I love this book and the characters! This reminded me so much of other beautiful authors that I love like Ceclia Ahern and Jojo Moyes.

Great family drama told from the point of view of three generations of women. So much heart was found within its pages and I loved the ( complicated) relationships Honor, Jo, and Lydia had with each other. Highly recommend !

This was an absolutely brilliant book. I loved the three generations aspect of the story and each character was so individual and well written. I really cared for each of them and learning about who they were and the secrets they were keeping was fascinating. It was such an engaging book and i can't wait to read more by this amazing author.

Quite honestly, the story caught my attention from the beginning and I was completely captivated by the authors writing. Julie Cohen has a way with words that I have rarely seen with even the most popular authors. I feel as I'm in the room with the characters, privy to their deepest thoughts, longings and despair.

Beautiful, heartbreaking and haunting. I devoured this book in one sitting and would recommend to anyone wanting to read a book that stays with you long after you have finished reading it.

Three generations each with their own problems. When the eldest one has a fall the option is to live together. A very difficult situation. . As time goes on they improve their relationship until a terrible climax almost tears them apart.. A story well worth reading

great read and easy to follow story line. look forward to reading more from this author

North London

Honor, age 80, has just fallen down her stairs trying to get to the ringing telephone. Injured, she manages to get to the phone and call emergency before the passes out.

Jo Merrifield is trying to keep her young children, Oscar and Iris, busy and entertained. Jo divorced Richard when she found him having an affair with their au pair, Tatiana. Now, Richard is planning to marry the woman. But, he provides them with a nice house, car, and Jo doesn’t have to work.

Jo receives a call from the hospital telling her that Honor has been injured and as her only next of kin, Jo must go to the hospital. Honor was her mother-in-law when Jo was married to Stephen. They had a daughter, Lydia, who is a teenager. Stephen died some years ago.

At the hospital, Jo finds Honor in her usual independent and grumpy state. The doctors said that when Honor leaves the hospital, she will need round the clock care so Jo insists that she come stay with them.

Lydia is the usual teenager involved with her classes and studying for her upcoming tests. Her best friend, Avril, spends lots of time with her. But there is more to the relationship - at least for Lydia.

Jo is a pleasant woman working hard to raise her three children and keep up with the house. Having Honor with them is rather awkward at first but she is determined to get the woman well and try to make her happy. Having been without a man for awhile makes Jo quite vulnerable when she meets her handsome new neighbor. He is really nice and she enjoys seeing him across the fence.

But everyone has secrets and little by little they come out keeping the reader glued to the book turning pages. This is an excellent story that I enjoyed very much. I know others will as well.

Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! The author quickly grabbed my attention and had me wanting to know what was going to happen next. The author deftly tells the story through multiple points of view. I felt as though I really got to know the characters and where they were coming from. I couldn't help but laugh one minute then cry the next. This is the first book by this author I have read and it won't be my last.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. My review has been voluntarily submitted.

Thought-provoking, reflective and deeply moving!

This is an intriguing novel that emphasizes the enduring mental and emotional anguish that can be caused by underlying grief, secrets, guilt, family dynamics, sexuality struggles, friendship and loneliness and emphasizes the importance of acceptance, closure, forgiveness and love.

The prose is expressive and clear. The characters are consumed, troubled, wounded and real. And the character-driven plot interweaves the lives of these three generations of women as they learn to cope, survive, support and love each other unconditionally.

This truly is an absorbing, emotional novel that is incredibly captivating and will tug at your heartstrings from start to finish.

This is the first novel I have ever read from Julie Cohen but I can tell you it definitely won't be my last.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

*The review link below will not be active until May 2, 2017*

This is perfect "women's fiction" and how you react to it might depend on how old you are and how you relate to one of the three women. Honor, Lydia, and Jo all have secrets they just don't want to share. Being forced to live and work together is either the best or the worst thing that could happen to them. For us, however, it led to a thought provoking novel that will stay with you. I thought the characters and their situations were extremely well done. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC.

What an intriguing story. I was really involved in every chapter I read. I lost track of time in all the secrets, family and relationships and all the surprises that were keeping me reading. I loved this story and I loved the writing and the character development and depth of the relationships. I can't wait to read more from this author.

*Book provided by the publisher on NetGalley for an honest review*

Three women, three generations, three stories, three ranges of emotions. All of them under one roof – that’s going to be interesting. All three women have a secret…

Honor is in her eighties and lives all alone. She is very clever and independent. When she falls, she goes to live with her daughter-in-law Jo.

Jo lost her first husband Stephen, married for the second time, had two kids with Richard and is now alone again. Turns out Richard was a jerk.

Lydia misses her Dad badly and I wouldn’t say her relationship to her mum is the best. Lydia is the typical teenager and her secret doesn’t make it easier.

Having all three women under one roof, makes them interact more and get to know each other in a different way. They alternate telling the story, so we get inside in each women’s emotions. We learn a lot about their past as well. Also when it comes to Stephen’s death.

The story is bound to a lot of deep and moving feelings. Julie’s writing expresses that beautifully. All characters have something special. This novel has it all: humour, emotions, suspense, family bonds and romance.

Yes, I don’t believe I’m saying this, but The Day of Second Chance was my first Julie Cohen book. I have some on my bookshelf, can’t wait to read them.

