DNFed - I chose to DNF this book in the past. I am typing as a review so it doesn't harm my %. I haven't chose to pick the title back up.

💝Lead Female Punk Rock Singer
💝Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Master
💝Slow Burn Teen Romance
💝National Holidays

Put those together and you have the beautiful and funny romance, Reggie & Delilah’s Year of Falling by Elise Bryant. This was my first Elise Bryant book and as soon as I’m done writing this, I’m heading out to find her other two books.

Overcoming your fears, trusting your own voice, and declaring your true self to the world are the themes woven into this fun romance set during some major and some random holidays in one year. (Did you know there is a National Catfish Day? I’m definitely going to start celebrating that!)

What’s my favorite part about this book? Black kids doing what they love even when it isn’t what pop culture (or their family) thinks they should be doing. Plus the bonus of seeing teens positively navigate the issues of chronic migraines and dyslexia. #Blerdforlife

This novel was actually really interesting. The plot was very relatable to a lot of coming-of-age/ young adult fiction novels that I read before.

Reggie and Delilah's Year of Falling was sweet, funny, and angsty. It embodied all the feelings of being a teenager unsure of yourself, but trying to fake confidence anyway. The friend-tribe that developed through the book made me remember my high school friends with fondness.

I really appreciated the migraine and dyslexia representation throughout the book. Neither of these are conditions I've read about before in mainstream fiction. I do not have either of these conditions, but from my perspective the author did a good job of not sugar-coating the challenges both migraines and dyslexia can create.

Readers will love Reggie and Delilah as they bumble through first love and navigating negativity from those who can't appreciate their talents.

As a 24-year-old woman, I find it awkward to read books for young adults, just like when I was a teenager I was hesitant to read books for adults. However, this book was really cute and I could totally see it becoming a Netflix movie or something similar. The main characters definitely had romantic soulmate chemistry! I really enjoyed this beautiful love story!! Thank you to the author and publisher and NetGalley for granting me this book in exchange for my feedback!

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I love that Elise Bryant writes stories filled with Black Joy. All readers deserve to see themselves in tales that move beyond trauma. Bryant's romance books epitomize that.

I enjoyed that Reggie and Delilah's interactions were based around holidays. That was a cute way to structure the timeline of the book. I also liked the dual narrators so that readers got to know the thoughts of both characters. For me, Reggie's first chapter dragged a bit since I'm personally not into Dungeons and Dragons, but once readers get beyond that part, the game itself plays a smaller role.

Favorite Quotes:
"But, like, nothing you love is beyond critique. And if you love something, you want to make it better."
"Why do I keep making myself small, thinking this is the way it always has to be?"

*I was given a free copy of this book from NetGalley but later purchased.

3.5 rounded up to 4.

Boy meets girl. Boys obsesses over girl. They meet coincidentally each holiday.

This is my first book by Elise Bryant. Music storylines are not my favorite so I was hesitant going in but had heard good things about this author’s debut. I can see why. She is a proficient writer. The story was easy to read and well plotted. I enjoyed how she tied each romantic encounter to holidays. I thought the music storyline was well done as was the romance. Both main characters were likeable but I felt the side characters were a bit to one dimensional. This book didn’t touch on anything new but I think young black teens or teens of color would find the identity issues of the main characters relatable so I would recommend to that age group. I would read another by the author.

Absolutely delightful romance as the characters learn how to be more of the people that they want to be and also get to know each other. I really enjoyed this.

I love a dual POV and seeing both sides of awkward teen romance interactions. It felt a bit formulaic and predictable (hello inevitable miscommunication and breakup before they learn to communicate), but overall this was a super cute quick read/listen.

Reggie and Delilah's Year of Falling is super adorable. I loved that they only ran into each other on special occasions at first, Even though both characters were putting on fronts the way they came together and showed their true selves made it worth it. The writing was done vey well and this wasn't just a basic romance but had real life issues that were addressed as well.

I absolutely loved this book! I would highly recommend it! I don’t typically read YA novels, Elise Bryant did a great job of bringing Reggie and Delilah’s story together. They meet on New Year’s Eve and the story takes you through their friendship into them becoming a couple. Delilah is in a band that isn’t really appreciating her and Reggie is insecure because his family and kids at school make fun of him because he likes nerdy stuff, like Dungeons & Dragons. They meet and he puts on this confident front for Delilah that is the man he wants to be but he isn’t there yet. Through their friendship his lies take on a life of their own. Will Delilah forgive him for not being his authentic self?

