I'm the author of Follow Your Fantasy, Harper Impulse. It's a very different twist on Erotica and the idea came to me in bed - alone. Unfortunately for me, my best Erotica only gets written when I'm single and a second book is in progress. When I'm not writing books, I'm writing 4 blogs, writing in at writer's group, Madrid Writer's Club, critiquing friend's writing...yep, pretty much writing is my life! Other than I date a lot (and write it up!), move around a lot (7 countries and counting), and have a crippling addiction to sugar and jigsaws.
Alright... So she gets raped and while he clocks her traumatic behavoir, he fucks a "whore" (shudders with that term) and accuses her of cheating while she still is loyal to the club? Not my jam, definetly.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Book Review: Kade’s Downfall by Nicola Jane Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ (1/5)
If you are looking for a nuanced exploration of trauma or characters with depth, you won’t find them in Nicola Jane’s Kade’s Downfall. This novel fails on almost every front, delivering a reading experience that is not only frustrating but, at times, deeply problematic.
The foundation of any good story lies in its characters, yet everyone in this book feels like a cardboard cutout. There is no growth, no internal complexity, and no relatability. They exist merely to move a clunky plot forward, making it impossible for the reader to feel any emotional investment in their journey.
The most egregious failure of the book is its treatment of sexual assault. The narrative deals with rape and its aftermath with a startling lack of sensitivity. Instead of a careful, empathetic look at the psychological toll of such an event, the trauma is handled poorly, lacking the gravity and realism it demands. It feels less like a character study and more like a poorly managed plot device.
Adding insult to injury is the H, Kade. While he is positioned as the "Hero," he is, in reality, an arrogant, self-centred character who manages to make everyone else’s suffering, including the h’s trauma, entirely about himself. His "big dick" attitude and toxic behavior are framed as traits of an Alpha male, but they come across as emotionally stunted and exhausting. It is difficult to root for a romance when the lead male is someone you’d rather see shown the door.
To top it all off, the book refuses to provide any sense of closure. It ends on a jarring cliffhanger, seemingly forced in to compel readers to pick up the next instalment. After enduring one-dimensional, writing and a cheating hero with zero redeeming qualities, the lack of a resolution feels less like a narrative choice and more like a final slap in the face to the reader.
Final Verdict Kade’s Downfall is a difficult read for all the wrong reasons. Between the mishandling of sensitive subject matter and a deeply unlikable hero, there is very little to recommend here. Save your time and find a story that treats its characters, and its readers, with more respect.
Not even sure why I do this to myself. Honestly someone should slap my hand everytime I push to download from this author. 🤦 Anyways, both MMCs were very unlikable. Which seems to be a theme recently with NJ's characters. I hate everyone 🤣. But contrary to what others have said who obviously didn't read the actual book, but are playing that telephone cup game we all played as a child, he does not cheat. Would he have cheated? With NJ's male characters how can that even be a question. 😆
Let me go on a tiny rant before ending this review. It seems everyone and their mother are coming out atm with a SA book. Seriously every new release has been this. The material and plot should be taken seriously and not used for shock value. Always having the FMC not telling anyone and no one having a clue or even asking questions is completely unrealistic to me.Honestly wish authors would take a break from this. Everyone of these characters all recently seem to be sharing one braincell between them as well. Also, all authors should really take a break from writing male SA. That's even worse.
I didn’t need a trigger warning, I needed a cliffhanger warning 😑 i fucking hate cliffhangers because by the time the next book comes out I won’t be interested, yeah I already lost interest. so yeah if you wanna start this, it ends with a cliffhanger. ✌🏼
I'm giving up on this author. She still writes like a novice after so many books. There's no growth. Plot holes, unrealistic scenarios, one dimensional characters. I don't care who you are, there is no way that H was this naive. It was glaringly obvious what happened to her and the author wants us to believe he just didn't put all this together and came up with cheating? Come on.
This book starts with Eden and Kade already three years into their relationship, which I actually liked. We’re told how they met and how things evolved, but the story focuses on what happens after the cracks are already there.
Eden believes the club has cleaned up its act since Kade took over as president. Charity runs, community image, less trouble. What she doesn’t know is that there’s still illegal stuff going on behind the scenes, and Kade is actively hiding it from her. She senses something is wrong almost immediately, but instead of being honest, he keeps shutting her out.
