THE FALL UP
Aly Martinez
★★★★
”It was raining.
Isn’t that the way all great love stories start? And also usually end?” Awe, it does seem like some of the great love scenes happen in the rain. Levee and Sam’s story starts on a raining night on a bridge. Both of them are there for different reasons. Sam’s there to ponder life when he see’s Levee and wonders if she’s there to jump.
’My career was soaring while, personally, I was plummeting.’
Levee has everything a little kids dream of -> being rich and famous. But behind the glamour lives a girl who feels a missing connection with the world. Her nightly visits to the bridge create concern for Sam who at the time is just a stranger on that bridge. He reaches out to her to let her know she’s not alone if she’s struggling.
’I was sick of fucking fine. I needed something – anything – to be great.’
Sam has his own demons that haunt him. Under the exterior of his tattoos and cigarettes is a man who searching for “something.”
”Levee, I’d like to struggle with you.”
By nature Sam is a caretaker. He holds other’s needs in high regard. He carries their burden on his shoulders. Those nights on the bridge prove what a good guy Sam is because once he lays eyes on Levee, without knowing who she is, he reaches out to her to make sure she’s cared for.
’It’s just hard when your woman has Gibson [guitar] taste and a thrift store man.’
The relationship between the two of them started before either one knew who the other one was and once it got going it was with pure intentions these two fell for each other. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t rich and she was because they liked the stripped down versions of each other. Money wasn’t going to be a factor in their relationship.
Ms. Martinez fans will love this story. The banter in the book will have you smiling and Sam will make you swoon. Plus there are other characters in the book to love such as her friend, Henry.
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RELEASE DATE: October 26, 2015
STANDALONE
**Complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.**
Excerpt
“You’re overdoing it, Lev. I know this job isn’t exactly nine-to-five, but it’s not twenty-four-seven, either. You have to stop being Levee Williams all the time and just be you.”
“I know,” I responded.
I didn’t though. I felt like a robot parading around in a lost woman’s body.
Smile.
Pose.
Turn.
Toss in the occasional song.
Repeat.
What little time I did manage to carve out for myself was spent at various children’s hospitals across the country.
Smile.
Pose.
Turn.
Watch a child die.
Repeat.
With every day that passed, the smile became less and less genuine, the pose more and more forced, and the turn took me further and further away from who I really was.
My career was soaring while, personally, I was plummeting. Every single day felt like a terrifying free fall in no particular direction. I was stuck in the middle with no way up—or down.
“You remember that girl, right?” Henry asked, tucking a hair behind my ear.
I nodded.
I did remember her. She was fun and carefree. She loved going out and dancing at nightclubs until the very last song played. She slept until noon if she could. Then, fueled by coffee alone, she’d spend the day with a guitar strapped around her neck and a notepad at her side. She had a huge heart, but she knew her limitations.
Oh, I remembered that girl. I just couldn’t figure out how to get back to her.
GIVEAWAY
Maybe there’s only one direction to go when two people fall in love at rock bottom—up. NOW AVAILABLE! Amazon US | Barnes & Noble | iBooks
Born and raised in Savannah, Georgia, Aly Martinez is a stay-at-home mom to four crazy kids under the age of five, including a set of twins. Currently living in South Carolina, she passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a glass of wine at her side. After some encouragement from her friends, Aly decided to add “Author” to her ever-growing list of job titles. Five books later, she shows no signs of slowing. So grab a glass of Chardonnay, or a bottle if you’re hanging out with Aly, and join her aboard the crazy train she calls life. CONNECT WITH ALY MARTINEZ Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads