And They Had a Great Fall is the debut novel by Shelby Saville
This is a second chance celebrity romance with an age gap, but she is older. I loved the storyline of this book, the flawed characters. Are it feel real. I wished it hadn't been compared to another book in the information because I was constantly comparing as I was reading it which took away from just enjoying the book. Overall it was a great read.

I love a good celebrity romance, and the comparisons to THE IDEA OF YOU instantly had me intrigued to read this one. The story follows Kat and Jake, two people who couldn’t be more different, yet they keep finding their way back to each other over and over again. Kat is a single mother at the height of her career, but she’s secretly struggling. Jake is a young actor who’s dealing with the demands of fame and what it means to be a rising star. They had a secret relationship during the COVID-19 pandemic, and are now reuniting a year later in Copenhagen. Will Kat and Jake be able to overcome their differences and figure out what means the most to them—together?

I really enjoyed this book! Kat and Jake are both complex, fully realized characters, and it was wonderful to watch them grow, both as individuals and as a couple. I loved how they were truly polar opposites, but complemented each other so well. The settings of Copenhagen and New York were very well-drawn, and served as great backdrops for Kat and Jake’s love story! One thing I will say is that I struggled with the story’s pacing a little bit. It felt slightly slow at the beginning, so it took me some time to fully get into the story, but then almost felt too fast later on—I wished the ending had been a little less rushed! Still, I thought this was a great read overall, and would definitely recommend for any fellow romance fans! Thank you to NetGalley and She Writes Press for the ARC.

This is the first book from Shelby Saville that I have read. Jake and Kat was just the read that I needed. A reverse age gap.
Kat is a widowed single mother who lost her husband early on. She has Becca who is almost 6 years old who she has been raising by herself since she turned one. Becca's husband Ben passed away and she has been blessed with having a good support system with his family but also with the neighbors the Laurent’s that live in the apartment next door. During the pandemic Kat became close to their son Jake who is a rising star and has acted in various movies. I loved how Shelby gave us glimpses into the past that brought the relationship of Kat and Ben but I loved even more how she also incorporated how Jake became the person he is in Kat’s life.And They had a Great Fall starts off with Jake in the midst of mental breakdown and is exhausted whether it was personal or work related he calls the person that comes to mind to help him. Kat works for a Tech company that is on the verge of launching a new product into the market and it works out that one of the corporate offices is in Copenhagen. She uses that as one of the incentives to fly over and work with the Company abroad but also pay Jake a visit and see what is going on.
Kat is a very private person and we get that straight off the bat. Jake being famous just puts all her worries at bay. The way they bothe interact on their dates shows the love that they have for each other. As the days progress and the topic of the relationship being more than what it is now is brought up you get to see how they both are genuinely perfect for each other. I loved how the best advice Kat got was from one of her co-workers. “ I want to live life and work on the side”. I highly suggest that you read the book. It puts a lot of things into perspective, especially for the mom who has always found it hard to have a work life balance.

Thank you to She Writes Press, the author, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this title.
3.5/5
I love a good celebrity romance! This book is all about the price of stardom. It is a reverse age gap reminiscent of 'The Idea of You.'
The first 50% had really slow pacing as the author introduced the characters of Jake and Kat. Opposites in many ways, they had found solace in each other during the pandemic. We get glimpses of their past, but I think it would have served the story well to have flashbacks to this time. The story flashforwards to the characters having not spoken or seen each other in over a year. Kat is a single mother and badass in her own right, while Jake is struggling to meet demands of movie studios and playing the role of heartthrob playboy. Kat becomes his solace and guiding light despite her protests to maintain her anonymity. The author leans more into what Kat means to Jake, but I was left wondering what the pull is for Kat to Jake.
The back and forth between their own needs and the compromise to fit into each other's lives serves as the main conflict.

I think this story overall had good bones, but did leave me wanting more.

This what such a great story about two people from two totally different worlds who really leaned into one another when they needed it the most and fell in love. I really liked the dynamic between the two characters and their backstories really made the “work" of their relationship that much better. In the end, I really liked how the characters grew, which made the ending that much better.
I will definitely read more from this author!

