Fallen Girl

by Marian Andrew

“My parents were right. I was always too naïve, too lost in fantasies of how things should be. But real love doesn’t exist, not the kind I crave—unconditional, pure, the kind that doesn’t tear you apart bit by bit. That kind of love is just a fairytale, a cruel mirage. All I have now is the bitter taste of betrayal and the need to destroy every ounce of softness left inside me.”⸺ Riley.

Riley is drowning in heartbreak and spiraling toward self-destruction. The girl who once believed in fairy-tale love now sees it as a cruel lie and is ready to burn everything down—herself included. Cole, the one person who knows her best, refuses to give up, but Riley is pushing him away at every turn.

Can he save her before she falls too deep, or will her destruction shatter his heart?

Meanwhile, Niko’s intentions remain unclear. Will his actions drive a wedge between Riley and Cole, or will he step back and let nature take its course?

In Fallen Girl, Book 2, truths will surface, secrets exposed, and the stakes rise. How far will some go to keep Riley and Cole apart?

341 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 26, 2025

About the author

New Yorker, globetrotter, author, designer — and unapologetic storyteller of steamy emotional journeys.


Marian Andrew was raised in the city that never sleeps, polished by a British education, and now lives her European dream in Germany alongside her incredibly supportive husband, amazing son, and two mischievous feline sidekicks.

After two decades in the fashion world — jet-setting between New York, London, and the Far East, chasing inspiration across the globe — Marian traded couture for characters. Today, she channels her creative fire into writing stories that swerve between dirty and devastating, filthy and heartfelt. She also designs all her own book covers, because frankly, no one else can get the vibe just right.

A specialist in digital design and fluent in three languages, Marian grew up with a multicultural heartbeat that fuels her obsession with messy, beautiful human emotions, sharp banter, dangerous chemistry, and the kind of happily-ever-afters you have to fight for.

When she’s not setting her keyboard on fire, she’s ballroom dancing, binge-reading romance novels, or testing celebrity chef recipes (and occasionally setting off the smoke alarm).

Ready for a wild ride?
Grab your FREE book at www.marianandrew.com!
You can also find her being mildly chaotic on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook.

Reviews

[Sonya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Continuing on with Riley chaotic life. This book was difficult to read at times and the characters makes you want to shake them as well. I hate the Riley is going through so much, but she always runs to the most destructive outlet to cope. She has issues with Cole, still despises Nico (the feeling is mutual) and unbeknownst to her; her so called bestie is a true snake.

Instead of taking a step back and thinking rationally Riley find herself in terrible situations based on impulsive decisions instead of tackling the bull by the horns and getting to the root of the problem and Cole is no better. They both have the relational aptitude of toddlers.

Riley deals with trauma of the worst kind which puts Cole back in her orbit even if only for a moment. The hits just keep coming from all sides. Lost love, toxic/dangerous relationships, friends turned enemies just a hot mess all around.

I don't know what will be revealed in book 3 but one thing for sure is that its tie for Riley fight for her happiness and stop choosing destruction as a form of relief. It's time for Cole to man up and make up his mind; either he's in it to win it or simply move on and lastly Nico needs to come to terms with the fact that Cole loves Riley and Riley loves Cole; that doesn't mean you will lose your best friend but something has to give and these three will soon learn they that need each other more than they ever imagined to face the obstacles that are coming.

[Ines · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 *

"Fallen Girl" is the second book in the Breaking Boundaries Series, and it pulls at the heartstrings... Where book one felt a lot like high school drama, this second book adds a new layer to it with the characters growing older. These characters are starting to resonate more with me while they are becoming older, more mature and making decisions about their lives along the way. If I have to talk about my favorite parts in this book, they are all pretty much set in the final quarter of the book. It's still tough to read at times, but the things happening there made me a lot more invested in the main characters.

I'm not sure what I want or expect of the third book in this series... At this point, I don't believe I'll ever be okay with Nico again, unless he does some very deep soulsearching and even then... I don't even know if I'm totally on board with Cole either. I do know, however, I really want Riley to find her happily ever after, and I guess it's up to her to say what that is supposed to look like. And in a way, I think it would be good for Riley to be done with some of these side characters, but in another I really hope to see them meet karma in book three. A lot to anticipate and to look forward to!

[Summer Waters · Rating 5 out of 5]

*BOOK REVIEW*

BOOK: Fallen Girl
AUTHOR: Marian Andrew
REVIEW: This book had me in tears! When Marian says that book 2 is where it starts to get dark, she's not kidding. There are trigger warnings for each book in the series, so please heed them! With that being said, in this book, Riley is dealing with horrible heartbreak. She no longer believes in love and is on a path to self-destruction. Cole keeps trying to help Riley, but she refuses to let him. She'd rather push him away to prevent getting hurt more. Cole wants to save her, but will he actually be able to or will her destruction break him? Niko is the root cause of the pain that is crippling Riley. His intentions are unclear and Jenny is a massive snake in the grass. As far as I'm concerned, right now at least, Niko and Jenny are irredeemable. I cannot stand them! Will Cole ever open up and say what he means? Will Niko change and be a better person? Will Riley ever get to be free from this pain? Will Riley be able to break free from her self-destructive actions? There's still a lot to be revealed in book 3 and I'm here for it!

