Title: This is Falling Author: Ginger Scott Source: NetGalley Publication Date: August 29th 2014 Genre: Contemporary Romance (YA) Author's Blog Part of a series?: Part of a series but can also be read as a standalone |
First, I had to remember how to breathe. Then, I had to learn how to survive. Two years, three months and sixteen days had passed since I was the Rowe Stanton from before, since tragedy stole my youth and my heart went along with it.
When I left for college, I put a thousand miles between my future and my past. I’d made a choice—I was going to cross back to the other side, to live with the living. I just didn’t know how.
And then I met Nate Preeter.
An All-American baseball player, Nate wasn’t supposed to notice a ghost-of-a-girl like me. But he did. He shouldn’t want to know my name. But he did. And when he learned my secret and saw the scars it left behind, he was supposed to run. But he didn’t.
My heart was dead, and I was never supposed to belong to anyone. But Nate Preeter had me feeling, and he made me want to be his. He showed me everything I was missing.
And then he showed me how to fall.
When I left for college, I put a thousand miles between my future and my past. I’d made a choice—I was going to cross back to the other side, to live with the living. I just didn’t know how.
And then I met Nate Preeter.
An All-American baseball player, Nate wasn’t supposed to notice a ghost-of-a-girl like me. But he did. He shouldn’t want to know my name. But he did. And when he learned my secret and saw the scars it left behind, he was supposed to run. But he didn’t.
My heart was dead, and I was never supposed to belong to anyone. But Nate Preeter had me feeling, and he made me want to be his. He showed me everything I was missing.
And then he showed me how to fall.
A galley of This Is Falling was kindly provided via email at my request to review this book from NetGalley. My review is written in my honest opinion and is uninfluenced by anyone.
This is Falling by Ginger Scott is a promising read. It holds a lot of potential for capturing the reader's attention and making them fall in love with the protagonist and the plot. Not too sweet and not too dull, This is Falling can make readers laugh, cry, and go awwwww! on the same page.
Alright. That said, I didn't really enjoy the book at all. (sighs)
I really wanted to. Trust me, I really did. The protagonist of this story, Rowe, has an unpleasant and unfortunate past that involves her ex-boyfriend, Josh, and also her best friend, Betsy. I sympathized with her when she finally spilled her guts about her dark past. Having to witness the two people that were very close to you shot dead by a gunman right in front of you isn't fun. Nuh-uh. Not at all.
Alright. That said, I didn't really enjoy the book at all. (sighs)
I really wanted to. Trust me, I really did. The protagonist of this story, Rowe, has an unpleasant and unfortunate past that involves her ex-boyfriend, Josh, and also her best friend, Betsy. I sympathized with her when she finally spilled her guts about her dark past. Having to witness the two people that were very close to you shot dead by a gunman right in front of you isn't fun. Nuh-uh. Not at all.
But then, after two years of having little to zero social interaction with anyone, she goes to college and meets this boy, Nate.
This story started off good, but as it went on it started getting progressively weaker and more tedious. I'd catch my mind wandering off while my eyes were still on the screen, which was a bad sign. The start of This Is Falling is rather quick-paced. It gives you a feel of what you're going to be encountering in this book, and it gets you excited. However, as I frolicked past the beginning of the book and started moving towards the middle, that was where all the arguments in my head broke out. I started finding faults in the plot and the characters while hoping for a small-scale plot twist. It was either the plot twist or that Rowe and Nate set things in motion, but I was left feeling grumbly and maybe a little disappointed.
What I didn't really agree with this story is the relationship between Rowe and Nate. The author could've done a much better job of portraying the extent of the love that Nate and Rowe felt for each other. While I know that Rowe had a bad time adjusting to her life after Josh and that she had just met Nate, I can't help but feel that she just changes her own character whenever she wants to; one minute she could be giggly and happy, and the next she's blocked herself from him.
Rowe isn't perfect. She's broken inside and has the scars to prove it on the outside. She's erected this wall between herself and the rest of the world because of that. When she meets Nate, Rowe knows that she feels something for him but at first, she doesn't want to admit it. That's what I dislike about this story. I understand that Rowe is going through a hard time. She needs enough time to heal as she's unsure of her new relationship with Nate, but Scott doesn't do a good job of telling us that, because more than once I felt that the relationship between Nate and Rowe is unbalanced. There was one issue where Nate called Rowe his friend, and Rowe turns into a hissy fit.
