The tension between the Ds is so thick. I loved getting to be along for the ride as they fell for one another. A touch spicy (which I always love), a lot of personal growth, and a HEA. Very enjoyable story.
It’s refreshing to read a character w ADHD chaos, I feel like it gets touched on a lot in other books but never fully on display. The open communication about medication, the shared diagnoses among family members, love it.

The narration was great! I did occasionally find myself getting the names mixed up (both two syllables and start w D) and had to stop and recall which one was talking but I got into the groove at about 35%, likely wouldn’t have had an issue if I was reading rather than listening.

Thanks Macmillan Audio for the NetGalley audio ARC. I will definitely check out other books by Andie Burke

Really enjoyed this one, the respect given to ADHD folks, the terms used for during spicy scenes weren't fake, the all around relationship vibes, Enemies to lovers usually isn't my jam, but this moved at the right pace that I believed it and it wasn't too fast.

Classic Queer romance goodness. Excellent representation without being typecast or cliche, and I loved the evolution of these characters and their path to peace with themselves and each other.

I’m also a super fan of the microtrope where a partner rushes to the defense of their relationship/person against family members. Because 9/10 the jokes aren’t funny. Iykyk.

Also loved the individual issues Derek & Dylan (cue the “D” jokes with mlm romance 🤣) had to face in order to grow. They were incredibly realistic and entirely relatable. A true human interest story. 10/10 recommend

This is a cute, witty MM rom-com romance. Dylan Gallagher is a sweet, geeky, guy who literally falls into his downstairs neighbor's bed due to a leak in his apartment. Derek Chang is a stressed ER nurse who has the cute dog, Gus. (Can a dog be my favorite character?) With the characters new situation, they reluctantly live together while they work on fixing the apartment without anyone finding out. I love the characters, their humor, personalities, and the ADHD, anxiety, and grief representation.

Tropes:
-hate to love
-forced proximity

Also, can we talk about how stinking cute the cover is? I LOVE IT!

I listened to an ALC. Overall it was a great listening experience, but there were a few times where I was confused on what was going on or who was talking. That may be a me problem though due to the book being in 3rd person perspective.

If you’re a fan of forced proximity and classic romcoms, this is a must. Burke’s writing is so heartwarming and authentic and Dylan and Derek’s characters with their anxieties, struggles, loss, familial expectations, and desires were so relatable and my heart ached for these two from start to finish. I was rooting for them as individuals as they processed past pain and hurt and as they grew together and fought for their happily ever after.

While there were many lighthearted moments that had me giggling, I was incredibly touched by the depth of emotional intimacy and trust that flourished between Dylan and Derek. Bearing witness to their hearts healing, while advocating for themselves and protecting their peace, was so brave and empowering.

The ADHD rep is so authentically written and I personally felt so seen by Dylan’s character and how he interacted with the world. I appreciated how Derek came alongside Dylan, offered support, and fiercely protected and defended Dylan’s heart.

I really loved both narrators for this story! They brought so much emotion to their performances that had me teary in one minute and then giggling the next, especially when Carol showed up.

Definitely recommend if you’re looking for a heartwarming story with relatable characters who love classic romcoms and grand gestures, a cast of characters that include meddling family members and a lovable dog, and an abundance of forced proximity!

So adorable and full of feelings! Derek and Dylan are both so precious, recovering from their separate trauma together, accidentally falling in love. There are so many good tropes (meet ugly, forced proximity, and grumpy/sunshine) and excellent neurodivergent/mental health rep.

My only negative comment is that keeping all the side characters straight was hard - between their friends and their families I kept forgetting who was who.

Fall for Him by Andie Burke
Narrators: Kyle Omori; Liam DiCosimo
Rating: 3.5 stars
Steam: 2 chilis
Pub date: 9/3

Thank you so much to St. Martin’s Griffin for my advanced copy and to Macmillan Audio for my complimentary audiobook.

Dylan Gallagher is a software engineer with a knack for causing trouble, and Derek Chang is an exhausted ER nurse. Their relationship starts with a bang—literally—when Dylan crashes through Derek’s ceiling and lands on his bed. From there, it’s a wild ride of banter, mishaps, and growing chemistry.

This is a slightly chaotic rom-com that’s full of humor and heart. Burke does a great job with the witty back-and-forth between Dylan and Derek, making their awkward but sweet interactions fun to read. The story moves quickly, and you’ll find yourself laughing out loud at some of the absurd situations they get into. The representation of ADHD and mental health issues make the characters feel real and relatable.

That said, the book has its hiccups. The plot can feel jumpy at times, and there are moments where you might wonder how you got from point A to point B. Some of the side characters can be a bit much, but overall, they add to the chaotic charm of the story. Also, the MC’s names are Derek and Dylan, which is very confusing at first. Their voices are also very similar, making it difficult to distinguish who is talking. I thought listening to the audio would help, but even with the amazing narrators, trying to figure out which POV we were in was still confusing.

Overall, this is worth a read if you like M/M, forced proximity, and enemies-to-lovers romance.

