"Hubris Falls" was a book that sounded rather interesting. Unfortunately, it fell rather flat and I couldn't find myself getting into the plot or the characters.

This story felt a lot like reading a frat boy memoir.

One last hurrah before entering real life, the friends head out to a favorite spot. One bad decision after another leads to the irrevocable ending.

I finished the book but it took me a little bit longer than usual. I was having a hard time in my life at the time I read this, so I wasn’t as invested in the story as I would have liked or could have possibly been. I don’t know if that was why I kept getting aggravated with the characters or if they really were that bad.

I do recommend this book.

I believe the author wanted - and tried - to write an interesting novel, yet his work failed to hold my attention. I found no depth in the characters and little interest in what they were doing. Being a Texan myself, I don't think he captured the beauty - and desolation - of the Rio Grande River. I cannot recommend this book.

Every page of this book reads like the most fascinating diatribe of an impassioned philosopher under the influence of many drugs. It was, to say the least, a chaotic and emotional ride.



Legs is a character of great depth, concealed beneath the facade of a partying miscreant. As I read, I was reminded over and over of the way a river will shimmer and bounce over both shallow stones and quite deep holes. A way river-walker knows to sound the depth before taking a step in shimmering waters, because until they do, they cannot be quite certain how far down their foot will go.



I found myself rather frustrated at Legs' waste of his own life, and the similar waste of his friends. Here is such boundless potential being frittered away on nothing. Their emphatic debates regarding religion, politics, and race was like a neon sign screaming out how intelligent they are, how great their capacity for maturity. Then, in the next moment, they're pelting each other with beer cans, ruining rented equipment, and taking horrific photos that I was and am infinitely glad I could not visualize in my mind's eye. What a waste.



The waste got so much worse. Hiley takes the reader to the very bottom of the barrel with this read. It is profound, it is repellent, it is fantastic. The journey these boys went on was heartbreaking, but also, at the risk of sounding patronizing, man-making. The character of Legs was so changed by the end of the story, it was breathtaking.



I did not know at the beginning of this book how much I would enjoy it. At times, during the reading, I felt that I didn't actually enjoy it at all. There were very uncomfortable passages that were difficult to get through at times. Yet, by the last page, I felt a deep kinship with Legs and would happily read another story to find out where his life goes from there.

Oh my. I laughed, I cried. I understood the anguish.
This is a great coming of age story not to be missed.
A cadre of young men leave college and take a rafting trip that involves copious amounts of alcohol and drugs and yet that is not the big story...the big story is how they all gain insight into their lives, and unfortunately share in a tragedy as well.
I will read more from this author.
Highly recommend.

I almost stopped reading this book multiple times when I was in the beginning chapters. The characters were jerks. They did nothing but drink and smoke pot. They talked a lot about being a republican or Democrat and I was again ready to toss the book aside.
Then I kept pushing through for whatever reason and couldn’t stop once they got into their trip.
Once the boys reach the climactic part of the trip I couldn’t stop until I finished the entire book. It was so real and hard and just resonated with me for some reason. The way things ended with Jimmy. The hate in Williams dad. The way things ended with Williams. It was all hard to read but still very much something that could very well happen in today’s world.
Good ending.

I need to get invested in the characters, or the story or, preferably both, in order to enjoy a novel. In Hubris Falls, I couldn't do either.

Narrated by a 30 something, he recalls the river rafting trip he and his buddies took immediately after graduating college. A tragedy ensues, the next few years take a toll on the surviving participants, there is another tragedy, the author preaches to the reader ad nauseum, the end.

The narrator is extremely unlikeable. In an attempt at humor, the author has him and his circle of friends be constantly drunk, high, obnoxiously 'cute' and flippant in serious situations, and show disregard/disdain for anyone who tries to help them grow up. Alternately, the narrator then goes two to three chapters at a time where he simply expounds on religion, the existence of god, republicans vs democrats, Nietzsche, the meaning of life, and on and on and on.

The remaining characters are right out of Writing 101: the good guy, the misunderstood bad guy, the cut up, the racist. And none of them were drawn more than superficially. I didn't like any of them, but then, I didn't really get to know any of them very well.

The story moved forward in jerks and stutters, which made it practically impossible to keep your interest long enough to finish a chapter in one sitting. If the non-action chapters were cut, this book would be a quick 2 hour read. With them, it was a struggle to force myself to keep turning the pages.

I can only recommend this book if you are looking for a nighttime sleep aid and want to avoid taking pills.

Matthew Hiley has given us a cast of characters that most of us would recognize as someone we know. These characters have followed their planned lives and will soon graduate college and move on to LIFE. At this point in their lives, they are considered adults, but their behavior during the story's events will leave readers questioning their maturity. The story line borrows from a few others I've read but the characters are unique while the consequences they will face are too often repeated. An outstanding book that will most definitely make a block buster movie!

Thank you to NetGally for the ARC.

I had a hard time with this book. I almost DNF but since this was being reviewed as an ARC, I pushed through.

