I really enjoyed The Fallback! I love friends-to-lovers romances and this was a sweet one. Rosie and Mitch's story is heartwrenching and heartwarming in turns and I enjoyed the ride,

I was very excited for the idea of this book, of friends being a fallback for each other if they can’t find love. I loved the setting of academia and the unique things that come along with being a woman in STEM. The stories of the friendships and family dynamics were enjoyable and well written. Unfortunately I really struggled to get through this book. Maybe it’s because I’ve never wistfully pined over someone or maybe the main characters weren’t written in a way to make me invested in liking them, or wanting to root for them, but it fell flat. Good enough for a light read if you know going in it’s not going to be the best book you read this year.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins / UK for this ARC, in exchange for my honest review.

I am a sucker for a "backup plan"...ever since My Best Friend's Wedding with Julia Roberts I've loved this idea and notion that people make these plans and some even follow through on them...at least in our beloved fictional realm!

This was so cute and well executed...I loved it from start to finish.

Cute book. Strangers to lovers to friends to fallback plan. It always takes the something other than the norm to change the situation.Mitch was an instalove kind of guy where Rosie was fine being single. They just needed that push to pull the wool from their eyes. Fun read! Thank you NetGalley for this free advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

‘The Fallback introduces readers to a friends-to-lovers romance set in London, marking the debut novel for author Eleanor Goymer. The story revolves around scientist Rosie, whose life takes an unexpected turn when her longtime best friend Mitch ‘suggests they become each other’s "fallback" plan, agreeing to have a baby together if they don't find serious relationships by Christmastime. Unbeknownst to Mitch, Rosie harbors secret feelings for him.

I always enjoy reading a story that showcases a woman in STEM, and virologist Rosie, is a good example of this. However, I found that Rosie's recurring self-involvement and lack of professional confidence became frustrating over time. Conversely, Mitch's role as the one longing for a child provides an interesting twist, although his increasingly pushy behaviour when it came to this raises questions about his character and overall I found him to be quite unlikable.

The love story between Rosie and Mitch kicks off with a charming meet-cute in a London pub. Despite this promising start, the chemistry between them is lacking, leading to a slow-burn romance that feels rushed in its conclusion. Additionally, the abundance of miscommunication and withheld information between the best friends was a consistent theme throughout – this is not a favourite trope for me.

Overall ‘The Fallback’ had a solid premise with the potential to be a compelling story, however the execution falls short of expectations. Despite this, the novel offers a cute and easy read for those seeking a light-hearted romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK/One More Chapter for this eARC.

The Fallback is an entertaining read that I really enjoyed and would recommend to others who enjoy friends to lovers romances. The two main characters Rosie and Mitch have such a great dynamic that has you wishing they would stop dating other people and just be together already!

The fallback by Eleanor Goymer is about Rosie and Mitch, two best friends that make a pact to have a baby together if they are not in a happy relationship by Christmas. It was interesting that they had reversed roles, he was the one who wanted to settle down and have a family and she was the one unsure about what she wanted.
Every story about unreciprocated love is devastating and this one was no different. What was more heartbraking was the fact that they actually loved each other and that they lost all that time not knowing. Their story hit different after watching One Day.
They were a little bit immature for thirty something years old adults. The miscommunication trope is something I don’t really enjoy and they had been doing that for 10 years witch is very saddening. And also their use of the silent treatment shows that they aren‘t good at expressing their feelings and emphasizes the fact that they are immature.
But overall it was a fun read.
Thank you netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book early!

I really enjoyed this story. The main characters had great chemistry and you could tell from the beginning they were meant for each other.

The journey they went on with Mitch having numerous girlfriends and Rosie focusing on her career was enjoyable.

The idea that Mitch came up with of them being each others fallback was a bit far fetched with the way he described it but when a female character described it it didn't seem so crazy!

It reminded me of one day which I love and I enjoyed the ending.

I really wanted to enjoy this book as i love reading friends to lovers books usually but I could not help but get put off by Rosies character she was annoying. I was skimming parts because I just could not stay focused on reading. I liked mitchs character and the story was OK. I did think at one point it would be a DNF for me but I'm glad I continued and finished.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was a promising debut, but I didn't find myself rooting for the MMC and FMC, and I really don't connect with a "will they or won't they" friends to lovers (maybe it hits too close to home for me?). I did love that the FMC was strong and smart, but found the MMC sometimes played mind games and wasn't authentic or genuine.

I was fascinated by the book description and the concept of having a 'fallback' person. However, I struggled to keep my interest in the story and couldn't find myself liking Rosie nor Mitch. Idea is great, execution fell short.

Mitch and Rosie had a strong friendship and sometimes friends make the best partners. I just felt like Rosie was immature and didnt want to do things for herself. There was lots of miscommunication and I just did not really connect with any of the characters. I did not think the characters were in their 30's with how they were acting.