I wanted to love this book so much. SO much. But it just wasn't for me. I considered DNFing this book so many times. Somehow it was both like insta-lust/love AND too slow? I'm not sure how that was possible. But as someone who is not a fan of the miscommunication trope this book reminded me why i'm not a fan. Not only could neither of these men communicate like adults, they also hindered the other's ability to communicate as an adult as well. Overall, just was not an enjoyable experience for me.

This book had me from the very beginning! The characters all felt so unique and the emotions were written beautifully I felt so involved in the story. Play I loved the fun surprise of reoccurring characters form the authors previous book! This was such of fun touch but this book can also be read on its own which I loved.

This book is set in the same world as Fly With Me (Derek is Olive’s best friend), and while it is not necessary to read that one first, I personally felt like it added a lot of extra insight into Derek’s background.

This audiobook his narrated by Kyle Omori and Liam DiCosimo, and while they do a great job with the narration, I struggled keeping track of which character was who a lot of the time. I don’t know if that was because it is written in third person or if it’s just because the names, Dylan and Derek, were too similar. I thought the story was cute overall, but I felt like the relationship deserved more build up. Yes they had the banter and some sexual tension, but I just felt like something was lacking.

When Dylan Gallagher falls through the floor into his neighbor's apartment, he is met with an angry Derek. Wanting to keep this accident a secret Dylan promises to fix the apartments. As the two spend more time together crammed together into one apartment, they soon find that they may be more compatible than they thought.

I could not put this book down! I absolutely loved Dylan and Derek and their relationship. There were so many times that I laughed out loud and their relationship dilemmas were very relatable. I loved the ADHD representation and it was so well written. I loved the dual narration and I felt that both narrators did an amazing job! This was such a lighthearted book and I can't say enough good things about it!

Falling Hard: A Tender, Steamy Romance with Heart and Humor

“Fall for Him” by Andie Burke is a story that skillfully balances humor, heart, and healing, with a fair share of steam woven throughout. The premise of Dylan literally stumbling into Derek’s life sets the stage for a relationship that is both tender and transformative. I enjoyed watching them navigate their preconceived notions of each other while dealing with the hilarious meddling of neighbors, overbearing yet lovable families, and their own personal challenges.

The neurodivergent representation through Dylan is a highlight, handled with care and authenticity. Derek’s medical background and his willingness to learn and understand Dylan’s needs, along with Dylan’s support in helping Derek process his grief, added depth to their relationship. As someone with a neurodivergent perspective, I appreciated this nuanced portrayal, though I did struggle initially with distinguishing between the characters due to their similar names and the large cast introduced early on. This made it a bit challenging to follow the narration, especially since both main characters’ names begin with "D."

The story also features steamy intimate scenes that add to the chemistry and connection between Dylan and Derek, making their bond feel all the more palpable. The ideal listening speed for me was between 1.5-1.75x, which helped me engage more smoothly with the story. Overall, “Fall for Him” is a delightful read that beautifully captures the complexities of love, grief, understanding, and passion.

Thank you Macmillan Audio, NetGalley, & Andie Burke for this eARC!!

At its core, I loved it. I loved the characters and the overall idea of what this book was about. I think at times it didn’t connect in the ways it was trying to, and it lost me for a little. But overall such a cute read

3.75 (rounded-up) ⭐️ 1.5 🌶 CF-friendly MCs.
Fall for Him is a cute MM romance that has strong rom-com vibes. The two main characters, Derek and Dylan are adorable together, once they get together. This book starts off with a whole miscommunication-esque, almost enemies to lovers type start and a bit of a catastrophe that results in forced proximity (three popular tropes crammed right into the beginning). There is also more miscommunication further down. There is also great ADHD/neurodivergent representation with a main character. The main and side characters are all loveable. The spice is a bit more on the mild side, 1.5 🌶. There is also consent, communication, respecting boundaries and safe sex.

The narrators were had very different voices which made each character's chapters easy to tell apart. I feel that one of the narrators did a bit better of a job at the beginning of the book giving unique voices to each of the characters, but the second narrator improved as the book went on. The narration flowed smoothly between both narrators from one chapter to the next, which made for very easy listening.

Over-all its just a cute, feel-good, romance that makes for very easy listening (especially on long drives where you can listen for hours and still be engaged in the story line) and gives you a HEA at the end.

I wish I liked Fall For Him more than I did, but I had a few issues that knocked my rating down to 3-stars...
1. I listened to the audiobook copy, and the two narrators voices sounded two similar to be able to distinguish whose POV I was listening to.
2. The two MMC's were named Dylan and Derek. I wish authors would not have the main characters names start with the same letter or have the same ending (Helena, Sabrina, for example).
3. I got a little bit of whiplash with the romance aspect. They went from hating each other to being together so quickly with little buildup.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for this advanced audiobook in exchange for my honest review. Fall For Him publishes on September 3, 2024.

