The Upside of Falling by Alex Light - Restarting August 8th 2022

[Sarah Elizabeth]

It’s been years since seventeen-year-old Becca Hart believed in true love. But when her former best friend teases her for not having a boyfriend, Becca impulsively pretends she’s been secretly seeing someone.

Brett Wells has it all. Being captain of the football team and one of the most popular guys in school, he should have no problem finding someone to date, but he’s always been more focused on his future than who to bring to prom. When he overhears Becca’s lie, Brett decides to step in and be her mystery guy. It’s the perfect solution: he gets people off his back for not dating and she can keep up the ruse.

Acting like the perfect couple isn’t easy though, especially when you barely know the other person. But with Becca still picking up the pieces from when her world was blown apart years ago and Brett just barely holding his together now, they begin to realize they have more in common than they ever could have imagined. When the line between real and pretend begins to blur, they are forced to answer the question: is this fake romance the realest thing in either of their lives?

[Deidra]

Chapter 5: I'm getting major To All the Boys I've Loved flashbacks. (view spoiler)[ I relate to Becca. I get her. Brett seems like there is more under the surface happening. I like him. (hide spoiler)]

[Deidra]

Chapter 10: (view spoiler)[ I've been waiting for the shoe to drop. I can't believe Brett's dad would skip his game. Poor Brett. His dad is choosing another woman over him. (hide spoiler)]

[Deidra]

Chapter 15: (view spoiler)[ It's hard to believe Brett's father would bring the woman. How horrible does he have to be? And that poor lady. She had no clue. Brett is such a great son. (hide spoiler)]

[Deidra]

Finished: (view spoiler)[ I found it to be a cute read. It's not often that you say relationships come back after an affair. I appreciate it when it happens. Hopefully, Brett and Becca will be able to make it work in spite of the uncertain future in front of them. Cute read! (hide spoiler)]

[Josephine]

Oops i forgot about this! I am hopeless. :(
Hopefully I’ll get to it tomorrow

[Danique]

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Date changed. Restarting February 9th 2021. Happy Reading ☺

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
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[Maddie]

Thanks!

[Danique]

I couldn't wait any longer, I just read the first chapter, but I already love it. It's so relatable somehow!

[Maddie]

Perfect, that's just what I want! And no worries about starting early :)

[Danique]

47%
(view spoiler)[ I can’t really say that I didn’t see it coming, I mean it was pretty obvious that he was cheating, but I still like the book so far. It’s really sweet, the kind of teenage love story you imagined in high school. (hide spoiler)]

[Maddie]

Wow you're flying haha

[Danique]

Maddie wrote: "Wow you're flying haha"

I know, sorry haha! There wasn't a lot to update about before that hihi. It's just a very easy read so far, but I'm going to bed now :)

[Maddie]

Goodnight!

[Danique]

80%
(view spoiler)[ This really made me mad, he literally JUST promised not to break her heart, and the first thing he does is dump her? I get that he's going through something, but that doesn't mean it's okay. (hide spoiler)]

[Danique]

Lol I also just realized that the author loves names with 2 letters in them, I mean; BeCCa, JeFF, BreTT, CaSSie, JeNNy, lol. Just noticed it and now can't unnotice it ahaha.

[Danique]

Also, (view spoiler)[ I freaked out about her throwing her books in the water like that. Shit man, I felt the pain. (hide spoiler)]

[Danique]

Finished,
All in all, I liked this book. It felt really relatable, with Becca loving reading more than anything, and not believing in love. (view spoiler)[ I thought they were quite cute together, and they really had each other's back. I hated that Brett dumped her that easy though, I get he was going through stuff, but he never asked her if she had something on her mind either. I didn't really like that somehow. (hide spoiler)] It reminded me a lot of to all the boys I've loved before. It's not the most original thing, but it's a cute teenage love story and that's really all I wanted anyway

[Maddie]

Yeah it really gave me Boys vibes as well, but it was soooo cute, I gave it 5 stars :D

[Maddie]

Danique wrote: "47%
[spoilers removed]"

