We All Fall Down by Natalie Richards is a book I was waiting to get my hands on since I read the summary. I love a good mystery and Richards always comes through with an interesting story that keeps me guessing until the very end. Also, the cover is perfect!

The book starts out introducing us to Theo and Paige. They have been friends for a while and Paige has always had a crush on Theo. It hasn’t been until recently that Theo has started to have the same feelings for her but Paige has come to a conclusion that Theo will never see her as more than just a friend, so she has set her sights on someone else. The night Theo decides he is going to tell Paige what he feels, is the same night that Paige determines she is going to put herself out there with another boy and Theo realizes he is too late. This is where things go incredibly wrong for them both.

When a fight breaks out between Theo and another character at a party on the riverbank, Paige attempts to intervene and ends up getting punched by Theo. As the scene plays out, Richards takes the reader into the fray with these characters and it was heartbreaking to see what ends up happening with these two. I wanted to be able to rewind everything for them both, so they didn’t need to go through this but if that happened we wouldn’t get the rest of the story.

Theo is an interesting character. He is a bit impulsive and high strung and Paige is the one person who gets him. Similarly, Paige suffers from anxiety and Theo is the one that helps her when she has her attacks. Their relationship is a bit co-dependent, but they can’t seem to give each other up. That is, until they are forced to. The outcome of the party is that Theo is put on medication and put on probation and he and Paige can’t be near each other.

Now I’m not going to say a lot here about what really is happening because I don’t want to ruin the story for anyone but there is something that continues to draw Theo and Paige back to the bridge where there happens to be a lock with their initials attached to it (along with a bunch of others). As Theo digs deeper into what is happening, strange incidents continue to pull them along to the end.

I enjoyed this one and if you are looking for a contemporary that delves a bit into the paranormal, consider checking this book out. I thought Richards did a wonderful job of building out these characters and their story and I will continue to look for more books from her in the future.

Paige and Theo, the main characters of the book, have been friends for a long time. As we read the book we see the events of the story alternately through each of their eyes. Each of them has their own issues, Paige has anxiety attacks and Theo has ADHD.

One terrible night Theo accidentally injured Paige and ended up on probation just as he discovers that he has romantic feelings for her. The book deals with the power of their relationship and a strange energy between them that causes them to hear conversations and see events that took place in the past. Eventually they figure out what’s causing these strange occurrences and are able to move forward.

I liked the book and was intrigued by the events that at first seemed to be supernatural occurrences. The story also showed us that friendships and even romantic relationships can occur between people who may seem to be unlikely matches.

The story begins with a dramatic encounter on a bridge over a river. Theo has decided to tell Paige about his feelings for her, but things go terribly wrong. Paige shows up with another guy, Theo throws a punch, Paige is injured, and the moment is lost. Time passes and they each try to move on.

But they can’t. Something keeps drawing them back to the bridge, where Theo finds a lock with his initials and Paige’s on it, and Paige finds one of her earrings. Then she’s doing a research project for school near the bridge and thinks she sees something bloody in the water. She’s afraid to tell anyone because she’s struggled with anxiety in the past.

Theo is struggling too, with ADHD and ODD, plus his guilt over what happened on the bridge. He befriends a quirky teenager who tells Theo that a lot of people have seen or heard creepy things there. Is the bridge haunted? Cursed? Or is there a logical explanation?

For me, this story took a while to get going, though the suspense definitely built as the book went on. Not sure if the book wanted me to ship the two of them together, but I liked them more as friends. Or friends with the potential for more.

Try this if you’re looking for a suspenseful October read!

This was a really good read. I enjoyed how mental health issues were part of the stories, I think we don’t talk about it enough and the author’s intake on it was on point.
There’s a little mystery, a bit of romance and intriguing characters that kept me interested.
I would recommend this book to a friend.

To be completely up front, this book should be labeled sci-fi and mystery, thriller and falls under YA Fiction. I was not aware there was a sci-fi twist in this book when I decided to read it. Had I been aware, I likely would not have picked it up because sci-fi is not my absolute favorite. However, with that said, I will say I was fairly surprised.

We All Fall Down by Natalie D. Richards follows two stories that intertwine throughout. Theo and Paige were friends, but after a horrific accident they no longer speak. However, life seems to want them together and finds ways to draw them to each other.

Having reviewed Richards books before, I was familiar with her writing style and knew she was good at keeping the flow of the story. Their were no parts that lost it's power or felt forced. We All Fall Down kept the same pace throughout. From the beginning there was drama and mystery, as well as action to keep me engaged. Paige was a bit of an annoying character, in my opinion. She was constantly telling Theo he shouldn't be near her, but then showing up places and acting like she wanted him near.

