Abby Jimenez could give me crumbs, and I’d still devour them like a five course meal. And The Fall Risk? Absolutely delicious. This novella was everything I love about her writing—witty, heartfelt, and packed with chemistry that had me grinning like an idiot the entire time.

Charlotte and Seth were the perfect mix of awkward, vulnerable, and so easy to root for. I mean, a girl armed with emotional support bear spray and a newly divorced arborist literally stuck together on Valentine’s Day? Peak rom com perfection. The forced proximity, the banter, the slow unraveling of their walls—it was chef’s kiss.

Even in such a short story, Jimenez gave us depth, humor, and that signature emotional pull that makes her books irresistible. It was sweet, a little chaotic, and just the right amount of swoony. If this were a full length novel, I’d be first in line.

If you love Abby Jimenez (or just need a quick, serotonin-boosting romance), The Fall Risk is a must read. Now excuse me while I go manifest more crumbs from this world!

Thank you net galley and publisher for this ARC. I've ready every book by Abby Jimenez and this short story was so cute and heartwarming. I can't wait for her next book coming out next month.

🔉Thank you to Abby Jimenez and NetGalley for this copy of The Fall Risk, out now!

📜Quick Summary: It’s Valentine’s Day weekend…what could go wrong? For Sam, he’s accepting his fate as a newly divorced man. For Charlotte, she’s trying to cope with a stalker. When a flight of stairs is knocked down, both of them find themselves stranded on this lovey dovey weekend. Which is fine…it’s not like they want to look for love right now anyway. Charlotte carries bear spray around for goodness sake. But will this arborist, handsome man win over her heart and break down some barriers?

❣️Initial Feels: Abby’s books always get ya right from the start and this was no different.

👀Trigger Warnings: stalker, divorce, mention of suicide

🌶️Spice Level: I bet it would be in the next one…but not here

📖Read if you want: dual point of views, forced proximity,

🙋🏼‍♀️Moving Character: Sam is a gem of a man! He showed Charlotte how patient, kind, and supportive someone can be who’s going through some tough stuff. He wanted to be her protector and helped break down her walls.

🗨️Thoughtful Words: “Sometimes the start of something good begins during something bad. We don’t get to pick when these things happen.”

💡Final Sentiments: Abby always gets to ya, whether it’s a full novel or this short story. Sam and Charlotte are amazing characters and I would love to see this as a full novel. I can totally see this becoming a series with the side characters as well. This was a quick binge, a great read, and somehow packed with a great story line in such a short novella!

🌟Overall Rating: 4 stars

This novel was provided by the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC copy of this novella!!

With short stories and novellas, you have to adjust your expectations when it comes to pacing, story building, character development, etc. There just simply isn't as much time to fully flesh things out the same way you would in a novel. With that in mind, I still could not adjust my expectations enough to enjoy this one. I couldn't suspend enough disbelief to buy into the super rushed timeline, and the jokes were really not my sense of humor.

I found the premise to be interesting, but the execution fell a little flat for me. I think that it simply tried to be too many things at once. I appreciated the conversations surrounding stalkers and keeping yourself safe in dangerous situations, but I think a concept like this would have been better explored in a full-length novel. There could've been deeper exploration of those themes and more sensitivity surrounding the reality of those situations.

I can see why others might like this, but it ended up being really not for me.
 
Also, the cousin thing was a weird choice.

The Fall Risk by Abby Jimenez is perfectly adorable, feel good & fascinating forced proximity, neighbors to more romance novella.

It has Abby Jimenez’s trademark humor & wit mixed with their propensity for realistic life struggles, wonderful friends & enough heart to make one feel warm & fuzzy inside. I love her writing style & I am impressed that she was able to fit not just one, but two charming stories in 82 pages. I will read & love anything she writes. I highly recommend giving them a read.

Massive thanks to NetGalley & Amazon Original Stories for the gifted copy, which I voluntarily read & reviewed.