The tension builds slowly and then things take a really dark turn. There is a very descriptive assault scene involving Eden being drugged and attacked at the club bar, so this book definitely needs trigger warnings. She wakes up with no memory of the attack but knows something bad has happened, and the way she deals with it is by withdrawing. She doesn’t tell Kade. She doesn’t really know how.
From there, everything unravels.
Instead of recognising trauma, Kade assumes the worst. Eden is distant, intimacy feels wrong, she cries — and his conclusion is that she must be cheating. Typical MMC logic. He doesn’t cheat himself, but he absolutely crosses a line by pulling a club girl into his office in front of Eden, which is honestly just cruel.
That moment is what finally forces the truth out. Eden confronts him, explains the assault, and reveals that she killed her attacker in self-defence — which ties into the ongoing mystery of who killed the guy. It should have been the moment where Kade steps up.
He doesn’t.
Instead, he spirals into guilt and completely shuts down. He pushes Eden away emotionally for months, leaving her to deal with everything alone. By the time she realises he won’t change, it’s clear she can’t stay. She leaves not because she doesn’t love him, but because she can’t survive being treated like that.
He doesn’t cheat — but he’s emotionally negligent, secretive, and handles everything in the worst way possible. This is a story about trauma, silence, and what happens when people refuse to talk to each other.
It’s heavy, frustrating, and painful to read at times — but it’s meant to be. I’m continuing to book two because this ending demands growth, accountability, and a hell of a lot of grovelling.
I didn’t mind the book or writing, I just felt like these characters didn’t connect with me. I also felt like these SA could have been handled better.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
If you take a handful of books by this offer, you will get about five or six unforgivable awful NMC‘s and then one good one. This is one of the bad ones. This man and don’t keep reading if you don’t want spoilers, but this man’s wife were equivalent was brutally assaulted and wasn’t processing it well and his immediate response to everything she had gone through even though she didn’t feel safe, was to try and cheat on her, destroy her and then kick her out. If I started to pull away from my husband, he would not pack my bags and then make me watch him take another woman to a room. And then worse than all of that let’s pretend that’s OK and that’s the lifestyle. She is apologetic and he makes her feel worse after he finds out. It’s all just ridiculous. I do not recommend this book at all. It’s a horrible message for survivors everywhere.
No idea how to rate this one. I don’t think I’ve disliked both of Nicolas MC this much before. There’s so much miscommunication or lack of communication between a couple who were ride or die, it got so frustrating. She had every right to walk away, but she also kind of deserved it. She had time to come to terms with everything he hadn’t. I can say though, he absolutely did not cheat - anyone who says this is bat shit cray cray
um honestly i was in the mood for a rage read. this author is really hit or miss with her books some are safe and some are a complete no. look eden went through something horrible, but i feel like both the MCs went about it in unhealthy ways. i know i know everyone deals with things in their own ways, but gosh dang i wanted to slap both of them. this leaves off on a cliffhanger and i might read the next one, i just hope there’s actually character growth and some groveling.
So, after sitting on this for a couple of days, I’ve decided to add to my initial thoughts. Spoilers below.