RATING: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG 😭😭😭😭😭😭

So part 2 in the Breaking Boundaries series and believe me YOU WILL NEED A BOX OF TISSUES FOR THIS TEAR JERKER!!!!!!!!

So we’re still following the path that Riley has chosen and what a heartache of a ride we’re going on/through…..

Cole, is trying to ‘hide’ his beast inside, Niko is just doing what he does best…stirring the pot and Jenny……well I’ll let you make your assumptions

The decisions/choices Riley makes in this instalment will have you trying to reach out to tell her ‘no, don’t do it’ but unfortunately the heart and mind don’t like to make life easy and that makes reading what Riley does and what happens throughout this book just absolutely heartbreaking 💔

Will Cole ever ‘man’ up and say what he really means?????

Will Niko ever ‘grow a pair’ and stop being a ‘child’?????

Will Riley ever ‘be free’??????

There is s@x in this book, but again this is NOT RH!!!!!

Marian takes us in one hell of journey in this book and all I can say is…..WELL DONE 👏👏👏👏👏 you are an amazing author!!!!!!

[heartsandthrillers · Rating 5 out of 5]

💖 Fallen Girl ARC Review 💖

Thank you MA Crown Ink Publishing for granting me an ARC! All opinions are my own and not influenced by the publisher.

Even better than the first! I’m so invested in Riley, Cole & Niko’s stories and can’t wait for book 3!

⭐️ Star Rating: 5
🌶️ Spice Level: 2

About the book: Riley’s heartbreak drives her toward self-destruction as she grapples with her disillusionment with fairy-tale love. Cole, determined to save her, faces the challenge of breaking through her defenses, while Niko's unclear intentions add to the tension. In Fallen Girl, Book 2 of the Breaking Boundaries Series, secrets will be revealed, and the stakes will rise as Riley and Cole’s relationship is put to the test.

Note: While this book does contain some heavy topics and toxic relationships, the story evolves in a way that makes these parts palatable.

[₊⋆ Nyxia ☾ · Rating 5 out of 5]

𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐭𝐰𝐨

I thought book one took me on an emotional journey, book two just tore me apart. These books are amazing, Marian’s writing is just beautiful.

“𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝒸𝒶𝓃 𝒷𝑒 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝒶𝓃𝒸𝒽𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝓇𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒽 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓇𝓂."

I really enjoyed the characters growth throughout this book. There is a lot of drama and angst. It gets dark, and my heart just broke.

I’m so looking forward to the next book! I neeeeeed to know what happens next. I know Marian will put my heart back together cause omgggg, I’m not okay! I recommend these books so so much!

ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴄᴀʀꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴍʏ ᴘᴀꜱᴛ ʟɪɴɢᴇʀ, ʙᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇʏ ꜰᴜᴇʟ ᴍʏ ʀᴇꜱᴏʟᴠᴇ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴛʜᴀɴ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ɪ ᴏɴᴄᴇ ᴡᴀꜱ.

🇹​​🇷​​🇴​​🇵​​🇪​​🇸

•contemporary romance
•slow burn
•second chance
•childhood trauma
•darker elements
•found family
•emotional scars
•starting over

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I have felt every emotion possible while reading this book. It picks up where we left off in book 1 with Cole & Riley still apart following a misunderstanding. There are moments in the book where I wanted to shake the pair of them and say sort yourself out so that they could find their way back to each other. There is so much that happens in this book to both Cole & Riley but you can see that it is needed to allow the to figure out who they are. I have to say Niko has redeemed himself a little in this book, especially after he defends Riley’s honor, but he still has a way to go. The cliffhanger at the end made my heart drop and now I can’t believe I have to wait until book 3 to see what happens next! Amazing read!!

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most emotional book I’ve read this year, I sobbed my way through it. The betrayal that takes place for Riley and Cole throughout the book is breathtaking and so real. I was shouting at Riley in my head at one point, for her just to be able to see what her “friend” was doing to her. And all of these actions have consequences, they lead to endings that scar and break your soul to pieces. I cried for Cole in his depression and reclamation of his life, but it was Riley that I sobbed over and my heart ached for. Though her ending in the book finally felt like she was on the path to hopefulness. And then I read that last chapter and the tears started again.

[Tyler Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing new instalment to an unforgettable series.

After devouring book one I was on the edge of my set for his newest instalment to land in my hands, and the minute it did I dove straight in, in this book we pick up right where we left off in the previous novel, Riley really is going through it, and watching her struggle and having to try and cope is really heartbreaking, this book definitely had a different vibe to book one, we got to really see some character growth from not only Riley but others as well, and the topics dealt with are much deeper, Marian does a great job of getting you to empathise with her characters by making them feel realistic and relatable.

One thing about Marian is her books are an experience, from the amazing character illustrations scattered through out the book to the detailed artwork in each chapter. When reading this series it is so easy to picture every character and really understand the story and emotions this author is trying to portray to us. This book really tugged on my heartstrings, every emotion Riley felt I felt as well, and by the time I finished I definitely felt emotionally wrung out but still excited to read book three and see where Andrews takes us next.