Aside from Paige's crazy behavior and the scifi portion, We All Fall Down was a great read and flowed very nicely. The characters were well written and back stories were thought out and summarized well to give just enough information for us to base our story on. If you are into a twists and turns science fiction story, We All Fall Down by Natalie D. Richards is for you.

Review copy kindly provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I'm so glad I requested this to read before Halloween! It was spooky and even a little heartbreaking. It was so atmospheric and perfect for October! This a great read before bed, which is how I consumed it. I will definitely read more by this author!

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley for a copy of the eARC in exchange for a fair review.

Theo and Paige are best friends on the verge of being something more when everything goes horribly wrong. One night when jealousy and issues tear them apart. Now four months later all they want to do is move on from that horrible night, but something keeps drawing them back to the bridge.

Theo is working with his uncle when he finds a lock on the bridge with his initials and Paige's initials on it, but that isn't the part that freaks him out. When he begins to hear conversations from that night he knows something isn't right.

Then he runs into Paige for the first time since that night, and she is freaked out because she found an earring that she was wearing that night. It was lost though so she has no idea how it has just appeared again. Soon they find that they will have to muster up the courage to face not just their issues, but face that night and their part in what happened.

I have read all of Natalie's books, and I usually love them. I didn't quite love this one I felt a little underwhelmed by it. I guess I was expecting a bit more, however, I did enjoy the themes of forgiveness and facing one's problems. Both Theo and Paige were deeply flawed characters with a host of different issues that they were both struggling to come to terms with and find a sense of what is normal for them.

I don't know if it was overdone, but I can imagine if you are facing several issues from ADHD to anxiety and other things a struggle to find a balance in the meds and your behavior is a pretty common occurrence as well as a struggle to fit in as a normal teenager. I liked Theo and Paige and I was totally rooting for them!

I love when the weather changes in to Autumn/Fall and things get darker and colder quicker. It means my book tastes change just a little, for the darker, more sinister kind of read. We All Fall Down is wrote by Natalie D Richards whom I've read several books of before. I like her writing style and although I have never rated any of her books above a 3/3.5 stars I would like to say this is my favourite to date.

We all Fall Down definitely fits into a few categories. Its a YA, there's a hint of romance, mental health (Anxiety, ODD, ADHD)and a supernatural feel which is perfect for the change in seasons when you want something a little spookier. I don't want to give anything away but will say if you are put off by supernatural books please still give this one a try. The underlying message to this book is a good one. I liked the cover which I felt sets the book up nicely.

I really liked Theo's character. I loved how he saw him self, through all the faults because of his issues (ODD and ADHD). He was so much more than that and his caring side for Paige the bond felt real and jumped off the pages for me. I admit I preferred the chapters in his voice. He was funny, honest yet there was that naughtiness to him too. Paige who has (I want to say almost) crippling anxiety is someone I can really relate too. Although my anxiety didn't hit till I was 19 I understood her triggers, irrational thinking and second guessing herself. I was annoyed by her a lot though. Even though she knew how Theo felt there was still that 'blame' about the fight that she kept holding over him, almost like it was intentional. It made me like her less I admit. I will say Theo and Paige's mental health issues were dealt with very well in this book, I feel Natalie did her research. I don't feel they were glorified and felt they were wrote for the audience in an honest voice.

The story has a good pace although I think with the end it felt a little drawn out and then rushed. The last 12% of the book was like a speeding train. It was so fast that my mind felt like it was racing. When so much went into the build up to the events at the end I felt it was a shame to rush it, which is why the book lost .5 there otherwise this could have been a 4 star for me.

I do rate this book and recommend it to those who like a YA read but also those who like contemporary pieces with a spooky feel. 3.5 stars.

We All Fall Down by Natalie D, Richards (368 pages)
Overview: Paige and Theo had been best friends since they were twelve, but everything changes one night their Junior year when Theo's miscalculated punch hits Paige while their at a party on the docks under the Cheshire Walking Bridge. Ever since that day, everything has been different. Paige got her mouth fixed and her life put back together, but she can't talk to Theo and her anxiety is stronger than ever, and Theo is still struggling to get his medication for his OCD and ADHD sorted out and working off his probation from that night. Six months later, they're thrown together again when Paige gets into an acclaimed research program at the college and Theo goes to work for his uncle, Denny's construction business leaving only a bridge, a very problematic bridge between the two. When their experiences on the bridge seem to grow outside the scope of reality, they must work with each other to try to end the haunting of the bridge. Overall: 4

General Thoughts: I don't read much from the thriller/paranormal type category, but something about the description sucked me in. Overall, I am satisfied with my reading experience. Richards has created a great book for people hesitant to stray from the contemporary genres, adding elements from the mystery/thriller/paranormal categories without inundating them. But, really, at the core of all this is the romantic relationship of Paige and Theo, the bridge and its hauntings always plays second fiddle. While I didn't think the stakes were ever high enough to bill it as a "thriller" as some sites have, and I wouldn't put it so closely with mental illness fiction books as some descriptions do because there are too many other elements effecting that at play here, it does create an interesting crossover for people looking for something new without straying too far from their genre of choice.

