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.

-------

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”

What an absolute delight!

There’s not much more to say about the meet cute in this book other than the fact that Dylan falls through the roof of his apartment and ends up on top of his neighbor Derek then awkwardly makes an “It’s Raining Men” joke.

I’ll back up.

Derek moves into a building owned by his uncle when his job forces relocation and his own house is occupied by renters. Inadvertently causing a flood that damages the floor, it collapses into his hot and generally annoyed with him neighbor, Derek’s apartment.

The repairs are going to be extensive and both guys want to keep it on the down low from the suspicious and nosy HOA neighbor, so Dylan, being quite the fixer upper, offers to handle the repairs. And so the two are thrust into each other’s lives. Tensions build, lines are crossed, and shoulders are rubbed.

And this all sounds very typical romcom-y but there’s so much more here. The book focuses on the effect Dylan’s severe ADHD has on him, his life, and his relationships, while conversely addressing Derek’s struggle with a savior complex that, instead of fixing things, only drives people away.

There is grief and buried feelings, communication, banter, spice, and real heart in this story. It’s such a refreshing queer romance that reminded me often of The Prospects in tone and feeling.

Don’t sleep on this one!

Stellar dual POV narration.

Thanks to @netgalley, @macmillanaudio, and @stmartinspress for the audioARC/ eARC in exchange for an honest review. This one comes out September 3, 2024.

Fall for Him is an incredibly sweet novel that's perfect for when you're in the mood for a comfort read. The narrators, Kyle Omori and Liam DiCosimo, do an outstanding job of bringing their respective characters to life. I would happily listen to any book they narrated. I especially appreciated having two male narrators given this is an M/M romance where the characters both have D names.. The dual narration assisted in making the different POVs distinct.

I am a sucker for forced proximity and this is no exception. The stakes are never too high, which can be nice, but might frustrate those looking for more drama. This is the second book in a series, but having not read the first one I feel comfortable saying this can act as a standalone.

Pros:
ADHD rep
Asian male lead
They're cute as hell
Depiction of grief/loss

Cons:
A few subplots could have easily been removed without losing the heart of the story (looking at you, mom)

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an ARC of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to SMP and Macmillan audio for the review copies. I really enjoyed Andie Burke's debut last year and was excited to read this next book. For me though the sexy slow burn mood in her earlier book was missing in this one, I found I just could not quite get into the rhythm of this book, perhaps because the characters were not 100% likable, and I felt as a reader I landed in the middle of a story with the immediate "crash into each other" start to the story, and I didn't have a good sense as to who was who, esp with similar names and some lack of clarity about which voice was which character, though the audiobook handled this better and the voice actors did a good job even if I didn't like the book as much as I hoped I would.

I was confused from the first few paragraphs of this book and unfortunately, I was still getting confused near the end of the book. The biggest issue is that the two main characters both have D- names and we are never actually properly introduced to them; literally it’s a crash introduction. I needed some pause in the story to say this is Derek and what he looks like and this is Dylan and what he looks like. Their families also being thrown in and them having a mutual connection to Jake - even more confusion! AND they were both dealing with grief (I think so - I’m still confused). The author really needed to reorganize this story. Additionally, it was just way too long! There were so many unimportant things that occurred and made the storyline more convoluted. I’m also convinced neither main character was actually ready for a relationship. They both had some work to do and one really needed some maturity. Their chemistry was fine, the neighbor was too much and too weird, and the ending was forced. Honestly, this would’ve been so much better with more serious editing. 3⭐️, 2🌶

Daryl falls through the ceiling and lands on Derek’s bed on page one. Love a book that gets to the point right away more room for the couple to, in this case, get to know each other because they have a different perspective of the other. They are forced to spend time together in Daryl’s apartment while Dereks’ is being fixed.
My only negative would be giving the two MCs a D-name, my brain had a confusing time trying to place who was who in the beginning. The different narrators for each MC helped when listening to the audiobook.

[alc review]
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for providing an advanced audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
Fall for Him releases September 3, 2024

In all honesty, I was ready to DNF this after reading the first page. Meet-cute disaster aside, I find it very hard to believe that an apartment building would have a kitchen directly above a bedroom instead of mirroring the same layout of the unit below with the same square footage.

I really did not like Burke’s debut novel, but wanted to give them a second chance, mostly because my interest was piqued when I saw this included an Asian lead.
Turns out, Burke is just not for me!
It probably didn’t help that her sophomore novel was pretty much a companion novel instead of a true standalone, given how extensive a role Olive and her brother played in Derek and Dylan’s lives.

With a dual pov MM romance, featuring two characters with <I>very</I> similar names, it would have been extremely helpful to have labelled the chapters accordingly in order to minimize confusion as there was little distinction between their two voices.

I found that the tone of their dialogue and interactions were laced with a lot of judgment and hostility rather than it being a feel-good, swoon-worthy romance. For that reason, it was hard to become invested or find enjoyment in a relationship between two people that appeared to have little to no compatibility or chemistry.

Much like Burke’s debut, the plot was so cluttered with multiple components that none had the time to really shine. Not only was there the development of a romantic relationship, but also familial drama with Derek’s sister’s debt, his mother’s elopement, Dylan’s siblings and his ADHD, the busy-body HOA “Karen” and her hyperfixation with the dog, home renovations, and Derek’s unresolved issues with Jake who ended up feeling like a third wheel from beyond the grave.

If I have to read the word “kay” one more time, I might actually bleach my eyes.

