This book is a follow up to Ahrnstedt's first book, All In, featuring characters that we met previously, Alexander and Isobel. Isobel needs money for her humanitarian work, and Alexander is in her way. The two are enemies, but underneath that, they have great chemistry. The storyline seems like kind of a nod to Fifty Shades of Grey, with Alexander's history of abuse and his interest in BDSM, but the story has an aristrocratic Swedish flair to it. I liked this book, but not as much as All In.

Unfortunately I had a hard time connecting to Falling. I had a hard time finishing it, actually. Isobel is a doctor working with Medpax when she has time and a fully committed doctor for Doctors Without Borders. Alexander De La Grip is an international playboy and a Swedish Count. When the two come together, especially because Isobel is steaming mad at him, sparks are flying all over the place. But, their romance never sparked for me. I just could not, for the life of me, come to care about either of them or their story. I couldn't make myself care about their circumstances or the fact that they were falling in love. I didn't even care when Isobel is captured in Africa and Alexander mans up and goes and rescues her. I did, however, like Tom Lexington's character and am intrigued by the epilogue which is all about him.

This is the first of Simona Ahrnstedt's books that I've read and I'm afraid it just may be my last, if Falling is anything to go by. It's not horrible, it's just rather bland and generic. It's as if she took the billionaire playboy archetype and did nothing to make it her own. I feel as if I've read this a million times, and in many cases, it's been executed much better than here in Falling.

Falling is the second novel featuring the de la Grip family members, and was one entertaining and riveting read! Alexander de la Grip is back in Stockholm to face his demons. On the outside, he is a man with too little sense and too much money, a conceited and nonchalant jet-set prince. He has done things he isn’t proud of and wants to clean up his act.

Isobel Sorensen is a dedicated field doctor, working for a humanitarian aid organization that is in dire financial straits since several donations were withdrawn. One of the organization’s main donor is Alexander de la Grip, Isobel’s best enemy. She is usually cool-headed but she loses her temper with him. Isobel’s hostility is a challenge he enjoys. Alexander is a complex character, he wants to feel in control by manipulating what people think of him. I loved that there was more to him than met the eye. Behind all the glitz and glamour, the truth is that Alexander is insecure and sensitive. He grew up in a family with a sharp contrast between the material excess and the emotional distance. As a consequence, Alexander is a bit of a player and enjoys risk-free, uncomplicated relationships. His attraction to Isobel has knocked him off balance. He seems carefree, taking things as they come. In reality, he is accustomed to controlling his life and his world. And yet, this time around, he can’t get his emotions under control.

Isobel is a wonderful heroine, strong, generous, cool, competent and yet so vulnerable.

Alexander and Isobel are intriguing to watch as they dance around their feelings. They both have their faults and shortcomings. Simona Ahrnstedt masterfully develops their relationship and its evolution from enemies to lovers. It’s a treat to watch the two of them get together.

I’ll be keeping my eyes open for more from Simona Ahrnstedt, I’m definitely a fan of her riveting stories!

Links to my review :
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2082005014
https://www.amazon.com/review/R1NJZQ2CK195H8/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

Alexander De Le Grip is a Swedish Count, international playboy, most eligible bachelor under thirty - according to the gossip papers. Few things bothered Alexander Romeo Rozzi was Alexander’s best friend, and Romeo was in NY and was a hard working world renowned chef. Alexander was prey for gossip no matter what he did. As far as Alexander was concerned staying sober probably meant going crazy. Romeo was a nag and mother hen but He cared about Alexander. No matter how hard Alexander tried to drink away his demons he had to face his demons. Or at least meet his family. Isobel worked at the clinic and at Madpax when she had time and she was a fully committed field doctor for Doctors Without Borders. Medpax was a small but renowned humanitarian aid organization that had run three hospitals in Africa at one time. But two of the hospitals had since been taken over by authorities in their own country. Now the organization had only one hospital in Chad. Assorted volunteers and field workers from other aid organizations but Medpax was the driving force. Leila had joined Medpax a couple of years ago and finances had been in bad shape.. Leial had managed to salvage what she could But Leila predecessor - who was Isobel’s mother- Blanch had been unsuccessful at maintaining the important relationships with the organization donors. Isobel had worked in refugee camps, war zones, and the aftermath of natural disasters since she was in her teens. Isobel’s first summer job had been as a volunteer for Medpax. The donor they really needed back was Alexander. Isobel and Alexander had met the summer before. He had flirted with her and she had told him to get lost. Isobel had been rude to Alexander without his money the foundation will close down before summer - no more aid. Isobel went to Alexander’s foundation and he happened to hear her voice and instantly recognized it and then he went to see what Isobel wanted. He remembered Isobel and her voice.
I couldn’t seem to get into this book. I don’t feel Isobel would have acted as she did on seeing Alexander and knowing that it mattered so much to get him to donate his money again she should have been able to act professional it is not like he hurt her or attacked her in any way she really had no reason to be so mad at Alexander It made no sense to me. This just didn’t hold my attention or interest. I also didn’t care for the plot. It also dragged for me. I just didn’t connect with the story or the characters so I didn’t finish this.