Characters: 4 I enjoyed getting to read Paige and Theo. Paige is wound up tight and anxious, and she tries to manage it, but it creeps into her life in ways she can't control. Of course, this makes her very uncomfortable, and this leads her many times to question her sanity and later her worth.
Theo is a free spirit and all over the place. He too is striving for a normal balance in his life, but he never has quite as intense self loathing feelings coming from his issues as Paige does. They make interesting individuals to study as well as in their relationship because of this as they come to find that much of their relationship is built on the foundation of finding comfort in others who face difficult issues as well.

Plot: 4 I would have not classified this as a thriller because the adrenaline was not held at a consistent enough high, and, honestly, after the first section, it lost most of its page turning appeal. The problem seemed to come with how long Richards chose to stretch out the middle without providing any new content. The chapters started to all sound the same, making me wonder if I was ever getting to the next plot point, not that they weren't well written, just repetitive.

Writing: 4 I enjoyed Richard's style overall. I think she painted a great picture of the characters, their realities, and the tiny towns they lived in. She strikes a happy medium with the different elements she thinks to pull on, and most things she employed worked well. The only big problem I saw was in the pacing of the story and the deep slump just after the halfway point. I think that the book could have been a bit shorter and had a stronger effect.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I had only briefly read over the synopsis and had not looked into anything else about the book or about the author. In a way, I went into this book blind and I think that it helped me to enjoy it even more. I was able to appreciate the seamless way that the author was able to incorporate paranormal/horror elements because I didn't know that it would incorporate them. It felt realistic despite these elements which I believe made it more enjoyable than other books that have tried to accomplish this.
This book was a creepy thrill ride for sure! I found myself second guessing what was real and was made up in the characters heads much like the main characters in the story. Once I started reading this book, I couldn't put it down nor did I want to! I was immediately drawn into the book by the interesting, flawed main characters who had serious issues with no idea how to cope with them. Theo was impulsive and acted without thinking of the consequences of his actions and Paige had crippling anxiety that she attempted to block out and avoid. The tension throughout the book was palpable between these two characters and felt for each of them as the book progressed. I had no idea what was going to happen throughout the book and the author surprised me on numerous occasions throughout the book.

The book was not perfect but it was easy to overlook certain details due to the amount of enjoyment I received from reading it. I would have liked to have been able to understand how the conclusion was reached about the someone/something that is trying to make the main characters relive the night that everything went sideways. I felt like I needed more of an explanation in order to understand what was happening. Everyone in the book just seemed to accept the answer that was given without questioning it even though I didn't feel like all the characters had a full understanding of the issue.

Okay, so this book I requested because I thought the plot sounded interesting. Unfortunately, while I have enjoyed YA mysteries in the past, this seems geared to a much younger audience then me. I do think high school me would have loved it. Adult me is finding it hard to swallow.

I received an advanced readers copy from the publisher via NetGalley. Thank you.

This novel was just okay for me. It was a very quick read, but the plot or characters weren't completely engaging. It reads as a young adult contemporary, but tries to delve into some supernatural aspects that I wasn’t a fan of. t gave it three stars, but officially would rate it two and a half because it was overall just meh - I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it.

I feel as though this novel could have been done much better without the supernatural aspects. There was a lot of mental health issues brought up in this novel, but I felt as though everything was over-represented in a way. The readers are constantly reminded of these characters' issues, and it got extremely repetitive and annoying.
Our two main characters relied very heavily on the other, but went through enough growth in the novel to be tolerable and stand on their own.

I appreciated this novel being told from the two perspectives, because I think it added a well-rounded aspect to the story. I am a reader who loves to emphasize with characters, and being that these two share similar disorders to my own, I expected to get a lot out of this. Maybe my expectations were too high.

This book kept me reading and wondering, "What the heck is going on?!"I love reading books in this genres and trying to figure out the endings. This book had so many different ways it could have ended, so I was guessing the entire time and questioning everything and everyone.

However, the ending fell incredibly flat. It ended in a way that I had not anticipated. I am writing this review 2 weeks after reading it and I had to go back and read the ending again because I could not remember what exactly happened. Like I mentioned, we were given so much other information of what could be happening that I forgot which thing actually happened because the ending was so bland. Too much foreshadowing that lead up to nothing.

This book is still a solid, quick read and I enjoyed the mental health aspect of the book and if the ending wasn't anticlimactic it would get a solid 4 stars.

