The premise for Falling really drew me in. I don't have a fear of flying but every single time I go through a takeoff, I hold my breath. Not my favorite thing when the plane goes at breakneck speed and launches itself into the air. Totally just shuddered. This book has so many emotions running through it. The beginning is intense and gripping. There is sorrow, pain, doubt but there is also the sweetest romance. This book is by far Kris Bryant's best work. She nailed every aspect of this book and it is every bit worth the 5 stars of this review.

When we meet Shaylie Beck she is having a crappy day. A long meeting, late flight, sucky seatmates that spend hours making out but she is almost home. Almost. Shaylie takes a last minute bathroom break before the plane begins to descend. That is when all hell really breaks loose. You got it, worst nightmare moments as the plane begins to break apart and head for a crash landing in the forest of Colorado. Shaylie is one of the few survivors.

Piper Cole isn't on the plane, but her heart is. Her fiance and best friend/business partner are flying home from a business meeting in New York. She lost everything that night when the plane went down. Devastated and alone, Piper trudges on with work as Yoga studio owner but she wants answers as to why the plane went down.

Piper and Shaylie meet in grief counseling and immediately strike up an easy friendship. They become a lifeline for each other. Piper is processing her sadness and pain while Shaylie is going through survivors guilt and learning how to really live. Don't think this book is the ultimate bummer because it is anything but. While you do witness all their emotions they are both amazing characters that really become endeared to your heart. I absolutely adored their friendship and rooted for the romance the whole time. The supporting characters that are in this book are also written marvelously and really make the book extra special.

This is a story you don't want to pass on. A fabulous read that you will have a hard time putting down. Maybe don't read it as you board your plane though. This is an easy 5 stars!

Hmmm... This book started awesome! It had every predisposition being so great, that I feel slightly disappointed it hasn't been. I loved its start, and its plot, and I loved both characters, but what it bothered me most is that half the book we practically only see and feel Shaylie pining for Piper, while any description of Piper brought only her physical apperance during that first half. Their getting together didn't seem very spontaneous to me because I hadn't felt Piper's attraction to Shaylie, so it seemed rushed.

Bloody, frickin', amazing balls, fantastic.

Kris Bryant has outdone herself in these here pages. This is one of the most compelling stories I've read in a very long time. From the first page, my heart was in my throat.

I came to care deeply for both leads. They are three dimensional women who jumped off the pages and into my heart.

What seems to be a pre-requirement in lesfic reared its ugly head around the 80% mark. However, rather than piss me off as the troupe tends to do, it didn't bother me one iota. Why? Because unlike other books, it didn't feel forced. The emotion was raw and totally fitting considering what both have been through, separately and together.

Rather than continue to ramble, I'll end by saying go grab a copy. I highly doubt you'll be disappointed.

Copy provided by the publisher, Bold Strokes Book, via NetGalley

There is something in this book that does not fit and I do not know if I will be able to explain it or do it without spoiling the content. I think Shaylie is a character with little coherence and I did not really warm to her. Even with her terrible experience and with her work issues,  I couldn't stop thinking about how and when the secret she kept from Piper was going to cause a major problem to their relationship. Piper is not quite interesting either, the story hints some situations that  seem apparent enough about her fiancee. She did not realize what was happening in front of her nose, but now she doesn't want to see the obvious either. About the secondary characters, I've been more interested in Jason and Marisa story than Piper and Sahylie's. And even the sex parts have not been enough for make my impression higher. So, my final impression is only ok, a story with potential but not enough interesting for me.

If you were to judge the book by the cover, Falling would sizzle you on contact. It’s gorgeous, angsty, and sublimely sexy. Once you open it and start turning pages you come to realize this book mirrors that unquenchable perfection. In fact, Falling is one of my favorite kind of books. You forget you’re reading a book and become immersed in the story, their story, as if you’re walking through the best kind of dream. The drama surrounding their romance is laced with an edge of desperation that bursts right from the first chapter as you hang with Shaylie on that precipice of terror when the plane plunges to the ground. You feel it again when Shaylie realizes she’s fallen for the one person she knows she shouldn’t. It’s a good thing she has unwavering support from inspiring secondary characters that blend colorful layers to this marvelous story. Shaylie’s transformation as a human being in the aftermath of gruesome destruction is the penultimate culmination of their journey together through the uncertainty and tears. The Epilogue became the celebration of that journey, but oh my, the journey is so worth it.

When I read Listen in one sitting in January, I felt a connection with it that I didn't think I'd feel again (as a lifelong musician and one-time piano major in college who struggled with performance anxiety) in a book. Enter Falling, which as every reader who hasn't been under a rock knows details the aftermath of a plane crash and the relationship between a survivor and the fiancee of one of the victims. But before we can follow the relationship though, we first have to survive the crash from Shaylie's point of view. And it FEELS like a plane crash. Not since Jeff Bridges in 1993's Fearless have I felt like part of that kind of gruesome scene. I have been a fearful flyer my whole life, and in my 20s when I had to begin traveling for work I read a fantastic book that's probably out of print now. It was so bad that I had to look away when I drove past an airport and saw airplanes at the gate.

Fast forward to last week and again I read this book in one sitting. I literally couldn't put it down. I just couldn't help but root for Shaylie and Piper, and each had her own issues to work through. As it's still early in the cycle of this book I won't divulge any of the storyline, but just know that you will experience a full range of emotions and need some time to process it afterwards. Shaylie's friends are fantastic and really add to the story.

My last two comments: I'm normally not a fan of "people" on covers because I like to conjure up my own faces. This cover, however, is destined to win an award next summer for best cover. It's gorgeous and perfectly captures the mood of the story. And you know that a Kris Bryant book is going to have inventive love scenes - but she made us wait a while this time!

Recommended

Kris Bryant is on my list of authors whose books I'll automatically pick up - she's an adept writer whose romances just draw you in. Falling did not disappoint. If you're looking for a well written romance this is the book for you.

I had a few moments of indecision on whether I wanted to read the book now - especially with the recent events with the Max 737. The first few pages of the book were particularly harrowing but it didn't feel exploitative of the inherent horror and tragedy of a crash. In fact, Bryant doesn't go the easy route and ratchet up the angst by focusing a story around Shaylie's recovery, survivor's guilt, etc. Instead, Bryant focuses on the changes Shaylie makes and her moving forward with her life and friendships - including the burgeoning relationship with Piper.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and the characters, including Shaylie's bestie, Marisa, and the big lug of a cowboy, Jason. A slightly cheesy ending - but who doesn't like a little cheese in their happy endings (that is not a spoiler ... romances are expected to have happy endings or they'd be considered boring literature)

As this is a first person narration, there were aspects of Piper that weren't fully fleshed out or addressed - I'd like to have gotten a better feel for her and how she was dealing with everything, but that's one of the drawbacks of first person narration.