At the beginning of this book, I had every feeling that this could give me such a meet cute vibe, of two best friends finding their way to each other. Over time, it began to become a little desperate, the author made Rosie seem so out of reach with society and the fact due to her being in her mid-30s she was too late to start anything including marriage and a family. She has been studying for her PhD in London. who can afford to start a family? not in this climate. How even her best friend continued to pursue the fact she needed to settle down and didn't let up when she expressed her distaste for the idea. I hated Mitch, there was zero romance and didn't begin until the final few chapters. The whole I needed to be with other women to get over you didn't fill the margin for me, it felt distasteful. He was so rude throughout and thought he was it. plus the whole you can have my baby whilst I'm with other people? no thank you.

A thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for gifting me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am a sucker for an aesthetic cover.

That was about the most this book kept my attention, unfortunately. I did find the concept of this book to be intriguing, but poorly executed in my opinion. It felt childish that the FMC was almost upset with her family for not trying to pry in her personal life, as a 30 something? Felt very strange and immature to me.

This book is fine, just fine. If you need some sort of palate cleanser that you don't mind not feeling invested in, go for it.

2.5⭐️ I love a good friends-to-lovers story but this one unfortunately fell flat for me. The miscommunication is heavy in this book. I think a dual POV would have helped tremendously but all we have is the FMC’s which is very repetitive. I didn’t find myself invested in any of the characters and didn’t really feel any chemistry between Rosie and Mitch. Overall a solid premise but just not executed in a way that held my attention.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Rosie and Mitch are in their 30s, have been friends for over a decade and Mitch convinces Rosie to be each other’s “fallbacks” if either of them haven’t “the one” by Christmas…biggest problem? Rosie has been hopelessly in love with Mitch for YEARS!

The ‘fallback’ trope is a very interesting storyline that I’ve seen in movies or in TV shows so exploring it through the lens of a book was great. I enjoyed Eleanor Goymer’s style of writing.

It’s a very sweet rom com. A mix of ‘will they won’t they,’ ‘slow burn’ and ‘friends to lovers.’ It’s a fun and easy read. It was VERY predictable but the author did a great job of inserting some bumps in the road to temporarily throw you off course.

I really appreciated following characters in their 30s who have already established independent and successful lives for themselves, outside of romantic relationships. I also really appreciated the topics of having children and that it’s such an individual choice despite societal standards.

The hardest thing for me about this book was just the lack of communication from Rosie. She spent most of her time complaining to her friends (not Mitch) and not taking their advice?! As such a successful and smart woman I found a lot of her choices to be quite annoying. Her not being able to open up to Mitch about her feelings and, in turn, acting like a bit of a child was the opposite of who were meant to believe she is as a woman. Taking her eye off of work and her friendships because she’s upset about a boy?! But, again, that is just human emotions and who hasn’t been there? It would’t have been much of a story without her refusal to admit her feelings right?!

Thank you to NetGalley & One More Chapter/Harper Collins UK for the ARC.

I think readers who enjoy drama and (in my opinion) toxic characters will enjoy this, but this book just was not for me.

I found the characters immature, selfish, and not easy to connect with considering their ages. While the premise was interesting and had one of my favorite set ups for a romance (friends to lovers), I feel like a majority of the book was spent with our 2 main characters finding ways to hurt the other despite being "best friends". There were also serious events that were inserted throughout that made the story feel disconnected for me and like we were just trying to beat our FMC down repeatedly.

By the time our MCs decided to have a true conversation about their feelings or lack thereof, I was no longer invested in their relationship and was just frustrated/annoyed. Had their conflict surrounded something more mature or understandable, I could handled some of the drama, but overall this just fell a little flat for me.

*I received this book (Via eArc by Netgalley) for free from the Publisher ( Harper Collins UK / One More Chapter) in exchange for an honest review*

I cannot believe how fast I read it. It gave be the style of romance that I enjoy. I do like the whole pact thing but it gives me that unnerving feeling of what if Mitch finds someone else very much like the film, My Best Friend's Wedding. I am glad it lead a different direction. I understand that both of them make mistakes thats part of life. But at the same time Rosie is trying to figure out whether he is gonna follow thought which can be nerve racking to say the least. If you love the movie My Best Friend's Wedding and the novel People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry with a splash of Beth O'leary's writing style this is the book for you. Overall I very much enjoyed this novel and a wonderful debut it was. I cannot wait to read more by this author.

Thank you so much to Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for the ARC and I am instantly gonna purchase this when it releases.

I think these two are cute together but it took too long. I was close to just throwing my phone and forgetting all about this book. As much as it was cute, it was the same amount of terrible. They are both so whiney and annoying. The FMC is alwayssss crying about something. I literally couldn't stand her.

I will say, the first like, 10% of this book had me all the way in. As soon as the deal was set in place though and as soon as Mitch started immediately bringing up kids, I was lost. From that point forward, I just felt such a disconnect with the characters. I understand that we learn more as the story progresses, but it felt so abrupt for him to suggest the plan with such a little timeframe for it to happen. It very much wasn't giving that the characters were 30. It read as though they were fresh out of college or even in college. Some of their conversations and actions and thoughts just felt very immature. I really wish we would have been able to get more of Mitch's inner thoughts or something, but ultimately, this book just fell for me. I think that it could definitely be other people's vibe though because I know that the role reversals between the MMC and the FMC are definitely popular with readers. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an hoenst review.