Audio note: No complaints about the audio itself, the writing was the issue. It's dual narration with two new-to-me narrators, Kyle Omori and Liam DiCosimo.​ I liked both of their voices, and they were both exceedingly easy to listen to. Perhaps not enough of a contrast in their voices to tell them apart easily enough, but I doubt that would've been a problem if the perspectives in the writing were easier to comprehend. They both sounded like soft cinnamon roll sweethearts, which both of these characters are deep down. The runtime (around 11 hours) means you might not get through it in a single day, but the vibes are perfect for an easygoing listen. I didn't get far enough to read the spice, but I see that there is some, so maybe not the best choice for the office. Otherwise, I do recommend the format.

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DNF Details:

How far did I get? I don't know, I got confused and frustrated pretty quickly, so I ended up switching from the audiobook to the ebook, hoping that would help. It did not. So then I did some skimming.

Why did I stop? The writing style! Not only is it told in third person POV with very little indication when the perspective was changing, but it's also a M/M romance where the characters have very similar names. Dylan this, Derek that... I was legitimately confused whose perspective I was reading a lot of the time, and that made me incredibly frustrated. No matter how adorable the meet cute or how sweet the romance, I couldn't enjoy any of it because I was spending too much time trying to understand the writing. Derek also hates Dylan for a reason the reader isn't aware of, so it was just too much confusion for me.

Was I enjoying it initially? Writing-wise, no. Plot-wise, yeah. I'd heard some mixed things about this going in, but I love that gorgeous cover and the sound of the blurb, so I had high hopes. I love a neighbors to lovers kind of situation, the renovation aspect sounded fun, and I never mind some enemies to lovers tension. Technically speaking, this does have all of that, so I have to imagine that I would've enjoyed this a lot more without the confusion of POVs. Entirely possible that readers who are more comfortable with third person POV will have an easier time with it, but 90% of the romance I read is first person, so it was too much in combination with the similar names and unexplained hostility.

Would I finish this? I don't think so. I was lucky enough to have both the audiobook and the ebook in front of me, and I still couldn't get into it, so that's all I need to know.

Who would I recommend this to? Anyone who reads a lot of third person POV and likes a tender, somewhat emotional romance. Skimming ahead, I could see that this handles some difficult topics, and I liked the level of emotion.

I really loved Burke’s first book and I liked the premise of this one, but the writing style of this book really took me out of the story. Maybe it was the names were too close and I frequently forgot whose pov I was on, or a lack of communication at times was just not for me.

3.25 stars

Okay, so, this was fine. But that's kind of it, to be honest. It's generally entertaining with quite a few fun moments and mostly kept my interest. There were just too many things working against it at times. First of all, both MCs have names that start with "D," which just made things super confusing at times. Derek and Dylan. Secondly, I found myself super frustrated with Derek a lot of the time. I know some of that was part of his character arc and the growth he has to experience, but it was a bit annoying. Thirdly, the story dragged s bit at times, which had my mind wandering at some moments. And lastly, the audio threw me off at times. The narrators were great (Liam DiCosimo narrated Dylan's POV and Kyle Omori narrated Derek's), but the way the dual narration was done was odd. This story is written in the third person with different POVs throughout between our two MCs. There were times where the POV would change within a chapter, but the narrator didn't change and that just threw me off and took a bit to gather whose POV we had along with all the "D" name confusion. All that said, there were things I enjoyed. I liked how the ADHD rep was done. I felt it to be real and very relatable, especially for people who are diagnosed later in life. I also liked how Derek stood up to Dylan's family about them essentially bullying him. Dylan and Derek's relationship was quite sweet, as long as they actually communicated. I also liked how the varying stages of grief were portrayed and how it affects people differently, mostly with Derek's family. I'm also a sucker for a good pet as a side character, and we get the elderly dog, Gus, filling that role spectacularly. Overall, is it bad? No. But this wasn't a favorite. It had potential that it just didn't live up to for me.

I found this to be a cute story!

The premise was pretty funny, where they literally fall into each others lives. Listening to the audio book I had a reaaaally difficult time distinguishing whose POV I was listening to with their similar names, similar sense of humor/delivery and the narrator's voices weren't distinguishable enough for me to understand who was speaking.

I did find that there was a distinguishable switch at one point where Dylan and Derek go from fighting to spicing things up and then they immediately fall into a relationship from there? It seemed like there could have been more of a build up/ease into that part of their relationship in a more natural way.

Overall this was an intriguing read!

𝐀𝐑𝐂: Thank you NetGalley
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - It was a cute and fast listen
𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐞: 🌶 - there was a hand full of scenes with open door spice nothing fancy
𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: September 2, 2024

This was an enjoyable and very relatable read if you are someone who is neurodivergent or who has family who doesn't realize that when they try to support you it may come off the wrong way sometimes.

I enjoyed listening to this book and thank you again Netgalley for the opportunity.

I was able to listen to this book and while it was a quick listen I am not going to lie the narrator sounded very simulator so it was hard to tell who was different and not going to lie with the two male leads both having names that start with D didn't help at all.

This book has:
🌑 Cutest doggo
🌑 Nabbors
🌑 Hot Doctor and Sexy Computer Nerd
🌑 ADHD representation
🌑 “The Bat-Man”