[Daisy Nijs · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second book in the series and even better than the first book.
Riley is still trying to find her way in life, going through a lot of chaos to hopefully finally find the peaceful and calm life she deserves.
I’m still forming an opinion over Cole and Nico, I think I will do that after I’ve read the third book. Right now, I’m still not really convinced, but I don’t want to judge to early, so it stays open for now.
This book was harder to read than the first one. The author did warn that this book is actually were the story gets darker, and she wasn’t kidding. And the author delivered another amazing story and I am very curious to see how everything will turn out in book three.

[Nichole Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ohhh, my heart!! This is one of those series where you have to immediately jump into the next book. This book was absolutely phenomenal. It is full of secrets, lies, betrayal, and heartbreak. It's an absolute emotional roller-coaster, but I ate it up. The suspense is top tier and had me just one more chaptering it. I'm so invested in Riley and Cole's story and even Niko at this point. The ending literally left me reeling. I'm totally going to devour the last book, Forever Girl. 10/10 recommend this series for an unforgettable reading experience!

[Rachel Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much happens in this book and I was addicted from start to finish.
It's filled with drama, betrayal, secrets, pain and sadness, angst, and we got a little spice as well.

This book was even more emotional than the first one. At times I felt like I was right there with Riley.
I got frustrated for her and at times I was frustrated at her. However, I do think it also made her character more relatable.
Riley, Cole, and Niko...I have questions for each of them. I cant wait to see what's coming next!!

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is book 2 in the series I highly recommend you start with book 1! The book was full of a lot of emotions I am sure will take you on a roller coaster ride of them. The complexity of the relationships in this book is needed in the stories so you understand the characters and what they go through and Marian is so good telling this story. It does end on a cliffhanger, stay tuned for the epic conclusion in book 3!

[Bookish Venturess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow this one was a hard one to read at times. Make sure to check the trigger warnings. The amount of stuff that Riley goes through in this book is just a lot. I feel so bad for her. The revenge that was gotten on her behalf was intense. I love how the ending went and I can't wait to see what happens next for Riley. I really enjoyed reading this book.

[Frankie Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ohhh boy!! This book and me feeling all sorts of emotions!!! Holy smokes! May or may not have freaked out my husband but that’s minor detail haha! This book has kept close to the first one and is making me nervous for the third….not sure if I’m ready!!! But yes!!!

[Natasha Overfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book in the series. Things get more complex with the characters as we navigate lies and betrayal. This ends on a cliffhanger with you wanting to scream. Excited to see where these characters end up.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wild rollercoaster of a second book. It is packed with secrets , betrayal, lies, suspense and so much more. The emotions were all over the place. I enjoyed the intensity that this second book of the series brought.

[Kate Pazanin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured this book in one day. This is the second book in the braking boundaries series. I thought the first one was more than 5 stars, this one exceeded that. I couldn't put it down. From the end of book 1 to the begining of book 2 I was invested. Both of these books live rent free in my mind and now I have to wait for book 3. Riley, Cole, and Nikos journey only continues in book two with more trauma, more drama, and tension. I don't know about other but many parts of the story are relatable and I can see myself theresny times. My heart broke in parts, I smiled and laugh in others, continuing to root for the characters to find true love. Book 2 leaves you once again in a cliffhanger and I have no doubt all questions will be answered. I have no doubt this series will be one of my top series for 2025.

[Nicole Henderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whew, these are not the same people from the first book. The characters have evolved. They are older still dealing with the same demons that plagued them in the past. The Cole and Riley that readers loved are torn apart by outside influences. The ones seen and unseen. Riley, leading her life of destruction, does the only thing she knows how to do. Jumps to conclusions and runs to anything that will hurt her the way she thinks she deserves. This time that thing was Leo Conti. Yes, THAT Leo. Cole is crushed and Riley is on a downward spiral. What else could go wrong? Cole and Niko make a decision that could have them leaving Seabrook forever.

Leo puts forth effort to be the man Riley needs, but the old Leo is always lurking. Unfortunately Riley has no one to turn to. The one person she who knew her the best betrayed her. Her parents are bothering her again. She needs somewhere to go until she is out of school. Leo ends up being that safe haven. This book is a lot darker than the first book. Readers see more of Riley’s self-destructive tendencies. Things go from bad to worse. This book ended on a big cliffhanger. Ms. Andrews, I am going to need the next book in this series right away.

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not put this book down and read it in 4 hours. I don't know where to begin, and honestly, I don't know that I can write a review that will do it justice. I've never had a book or series affect me as much as this one. It's about love and betrayal, and heartache. It's about grief and misunderstanding. It comes from deep within Marian's heart and soul. It's not a smutty book, but it is about things that we have all experienced in some shape or form. You can literally feel Cole and Riley's pain coming off the pages. And the cliffhanger at the end has me torn... I want to find out what happened and then I'm afraid to find out what happened. You MUST read this series!!! I can already tell this is going to be the best and most profound series that I'll read in 2025.