Reader Discussion Guides

Desire & Protection 

Want to know what happened to Roman? Two additional chapters will be released via my newsletter in the coming months. Visit HeatherMarsala.com to subscribe. Emails are never shared, and you may unsubscribe at any time. 

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Discussion Questions: 

Aniella presents a certain way early on. What layers of her surprised you the most as the story progressed? 

Which character felt the most emotionally complex to you, and why? 

Did you trust Roman? At what point did you feel most unsure of his intentions? 

Which scene created the strongest emotional reaction for you and why? 

Did any character make a choice you strongly agreed or disagreed with? 

What unanswered questions or lingering thoughts stayed with you after finishing? 

Which character would you most want to sit down with for coffee, and which would you avoid? 

If this were adapted for film, who would you cast as Roman or Aniella? 

*Spoilers below*

Did anyone notice the pattern around the word “please” throughout the story? I’m curious if anyone picked up when it finally returns. For Roman, the word “please” is tied to the most powerless moment of his life where he is begging his father to put the gun down. He says it nine times as a child, and after that he never uses it again as an adult because he associates it with desperation and loss of control. So throughout the story, whenever he hears or sees the word, whether it’s on a sign like “please wait to be seated,” or in conversation (looking at you, Aniella), you’ll notice subtle tells such as a small physical reaction, like a flash behind his eyes or the tapping of his thumb. It’s one of the few moments where his control slips just slightly. Aniella’s politeness is very intentional in contrast to that. In her opening scene, she says “please” twice (“May I please have a cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream on top, please?”) which can feel overly polite or even slightly irritating to some readers, but it’s meant to be hidden in plain sight. She naturally uses the language that triggers him without knowing why, which quietly sets up their dynamic and his resistance to her from the very beginning. The only time Roman allows himself to say the word again is in private prayer at the end. He refuses to beg Julian, but he bows his head and says “please” to God, not out of desperation or surrender, but out of protection and forgiveness. That shift was meant to show how vulnerability transforms from weakness into strength for him. 

Reader Discussion Guide for The Rise and the Fall: Coming Soon.