thank you so much for access to this book!

unfortunately it was a dnf for me. this is because i could not connect with the characters nor the writing style. i really liked the concept of this book but it fell flat from very early on.

Unfortunately this book was a dnf, I don’t not connect with the characters and I just felt like there was no chemistry between them even though they had been friends for several years.

The first few chapters were difficult to get into and the plot felt like it was dragging which isn’t the style of writing I like, I prefer something that is fast paced and this wasn’t it

Struggled to get into this book. The storyline was such a slow burn and the characters hard to connect to. Ended up DNF at around 30%.

Mitch and Rosie’s friendship spans a decade in this novel of roommates to best friends with a sprinkling of unrequited love.

When unluckily in love Mitch breaks up with his latest girlfriend, he proposes that they be each other’s fallback. If neither can find a partner, they’ll settle down together… Only, that may be exactly what Rosie wants, if she can just admit it once and for all. Add in online dating, missed opportunities and meddling friends and family and you get this charming read.

I found myself wishing for a little more spice, and perhaps a little less explanation in places, but I really did enjoy this London-based book about friendship, love and finding the courage to make yourself vulnerable.

I would have loved an epilogue or a bit more of the HEA, but this was altogether a great spring/summer read.

Rosie met Mitch in a London pub. He had a spare room, and she needed a place to live, urgently. They were going to be working together within the same department at the university. Within a few minutes of meeting, they became flatmates...!

This is a delightful friends to lovers romance spanning many years. The story begins when the protagonists' first meet in London’s worse pub. After that, the narrative jumps between then and now, as we learn the dynamics of their unique friendship.

As romances go, this is a very slow burn. The clues are constantly there but both Rosie and Mitch ignore them, presuming the other isn’t interested. Mitch is a serial dater, with each relationship fizzling out within a month or to, whilst Rosie’s focus is her job and mourning the long ended relationship she had before meeting Mitch. These are two people who choose to spend all their free time together, but somehow don’t see what everyone sees them as... a couple. That is until Mitch has a proposition for them.

I love Rosie has a STEM career and the novel is set in London. Both Rosie and Mitch are relatable and likeable characters and I enjoyed how easy their friendship is. At times I wanted to knock their heads together as they blindly ignored the signals of attraction, they both give off.

My only criticism is feeling a bit bored during a section of the book that didn’t interest me. I stayed one hundred percent invested in Rosie and Mitch, when they were together, but not so much when the focus was solely on Rosie.

Overall, I enjoyed the The Fallback. The narrative is fun, light and entertaining but not consistently enough to give it a higher rating.

4 stars

*Arc generously received courtesy of One More Chapter via NetGalley*

Interesting premise, although very slow burn through the beginning 50/60% of the book.

Plot did blitz through towards the end

Characters were interesting but I couldn’t quite connect to MCs as much as I would have loved to. Loved Nadia, Jasmine and my namesake Rachel (we stan you Rachel - and I bet she is a fire sign)

Loved the setting (as a London girlie myself it made me smile a lot as I could picture a lot of the places being mentioned)

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a good beach read with a few issues in the plot. Don't dwell on them and you're set.

4 stars-
Overall I really enjoyed this book, I feel as though it could have been more fleshed out though. Overall I do recommend this.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rosie and Mitch have been best friends ever since they became roommates when Rosie came to London to do her PHD. But one day Mitch sets each other the challenge of finding ‘the one’ before the Christmas party and if they don’t they will be each other’s fallback and raise a child together.

I flew through this book but have mixed opinions. I did like the characters and the interaction of the best friends together. I also liked the London setting as often they don’t feel like you are actually in London. But I could really feel like I was. The story is predictable and has some cute moments. I liked that Rosie was a STEM girlie and loved that part, but wish there had been more on this.

However, I felt stressed reading this book because the miscommunication! That and the beginning of the story was quite clunky, when we met new characters we had really random background information, and it took it me out of the story. Some themes could have been explored more.

Overall I enjoyed the book, but it felt like it needed a bit more tidying up.

A back-up plan between friends - but what do you do when you have fallen for your fallback…..

I have to admit that it did take me a little while to get in to this story but when i finally did it was such an easy book to read and i just wanted to keep reading to find out what happens and how it all comes together and ends…

I liked the flashbacks from Rosie and Mitch’s relationship but honestly felt that they somewhat lacked the ability to communicate with each other…

All-in-all this was a very cute little rom com and gave me a few giggles along the way…….

