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jackiehorne's review
4.0
3.5 Another strong contemporary romance by Brooks, featuring two people who seem dissimilar on the outside, but who have far more in common than appears. High school math teacher Julia has spent most of her adult worrying over best friend Liz, who was sexually assaulted in high school. But now that Liz has put her past behind her and is dating (and sexing) up a storm, Julia feels a bit adrift. And when her first and only boyfriend, Danny (who, not coincidentally, happens to be Liz's older brother) breaks up with her, Julia feels even more at odds with her careful, safe self. Hence, her solo trip to Brazil, where she finds herself immediately drawn to Aussie Blake, who is staying at the same hostel as she is. Will trying on a different persona lead to smoking hot sex or heartbreak?
For his part, Blake is smarting from a very public breakup, and is reluctant to make anything more of a hookup with any woman. But he can't help but find himself drawn to the quiet, yet passionate Julia. Both of their past histories lead them to a pull back/push forward relationship, with both wanting the other to make the first moves, to declare their real feelings so that they won't have to risk being vulnerable. This type of romance often makes me cringe, because the protagonists are being pulled part and pushed back together by the author/plot, not by anything within them. But in Brooks' case, she constructs both of her characters so that the dynamic makes sense.
For his part, Blake is smarting from a very public breakup, and is reluctant to make anything more of a hookup with any woman. But he can't help but find himself drawn to the quiet, yet passionate Julia. Both of their past histories lead them to a pull back/push forward relationship, with both wanting the other to make the first moves, to declare their real feelings so that they won't have to risk being vulnerable. This type of romance often makes me cringe, because the protagonists are being pulled part and pushed back together by the author/plot, not by anything within them. But in Brooks' case, she constructs both of her characters so that the dynamic makes sense.
caseroo7's review
2.0
Find this review and more at Ramblings From This Chick
How to Fall is my first book by Rebecca Brooks, but I was really drawn in with the blurb for this book. Unfortunately, I really struggled to get through this book. I had a lot of issues here, even though there were some things that I did like. Ultimately though, this book just wasn't for me though I did at least finish it.
Looking to escape for a week, Julia Evans leaves her life behind and heads to Brazil by herself. She is ready to put herself first for a change, leaving behind the others that she is always putting first. So when she meets a sexy stranger, she decides to take a chance and act a little impulsively for once. Blake Williams is also looking to escape his life and troubles and is about ready to head to the next stop in his months long traveling tour. But when he meets Julia, he can't help but be drawn to her and decides to stay longer than expected. But Blake and Julia know that they only have a week together before she returns home, and neither one of them has told each other everything.
Blake and Julia were really hard to relate to for me. It wasn't that I disliked them, I just didn't really like them either. I wasn't invested in their story or their relationship, and honestly I never did really care about where they ended up. These two did have great chemistry though, and I liked seeing them explore Brazil together. But I just felt like both of them handled things wrong, and their week together was filled with unnecessary drama and snap decisions that would instantly be glossed over.
This story started off rough for me as well, with Julia arriving in Brazil instantly with no set-up and being thrust into this group of characters right off the bat. I felt like I was playing catch-up to a story already in progress and that I had missed a few things. As rushed as this one was at the beginning, there were spots that were extremely slow throughout and I hated how much it would drag. Honestly I got bored a lot, and with me not being invested in the book I really forced myself to continue at times. Had I not been given a copy and reviewing this one, I probably would have just thrown in the towel. Then the ending was rushed and to me wasn't that satisfying. Yes we do get a resolution, but it really wasn't much of one. Things were tied up too quickly and we really didn't get much in the way of how things would work out. It felt more like a happy for now ending than a HEA. This book was just a miss for me, and I don't know that I would recommend it. If you like travel romance stories, this one might be worth giving a shot. Brazil was beautifully shown through the author's words here, I just wish the story had been as good to go with it.
**ARC Provided by Publisher**
How to Fall is my first book by Rebecca Brooks, but I was really drawn in with the blurb for this book. Unfortunately, I really struggled to get through this book. I had a lot of issues here, even though there were some things that I did like. Ultimately though, this book just wasn't for me though I did at least finish it.
Looking to escape for a week, Julia Evans leaves her life behind and heads to Brazil by herself. She is ready to put herself first for a change, leaving behind the others that she is always putting first. So when she meets a sexy stranger, she decides to take a chance and act a little impulsively for once. Blake Williams is also looking to escape his life and troubles and is about ready to head to the next stop in his months long traveling tour. But when he meets Julia, he can't help but be drawn to her and decides to stay longer than expected. But Blake and Julia know that they only have a week together before she returns home, and neither one of them has told each other everything.
Blake and Julia were really hard to relate to for me. It wasn't that I disliked them, I just didn't really like them either. I wasn't invested in their story or their relationship, and honestly I never did really care about where they ended up. These two did have great chemistry though, and I liked seeing them explore Brazil together. But I just felt like both of them handled things wrong, and their week together was filled with unnecessary drama and snap decisions that would instantly be glossed over.
This story started off rough for me as well, with Julia arriving in Brazil instantly with no set-up and being thrust into this group of characters right off the bat. I felt like I was playing catch-up to a story already in progress and that I had missed a few things. As rushed as this one was at the beginning, there were spots that were extremely slow throughout and I hated how much it would drag. Honestly I got bored a lot, and with me not being invested in the book I really forced myself to continue at times. Had I not been given a copy and reviewing this one, I probably would have just thrown in the towel. Then the ending was rushed and to me wasn't that satisfying. Yes we do get a resolution, but it really wasn't much of one. Things were tied up too quickly and we really didn't get much in the way of how things would work out. It felt more like a happy for now ending than a HEA. This book was just a miss for me, and I don't know that I would recommend it. If you like travel romance stories, this one might be worth giving a shot. Brazil was beautifully shown through the author's words here, I just wish the story had been as good to go with it.