This is one of those books that tries to be all the things. It's a romance! It's a family saga! It's a gritty slice of life and a glitzy escapist fantasy! There's a suspense subplot! There's billionaires and aide workers!

It gets...a little exhausting.

It also, at points, made me cringe by treating people of color and LGBTQ people as two-dimensional exotics. For instance, "Some of Eugene's LGBTQ friends were there, livening up the party, to put it mildly." No. Please no. Don't do this.

The writing (or the translation - this book was originally written in Swedish and translated into English) can get repetitive at times. We are told several times in the first few chapters alone that the hero, Alexander, is a master poker player. And yes, told. Not shown. (There's a lot of telling in Ahrnstedt's writing.) At another point, a character "had vanished into thin air and was nowhere to be seen." Did you really need to tell the reader the same thing twice in the same sentence?

There's also an entire subplot about BDSM that is handled oddly. Isobel, the heroine, wants to be dominated. Okay, fine. Alexander's immediately freaked out because he assumes that he will have to hurt her and "isn't that kind of man." I read on, thinking, "Why did you think that submission must require pain?" And then, yes, it turns out that she is into pain, but...the way it played out, Alexander knew more about her desires than what she had actually told him. Isobel was also fairly shame-ridden about what she wanted but got over it after a single experience. I've heard of the magic peen, but the magic flogger was new to me.

Ahrnstedt's villains are cardboard cutouts of pure evil. Late in the book, Isobel gets captured and held for nine days...and we never find out why. Presumably because the men who captured her and beat her...just wanted to? A couple of other characters talk like YouTube comments sections presumably so they can be beaten up and show how heroic Alexander can be.

I read the prior book in this series (All In) and was more interested in its depiction of international finance than the central relationships. With this one, I didn't even have that.

good overall story with a solid plot. The writing was good Enjoyed.

I read the first book in this series, All In, and loved it. This is the second book in the series (although it can be read without having read the first one) and it is just as good as the first one. The writing, the plot, the romance, the suspense, it is all blended together in a wonderful concoction that will bring hours of pleasure to the readers.

An ok read

First I need to mention that this book is translated from swedish. Its a new thing here on Netgallery and I really think those books should come with a warning. I previously read another translated book and I LOVED it but thought in swedish orirginally it takes place in the USA, this story translated takes place in Sweden. Had I known I would have not requested it.

That said I did not get far in this story. I just could not keep reading because I did not like either main characters at all, not evena little. The male main character is Alexander and I epected him to be a playboy but not to be drunk 100% of the time. There really was nothing good about him except he doesnt care enough to be as bad as Isobel thinks he is.

She is the dr and the supposed angel I was supposed to like and I didn't. She really was very conceited and pompous about what she is doing and she was very mean to Alexander. She wants money for her group and well she was a bitch or a brat to try and get it. I positively hated her and she is the one I was supposed to like.

Thats said maybe it was culture clash and maybe something was lost in the translation but I just could not keep reading a book I really did not enjoy with such selfish characters. Definitely not my type of book I enjoy.

There are other characters in the story as well and we start to see in there heads and some were even likeable but it was not enough for me to continue. The story was just not what I expected and I gave up.

I enjoyed this story, it was very interesting I had had never really thought about what aid workers and their families suffered while trying to help others in some war torn countries, so this story was eye opening. I think this must be the second part in a series as there were references to other people and incidents I didn't understand so I will have to go back and see if the author has other books.