This book begins with one of the most original and memorable meet cutes I’ve ever read. Abby Jimenez fully tells a story in only 82 pages. Charlotte and Seth live across the landing from each other in apartments. With her signature humor I was snorting with laughter as the pair met and got to know each other on Valentine’s weekend. There is some seriousness to the story as Charlotte’s life has been turned upside down for the past two years because of stalker. I’m not going to spoil it with any more detail but treat yourself to a delightful and romantic short story from a master romance story teller. This is available for free if you have Amazon Prime.

Abby Jimenez does it again with this short story, where we follow Charlotte and Seth as they end up stranded in their apartments. With only each other for company, they pass the time together—and totally hit it off.
Even at under 100 pages, this was an incredible read that left me wanting more. Abby has a talent for making every character feel real, even the ones who barely appear on the page. She does in just a few chapters what some authors struggle to do in 400 pages—giving us a clear, deep understanding of the protagonists' fears, struggles, and emotions without needing to spell everything out.
These pages flew by, and I can’t wait to read Abby’s next book

The Fall Risk is a cute and romantic little short. Seth is an arborist who has finally finalized his divorce. Charlotte is an accountant who has been forced into exile by her stalker. The two neighbors discover one Friday afternoon that the stairs to their second floor apartments have been mistakenly removed and they won't be able to leave until Monday. They bond quickly over their ridiculous situation, shared sense of humor, and attraction to each other. The story involves a quirky cast of characters, the two leads as well as their goofy best friends, the hapless maintenance man, and the women from the retirement home who take bonsai classes from Seth. This is a quick read that will be great for anyone looking for a romantic story featuring characters with hearts of gold.

Cute and quick romance! The whole premise is slightly undermined by the fact they are immediately given a ladder and choose to stay 'trapped' despite being able to come and go as they please the whole time.

All the characters (minus the stalker) are very sweet and I really enjoyed this short story!

Thank you NetGalley for the copy!

“𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙖 𝙗𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙠 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙚.”

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗:
Charlotte has been on the run from a stalker for years. One day she wakes up to find the stairs missing to her apartment complex, stranding her for the weekend with her neighbor Seth. Over the weekend the two spend time together and develop a friendship.

𝙼𝚢 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎:
I know novellas aren’t necessarily a good representation of an author’s work, but for my first Abby Jimenez book I was impressed!

There was a lot packed into only 82 pages and I enjoyed all of it. Both Charlotte & Seth were great characters, the side characters were fun and I loved the way the story played out. Plus the fact that Charlotte saved herself? YES.

“𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘺. 𝘈 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢.
𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴.”

Overall this is a cute little story!

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗲𝘁:
🌳forced proximity
🌳neighbors to friends to more
🌳dual POV
🌳empowerment
🌳badass friends
🌳fish named Swim Shady

Abby Jimenez created a cast of wonderfully unique characters, but the 72-ish hour framework within this short story didn't give enough room for natural feeling relationships to develop. Shoehorning in a secondary romance in this little space was unhinged.

What the story does accomplish well is depicting the life-shattering impact of a stalker and giving the female lead a great arc to reclaim her power. I think if this had been given a slightly different timeline in the fiction and was like 20 pages longer, it could have been a really cute story... instead, there are just a few too many "Really?" moments for me to fall for The Fall Risk.

Abby Jimenez must be a witch. How else can you explain writing a Rom-Com that's only 82 pages long but has you 1000% invested in it. Like many, Abby is an instant buy author for me. So moving "The Fall Risk" to the top of my TBR was a no brainer for me. What I did not expect was it to be SO GOOD- because seriously how could only 82 pages be that good? 
In that short amount of time not only do our MCs basically fall in love but I fall in love with them too!This was the perfect little crumb to tide me over while I wait for Say You'll Remember Me

No. Just no.

This was not good.

Banter is fine - pretty much the only thing this had to offer imo.