Jake Laurent is a famous actor, Kat is his friend and ex-lover with whom he has a history. Now they're back in each other's lives and they're trying to keep whatever this relationship is under wraps from the media as they galavant in Copenhagen. Kat has her daughter to worry about and Jake has his reputation. Can they keep their privacy and still make it work? This was an easy, romantic read.

Flawed characters have much to learn about themselves and each other, but there is so much room for love.

Kat and Jake were characters I enjoyed reading about. They each have baggage, but something draws them to each other, especially in times of need. Kat is a widow trying to make her way in life without her husband and the father of her daughter. She is fortunate to have a village surrounding her, assisting her whenever the situation arises. Jake is an up-and-coming actor who tends to get in his own way. This is evident when he calls Kat in panic mode. However, this call sets off a renewed relationship and the chance to discover their capabilities. 

This was a semi-spicy romance. There is one spicy scene; the rest were more subdued, which I appreciated. I enjoyed learning more about Kat and Jake and what makes them tick. Their interpersonal skills were sometimes rough around the edges, but being around each other allowed them to discover more about themselves and what they wanted from life. 

As you can imagine, you aren't allowed privacy with someone famous. This was a huge sticking point for Kat, and she kept their friendship and blossoming romance under wraps until it wasn't. I was surprised at the actions of Jake's publicist. She would have been fired a long time ago!

Primarily set in Copenhagen, this love story defies age what others think. It is also about two people finding themselves through each other. An enjoyable read from a debut author.

We give it 4 paws up.

Jake is a young actor who’s cracking under the public pressure that comes with rising celebrity. Kat is a single mother at the top of her career who believes she’s holding it all together but is barely living. However, they share a secret, which is that they had an affair during COVID and are now reuniting in Copenhagen, one year later. What should be a simple escape turns into more when Kath’s family is impacted.
A debut novel that delivers a sweet romance with two characters that are struggling to keep things together. Both Jake and Kat are fleshed out realistically, with their relationship relayed with honesty. I enjoy the backdrop of both Denmark and New York, with both locations highlighting the different stages of their relationship. A good read.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

They had a great fall is a great debut by Shelby Saville. I am very impressed.
Age gap romance told in dual POV.

We follow the story of Kat, a single mother anx widow who has big dreams and aspirations. Kat lost her husband to cancer in the years prior, so the pressure is on her to provide a great life for her daughter.
Jake (8 years younger than Kat) is a movie star on the rise. Jake and Kat found a connection during the pandemic, but Kat pushed him away. Now a year later he makes contact with Kat.

As Kat receives a new job promotion and faces the relationship she always wanted, we find ourselves following the love story of these two characters. Do they still have feelings for eachother? What about their careers? Can their relationship work?

Kat and Jake are both great characters and I loved exploring the dynamics of their relationship. I was really rooting for them to work out, hoping they still had feelings for eachother and could overcome their obstacles.
I did think Jake was immature at times but given his age compared to Kat, it was appropriate.
I wasn't a huge fan of the ending, given that I was really rooting for them to work out, it would have been nice to see them work through their issues better instead of skipping ahead in time.

Overall good read. I would recommend and would read more from Shelby Saville in the future.
Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.

This is an age gap, second chance romance between 25 year old actor Jake Laurent and 33 year old Kat Green. They had a fling during the pandemic but it fizzled with time and Jake’s busy schedule. He is having issues connecting the main character in his new movie. He calls Kat and asks her to fly to Copenhagen. And, she decides to go. Her company has an office in Copenhagen, so it can be a work trip.

She is a widow with a young daughter and he is a rising actor. He says he loves her, but when his “team” puts out an article that puts her in the hot seat he handles it badly.

The beginning of this book was a bit of struggle for me. It’s told in third person POV and felt like a lot of telling versus showing. Plus, there was a lot of work talk. Their connection felt believable, though.

The ending was a bit rushed and unbelievable. I would have liked for Jake to work for their happy ever after and not skip ahead to years later.

Thank you to She Writes Press and Booksparks for the advances readers copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This story is about two individuals who are opposite in every way but find themselves on a path toward one another.