Now, that's perfectly understandable, if Rowe had made her feelings clear for Nate first. That really irked me. Rowe wasn't even sure of her relationship with Nate, and I had the impression that she didn't want to think of it. But when she can go around telling people that Nate's only her friend, Nate isn't allowed to? Then again, people might pull out the trump card, saying that Rowe has a broken past. Right. Okay.
Well you know what? If Rowe's going to fall for Nate, I want to feel that she is breaking free of her past in a distinct way. Instead, what I get is persistent pushing away of Nate. I'm tired of Rowe kissing Nate passionately but moments later, shutting down entirely. I wasn't informed enough on exactly how much Rowe was hurting inside. What I could comprehend was that Rowe had to heal gradually, but I couldn't accept that Rowe was showing Nate her feelings at random. Her moods were ever-changing, and perhaps that was expected of a person with a broken past, but I still feel that Rowe's mood swings were a little overdone.
This story started off good, but as it went on it started getting progressively weaker and more tedious. I'd catch my mind wandering off while my eyes were still on the screen, which was a bad sign. The start of This Is Falling is rather quick-paced. It gives you a feel of what you're going to be encountering in this book, and it gets you excited. However, as I frolicked past the beginning of the book and started moving towards the middle, that was where all the arguments in my head broke out. I started finding faults in the plot and the characters while hoping for a small-scale plot twist. It was either the plot twist or that Rowe and Nate set things in motion, but I was left feeling grumbly and maybe a little disappointed.
What I didn't really agree with this story is the relationship between Rowe and Nate. The author could've done a much better job of portraying the extent of the love that Nate and Rowe felt for each other. While I know that Rowe had a bad time adjusting to her life after Josh and that she had just met Nate, I can't help but feel that she just changes her own character whenever she wants to; one minute she could be giggly and happy, and the next she's blocked herself from him.
Rowe isn't perfect. She's broken inside and has the scars to prove it on the outside. She's erected this wall between herself and the rest of the world because of that. When she meets Nate, Rowe knows that she feels something for him but at first, she doesn't want to admit it. That's what I dislike about this story. I understand that Rowe is going through a hard time. She needs enough time to heal as she's unsure of her new relationship with Nate, but Scott doesn't do a good job of telling us that, because more than once I felt that the relationship between Nate and Rowe is unbalanced. There was one issue where Nate called Rowe his friend, and Rowe turns into a hissy fit.
Now, that's perfectly understandable, if Rowe had made her feelings clear for Nate first. That really irked me. Rowe wasn't even sure of her relationship with Nate, and I had the impression that she didn't want to think of it. But when she can go around telling people that Nate's only her friend, Nate isn't allowed to? Then again, people might pull out the trump card, saying that Rowe has a broken past. Right. Okay.
Well you know what? If Rowe's going to fall for Nate, I want to feel that she is breaking free of her past in a distinct way. Instead, what I get is persistent pushing away of Nate. I'm tired of Rowe kissing Nate passionately but moments later, shutting down entirely. I wasn't informed enough on exactly how much Rowe was hurting inside. What I could comprehend was that Rowe had to heal gradually, but I couldn't accept that Rowe was showing Nate her feelings at random. Her moods were ever-changing, and perhaps that was expected of a person with a broken past, but I still feel that Rowe's mood swings were a little overdone.
At some point in the book, I felt that I could relate more to Ty than Nate. Ty's straightforward and wants to get the most out of his life, which is also what I'm like. (I'm all about chasing my dreams!) He doesn't goof around with Cass (Rowe's roomie) unlike his former relationships (which I frowned upon, though) with other girls.
A little insight of Paige's good side was appreciated. Paige is Cass's twin, and she's also the main bitch in this story. I disliked her at first but warmed up to her afterward. The reason being Paige didn't tease or bully Rowe for her scars when she saw them -she didn't even make a fuss!- which proves that she does have some good in herself after all. Most of the time I can't stand when a character is being overly bitchy in books, and I like the way Ginger Scott shapes her characters.
A little insight of Paige's good side was appreciated. Paige is Cass's twin, and she's also the main bitch in this story. I disliked her at first but warmed up to her afterward. The reason being Paige didn't tease or bully Rowe for her scars when she saw them -she didn't even make a fuss!- which proves that she does have some good in herself after all. Most of the time I can't stand when a character is being overly bitchy in books, and I like the way Ginger Scott shapes her characters.
However, the ending (breaths) was short, and sweet, and it was everything I hoped for in this book. If anything, I could say that it (sort of?) made up for Rowe's indecision earlier in this book.
- Contemporary romance lovers!
- Readers who would relate with the protagonist who has a broken past.