It’s wild to me how Eden didn’t come to Kade and let him know what’s going on or at the very least I was expecting her to break down after he brought her home. They’ve been together for three years and the first thing Kade thinks is wrong is that Eden cheated like that just let me dumbfounded because c’mon if you know her better than that then you would’ve thought he would’ve came to a different conclusion. As for Eden, she was so concerned about Kade going back to his old ways if he found out, but like I know at least for me had this happened to me I would expect my man to go feral specially if he is overprotective and doesn’t play about what’s his. Because to me if she was truly concerned she would’ve gone to police and let then handle it then eventually tell Kade. For the MCs to be thirty they sure do handle this in a very immature way. Kade could’ve been more patient with her and just been there. Look Kade doesn’t cheat, but he tries with a club girl and she straight up tell him to go to bed so nothing happens between them, but I didn’t like how he was going to cheat because he thought she did. Then he was about to mess with another club girl when Eden came home dressed differently then when she left so dumbie thought she cheated again, and was gonna get back at her. He never cheats on her, but still it kind of gave me the ick. He also says some out of pocket stuff. I will say once she does tell him, he does all apesh*t. Overall the characters very much gave immature. I will be reading the second one to see if there’s any growth. I don’t think I’ve ever given a book a 1⭐️
This is the first book I read from this author and I always love motorcycle romance! I just finished this book and wow!! If you want a good cry throughout the book the this is the book for you. Like I loved the beginning because we could see how Eden and Kade had a good relationship. But Kade just didn't see the signs and Eden was telling Kade what happened when she was getting her memories back. Then the distance that they had, I thought that they would work through it as a couple. I wish the next book was out already so I could find out what happens next because I have so many questions. Like does Kade get his sh*t together and when? How does he make it up to Eden? What will happen? But for tigger warnings: it touch on r@pe and being d!ugged So you might need to skip this book if it's something that you can't read. But also I hope that in the next book that Kade makes some revisions to the rules that the club has. Like if Lade was a little more open that jimmy and Liam weren't good people or worded it better then at least the girls would have felt more alert when they went out that night. But also the guys shouldn't have dismissed the girls when they said that they got weird vibes from jimmy and Liam as well. So it's a double edged sword.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Kade is an OTTPJA. Eve is his strong-willed wife. She knows MC life and she has stood by him and helped him build his club. Problem is when she needs him, he's too busy feeling guilty over past mistakes and huge misunderstandings that he just ghosts her. I mean he's physically there, sometimes but he's not him. He's often a total jerk. She waited to explain events that occurred until she absolutely had to but even then she was pressured into it. They are truly their own worst enemies. They skirt around the truth instead of just being frank with each other and saying what they need, how they feel. Honestly they may be better off just walking away from each other since they don't trust each other enough to be honest and have the difficult conversations. Good book overall. A lot going on and I'm curious how it will all end up in the next book. Check triggers on this one before you start it.
It ends in a cliffhanger mind you. I kinda knew that but went in anyway. And I wish I had waited for the second book before I read this one because I really want to know how this is gonna play out. 👀
I liked the main character but also the side characters. I liked that the FMC had a support system in the club, not only with her sister but the other women and men at the club had her back a lot. The MMC is your typical motorcycle club president with a German shepherd personality and a soft spot for his FMC - until sh!t goes down and he can’t figure out what foot to stand on.
I hope we’ll get books about the other characters and I really like that this is a duet (I think) and not your typical one-book-per-couple you usually get. 🩶
‼️ Mind the triggers while reading this. There is on-page rape while FMC is drugged and also attempted sexual assault/rape later on in the book. 💔
I think some of the reviews here are being a little harsh. The FMC goes through a horrible experience and the MMC doesn’t see it for what it is and thinks she’s cheating. Just as he’s about to get all petty and take someone else to bed, the FMC tells him the truth about what happened. She didn’t want to initially because she didn’t want him to see her as broken and pity her. Buuuut he kind of does. So no, no cheating. He doesn’t cheat at all, they kind of work things out then he kind of avoids her which leads her to think she was right and shouldn’t have told him and she leaves. That’s where it’s ends, it’s a cliffhanger. I’m really hoping that he doesn’t sleep around in the follow up, I’m a little worried about that but hopefully he just goes to find his woman. We’ll see.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Combination of some themes - MC Prez who tries to keep his old lady separate from club business until a business partner that he inherited uses his old lady to try to keep control of him and return the club to more illegal activities. The h tries to protect the H/Prez and club by keeping the trauma she experienced a secret. She finally is able to share with the females and a therapist but her responses to the H are interpreted as signs that she was unfaithful to him. He packs her suitcase and tells her to leave which forces her to confess what happened to her. Just as she predicted the H withdraws. He withdraws because he feels so guilty about his failure to protect her but she feels that he is disgusted by her. It ends on a cliffhanger but the next book is available.
This author writes great angst, but the grovel/redemption is almost always lacking for me. I'm hoping the grovel/redemption is good in the next book. I get his frustration of not knowing what's going on, but then going to club girls in front of her with the intent to cheat (and only doesn't because others stop him not because he stopped himself) is bs. No apologies for any of his behavior, in fact, she is the one who apologizes. This seems to be a pattern with the characters in most of this author's stories, but I love the angst, so I keep reading them. That's why is a 4 and not a 3. I do it to myself.