Insta-love to the max. No really. You get a twofer of insta-love.

Prose is so freaking punctuated and stilted.

I'm pretty much always going to dislike a book that rips apart a female to the extent this did. I don't see the point of that background for the MMCs ex-wife?

Trust me no one is more disappointed than me that I have not enjoyed the last two Abby Jimenez books.

I’m in awe with the ability to create such an emotional story in such a short amount of pages.

Not gonna lie, the trigger warning page got me spooked for a while. Thankfully, everything was very well handled. And I was very proud of Charlotte by the end of the story. Mostly it is how everything she was going through is fleshed out and witnessing her evolution from hiding to facing it.

I loved the chemistry between Seth and Charlotte. The way they got to know each other due to the missing stairs and how Charlotte begins to trust him even with her difficult situation.

The side characters are hilarious and totally made for each other. I love to see good friendship and these two are always there for there friends.

One of the funniest things in the story were the bonsai class ladies. Their interaction had me laughing so much I reread some of the scenes several times. That being said, I liked very much the humor over all and that’s always an important factor for me to have in a story.

This is the first I’ve read of Abby Jimenez and it makes me very excited to read others of hers. The Fall Risk was such a sweet short story and I would LOVE to read more of Charlotte and Seth. I thought Izzy and Gabe were such great supporting cast and I think it would be fun to see more of them too. Basically I wish this was a whole book because it was so much fun. Super sweet romance with a little twist. The best sort of contemporary romance.

Es una novela muy cortita entonces no da espacio para que se desarolle mucho, pero fue muy bonita y entretenida, ojalá tuviera más páginas.

Me dió vibes de que funcionaria genial como mini serie de comedia

I loved Abby Jimenez's latest work, The Fall Risk, a short story. Charlotte and Seth are neighbors, but don't know each other until a construction mishap leaves them stranded in their first floor apartment without stairs for a weekend. Charlotte has been through a traumatic experience with a stalker, and is very reluctant to meet anyone new. Her life and all her decisions are ruled by fear of her stalker and putting herself in danger. Seth is a recently divorced arborist, who is instantly intrigued by his neighbor. They hang out to pass the time while they are stranded in their apartments, and totally hit it off. They eat meals together and Seth helps Charlotte paint her apartment.

As usual, the banter between all the characters is hilarious. Gabe and Izzy, the main characters' best friends are so so funny. The older ladies who attend Seth's bonsai class made me laugh out loud. The story has some suspenseful moments and all is resolved by the end. A happy ending for a couple who have gone through stress and heartbreak in their past.

Abby dedicates this story to all the women who chose the bear, and her writing shows remarkable sensitivity towards a woman traumatized by a stalker and by the legal system that has failed her. As someone who has gone through a similar situation, this endeared me even more to Abby Jimenez. I truly adore all of her books!

Thank you Amazon Original Stories for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This was an adorable short novella by Abby Jimenez, and while it didn't quite reach my expectations, it's still a sweet and charming read. The story follows Charlotte and Seth, neighbors who get stuck together in their apartment over Valentine's Day weekend. As they spend more time together, they open up about their pasts and form a connection.

I loved the unique and quirky characters, especially Seth's adorable tree jokes when he's nervous. The side characters added a nice depth to the story as well. However, I couldn't shake the feeling that this novella would have benefited from being a full-length novel. The heavy topics touched upon, such as stalking and divorce, deserved more exploration and impact.

Overall, if you're looking for a lighthearted, spice-free read, this might be the perfect fit. Abby Jimenez's writing is, as always, top-notch, but I believe this story had the potential to be truly great if expanded upon.

This was a cute rom-com that actually dealt with some serious issues. I thoroughly enjoyed the developing relationship. This is a short read, and sure to delight people who are fans of the rom-com genre!

A delicious short story that provides a lot of depth about Valentine’s Day. Abby Jimenez is one of my favorite authors and I adore everything she writes and will continue to read everything she creates!