A twisted romance that crawls over your skin and turns everything you think you know on its head. Theo and Paige are the best of friends until one night when things go awry and then they are simply not anything anymore. However, evil soon drags them back to the bridge where it all ended in a mix of visions and other terror and the only way for them to let go of their demons may just be with their working together.


I fell into this book with unbidden music playing in my ears. Music that made me feel off and twisted and at times angry (seriously one major part of this book made me so mad). This book got me in the mood for October with its dripping paranormal terror ripping me towards adventure. But it’s characters are what really drew me in.


Theo:

A boy with ADD who can’t sit still and is always full of energy (often putting that energy into uses from anger ending up in bad situations).



Paige:


A geeky girl with anxiety who doesn’t know quite where she fits in in the world.


Together:


They balance each other out, but sometimes it isn’t always for the best.


Then there is Theo’s “fun” uncle and a teen paranormal investigator adding some spice into the mix.


Perfect for the coming months fall months We All Fall Down will creep you out and entice you into its dark pages where evil lurks within the bridge.

Theo and Paige have been BFFs forever. He's secretly loved her, and she's secretly loved him, and the one night that he decides he's going to tell her how he feels, things go horribly awry.

Now, months later, each feels drawn to the site where their friendship ended, a bridge that beckons them in weird, creepy ways. Theo is trying to stay away from Paige because of what happened, and she prefers it that way. But the bridge seems to want them together.

Mixing the supernatural with the real, Natalie Richards tells a weird, sometimes off-putting romance. You think you want Theo and Paige back together, but then you wonder if they really should be. Is theirs a healthy relationship? Are these two sounded, broken people better off together or separate?

I'm still not sure I know the answer to that.

On the other hand, Paige and Theo need each other in ways that only they can fix. No one else understands them the way they understand each other, and no one else supports them.

Richards wants you to sympathize with Theo, who has severe ADHD. He's on a cocktail of medications, and he's quirky enough that he has difficulty making friends. Plus, he's on probation for the incident that led to the end of his and Paige's friendship, which also causes problems. You also need to sympathize with Paige, who suffers from nearly debilitating anxiety.

So these two are apart, but someone - some thing - wants them back together. Weird things ensue.

Richards keeps you wondering what's going on and who's behind it all, and, more importantly why. She's smart enough to know that when you're dealing with something like the supernatural, there are no easy answers, nor does there tend to be a sense of closure. Theo and Paige might be the embodiment of that concept.

I received an e-copy from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. The premise of this book was interesting which prompted my request for it and I liked that it dealt with mental health issues. I really struggled with the characters though I found Paige annoying and the thing that happens at the beginning didn't seem plausible. They had been friends their entire life and something like that broke them apart? They are constantly drawn back to each other and now feel a presence at the bridge where the bad thing happened. I think this book would be appreciated by a younger audience 13-17 and it would be a nice spooky read for October.

I loved the writing in this book. The story was engaging and kept me on edge. I like the real world issues and the power those had on these characters.

I was so disappointed in this book. It was soooooo slow, the first chapter felt like it went on for a month and none of the characters were likeable. Normally, this would not be an issue for me, but the slow writing and plot just made this a chore to read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Natalie D. Richards for sending me this book in exchange for my honest review.

We All Fall Down by Natalie D. Richards is an exciting new psychological thriller that I knew I had to get my hands on when I read the synopsis.
We follow Paige and Theo, childhood friends, as they deal with the aftermath of the "incident" on the town's haunted bridge and how it ruined their friendship.

I wish we had gotten some more glimpses of their relationship before the action started because we really didn't get much and I feel like I would've connected more to both characters and their relationship if we had gotten just a little more.
But, I really enjoyed both characters and thought they were pretty well done and both POVs were nice and had their own voices.

The teenage mental health aspects were well represented, at least the anxiety was I can't really speak for the others that were implemented, but I thoroughly enjoyed the rep of the anxiety in Paige.

The plot, or the mystery, was well rounded and the pace was perfect for this novel. It held my interest and the novel was extremely hard to put down at times. I enjoyed the relationship aspects of Theo and Paige as well.

This book is definitely one I'd recommend if you're in the mood for an excellent thriller/suspense YA novel!

This is not the first book I've read by Natalie Richards and it's not going to be the last either. This novel is definitely what I would saw a little different than the other novel's she's written but it still entrapped me from the beginning. I loved the alternating chapters that changed the POV from Theo and Paige. This gives the readers such a good look at both views of the past and present. The two characters both have mental health issues and Richards does a fantastic job in the representation of these problems that the characters face. They are two relatable and interesting characters. The plot itself had me enticed from the very beginning as I stayed up all night to start and finish this book. I definitely would recommend this novel and the rest of Natalie Richard's novels to others.