Not only is there an eight-year age difference, widowed single-mother Kat has an established career in Technology and playboy-in-the-making Jake is the latest hot rising movie star. After meeting during the pandemic and being thrust together during the lockdown by chance (and having a casual affair), they make a hollow commitment to maintain contact with one another when the world opens once again, but their different paths soon lead them away from their original connection established. That is until Jake reaches out to Kat as his lifeline when he finds himself going off the ledge while filming his latest movie in Copenhagen.

Kat finds every reason a relationship would not work between them as Jake continues to give her reasons and show her why it could. However, when Jake’s acting career comes under threat and the way of saving it comes down to taking the heat of a ruined reputation or throwing his relationship with Kat under the bus. Jake makes the choice to sacrifice his relationship. His choice caused damage to the bond he had re-established with Kat, which resulted in her leaving Copenhagen immediately and breaking contact with him.

I enjoyed this book and found myself rooting for them as a couple and wanting them to work through the challenges that were presented. This story did not have a slow build up to their passion for one another. Once the story begins, it throws the reader right into the thick of things. The complexity of both characters was well done. In addition, the opportunity was provided to see each character grow into who they were meant to be. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you to She Write Press and NetGallery for this advanced copy and allowing me to provide my review of this book.

This book really had potential, but personally I don’t think it reached up to it. I loved The idea of you, and since this book is specifically marketed as “if you loved the idea of you, this book is for you” I did compare them from the beginning. This story falls a little flat for me and the pacing is a bit off. When I read The idea of you I was sucked into the story right away, but here I really struggle to get in to it. I feel like I don’t get to experience what happens, I’m more often just told. It’s also a really long build up to the “thing” at 80% and then there’s noting until the epilogue which feels really rushed.

Maybe if I hadn’t gotten in to it with The idea of you in mind it would have worked better for me.

Thank you NetGalley and She writes press for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book.

Thank you NetGalley, She Writes Press and Shelby Saville for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5⭐️ I liked this book but didn’t feel extremely invested in the characters and their relationship. I’m not sure if it was the writing itself, characters or lack of on page spice but I just wasn’t avoiding everyday life to finish this book like I often am.

The characters had some banter and reference their chemistry but also seemed to know so little about each others lives and had several instances of lack of communication and stubbornness that resulted in gaps in their relationship.

Both characters had flaws, trauma and insecurities and I wish it would have dove into how they repaired things. It seemed like such a huge jump from where they were at. To the convo in England. To 4 years later.

I’m a romance reader so I love a HEA but I was almost expecting them to find love with other people. Maybe it was the vague similarities to The Idea of You.

Tropes:
Love after loss
Reverse age gap
Celebrity
Single mom
Second chance or is it third chance?

I really loved the journey the two characters went on in this book. I was onvested in them both right from the start. The way they both had to grow as individuals away from each other and not force their relationship was a refreshing take on a romance novel.

So the first 35% was a struggle to get in to but once I crossed over the hump, I was hooked and ended up loving this book!!! I feel like there was a significant difference between the first half of the book to the second half. The writing, storyline, flow and character development was so much better from 50% onwards. The story follows a single Mom, Kat who was widowed before her daughter turned 1 years old. a few years later, covid hits and she meets her neighbors son, Jake an up and coming Hollywood actor who was staying with his parents during the lockdowns. . They form a friendship with benefits but more so a bond which lead to real feelings both never admit to one another. They had both agreed to keep it light. Jake returns to his career and leaves NYC and Kat is left to her life as a successful career women vying for a promotion as COO in her corporation. A year later and out of the blue, she receives a frantic call from Jake asking her to come visit him in Copenhagen where he is filming a new movie. He is in a bad place and she is the one person he knows he needs to help him. kat is caught off guard from his request but able to make it work as her company has an office located in the Copenhagen that she can work from. What transpires between them after is a rollercoaster of emotions, revelations and feelings that Kat tries to play down to protect herself from getting hurt again. Mistakes are made, Jakes fame takes a toll on them and one decision tears them apart... I read the last 60% in one sitting as I needed to know what happened. Thanks @netgalley and @shewritespress.com for the ARC.

