Saturday, July 7, 2018

The Hardest Fall by Ella Maise ~ Review

The Hardest FallSource: Purchased (through my KindleUnlimited subscription).

The Hardest Fall by Ella Maise


The first time you meet someone, you make eye contact. You smile, say hello. Should be simple, if you’re anyone but me. The first time I met Dylan Reed, I found myself making eye contact with a different part of his body. You see, I’m very good at being shy, not to mention extremely well-versed in rambling nonsense and, unfortunately, rather highly skilled at making a fool of myself in front of a guy I’m attracted to.

At the time, I knew nothing about him and thought none of what I said would matter since I’d never speak to him again. Turns out, I was very wrong. He was the star wide receiver of the football team, one of the few players expected to make it into the NFL, and I ended up seeing him all over campus.
I might have also propositioned him, run away from him, attacked him with a cooking utensil…and…uh, maybe I shouldn’t tell you all of it. It’s pretty normal stuff, things you’d expect…from me. Eventually, the time came when I couldn’t hide anymore—not that he’d have let me even if I tried.
Before now, he never knew I was secretly watching him. Now that we see each other every day, he knows when I have a hard time looking away. It doesn’t help that I’m not the most subtle person in the world either.

He smiles at me and tells me he finds me fascinating because of my quirks. I can’t even tell him that I think my heart beats differently whenever he’s around.

He thinks we’re going to be best friends. I think I have a big thing for him, and the more I get to know him, the more I don’t care that I’m not allowed to be his friend, let alone fall for him.

The thing is, that’s exactly what I’m doing—what we’re doing, I think.

Falling.

Hard.





Another book I found in my post Mariana Zapata binge mood was The Hardest Fall. It fit the bill for what I was looking for perfectly: a sporty guy, a goofy girl, and a friends to lovers dynamic. It even had the bonus of sounding like it'd be funny. Unfortunately, this book did not hit the spot the way I'd hoped.

The characters were great. I really liked Dylan and Zoe -- both together and individually. Dylan's a nice guy who's very focused on doing well in school and continuing to kick ass on the football field so he can get drafted. Zoe's in a tricky situation while also balancing school and friendships...and the more-than-friendship thing brewing between her and Dylan. They were both nice and funny -- and an added bonus was that I enjoyed their friends.

All that said, while I liked the characters and how they were built, I did not enjoy the author's writing style. It was so wordy, and not in the great Kristen Ashley, Mariana Zapata way. But in the clunky, I honestly considered putting the book down for the first large percentage. The only reason I didn't was because I wanted to confirm or deny my suspicion on Zoe's situation (something I'll talk more about in a moment). It was like the author was trying so much to get Zoe's (and sometimes Dylan's too) personality across that she shoved as much internal contemplation in there as possible. Honestly, it could have been chopped in half and gotten the point across -- and it would have been easier to read. But since it was as clunky as it was, I never fully got INTO the book. I felt so removed from it, which took away from my enjoyment.

As for the plot, some parts of it I liked and some aspects didn't work for me. Obviously I was a fan of Dylan and Zoe and their friendship-turned-romance. It was cute and it was sweet. I wish there could have been more showing them actually being a couple, but I'm a greedy reader and this is a common want for me. When it came to Zoe's situation (which I will not spoil here, so no worries, y'all), I liked the idea of it...but the execution was just weak. I figured it out right away. There was no secret or mystery or whatever for me. So when it got dragged out and became a Thing, I was kind of annoyed. And that ties in with a lack of communication between the couple -- something I tend to have issue with. So yeah, there was quite a bit falling flat for me.

Oh, and while the epilogue was very sweet, it didn't really hit the spot for me. I wanted more from it. A glimpse into their future was much appreciated, but I feel like it could have been better. Maybe I'm just being picky at this point? Either way, that's how I felt.

Overall, The Hardest Fall had a great premise but a somewhat weak execution that didn't draw me in as much as I wanted or expected. It's a cute story that I liked but I definitely didn't love.


3 stars - A good premise and cute romance, but the overall execution fell short.


1 comment:

  1. It's so disappointing when a book sounds perfect for your reading mood then doesn't live up to expectations.

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