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️½ Couple: Kade & Eden ❋❋❋❋❋❋ New author I picked up on a whim from a FB group. I'm not disappointed, the pacing is quite fast and its written well. I was able to follow the storyline but noticed its more surface level and not very detailed with depth. I will say that it was hard to feel the connection between the MCs from the beginning. For them to be an established couple it really felt like the situation would have been handled differently, there was no trust between them. Both of them were wrong and neither dealt with it well, learning some better communication would help them. Going on to the next one to see how they pull this all together.
First book I don’t even want to keep reading as sad as that is. Whole story was so ridiculous. Her not talking to him to let him know then him not talking to her…. I mean and then trying to have sex again without telling him about SA and waiting for test results for STI’s etc just cringy AF Absolutely they both are better off without each other, and seriously after all that she is pregnant and she drank knowing she might be, and that it could be OM baby I mean way too close to be 100% sure. Just saying don’t want them to end up together at all. And did he sleep with Jade or not seems like it was implied but never denied.
Please tell me there's another. You can't leave it like this. Oh goodness I'm gonna wilt away!! Omg this is horrible that it just ended like this. I need more!!! Please Nicola, I need more
Definitely a 5 star. I never cried so bard before for everything that Eden went through. My heart broke for her because What was written were REAL feelings that someone that went through something like, truly feel!! So alone and dirty and scared and then everyone changes towards you while you're still feeling all messed up!
Wow. This was written so well that a reader could feel the emotions of the characters. The cliffhanger was that perfect balance between ending one part , leading to another so it wasn’t an unrealistic place to separate. Leaves us wanting more but knowing the first book is the place where we learn what shapes these characters and what drives them to make the choices they make in the future parts of their story ( not only MMC and FMC but the others to some extent too ) The events of Kade’s Downfall would be impossible to squish into a standard prologue and achieve the same impact.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I know the second part is coming out soon, and I want to read it, but it's going to be tough. Ms. Jane's writing is solid as always, but these main characters are both too stupid to live. I lost count at the number of times I yelled at both main characters. The only thing that kept me from throwing my Kindle was that I'm a fan of her writing so I kept hoping to find something redeeming about both characters. Apparently that happens in the next book. So here's hoping...
Kade’s Downfall is dark, intense, and emotionally consuming in the best way. It pulls you deep into Kade’s broken world, where pain, obsession, and raw vulnerability blur together. The chemistry is heavy, the emotions hit hard, and the story doesn’t shy away from the ugly parts of love and trauma. It’s heartbreaking, gripping, and impossible to put down i hated how he ignored her and left on cliffhanger and cant wait till book 2 !
◘ MC Romance ◘ President Old Lady ◘ Trigger Warnings SA (Not in Detail ) ◘ Betrayal ◘ Murder
If you suspect you've been raped, don't shower, for the love of the universe, go to the hospital and get checked out, and at least tell your partner. Don't whine if you don't plan on doing anything about it. I can't with victims allowing other victims to experience the same thing, because they are stupid.
She's gonna be pregnant and not know who the father is and the rapist will tell her partner it wasn't rape because dummy over here can't open her mouth to tell the truth.
This story has good drama and angst. Kade will make you want to rage which some will love. The problem for me is I don’t feel any love for Eden from him, don’t feel the connection. After his terrible thoughts about her behavior, it only gets worse and the even more so near the end. Making himself the victim of something that affected Eden, happened TO Eden, not him. He sucks. Will be interested to see how he’s redeemed!
Oooh a new series begins, excellent read, I absolutely loved Kade and Eden’s story ❤️❤️❤️ Such a mess has been made if such a beautiful relationship, can’t wait for the next book to see how this turns out, positively I hops. A definite page turner and very entertaining. 100% recommend this book to everyone ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ you won’t be disappointed 😎🖤
No, no, no I need the second part now. I can't wait. So help me Kade better get his crap together. My heart hurt for Eden and everything she has delt with. In one way I wish she would've told him sooner and in another I get why he blames himself. I'm so happy his family is intervening and I pray they find their way back to one another.