**ARC Provided by Publisher**
mandy_pandy's review
4.0
Julia is a high school math teacher and during holiday break, she takes a vacation by herself to Brazil. She recently got out of an 8 year relationship with a safe guy and there is a lot in life she hasn't experienced. When she checks into her hostel, she meets Blake. Blake is on a extended vacation from Australia where he is a writer for a television show. He caught his girlfriend cheating on him with his best friend and they happen to be the actors for his hit tv show. He needed to get away and plans on being free and enjoying his trip. He didn't plan to meet Julia and find a connection with her but as much as he pushes his feelings away, he can't fight what is meant to be.
I really enjoyed this story. Blake and Julia had really hot chemistry which provided some super steamy scenes in this book. I only have a few tiny complaints but overall I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more by this author in the future.
**ARC provided in exchange for an honest review**
I really enjoyed this story. Blake and Julia had really hot chemistry which provided some super steamy scenes in this book. I only have a few tiny complaints
Spoiler
I didn't like the 5 month separation between Blake and Julia at the end with limited communication - I wish they were apart for a shorter amount of time. Plus, I REALLY needed an epilogue!**ARC provided in exchange for an honest review**
weecha22's review
5.0
out now!! Brazil! Sexy Aussie! Hottt sex! What more could you want from a book?
hhushaw's review
3.0
An honest review thanks to NetGalley. I liked this book; this was the first that I had read by Rebecca Brooks, and I loved her style of writing. There was a lot of good in this book, but the last couple of chapters made me work to finish. In my opinion, everything good from the book was washed away when the two characters parted ways in Rio. The way it happened and how Blake acted and treated her rubbed me the wrong way. It ruined everything good about the book, which is why I believe it is an average read. If you are looking for romance, then this is a good choice, but it is not going to blow you away and become the best romance you have ever read.
kimeesoda's review
4.0
“How could anyone feel instantly connected to someone? Suddenly, she believed Liz, sometimes, you knew.”
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1st, I love how Brazil was described in this story. It sounded like the place was so romantic that made me want to visit the place soon. I can't help but think of Brazil as a very romantic place. And there are some spoilers ahead.
And thank you, Netgalley and Entangled for providing an Advanced Reader’s Copy (ARC) of How to Fall in exchange of an honest review.
Julia Evans is a high school math teacher. She is a girl with a plan and she always plan to put others first before herself. At first, I’m really having a hard time understanding her situation but I came to realize that she’s one of those people who are selfless. It wasn’t emphasized on the story itself, but indeed, she is. She always considers the welfare of others before thinking of her own.
Blake Williams is one hot-shot writer and producer. He’s from Australia and he’s having an escapade out of the real world. Being in the show business industry, he, of course isn’t safe from issues. He had some relationship issues because his best friend was winding up with her girlfriend and it was way too painful, a valid excuse escaping from the real world.
So, apparently, they’re two different people, from two different countries with different personalities. Julia is having some quality time with herself and Blake was trying to escape from everything not knowing that they will cross each other’s path in Brazil and will spend a week to remember.
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Okay, the book was amazing. I love the way how it was written however there are some parts of it that I didn’t like. 1st, I had a hard time trying to get into the story especially in Julia’s case. There are some parts in the book that are supposedly interesting but it just created a bit of confusion on my part since I didn’t know what on earth happened to Julia. There are times that I wanted to put the book in my did-not-finish shelf because I can’t really get into the story but I guess it was too soon to do so and maybe I’ll be able to understand the story more as I progress, and luckily, I did.
My 2nd issue was the physical attraction between the two, it wasn’t clearly love at first sight, I guess it was more like lust at first sight since Blake and Julia were physically attracted with each other and it definitely lead to some ‘it-is-getting-hot-in-here scenes'.
And lastly, I hate how fickle Blake had been especially when they were about to go their separate ways when Julia decided to go to Rio and Blake will go to Sao Paulo. He acted like a jerk towards Julia and I can’t get why, I mean she doesn’t deserve that kind of indifference.
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I love their tour in Rio, though. The adventures they’ve done together, all of those are so heartwarming especially so that they’ve tried to reach out with each other by sharing bits of details about their past prior to their unplanned meeting. It helped them to know each other.
I also enjoy the flow of the story especially on the 2nd half of the story. There are amazing supporting characters that made the whole book interesting.
Spoiler
And Blake's character development was amazing, I loved how he tried to reach out on the last part and rectify what has been transpired between them.All in all, in the way I understood the story, this talk about love, of course, relaxing and spending time with you isn’t bad at all, having a brief escape can be amazing. This story shows that love doesn’t depend on how long you know someone, when you fall, you fall and you can’t do anything about it. Despite of how short they know each other, they fell in love in what? 1 week? Yes, 1 week because when two people are meant to be together, they will be together. When you know, you know. It also talks about taking the beauty of taking risk, as other people say, forget the risk and take the fall if it’s meant to be, then it is worth it all.
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I enjoyed this book, so much. Though there are some issues on the book, it was worth reading. A perfect read for those who love to travel. This will make you add Brazil on your bucket list.
PS: I love Liz, so much. It's sad because she wasn't given so much attention in the book, and I also love Blake's friends.
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