Rating: 4.5/5

Previously published on 28th July 2016 by Transworld Digital as ‘Falling’
I absolutely loved this story but I felt really sad when I reached the end. It was my own fault as I’d eagerly turned the pages over and over again, and at every possible opportunity, thrilled to be so involved in this wonderful novel. I adored every minute of it. For me it was exciting, intriguing and full of surprises. I felt really bereft to have completed the book so quickly, yet so very lucky to have read it pre-publication.
The three main characters are all women from the same family and each have an equally dynamic story to tell. Jo is the mother of three children. The father of her first child, her beloved husband died tragically while their daughter was only young. I won’t tell you how he died because this will spoil the story for you. She eventually remarried, but her second husband turned out to be a love rat, but not before Jo gave birth to another two adorable children. Jo is hard working, selfless and a wonderful mother. She lives for her children and gives them the best life she can, filled with security, laughter and well loved.
The second of the main characters is her mother-in-law Honor, who has never forgiven Jo for marrying her only son. Her own extra-marital love affair ended at his conception, but their son inherited the fine minds of both of his parents. Honor had never married; nobody else came close to the love of her life. Jo, though, kept in contact with Honor after her husband’s death, for the sake of her daughter Lydia. This is how Honor came to be living with Jo, Lydia and her half brother and sister. Honor was cranky and did not want to be there, but the alternatives were just the worst scenarios. She really needed to be in her own home because being with others threatened to reveal a secret that she wanted nobody else to know.
Lydia is considerably older than her siblings, who are pre-school age. Lydia is coming up to important and future making or breaking exams, but gives up her bedroom when her granny is discharged from hospital after a serious fall down the stairs in her home. It will make life easier for Honor and will give Lydia the chance to revise thoroughly well for her exams. But on the very eve of her first exam something truly terrible happens to Lydia. Her closely kept secret accidentally escapes and in that instant she feels so threatened by it that she feels unable to get through the trauma. She makes a devastating decision and is determined to go through with it.
Their lives collide in the dreadful wake of Lydia’s actions and one by one their dark secrets are revealed. But is it too late for second chances and if it is not how will their lives be changed?
‘Falling' by Julie Cohen now republished as 'After the Fall' by St Martin’s Griffin on May 2nd 2017, is an exceedingly well-told and thrilling story with interesting and eclectic characters. I cannot praise it enough but suffice it to say that I am confident that this novel is going to be another huge success for Julie. I have read a couple of her other novels and hugely enjoyed them and thankfully there are more novels in her back catalogue for me to explore. I would like to thank NetGalley and publisher St Martin's Griffin for my copy of this novel, sent to me in return for an honest review. This novel will astound you. It is full of exciting revelations and with the theme of different types of love within a family it is bound to suit a very large audience of readers.

Honor is now in her seventies and living alone so when she has a bad fall down the stairs she ends up with the hospital calling her next of kin… her daughter in law, Jo. Jo had married Honor’s son years before but unfortunately he had passed away and Honor and Jo had never been close so it came as quite the surprise when Jo gets the phone call from the hospital.

Jo knows that Honor has no one else in her life to help her out and wants her to get to know her granddaughter Lydia better so she wants Honor to stay with them while she recovers and develop a relationship with Honor again. What happens are the three generations come together to get to know one another and discover the secrets between them as they grow closer together.

After the Fall is one of those books there were some things I loved and some others that I wasn’t a huge fan of during the read leading me to rate this one at 3.5 stars. I loved the idea of the three generations of women learning more about one another and bringing their family back together after being separated by the death of Jo’s husband. Honor herself also quickly became a favorite of mine with her spunky attitude and learning about her background only made me love her more.

As for what I wasn’t a fan of in the book I really would have preferred more to the discovering of secrets in the book. I didn’t really find anything all that shocking but more of just the growth of the characters and bringing them together. And starting off the read I wasn’t a huge fan of Jo, while I was glad she did the right thing bringing Honor back into her life she was just a bit too meek and timid to get behind her personality quickly, luckily she grew one me though. In the end I did enjoy this read simply for the family being brought back together and learning about one another.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

What a story, that's all I can say. This is my first read by the author, some how I missed out on her other book Dear Thing. Needless to say I will purchase that book before I go home today. Hooked

After Honor falls down the stairs at her home, she's forced to live with her daughter -in -law, Jo, her granddaughter, Lydia, and her daughter-in-law's other two children. Honor, Jo, and Lydia all have secrets and this book is a story of how secrets impact lives, and how the bonds of family don't break. I really enjoyed this story- my first book by Julie Cohen and I look forward to reading more by her.
Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to read this one.

I read Julie Cohen's book "Dear Thing" and I loved it. I saw this book offered on Net Galley and I basically skimmed over the description. I mean I was already pushing the button to request the book.
Lo and behold, she's got another winner, in my book.

I absolutely loved this one. Talk about the worst mother-in-law you've ever heard of. This book has it. Poor Jo (the daughter-in-law), not only is the son (husband) they shared dead, but Jo has moved on and married and divorced another man. Which, of course, mother-in-law thinks Jo just needs a man. She always thinks the negative. Then there is the matter of the two small children Jo had with the new man. The ones Jo can't control.

And then the worst happens, mother-in-law falls down her stairs, breaks her hip and can't live alone. Where will she go? She has to move in with Jo and live with her. Oh, the pain! Meanwhile, the toddlers run around, leave their toys everywhere, food is thrown, and you know toddlers. The oldest is a teenager, she's having her angst and she has a special problem she's going through. Oh such is family life.

And what a great book this all makes. An entertaining, sometimes sad, very sad, enjoyable and sometimes you just want to slap these characters and definitely a book you don't want to put down. The issues are real and for me the characters became real.

I thoroughly reading this book and want to thank St. Martin's Press and Net Galley for providing me the opportunity to read and review it.

This title will be given a spotlight at the Dew on May 1st along with three other titles. http://dewonthekudzu.com