This is a fun, entertaining read. Jake and Kat are interesting, intriguing, complex, flawed, complicated, strong, wounded, entertaining characters. I enjoyed their romance and the path it took. The secondary characters added to the fabric of the story and my enjoyment. The story is easy to read and get into.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Now this age gap love story I can get on board with. You see I don't actually have an problems with age gaps. To a point they are irrelevant. Buuuut "the idea of you"(mostly the film because that depiction was way worse)gave me major trauma judgemental syndrome. So I've had to stay clear of that trope since. Which didn't sit well so here I am.
And it's healed that part of me. Wahoo! Well done for a realistic telling of characters. The age gap wasn't an issue. They were still two people with a connection and their own individual baggage and happening were the only thing getting in the way.
But believe me this baggage was enough.

Kat is a widow. And she's very much still grieving. But also is push8ng herself beyond the realms of what's healthy. She wants to give her child all she needs. She wants to work get to the very top. It's almost like if she becomes the most successful she can be she will finally be able to sit back and think she's not failed the man she loved and lost. Which as we all know isn't ok and won't be sustainable. And it's showing. Kat is struggling.
Jake is a movie star. But as we are hearing more and more of recently, this isn't an innocent industry. And those that fall victim to the bad sides of it really do suffer. And Jake isn't doing well either. Infact he seems to on the brink of a breakdown.
When him and Kat met there was a connection. They were good for eachother. To certain extents. Because sometimes throughout the book i wanted them to just walk away! But they kept being drawn to eachother. So what needed to change? Or who to make this relationship work. Or should it be loved and lost that is actually in this case the best thing for all?
As I said before this age gap thing wasn't event a stuttering point. Yes they were at different points in life with different interests and event to their lives. But this didn't seem an age or maturity act.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!
This was such a sweet reverse age gap story. The quick origin story was just enough in the beginning and having more details thrown in as they were relevant to their current story was a great way to keep going back to the second chance trope, Kat and Jake were POLAR opposites and I enjoyed seeing them connect. I loved that Jake made a point to remember small things about Kat and even about Kat's daughter, like the orange tootsie pop.
The only problem I had with the story was the excess details of Kat's job that weren't necessary to the story, those parts ended up being skimmed.

This book I struggled with especially getting into the flow of the first portion of the story.

While this might be a favourite of some people I stepped out of my normal genre and decided to try something different after reading
the premise of this book. Unfortunately this was not a book I really enjoyed.

The premise sounded great. The characters were OK. Just not my cup of tea

Thank you NetGalley & She Writes Press for this arc read.

Okay, look. I primarily read horror and thrillers. I like a weird puzzle to solve. Sometimes, however, I need a straightforward love story. "And They Had a Great Fall" from Shelby Saville is the latest to fill that need.

Kat is a single mother and widow. She's on the C-Suite track at her tech company job, often working 14, 15 hour days. Three years prior, her husband, Ben, died from cancer, and Kat wants to make sure that their daughter has the best life possible.

Jake is a movie star on the rise. He's young, he's handsome, he's famous. Jake is also the son of Kat's next-door neighbors. Despite the 8-year age difference, Kat and Jake connected during the pandemic and found they had the beginnings of a relationship.

Now, a year later, Jake calls Kat from Copenhagen in full meltdown mode. He doesn't know who he is or why he's having so much trouble with his current role. Kat is on the verge of the largest product launch of her career, which is leading to her much-desired promotion.

These are two people who are at turning points in life. Kat is working harder than ever, neglecting a work-life balance. Jake's rise to stardom is getting faster, and keeping his relationship with Kat a secret is starting to impinge on his fame. These two people are drawn to each other and are pulled apart by their self-interests.
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Let's address the elephant in the room. Is this similar to "The Idea of You"? Sure, if you want to give into the older woman, younger man thing. But here's the thing: the age difference in this story is much less aggressive (8 years vs. 19 years). This is also, somehow, more realistic. A young widow focused on her career and family is easier to connect with than a wealthy gallery owner.

Shelby Saville develops flawed characters who grow realistically throughout this novel. The setting of Copenhagen and New York adds to the plot, as both cities add their character to the story. Each person is layered; it isn't just a young party boy and a career-focused woman. It's a man struggling with fame, isolated from his family and friends. It's a woman who is still grieving and wants to provide the best life for her daughter, no matter what it takes.

Now....who is going to play Jake in the movie....

Thanks to NetGalley, Shelby Saville, and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.