This was a fun listen! I enjoyed getting to know Dylan and Derek individually before seeing them as a couple, and the spice was really nice. The ending felt a bit sudden, but it was just because I wanted to see more of their happy ending. I also loved the interactions with their families, and it was great seeing these relationships evolve and change!

𝐌𝐂𝐬: Derek + Dylan
𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫(𝐬): Liam DiCosimo + Kyle Omori
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠:
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭:
🌻 Neighbor Shenanigans
🌻 Badly Timed Jokes
🌻 ADHD Rep
🌻 Wrong First Impressions
🌻 Grief & Acceptance
🌻 3rd Act Youknowwhat

Call me surprised…

I’m not usually one to enjoy traditionally published books compared to indie books, but I really ended up enjoying this one.

The negative: like others have mentioned, the first third or so of the book (and periodically) I would confuse the POV because the names are Dylan and Derek and it got jumbled sometimes. I also thought the 3rd act youknowwhat was a bit forced and not necessarily needed. Not for the length of time. I also felt like a few scenes jumped around or were a bit abrupt, like maybe the author had a thought but couldn’t quite pen it in time before a new scene was written.

The positive: the ADHD rep was handled so well as was the grief. I adored the romance. Dylan was a bit scatterbrained and Derek was a bit of a stiff, but when they started letting down their guards, they were just perfect for each other.

I got the ebook and audio. The narrators were very good for what they were given even if they also meshed together and confused me a bit. A solid 4 stars though.

𝘙𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘵𝘦: September 3, 2024
𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙥𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠. 𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙤𝙬𝙣.

This was absolutely adorable! If you are looking to laugh and get a little emotional, this is your story. I really enjoyed the characters. I am going to go back and listen to the first book. They are interconnected standalone (which I found from some digging). I hope we get more from these side characters!

I don't really know how to rate this one. I had high hopes for it as it sounds like such a cute story but at first I was just so confused as to who was who. Both MC names started with D and the beginning of the chapters didn't say which character it was. This could be just me but it was hard to connect with them at first. I also felt like they went from fighting to loving so quickly that it felt like I missed something.

I did like the Main Characters but I just wish it was executed a little better

The Vibes: dislike for Secret Reasons, family baggage, and serious home renos

Heat Index: 6/10

The Basics:

Derek Chang and Dylan Gallagher have disliked each other from the start. Or rather, Derek has disliked Dylan and Dylan has responded in kind. But when Dylan falls through the floor and into Derek's bed, they're thrown together in a big way. Dylan wants to fix the damage himself—and Derek wants to avoid being caught with the dog he's really not supposed to have there (thanks to a breed ban). So... they're stuck in the same one-bedroom apartment for now. And can't seem to keep their eyes off each other.

The Review:

This was going super well for me in a lot of ways. I really love the premise, the meet cute is adorable, Dylan and Derek have great chemistry off the bat, and I appreciate their respective backstories receiving an equal amount of attention. Something I critiqued regarding Burke's last book, Fly with Me, was the fact that the story felt like it belonged significantly more to one heroine than the other. Here, we got POVs from Dylan and Derek, and they came to the table with their own baggage.

Derek is dealing with the long ago death of his father and the impact it still has, having been thrown into this "man of the house" role far too young. Especially with regards to his freewheeling younger sister, as we discover. Although I have some mixed feelings about how this ended up coming to a head, I really appreciated Derek as a character. He was my favorite of the two, and I totally got where he came from, even if he didn't always make the best choices. He was refreshingly real in that sense.

There was a point towards the end wherein I kind of felt like... a lot of things got pushed onto Derek in a way that he didn't really deserve? And it felt like the story wanted me to agree that this was an important part of his development, he deserved this critique, so on. I just wasn't really there. Team Derek.

Dylan, on the other hand, has ADHD and sort of... struggles to be taken seriously by his family. Which was really touching to me, as someone who received an ADHD diagnosis not super long ago. While I wasn't as drawn in to Dylan, I still liked him, wanted to read more about him, appreciated his bond with Derek. Did it sometimes feel like Derek had to step up to the plate for Dylan when Dylan kind of should have taken care of his own shit as an adult? Yeah, at points. But that could be my own inherent oldest sibling energy coming into play.

There were some pacing issues, for sure. While I liked that these two started falling for each other fairly quickly, we kind of went from "was physically into" to "using pet names" a bit too son. It's not that we needed to brake on the physical intimacy—the emotional component was where I got confused.

More troubling for me was a scene in which a neighbor calls the cops on Derek and Dylan. This... was handled in a way I found really tone deaf. Jokes about cops dunking on a wrongful call just don't play correctly to me—not when people die due to how poorly cops handle wrongful calls. And this whole time, the cops are being antagonized by Dylan's sister (who I just didn't like—she took up way too much space in general). It just left a bad taste in my mouth.

So while this was in some ways a step forward from Fly with Me, the issues just made it less enjoyable for me overall.

The Sex:

I did love the sex in this one! It's not a super sex-heavy book, but you get several good scenes, including a particularly excellent incident with knee pads. I mean, they're renovating a house, right? I also really liked the discussion surrounding why one character could be more hesitant about sex.

That said... we taper off left in the middle of a major scene, and I didn't love that. FINISH HIM!

Fall for Him had a strong start, and I wish it didn't have the problems that kept it from hitting the finish line in the same shape. There is a lot of good stuff here. But the flaws are pretty distracting.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

i think this author's books are officially not for me. this dragged & felt really overwritten, and i honestly just didn't care about the relationship or the plot??? idk why i finished this tbh.