Read if you like: best friend’s older brother, forced proximity, strangers to friends to lovers, closed door

This book just did not hook me at all and I was struggling to get through it. I’ve been looking for another hit from this author and unfortunately I don’t think anything will be as good as Would You Rather 🥲

Carly is a stylist, she’s been hired to help Brooks (her best friend’s older brother) with his fashion. Brooks used to get around a lot but now he’s done a whole 180 and is super awkward and shy and needs a lot of dating help. I honesty didn’t believe this at all, you’re telling me you used to be a player and now you’ve gone so in the opposite direction you stumble when talking to girls? I don’t think so

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to connect to any of the characters, I felt like they didn’t have much personality to them.
Could be a cute story but it fell short.

I really enjoyed this one! The characters were all likable, the story was entertaining the whole way through, and it had some emotional depth without being overly sad. I always love a dual POV, too. It wasn’t terribly memorable, but I still had a good time reading it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Montlake for the ARC of this book!

“ I’m a sucker for friends to lovers. Especially when it’s one of those slow burns that sneaks up on them. Like, he’s known her for years and they have that closeness and trust of a deep friendship, and bam! One day, he wakes up and realizes he’s madly in love.”

Really enjoyed the book. It was slow in the beginning, but I really got into it 25% into it. Really enjoyed the MMC, felt very relatable as a health care provider. Thanks for the ARC!

This book offers a breezy, heartwarming escape, filled with witty banter, endearing mishaps, and just enough chemistry to keep the pages turning. The love interest is suitably charming, with enough depth to make their dynamic engaging, even if some of their conflicts feel a bit predictable.

While the book excels in humor and sweet moments, the protagonist’s personal growth occasionally takes a backseat to the romantic plot. A deeper exploration of their emotional journey could have added more weight to their happily-ever-after.

That said, the supporting cast adds plenty of fun, and the romantic tension is well-paced, making it easy to root for the central couple. The writing is light and engaging, perfect for readers looking for a feel-good story with a few laughs along the way. If you don’t mind a little predictability and enjoy banter-filled romance, this book is a charming pick—just don’t expect too much introspection between the meet-cutes and grand gestures.

At the end of If Tomorrow Never Comes, you find out there’s a sequel(ish). This is the story of Carly, who’s the bone marrow donor to our FMC in If Tomorrow Never Comes. Carly moves to Oklahoma to work part-time as a personal stylist. It’s her dream to do it full-time. Brooks is an ICU doctor & agrees to help his sisters revive their family’s LiveOKC magazine by being “The Bachelor.” He’ll go on dates, have write-ups done about the local places they go, all in the search for love. Unfortunately, you guessed it, his style is terrible. Carly is assigned to help him revamp his wardrobe & they immediately click. Their connection felt so natural and genuine. For obvious reasons, they can’t be with each other, but the heart wants what the heart wants.

I loved that both of our MCs are strong, mature characters with a solid supporting cast. Coach McKee was a personal favorite for me. This story felt lighter than If Tomorrow Never Comes, but it’s such a perfect follow-up to that book. I wanted to stay in this book universe a little bit longer. Ashley writes books that have such a specific & unique feel to them. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what it is, but her storytelling is so smooth and fluid. It’s so easy to sink into her books, and this is no exception.

Highly recommend this one!

Thank you to NetGalley & Montlake for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts & opinions are my own. This one was (and might still be) available as “Read Now” on NetGalley! You don’t even have to go through the request process!

I couldn't put it down. Two wonderful characters, great side characters and great story. The rapport between a Brooks and Carley was so real and relatable.

Falling into Place by Allison Ashley stood out for its tender portrayal of emotional healing and self-discovery. The connection between the characters feels raw and genuine, making the journey both heartwarming and memorable.

Note: This review is for an ARC and is my unbiased opinion.