I loved this book with my whole heart. A soft gamer black boy pretending to be cool to win over the pretty girl, and the pretty girl pretending she's cool so her friends don't judge her. A soft and sweet romance about not putting other people on a pedestal, and what it means to truly and apologetically be yourself.

Big thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books, Balzer + Bray for this digital arc.

I think that one of the things missing within the greater library of diverse Black YA stories is the experience of biracial kids. In America, if a child has Black and white parent, we tend to categorize the kid as Black and leave it at that. I saw it growing up, it was most certainly that way when my parents and great-grandparents and so on were growing up, and it's pretty much the same currently.

But biracial kids aren't just one race, hence the term (bi)racial. It's a nuanced conversation that needs to be had, and a lot of Black people, myself included, need to shut up and listen to what's being said. So for that, I appreciate stories like Reggie & Delilah's and Happily Ever Afters that center Black biracial girls and their perspectives; not fitting in either (racial) space of their parents, the microaggressions and back handed compliments, etc.

On Reggie's side, I also appreciate the conversation brought up concerning gatekeeping in the Black community and what's considered "Black enough". Having to justify your hobbies and things that bring you joy just because they're outside of the stereotypical norm. But of course, this book wasn't just deep and serious conversation on what it means to be Black!

We've got the fluffy and sweet moments in spades, a marriage of rock music and D&D, and two teenagers who just want to be brave and stand in their truths while also standing with each other.

Elise Bryant is the perfect YA romance author. Everything about her stories are relatable, funny, realistic, and romantic. She gets teens and I can't wait for whatever she writes next.

I really enjoyed this little YA romance. We followed Reggie and Delilah, two teenagers who happen to continually cross each other's paths, but only on holidays! What started out as a funny little coincidance, turns into some mutual crushing. The two are going through changes, and are still discovering who they are and who they want to be. This causes the two to struggle with being authentic, not only with each other, but also with themselves.

Reggie and Delilah's Year of Falling was a sweet, coming-of-age romance that I had an enjoyable time reading. I liked Bryant's writing style, and enjoyed all the characters. I loved Reggie's nerdy D&D obsession, but that he also took the time to write essays critiquing the game on its POC characters/inclusion. Delilah accidentally stumbles into a love for music and is trying to discover what kind of musician she can be, and if her current bandmates are the right group to support her in her endeavours. All-in-all, I really enjoyed this story. A great read for any fan of YA!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me access to the free advanced digital copy of this book.

I'm not sure how I feel about this book. I've read this author's other books and this one was my least favorite.
I didn't believe the chemistry between the 2 main characters and didn't connect with either of them as individuals.
I think this book will definitely have its fans, I'm just not one of them

so sweet and just made my heart feel warm while i read it. i felt like i was having my first love along with reggie and delilah. they were just too cute.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy. all thoughts are my own.

At some point in our lives we have all been “not enough”. For Reggie and Delilah their crime is not being black enough. Reggie is too nerdy and Delilah is mixed, outset from their peers for things they can’t (or don’t want) to change.

At a point in my life, maybe even still now, I was Delilah. Not black enough for the black folks around me but definitely not white for the white folks either. Bryant tells a story that cuts deep, right at the core of (perhaps, every) bipoc kid’s insecurities. Never before have I felt more seen.

While reading this novel it’s so easy to forget that these are teenagers. The story fees so real and so vibrant that you simply fall inside it, live and breathe with these characters, fall in love as they do.

Their year of falling is about so much more than falling in love with each other. It’s about falling in love with themselves, with the people they are around each other. It’s about being your most true, your most authentic, your most free.

While Reggie and Delilah fell in love, I did, too, with this story. This was the kind of novel I needed when I was a lone mixed kid in an all white town, fumbling and grasping at anything to prove I was enough. I hope this novel reaches the people who need it, because I promise you they do. I did. And I’m glad I at least have it now.

𝗙𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 :
✔️ bipoc representation
✔️ lgbt+
✔️ dnd
✔️ punk rock
✔️ finding yourself
✔️ killer ostriches

I will absolutely read anything written by Elise Bryant. This story was not my favorite. I found it not as captivating as her others but yet I still loved it. I definitely sent this as a recommendation though add to our school library