cried both happy and sad tears. Great writing can do that to you. Pamela got me wrapped up in these characters tight. Loved it.

FALLING HARD by Pamela Clare
A Colorado High Country Novel

This is the third novel in Ms. Clare’s series set in small-town Scarlet Springs, Colorado. If you have read Barely Breathing and Slow Burn, then you have already met Jesse Moretti and Ellie Meeks. Falling Hard is their story.

Jesse is an ex army ranger, tall and handsome, and now a member of Rocky Mountain’s renowned search and rescue team and a ski patroller at Scarlet Mountain Resort. He has seen and experienced too much death and heartache and desperately needs to heal. Jesse is a truly wonderful man who is plagued by nightmares and memories. His sole aim in life seems to be helping and rescuing others. Ellie is a pretty war widow with young twins, Daisy and Daniel. She works hard to provide a happy home for her small family, but still mourns the loss of her husband and shows no interest in having a new man in her life, until...

A snowstorm and a car that will not start bring Jesse, Ellie and her absolutely delightful twins together. Be prepared to fall in love with this family in the making, but be prepared also for emotional highs and lows, for laughter, tears, joy, fun and humour. Along the way, catch up with the delightful and often quirky Scarlet Springs residents many of us have already met and love.

Ms. Clare is an exceptional talent whose characters stride out of the page and come to life as you read. With Falling Hard, she has once again provided her readers with an incredible reading experience. I could not put it down.

"Falling Hard" is such a beautifully indepth story of hope, love, and moving on, while coming out of tragedies and memories, of two people finally able to come to grips with their pasts. The author wrote with such care of Jesse and Ellie finding love after each suffered their own trauma, but is a slower more developed pace for them. Who doesn't love to see a tough former Army Ranger with 3 year old twins? Ellie's twins was such a lifeline for her after her husband was killed in service, and seeing Jesse fall in love with the twins as well as Ellie is so heartwarming. Being a part of the Rocky Mountain Search & Rescue Team, Jesse doesn't hesitate when tragedy strikes, but dives right in. The story draws you in, written as if the reader is a part of it and not just turning pages in a book. Jesse, Ellie and the twins find their HEA, and put the past where it belongs. The honor that was shown for Ellie's late husband who was a Blackhawk pilot, was not forgotten, but put the past where it belonged. This one had me in tears a few times as if I was there and not just reading a book. I would like to thank NetGalley and the author for gifting me "Falling Hard". My opinion is my own. This is mine 5 Stars!

Tales From The Heart ~ Leanne's blog review from NetGalley

Wow this story grabbed me from the beginning. Ellie is a widow with twin toddlers, her husband was killed in action before they were born. Her elusive neighbour Jesse looks out for in secret ways but they never meet for a couple of years. He has his reasons and demons of his own to fight. It was a beautiful love story and gave me so many feels, I laughed and I cried and that one heart stopping moment had me gripped to my kindle. What an emotional ride from this talented author. I've not read the previous two books before this one, it stands alone but I intend to go back and find out about the other characters. Jesse and Ellie were so likeable and a joy to read about, not to forget those innocent cherubs. You'll be hoping they can work their way through all the trials of life and get their HEA.

Falling Hard (Colorado High Country, #3) by Pamela Clare ....What a fantastic story full of all the feels...Thank you Pamela for making me laugh, cry and hate to put a book down. Ellie is an RN and Gold Star Widow with two precious twins (Dan and Daisy) who area almost three and were born after their father died in Iraq. Jesse is a former Army Ranger who is dealing with PTSD from Iraq and his childhood and other issues. How they come together and become a family will warm you heart. I am still drying my tears after reading their HEA.

This book is beautifully written. Very emotional. Romantic. I had to keep the tissue box handy! This book is so good that I couldn’t put it down until I finished it. I absolutely loved it.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

Ellie's busy working at the hospital and taking care of her twins alone since her husband died in the service. She doesn't have time for a social life and can't get over her loss. Then along comes Jesse, who served with her husband, and is so full of fun and life. Her husband made Ellie promise to move on if something happened to him but that's easier to say than do. Second chances make this love story special and a red hot romance to savor.