The Fallback by Eleanor Goymer was such an enjoyable read.
I absolutely loved this book! I couldn’t put it down and read it in one day.
I thought this book was funny, sweet and steamy. The characters had great chemistry and you really root for them to figure their stuff out to get together.
This story has everything— great side characters… great character development… and just a real natural flow to their relationship where you believe every second of it.

Thank You NetGalley and One More Chapter for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!I

Let's cut to the chase... I couldn't fall in love with either character in this twisted relationship. Mitch and Rosie are no one's prize, so it makes it hard to get into the plot. And you question how Rosie has gotten this far in her life... there was a lot of repetition, overlap of details, and not a lot of spark to keep reading. Where does a novel like this put the feminist movement? It's an awkward story....

Not posting to Goodreads. Just leaving this here.

Unfortunately, I had to DNF this book about a 1/3 of the way through. I wish I could have gotten into it more but I didn’t love either character and just couldn’t get invested with the relationship that we were getting set up for, or their friendship in general.

I could relate to Rosie with her difficulty in dating, either in" real life" or online, although there's no way way that I'm nearly as clever as she is. Again this is one of those books where you want to bash the two main character's heads together as there is mutual attraction neither of them could admit it. The first chapter did grab me, although it slowed down afterwards, but I was hoping that their true feelings would be revealed. You will have to read the book to see if this happens, despite the many pitfalls along the way.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influence my review of the book.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved the idea of this story. Girl moves to a different country, has a sweet little meet cute with a boy, falls in love with him on accident, boy propositions girl in an unconventional fallback plan and then they ride off into the sunset living happily ever after. There was a lot of filler in this book and I liked the idea that Rosie has thoughts and depth but I felt like the writing was missing… something. I did enjoy The Fallback but it took me longer than I expected to finish.

Unfortunately, The Fallback by Eleanor Goymer did not meet my expectations. While it may be a great fit for readers who enjoy stories about friends discovering romantic feelings for each other, I found the plot to be predictable and unoriginal. The characters lacked depth and their actions were often frustrating and unrealistic. Additionally, the constant misunderstandings and drama surrounding the characters' relationships became tiresome. Overall, I would not recommend The Fallback to others as I did not find it to be a satisfying read.

I really wanted to like this book. I think I would have done- if Mitch wasn’t part of it. He treated Rosie so unpleasantly that it was impossible to root for a happy ending. A shame

This sounded like a cute romance, with a strong friends-to-lovers trope. While I loved the writing style and flew through the book, I sadly, couldn't connect with the characters. Definitely would recommend this to people who enjoy reading romance1

I have conflicting feelings about this. This was part funny, part head banging and part boring. There were some parts I enjoyed and other parts not so much.

The Fallback follows the story of best friends Mitch and Rosie who have ‘agreed’ to be each other’s fall back if they don’t meet other people and fall in love.

The writing was engaging and I loved how the author carried us along in every aspect. I love the women in STEM aspect and felt it was beautifully executed. I enjoyed Rosie’s relationship with her friends and family, especially Jas.

The miscommunication or lack of communication was a major turn off as the characters are in their mid-thirties and still acted like kids, especially Rosie.

I enjoyed the plot but I felt it could have benefited from fewer chapters and still made perfect sense.

If you are a fan of women in STEM romance, friends to lovers or the miscommunication trope then you will love this.

I received an advanced copy via NetGalley and the review is mine and voluntary.

What happens when you have fallen for your fallback? The man who offered you a bargain: either you each find your soulmates by Christmas, or you would be each other's fallback.

The Fallback is a sweet, fluffy romance about what happens when you fall for the man who was supposed to be the backup plan. We follow both characters as they bumble through terrible dates, while slowly realising that maybe other people isn't what they wanted.

While the premise is somewhat interesting, I found it a struggle to really connect with the story. Mitch's character is a bit rough for what this book was trying to be, and I feel like he definitely forced Rosie to change and be something different to fit what he wanted. The communication between these two was terrible.

While it was sort of entertaining, I think if it wasn't an arc I would have DNF'd it. There just wasn't enough oomph in it to keep my attention. 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an e-arc, all opinions are my own.