Falling into Place was another fun but emotional romance from Allison Ashley. Carly is an accountant by day and personal shopper by night. She would love to transition into a full-time fashion advisor but first she has to prove herself to her boss. Carly gets that chance when her best friend Sasha is looking for a way to grow her local news readership. Sasha has the big idea to combine a Bachelor type experience with Carly's makeover help, and Sasha has the perfect male specimen to go along with the experience - her brother and doctor, Brooks. Brooks is all for helping his sister and Carly out, but he's not really looking for love. Fresh out of a relationship, Carly isn't either. The more they work together, the more the sparks fly.

What made this book so much fun was all of Brooks and Carly's interactions. I loved how they bonded while working together. The way their attraction built the better they got to know each other was really sweet. They were just so cute together. I also loved how they shared the darker things in their past with each other. They both had some major things to work through and how they ended up doing so paid off big in the end.

The thing that stopped me from giving this book 5 stars was the pace. Despite enjoying the characters and their story, things moved too slowly for me. The slow pace was mostly likely the combination of two things: the narration style and the slow burn. I have to admit, third person is not my favorite tense, and it has been a while since I have read a romance novel written in third person. All the thoughts and descriptions in third person made for a slower read for me. Then, there was the slow burn. I love a good slow burn, but it can't be so slow that I start to lose track of what I love about that book. That started happening at one point in this story. I found myself wishing things would speed up so that I could experience more of Carly and Brooks together. Once they became a real thing, the pace felt like it picked up but that was the last 25% or so.

Overall, Falling into Place was a great emotional romance. It was filled with both funny and tender moments.

Carly es una contadora que, en su tiempo libre, trabaja como estilista personal, su verdadera pasión. Sin embargo, su trabajo no es lo suficientemente lucrativo, lo que la lleva a aceptar una propuesta de su mejor amiga, Sasha, quien es editora de una revista de moda. El trabajo será facil: vestir a Brooks.

Brooks, un hombre adicto al trabajo, ha llevado una vida solitaria y está aún marcado por una devastadora pérdida. Sasha, la hermana de Brooks, quiere convertirlo en el protagonista de una sección de la revista donde él será el soltero que busca pareja, compartiendo sus citas cada semana. Para ayudar a su hermana, Brooks accede a participar, a pesar de no tener ni la más mínima intención de encontrar el amor.

El trabajo de Carly consiste en transformarlo completamente: darle un nuevo estilo, sacarlo de su rutina, y devolverle la confianza. Sin embargo, mientras pasan más tiempo juntos, se dan cuenta de que entre ellos podría surgir algo más que una simple relación profesional. El problema es que Carly no puede mostrar interés por Brooks sin poner en riesgo su carrera, mientras que él sigue siendo parte de la revista únicamente para incrementar las ventas.



Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am a fan of Allison Ashley’s books. I don’t think she’s written a bad one yet. If you’re a fan of Abby Jimenez or Katherine Center, you will enjoy Ashley’s books. This one is no exception. Falling into place follows Brooks, a doctor who’s a bit of a loner and still processing the loss of his parents while seeing loss at work in the ICU. His sisters run a local lifestyle magazine and convince Brooks, whom they think is depressed, to be a bachelor on the town for a series. He reluctantly agrees and gets hooked up with his sister’s friend Carly, a personal stylist looking to get a full-time job in styling. Carly and Brooks develop a nice friendship through the styling sessions. This is a great slow-burn, closed-door romance. The story feels very realistic, with the ups and downs that come from adulting and life. You root for everyone, and the author is excellent at creating realistic book boyfriends. This is one to pre-order!

Thank you Montlake, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Brooks hasn't really let himself live for the past ten years but now that his sisters have taken an interest, he's decided to give dating a go and given his lack of style urgent ramifications are needed.

In comes or rather struts, Carly Porter, accountant by day and stylist by night. She has a lot on the line, namely her job with Mode - the styling service, but maybe her heart as well, with Brooks being obliviously handsome, a high school fantasy and oh her best friend's brother.

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𝗙𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 is a sweet, romantic and uplifting read with a few heavy undertones but funny, witty banter to balance it all out.

Genuinely a cute storyline.
I loved the banter and all the inside jokes made me feel like I was there alongside them.
The romance was a slight slow burn but had the best possible intensity.
Overall, a cozy, worth it read.

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3.89 / 5 ★

Thanks to Montlake and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.