I wasn't a fan of the characters while I appreciated the friendship. 5 friends going on a camping trip (like a last hurrah) post college graduation. Of course the unthinkable happens and it affects each one in a different way.

It could have been a great book. It had all the right makings for a great book but it fell flat for me.

I quit after Chapter 17. I couldn't take the drunken college boys any longer. I tried, but after reading what Kindle tells me is 35% of the book, I had no interest in finding out what happened to the five guys who were taking a "Deliverance" type trip down a river.

I LOVED THIS BOOK! The slightly offbeat adventure/thriller had a slight twang of Fear and Loathing coupled with the a river adventure that culminates in a deadly finale. A fast paced ride with a bit of drug induced existentialism thrown in to boot this novel grabs you by the ‘figurative ‘balls’ and doesn’t let go till the very end. Do yourself a favour and read it.

If all college age students acted like what was written in the book I wouldn't associated with them. The boys were absolutely mean rude and crude. If this is the generation that is going to lead our world in real life I'm glad I am close to the end of mine.

I am quite ambivalent about this book. I liked reading it. I kept wanting to pick it up even though I didn't like what was happening in it. As a female, I was horrified that male friends would treat each other this way, although I guess I sort of knew that they did. The conversations the friends have about race, religion, and politics were annoying to me because they were kind of standard arguments for each side without much nuance, but that seems to be the author's point. These are college-age kids that don't think deeply about these things (unless they are truly affected by them like Jimmy) and yet they are forming these ideas as part of their identity. Reading the author's interview in the back of the book really helped. Hiley was writing from experience, and he makes a good point about how racists are not just bad people you don't know, they are our friends, our friends' parents, and our neighbors. We just might not know the extent of it until we're high on a rafting trip with them. I received this free ebook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a coming of age story about a group of boys who are graduating college. As one last hurrah, they are going white water rafting before they have to grow up. Being incredibly immature, the boys have lived carefree, pulling pranks some of which are mean. They have bullied others and done things they are no longer proud of.

During the trip, there are many debates about politics and religion. The boys reveal feelings regarding racial beliefs. Tragedy brings the positive and negatives of their lives into crystal clear view.

This is a well written book. It contains dark humor, typical male bonding antics and serious contemporary topics. Some portions are difficult to read as the boys have no concern for the consequences of their behavior.

I recommend this book. Be aware going into it that some of the topics will be unpleasant and evoke strong emotions in the reader.


I received an ARC from Greenleaf Book Group through NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book. I am voluntarily submitting this review.

I found this to be an interesting book on transitioning from college to the real world. The friendship of the young men rang true as they faced a myriad of situations. Overall, I thought it very good. I received a complimentary copy from NetGLley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion.

Not sure where to even start with this review. There were things that I loved and things that I really didn’t like throughout. None of the characters were in any way likable people. The five main characters were know it all, hard drinking, dopers who felt they had all the answers....just like many that age. The tale was quite an adventure. Descriptions of the trip were vivid. I love the descriptions of the canyon. However, tragedy strikes and people’s true colors quickly are shown. The end of this book became pretty “preachy” considering that most of the content contained hard drinking and drug use.

Five young men go on a camping trip after college graduation – one last hurrah before setting down with full time jobs and their final transition to adulthood. But in the midst of all of the drinking, pot smoking, and shrooming (not to mention the endless debates on various socioeconomic topics—wordy, whew!), one of them dies, impacting each of them in ways they never could’ve imagined. I wanted to like this book, yet all of the sarcastic, over-the-top commentary, along with such an excess of drinking and drugs (even the worst of my friends were never anywhere near this bad), turned me off. Broken record: I don’t generally like books if I don’t like the main characters. This one was no different.
NOTE: Special thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

College is over and the last great trip among friends is about to take place. It is a strange gathering. Outcasts or losers ? Odd group. I can't believe they actually graduated. The drugs and alcohol abuse is astounding. Still the trip sounds like an interesting one. The route sounds so beautiful. I could picture the river from the description. Calm one minute. Scary another. The one person I felt who was actually a good person didn't make it. I was pulling for him. I liked this book. The writer gives a good description of things. Easy read.

I love YA, and reading stories from a male POV is something I hardly do. I’m so glad I did it with Hubris Falls because it gave me a persecutive. I really had to get out of my head thinking these guys are just “typical” and read it. I really enjoyed this one.

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. 3.5/5 stars

Legs Hamilton and his four friends have just graduated from college and take a rafting trip in Texas as a last hurrah before settling into the real world.

When I first started this book, I was kinda bored by the frat boy drinking and drugs use. It was getting to the point of irritation. The guys talked about religion and racism and the conversations got quite intense. Throw in a few rafting adventures when they hit the rapids and that made it a bit more interesting.

Ir wasn't until tragedy strikes that the book got more interesting and held my attention.

I did enjoy how the author wrapped up the ending by showing how his life moved forward after that trip.