Review: How We Fall by Kate Brauning

 

Release Date: November 3, 2014

Publisher: Merit Press
Pages: 304
Source: ARC for review from author (Thank you!!)

ISBN-10:  1440581797

Rating: 5 Hearts

Book Description

"Ever since Jackie moved to her uncle's sleepy farming town, she's been flirting way too much--and with her own cousin, Marcus.

Her friendship with him has turned into something she can't control, and he's the reason Jackie lost track of her best friend, Ellie, who left for...no one knows where. Now Ellie has been missing for months, and the police, fearing the worst, are searching for her body. Swamped with guilt and the knowledge that acting on her love for Marcus would tear their families apart, Jackie pushes her cousin away. The plan is to fall out of love, and, just as she hoped he would, Marcus falls for the new girl in town. But something isn't right about this stranger, and Jackie's suspicions about the new girl's secrets only drive the wedge deeper between Jackie and Marcus--and deepens Jackie's despair.

Then Marcus is forced to pay the price for someone else's lies as the mystery around Ellie's disappearance starts to become horribly clear. Jackie has to face terrible choices. Can she leave her first love behind, and can she go on living with the fact that she failed her best friend?"

Review

Short and Sweet:

I loved this book! Swoony romance, murder mystery, and gah! Beautiful. *insert incoherent gushing*

To Elaborate...

I sat down with this book one morning, intending to just read for a while, and I spent the next 3 or so hours unable to put it down. It is exciting, intense, and completely captivating.

Going into this story, I expected to be challenged by the cousin romance, and I was in the best way. It is the perfect combination of taboo, heart-throb, and INSANE swoon that made me ship Marcus and Jackie so hard. I love how the characters deal with their feelings (especially when they handle it badly). It is moving, sweet, torturous, and unforgettable. It makes you think hard about what is socially appropriate and how societal norms play a serious role in relationships.

But beyond the incredible romance, the plot in How We Fall is just breathtaking. The mystery behind the missing/dead Ellie and the new-to-town Sylvia is engaging and builds in a marvelously paced suspense. I love how real the story makes it. It does a wonderful job of showing characters who are dealing with a lot on a big scale (a missing person, a possible stalker, a taboo romance, etc.), but they also have to face everyday challenges like doing homework, babysitting, and attempting to find some sort of balance between everything. 

Overall, I just can't say enough about how much I loved this story. Kate Brauning has a fantastic voice in her writing, and I'm impatiently eager to read more from her.  If romantic suspense is your thing, this would be an excellent read to try. 

5 Big Hearts!