Full review published at Booklover Book Reviews website >> http://bookloverbookreviews.com/2018/09/august-falling-by-les-zig-book-review.html

"<i>This isn't a love story.
It involves love, and things related to love. But it's not neat. It's not easy. And it's not straightforward."</i>

So opens Les Zig's new novel on life and love in suburbia. August Priddy is an anxious young man, wounded and withdrawn after his sudden breakup with Lisa, his partner of five years, and missing their little boy Bobby. He's retreated to a call centre job he doesn't like and hasn't been able to finish the book he was writing when he was with Lisa and Bobby He's wary of new relationships but when bright, confident Julie walks into the cafe where he has lunch every day, he gets up the courage (with a nudge from his sister Gen) to ask for her number. And so begins a love story. Angus is smitten and life starts to look up until the day he finds out that Julie has a secret she has been dreading to tell him.

This was an engaging tale with strong, contemporary writing and some wonderful characters. Julie so strong and wise for one so young, wanting to shake off her past and spread her wings and Angus crippled and obsessed by his bad experiences, needing to find enough confidence to become his own person and make a new future for himself.

August tells us that this is not a love story and yet it certainly seems like one. After a bitter breakup from his wife and family, August becomes infatuated by a woman who frequents the same coffee shop as him. Initially, it's the partly exposed tattoo on her back that attracts him. He can't quite make out what the tattoo is and this only intrigues him more. After his breakup with Lisa, August fell into a rut and then a vicious cycle of working - in a call centre, declining after work drinks, accepting an evening phone call from his sister Gen, failing to write his half-finished novel, having a few beers and then bed. Repeat. But now, the tattoo girl has turned his life around. And although both fall hard for each other both are keeping secrets. Can their relationship survive? This novel is about finding the right person who can motivate and uplift us and how we should embrace those feelings and not be afraid that it may not work out. It's about acceptance and hope. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this provocative and enthralling novel. I loved and sympathised with the characters and really wanted a happy ending but recalling August's words that this is not a love story, intrigued me even more to see how it ended.

We are warned in the beginning that this is not a love story, which for me was a relief. I wanted a brief break from thrillers, and this contemporary novel about an angsty and anxious youngish man called August, seemed like it would fit the bill. Unfortunately, not much of interest happened for the first two thirds, but when something finally does, it got a lot more enjoyable.

August is a rather socially inept singleton who lives in an unspecified Australian city, works in a call-centre where he solicits donations for Heart Disease Research, and spends every evening trying an failing to complete his first novel. His sister, Gen, rings him every evening to make sure he's not suicidal. Traumatised by the break-up of his family the previous year, he avoids relationships, even with his friends, but when a good-looking young woman with a partly concealed tattoo on her lower back starts eating at his favourite cafe, he feels compelled to get to know her. Amazed that she is willing to go out with him, and feeling unworthy of her, he suddenly finds himself in a highly accelerated relationship (they sleep together the first night and by day six feel settled enough not to have sex!) Just when he believes his luck has finally turned though, he finds out Julie's secret...

This was well-written with an eclectic cast of side characters, from Julie's "sweepy" boss, lecturer Don, to August's potty mouthed sister (I didn't like the excessive use of the c word, once would've been enough, having a female character say it doesn't make it ok). August's dilemma did make me think - what was Julie supposed to do? There was a good list of Book Club questions at the end, I'm just not in that kind of book club. There were some humorous moments, but mostly it's fairly serious.

For potential NetGalley reviewers, be warned this is only available for Adobe Editions, not Kindle, which limits who can access it. I could read it on my iPad, just found I got easily distracted by notifications etc, and didn't like reading it at night. This won't be an issue once it's for sale, I assume. Luckily it's quite a short book. I loved the ending - it was realistic but hopeful.

3.5 stars, rounded down for the annoying and unnecessary use of the present tense. My thanks to NetGalley and Pantera Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

‘This isn’t a love story. It involves love, and things related to love. But it’s not neat. It’s not easy.’

Meet August Priddy. August is trying to recover from a relationship breakup. He’s working in a call centre and living in a small flat. August is also trying to write a book, but that isn’t going well for him either. Sigh. And then he sees a woman in his local café: she looks intriguing, but can August summon up the courage to speak to her? August has a twin sister, Gen, who looks out for him and encourages him. Eventually, August speaks to the woman (her name is Julie) and they begin to spend time together. This new relationship seems to bring them both happiness.

But Julie has a secret in her past, and once he learns what it is, August isn’t sure that he can live with it. August has his own secrets as well. Can this new relationship survive the weight of the past?

I found this an engaging and thoughtful read. I wanted to reach into the pages and shake August, to remind him of what he might lose if he couldn’t accept that people’s pasts are not the only influences on the future. I wanted him to be more flexible, to take opportunities rather than be paralysed into inertia by obsessive analysis. I wanted August to discover who he was, instead of being defined by how others saw him.

This novel is a reminder that the past can weigh heavily, but we can make choices. What choices will August and Julie make? What choices would you make is a similar situation?

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Pantera Press for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

For me, this was a quick read - the story of a man recovering from a bad relationship, who becomes infatuated by a mysterious woman with a tattoo in his local cafe. But as the author states, ".. this isn't a love story, it's a story of acceptance and hope. And of finding yourself." So when August (our narrator) finally overcomes some of his social awkwardness and plucks up the courage to talk to Julie, the tale picks up speed as we are taken through the heady days of a new relationship.

It's a light easy read - a narrative of two strangers, with secrets who embark on a new relationship together - but can those secrets in the past be overcome or will they hinder.

I totally enjoyed reading about the ups and downs of Augusts life. How he overcome his emotional sadness and realised what he wanted out of life. Very enjoyable easy read. Thank you Netgalley.

What a lovely book it hooked me from the first page. So easy to read it flowed beautifully. Throughout the book I felt Augusts story was really believable and would love a sequel.

I couldn't help but love how awkward August was in the first half of the book. His journey to self-confidence and awareness takes time and with a sister who doesn't shy away from speaking her mind, this book's quite interesting.
Thank you NetGalley for the advance digital copy, I really do wish it was available for Kindle reading.

I really loved reading this book about August. The ups and downs of his life, his massive imagination and the support of his sister was so real and mesmerizing, it kept me wanting to know August more. August's romantic interest, Julie, was a wonderful person, so down to earth and accepting of August's follies. But will Julie's secret keep them together or apart?
I really enjoyed the banter between the two and their openness with each other.