The Deeper I Fall

Erika Kelly

Feb 2022 · EK Publishing, LLC

About this ebook

He's a rough and rugged hockey player. She's a posh British princess. To win an enormous inheritance, they’re forced to live together.

This is not going to go well.

When his former hockey coach passes away, Declan Cadell is shocked to learn the man left him a cattle ranch. Well, not exactly. He’s got one little hurdle to jump first. He has to win a trivia contest against the man’s estranged daughter. Oh, and there’s a caveat: he’s only in the running if he lives and works with the spoiled princess who blew off one of the greatest men he’s ever known.

As if it wasn’t hurtful enough that Seraphina Crutchley’s biological father replaced her with a bunch of sweaty hockey boys, now he’s forcing her to vie for her inheritance with one of them. Worse, the guy clearly can’t stand her because if—no, when she wins the contest—she’ll sell the land and return home to London. Why on earth would she keep a cattle ranch in Wyoming?

But Seraphina comes to learn the contest is about so much more than a ranch. It’s about learning who her father was and why he stopped asking to see her. It's about falling in love...and finding the courage to fight for it. 

Ratings and reviews

Another visit to Calamity Falls and another great addition to this wonderful series. If you love small town romances The Deeper I Fall should certainly be on your radar and please don’t worry if you haven’t read the previous books in this series because I believe this story can certainly be enjoyed as a stand-alone, although I’m sure one visit to Calamity Falls won’t be enough and like me you will be playing catch up with this wonderful town and it’s residents. Declan and Seraphina (Phinny) meet in the lawyers office after her fathers funeral, it’s strange that the father who she feels abandoned her treated men who weren’t his blood as sons and what follows is an emotional yet entertaining journey as these two find themselves living on the family ranch for the next thirty days. Declan has always loved the ranch but for Phinny its a means to an end because after being cut off by her mother and stepfather she needs the money that selling the ranch would bring in. So will thirty days be enough to show Phinny that life in Calamity is wonderful, will it be enough to show her real love when she least expected it and more importantly will it show her just how much her father loved her. Maybe her mother told her some lies along the way ….. This is a beautifully written small town romance that will appeal to a wide range of audiences, it certainly ticked all my boxes with it’s wonderful characters and their captivating journey. It’s emotional yet entertaining, it’s witty but at times it will also tug on your heartstrings, it’s a story about love, friendships, family and vulnerability and it touched me on every level so please one click this gem, you won’t be disappointed.

The Deeper I Fall is a beautifully written small town romance. It is a bittersweet story about Phinny (short for Seraphina) who travels from London to Calamity, Wyoming to attend her estranged father’s funeral. As Phinny spends time in Calamity she learns a lot about herself and changes her views on many things. The two main characters, Declan and Phinny, are perfect together. I also loved the small town of Calamity and all the people who live there. This is a feel good, spicy romance and I immediately fell in love with the characters and the story. Declan looks big and tough but he has a tender heart. He is protective and caring and just what Phinny needs. Declan is brooding and silent with everyone but Phinny. He opens up to Phinny in a way he has never been able to open up to anyone else. Erika Kelly is able to capture the emotions and vulnerabilities of both Declan and Phinny. She makes the story and the characters come alive and I was quickly turning the pages to find out what would happen next. This is a compelling story with realistic characters that are down to earth and easy to like. The pacing is perfect and the story kept me spellbound from beginning to the end. This is another wonderful book in the Calamity Falls series and Erika Kelly brings this poignant story to life.

4.5 stars--THE DEEPER I FALL is the ninth instalment in Erika Kelly’s contemporary, adult CALAMITY FALLS erotic romance series focusing on the men and women of Calamity Fall, Wyoming. This is hockey coach Declan Cadell, and twenty-four year old British socialite Seraphina ‘Phinny’ Crutchley’s story line. THE DEERER I FALL can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary. Told from dual third person perspectives (Declan and Phinny) THE DEEPER I FALL follows in the aftermath of a rejected proposal, and the sudden death of Seraphina Crutchley’s estranged American father, former professional hockey player Kurt Grevers. At the reading of the will, Seraphina will come face to face with the boys, now men, she believes stole her father from a life time of love but conditions of the will find our heroine remaining in Calamity Fall, in the hopes of ‘winning’ the ranch where she doesn’t belong, a contest that will pit Seaphina Crutchley against Declan Cadell. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Phinny and Declan, and the potential fall-out as Seraphina and Declan‘s ideas and hopes for the ranch are in total opposition to one another. Seraphina Crutchley has not seen her father since she was six years old, and has been led to believe she was never wanted. With a chip on her shoulder, and ice in her heart, Seraphina returns to the home she can no longer remember but a home that will reveal memories of a time where she was happy and loved. Declan Cadell and his ‘former best friends’ Cole, Jaime and Booker, had always thought of Kurt as a second father. Kurt Grevers had taken the young boys in hand, teaching them about a game with would all come to love, a game that would see Kurt a successful businessman and rancher, and respected member of Calamity Falls. Declan and his friends have a past of their own, a past that continues to fester between the once tight-knit group of friends. Believing Seraphina is nothing but a gold digger and British snob, Declan and our heroine are about to be pitted against one another for ownership of Kurt Grevers legacy and love. The relationship between Declan and Phinny begins acrimoniously as our heroine wants nothing to do with her father, the ranch and the men he loved more than his own flesh and blood but the longer Seraphina remains in Calamity Falls, the more will be revealed about the man she never knew, and the man with whom she is falling in love. Declan wants to protect his mentor’s legacy but falling for Seraphina was never meant to be. Seraphina has different plans for her late father’s ranch, a ranch that holds most of Declan’s memories from a time long ago. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic and seductive without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text. We are introduced to Declan’s former friends now business partners: Cole Montgomery, Jaime Dupree, and Booker, as well as attorney Harrison Goodman; Seraphina’s parents Andrew and Lucinda Crutchley, Kurt’s former love interest Glori Van Patten, house manager Tina, Brodie and Rosie Bowie (Just the Way You Are 4), as well as several ranch hands and townsfolk who reaffirm everything Phinny thought to be true, was a lie. Cole Montgomery’s story is next. THE DEEPER I FALL is a story of family and relationships, betrayal and heart break, secrets and lies, love and acceptance. The character driven premise is emotional, captivating and engaging; the romance is intimate and intoxicating; the characters are edgy, broken, animated and lost.

About the author

Award-winning author Erika Kelly writes sexy, passionate, and emotional contemporary romance. Married to the love of her life and raising four children, she lives in the southwest, drinks a lot of tea, and is always waiting for her cats to get off her keyboard.