Thank you to Netgalley and Brilliance Publishing for a copy of this book.

I am a big fan of Abby's. She can write an emotional and heartfelt romance with characters that I just fall in love with. I'm not sure if she has other short stories, but this would be my first one. I found this book to be cute, I enjoyed the characters, and I liked what they were going through. I did however find that this was a little unrealistic. I'm not one to usually comment or notice how unrealistic stories can be, but this one for whatever reason stood out. The situation that leads them to be stuck together… would that ever happen? I seriously do not know. They were also not actually stuck together, because they were neighbours, and they didn't actually have to spend time together. They also had a ladder, so they could leave if they wanted to. In any case, it was cute and short, and I'd like to hear the side characters' stories next!

Well, this was a delight.

Just the right length.
Just the right level of humour.
Just the right amount of social commentary
Just the right amount of feminine rage.

I love this author's whole back catalogue, but I wouldn't say no to a bunch of these delicious novella-length nuggets.

This was lovely! Short but full of chemistry and great characters. I really loved Seth and Charlotte.

Abby Jimenez writes stories with a bit of depth and usually tackle a concept we are all familiar with. I think The Fall Risk was inspired by the social media trend asking “the man, or the bear”. After Charlotte’s less than ideal experience with men in general she’s firmly in the camp of preferring the bear until getting to know Seth when they are stranded in their apartments. The Fall Risk is a quick Valentine’s Day read.

The audiobook is narrated by Julia Whelan and I love her performance. She does such an amazing job of bringing characters to life with her voice acting.

Thank you NetGally for allowing me to read “The Fall Risk” by Abby Jimenez. She is one of my all time favorite authors and never disappoints. This short story was heartfelt, funny, and a perfect book to read for Valentine’s Day. Abby’s banter and storytelling is unmatched, and I enjoyed every second of this!

Another sweet and heartwarming love story—this time in novella form—comes from one of my auto-approved romance authors, Abby Jimenez, delivering a powerful message of women’s empowerment. And of course, what’s better than one perfect book boyfriend? Two! (Even if one belongs to the heroine’s best friend.)

Set over Valentine’s Day weekend, two neighbors find themselves trapped in their apartments when a construction mishap demolishes their stairs. Neither is looking for love—Seth, a kind-hearted arborist with an eight-pack, a charming smile, and a great sense of humor, is fresh off a divorce from a cousin-loving ex (yes, you read that right). Meanwhile, Charlotte has spent two years living in fear of a relentless stalker, forcing her to work from home, change apartments five times, and hone her self-defense and marksmanship skills. She doesn’t trust any man—until she meets Seth and unexpectedly finds solace in his presence. But with danger still lurking, will she keep running, or will she finally stand her ground for a chance at happiness?

Overall, this was a lovely, fast-paced, and heartfelt read. I also adored Charlotte and Seth’s best friends, Izzy and Gabe, who were fiercely supportive throughout. I simply cannot rate an Abby Jimenez book less than five stars—so here are my five blazing stars for women’s empowerment and the perfect man who whispers to trees!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for providing a digital reviewer copy of this amazing novella in exchange for my honest thoughts.

The Fall Risk by Abby Jimenez was an absolute delight—witty, heartfelt, and full of the kind of emotional depth that makes her books so special. Seth and Charlotte’s story was so captivating that I could have easily read 300 more pages, and I adored Izzy and Gabe just as much. As always, Jimenez delivers the perfect blend of humor, romance, and heart, making this another five-star read for me!

I love Abby’s books but something about this one just felt a little off to me. While I appreciate how she wants to include heavy subject matter in her books, to have it in a book that’s so short makes it feel rushed. I did love the friendships in this book. The strong relationship between the two female characters was great! The relationship between Seth and Charlotte, while evolving quickly, did show that they understood where the other was coming from and how best to make their relationship work.
Overall, this was a quick/interesting read, just not my favorite of Abby’s.

While this included a very serious topic of stalking, it was a fun short story. I laughed out loud quite a few times and enjoyed it! Many thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for read and review

I usually enjoy Abby Jimenez's writing, so I couldn't resist adding her newest short story to my shelves. I was in the mood for a light read, so I decided to pick it up straight away... And The Fall Risk turned out to be exactly the fun and quick romance read I was craving. Sure, it isn't exactly a superlight read with one of the main characters having a stalker, but the story felt well balanced and it was SO easy to warm up to the characters themselves. The story switches between Seth and Charlotte as we get to learn a little about their background and their growing connection... Sure, it was definitely on the insta-love side, but somehow in this short story it worked. Especially with the forced-proximity trope partly explaining things since they are trapped in their building and all. I could appreciate how the story helps showing just how helpless stalking victims feel as they don't receive any support from the authorities until it is already too late... But like I said, the story feels well balanced as there is also focus on the growing connection between the characters and the humor was spot on. It makes me want to get a beta fish and name it Swim Shady! All in all The Fall Risk turned out to be a great little romance story, and it made me wish this would have been longer. I also wouldn't mind a story focusing on their best friends!

