13 July 2014

Blog Tour - Review - London Falling By: Chanel Cleeton

Title: London Falling (International School, #2)
Author: Chanel Cleeton
Publisher: Harlequin HQN (July 7th, 2014)
From: the Author
Format: eARC
Add to: Goodreads
Pre-order here: Amazon, Barnes and Noble

Check out my review of: I See London (I See London, #1)

NOTE: This is a "New Adult" novel. Due to mature content this title is recommended for ages 17+

Synopsis: We weren't a relationship, we were a ticking time bomb...

Maggie Carpenter walked away from the hottest encounter of her life when she left the seductive glitz of England for summer break in her South Carolina hometown. Now that she’s returned to the International School in London—and sexy, privileged Samir Khouri is once again close enough to touch—she can’t help but remember the attraction, the drama … the heartbreak.

She can’t help but want him even more.

Samir can’t afford to fall for someone so far removed from his world, not when his time in London is running out. It's his senior year—his last chance at freedom before he returns home to Lebanon. There, he’ll be expected to follow in his father’s footsteps—not follow his heart to Maggie. But when a scorching secret hookup becomes a temptation neither can resist, they’ll both have to fight to survive the consequences … and find a future together.

Don’t miss this explosive sequel to I See London, and the riveting conclusion to Maggie and Samir’s story. This is a New Adult romance recommended for readers 17 and up.

Review: 4 Stars - London Falling is the conclusion to Maggie and Samir’s story from author Chanel Cleeton’s International School. As a reader who loved their journey in I See London I couldn’t wait to find out where these two would end up in the sequel to their story. Cleeton didn’t disappoint!

We met Maggie and Samir in I See London and these two characters couldn’t have come from vastly different lives. They are worlds apart in how they were raised and how they see the world yet they find a way to bridge the gap and become friends while studying in London.

Maggie’s world is filled with glitz and glamour with the friends she’s surrounded herself with and can’t wait to get back to what she feels is home in London. To get back to her friends and get back to Samir to find out if their relationship ended at the conclusion of I See London or if there was more. She’s still the same strong character yet she’s got a different kind of vulnerability to her because of her unanswered questions.

And Samir… he’s changing because of Maggie. She makes him see his world differently and he finally has someone to believe in him. He has some huge choices to make and even bigger shoes to fill now that he’s facing his senior year of college. His family is counting on him, his country is counting on him and Maggie just doesn’t fit into his world or his home. This character is pretty amazing and his inner dialogue was what made this title for me. He has so much going on inside his head that without his point of view so much would have been lost.

These two are amazing. They push and pull each other in almost a dance. They don’t know what they are facing or don’t care to admit it to the other but their lives are about to not only make a huge change but take a huge leap into the unknown.

The backdrop of London was a huge selling point to me. It’s one of my favorite cities and reading about these characters while they explore such an amazing place had me loving these two books even more.

The secondary characters ended up being another part of the story I loved. They all provided great diversity and were always there for each other that you couldn’t help but want to know more about them. Speaking of… Samir’s cousin and Maggie’s best friend Fleur, I wish I knew more about her and I’m keeping my fingers crossed she gets her own book in future installments within the series. If I’m guessing correctly, Cleeton was setting readers up for a nice little romance with a certain boy she loved to hate. I hope, crossing my fingers!

In the end my heart soared and then it shattered into a million pieces. I cried, I laughed and I swooned from beginning to end. I didn’t want the book to end, I was cringing how it would end and in all seriousness I didn’t want to say goodbye. These are two books I could see myself reading over and over again. It’s the characters you can’t get enough of and a romance to remember for a long time to come.

I highly recommend these two titles to lovers of contemp “New Adult”. There’s a lot to love and readers should give these characters a try. Be prepared to want to read them back to back because if you’re like me you’ll want to see what’s going to happen next! Enjoy!

About the Author:

Originally a Florida girl, at seventeen Chanel moved to London to attend an international university. In the four years that followed, she received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, learned how to dance, travelled through Europe, and made lifelong friendships. Chanel fell in love with London and planned to stay there forever. But fate intervened on a Caribbean cruise, when an American fighter pilot with smooth dance moves, swept her off her feet.

Now, a happily ever after later, Chanel is living her next adventure in South Korea. An avid reader and hopeless romantic, she is happiest curled up with a book. She has a weakness for handbags, puppy cuddles, and her fighter pilot husband. Chanel writes New Adult contemporary romances and Young Adult thrillers. Her New Adult debut, I SEE LONDON, will be released by Harlequin (HQN) on February 3, 2014, followed by a sequel, LONDON FALLING, later in the year.