Half of a tiny little star !

Acknowledgements to Netgalley and Amazon Original Stories for an ecopy. This was released Mar 1, 2025.

You know a very short story is complete shite when you just have to stop at 43 percent.

Just stay the fuck away Abby Jimenez !

read if you like:
📚 short stories
💙 meet cutes
💪🏼 strong female leads

summary:
This is a cute short story that packs a lot of action and romcom into a few chapters! It follows Charlotte, a single girl trying to find peace from a stalker who has been pursuing her for two years. She finds herself living on the second floor of an apartment building, and when the stairs disappear in a construction screwup, she meets her neighbor — a recently divorced arborist named Seth. Trapped on their second floor for the weekend, Charlotte and Seth get to know each other, and realize that they both can find happiness in the most unlikely of places.

This book packs a lot of punch into 68 pages. It covers issues of stalking, physical threats, mental health and female empowerment while exploring the romance between the neighbors. Both characters are endearing and fun to read, and I found myself seriously pulling for their success. The quick meet-cute between their best friends too is adorable, and makes this a great feel good romcom. The ending is the icing on the cake, as I’m pretty sure all women find satisfaction in justice and closure.

Thanks to Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley for this copy! You can check this book out today on Kindle Unlimited!

Someone tell me how Abby does it?! How does she captivate me in short story?! I was all IN. She covers in all-love, friendship, growth and healing in such a short time! I loved this one so much!!!!

I just want to start with a shout-out to Abby for including content warnings at the beginning of this short story. Not 5 minutes before starting this, I had a conversation with some friends about how this needs to be a more common practice in traditionally published books. Thank you, Abby!

The Fall Risk is a short story about a woman named Charlotte who is living a fairly isolated life due to being stalked for several years. After a silly set of circumstances, she ends up meeting her neighbor, Seth, who was recently divorced after being cheated on. They get to know each other via some forced proximity and tree puns. Seth is a walking green flag, and even though we only get snippets of their friends, I loved them, too. Everything is resolved by the end, and we get an HEA. It was a satisfying short read!

Thanks to Amazon Original Series and NetGalley for an eARC of this book for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

It's Abby Jimenez. Read it. You'll love it.
The End.

A cute, short story about Charlotte and Seth. Charlotte has been on the run from a creepy stalker and carries bear spray with her at all times. One day these neighbors wake up on the second story of their apartment complex with the stairs missing and friendship (and maybe more) slowly ensues. Seth helps Charlotte learn how to work through her fears.

There is cute and witty banter and such a cute little story in less than 100 pages. Highly recommend if you are looking for a cute but heart-warming read! Just know there’s some trauma involved and it’s not all rainbows and butterflies.

“I liked that little old ladies baked him cookies and he had a rescue fish and he talked about trees.”

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this arc. All opinions are my own.

Neighbors Charlotte and Seth find themselves stranded in their respective apartments for a weekend, both coping with personal problems of varying degrees. Spending time together during Valentine's Day weekend helps them both to start healing, but will it turn into something more? Quick and sweet read with a unique meet-cute and an HEA. Seth and Charlotte were very cute together (and so were Izzy and Gabe!). Dual 1st-person POVs. I have read the author before and I don't always click with her books but this one hit the spot! Pay attention to the author's trigger warnings as there are some darker themes. Despite that, there's a nice amount of humor in this forced-proximity romance. I love short stories like this that are a sweet vignette, like a glimpse into a bigger story but nicely encapsulated. I wouldn't have minded a longer story about these four! I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.

This was my first Abby Jimenez book and I really enjoyed it. I loved Seth and his tree facts and puns. I loved the growth we saw in such a short time with Charlotte and I adored Gabe and Izzy. The one thing I wish is that it was a full novel.
Will definitely be reading more AJ.

Short, tooth-rottingly sweet, and absolutely adorable. Who knew arborists were so sexy?

Charlotte and Seth are trapped in their respective apartments over Valentine's Day weekend, with only a share landing between them and the rest of the world. What starts as a renovation mistake turns into a 48-hour long first date.

It should be the start to just another weekend—but then Charlotte and Seth step out of their respective apartments to find that the stairs are gone, and they're trapped (after a fashion) with only each other for extended company.

I've only read one of Jiminez's novels, but it was enough to know I'd be in for something lively here, even with the locked-room aspect. And that held true—in a few dozen pages, we get not one but two romances, a bevy of nosy senior citizens, a lot of context for Charlotte and Seth's respective perspectives, and some action to boot. I probably could have used a hair less evil ex plotline, though to be fair it was written to be quite over the top, so it bothered me less than it might have. (What did bother me: the neighbors repeating their transgression—vague to avoid spoilers—and Charlotte not minding the second time because circumstances had changed; if anything, their second overstep could trigger legal trouble for Charlotte, so...terrible neighbors all round, there.)

It's so short a story that I don't want to say much, but the characterization is nice—especially Seth's—and this made for a very speedy read on a day when I was very tired!

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.