Yup sooooo clear, why can't it just ever be what they say it is :(

[Maddie]

Danique wrote: "80%
[spoilers removed]"

Hence why you never promise that

[Maddie]

4% (view spoiler)[OMG yes the fake datiiinnngggg, boy coming to the rescue. I don't like how it's always the guy rescuing the girl, but it's cute regardless. And now she's gonna fall in love and her previous statements will be null and void. (hide spoiler)]

7% (view spoiler)[Of course his parents are having troubles. (hide spoiler)]

13% (view spoiler)[Okay I really love him. But I hate that there's the rule that she needs to give up her Fridays to watch football. I couldn't think of anything worse, and that's a lot of time! Can't they have anything they keep separate? (hide spoiler)]

33% (view spoiler)[This is kind of what makes me doubt having a relationship. You'd think 12 years and a kid is enough to be forever, but things always change and it's so uncertain :( (hide spoiler)]

34% (view spoiler)[He's cheating and they're getting a divorce. It would be too tough to be his mum and have husband going away all the time :( (hide spoiler)]

47% (view spoiler)[OMG yes she ran to his house :D And his sense of feeling stillness in her arms is very accurate. (hide spoiler)]

60% (view spoiler)[Yay they're being open :D And going on an actual date. (hide spoiler)]

63% (view spoiler)[You can't promise that. (hide spoiler)]

72% (view spoiler)[Damn this narrator is so damn good. Making me cry at work while I'm listening. I really hate how he breaks up with her because 'he got with her for his dad'... (hide spoiler)]

73% (view spoiler)[YES CASSIE! 'You're being dumb like those heroines who don't say what's going on.' (hide spoiler)]

77% (view spoiler)[Yes books make love seem all wrong. And is it wrong that all I can think about is the money she's throwing away? Why not at least sell em. (hide spoiler)]

81% (view spoiler)[Why can't he just text her asking if they can talk? (hide spoiler)]

95% (view spoiler)[I really love how Brett's family has a second chance and his mother can't just turn off her love. And that he's built a life with her for 12 years, that it was just a mistake. I'm not sure if I could stomach that level of continuous cheating, but I know the amount of love she has. I feel like overlooking cheating as it's going on is just being a doormat and a pushover. (hide spoiler)]

[Maddie]

I LOOOOVED THIS BOOK! The Lara Jean vibes, the fake dating, the honest relationship, the feels, the family surrounding and the side characters :D This narrator had me crying, the author had me relating to Becca with the love of books and romance, and this relationship is just what people dream of. Not maybe the conflict within the book, because that's deep (and yes relatable, it's very tough) and dealt with in many different ways, and doesn't usually end up resolved the way it was in this book. But I really appreciated the fact that split families are also perfect, not every family needs to have two parents to be happy.

[Karen]

24% - will have to catch up with your comments later, but this s going to be a ‘fly-through’ book. Though superficially different, both our characters are rather intense.

[Maddie]

@Karen: Yes! It was such a fly-through book :D

[Karen]

Danique wrote: "47%
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ Mum's reactions were definitely ringing alarm bells, but Brett's reaction to seeing his dad shows what an unexpected thing this is for them. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

Maddie wrote: 13%

(view spoiler)[ oh yes! This really would be bad. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

Maddie wrote:
33% [spoilers removed]

(view spoiler)[ this is a tough one. Sometimes you make that leap and work at it - think depends on both being honest and realising that you will change. (hide spoiler)]

[Maddie]

@Karen: I'm not seeing any of your comments to my spoilers, it all just disappears into the dots XD

[Karen]

Maddie wrote: "@Karen: I'm not seeing any of your comments to my spoilers, it all just disappears into the dots XD"

Think this should work...impossible to do on the app.

[Karen]

81% - sometimes it’s hard to know what you want. Pretty sure how this will end up, though that’s no bad thing.

[Karen]

Maddie wrote: I was less convinced by the scenario with Brett and his mum. (view spoiler)[ Given how much he invested in his family I'm not convinced he'd have come round quite so quickly. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

Finished. Review on home page. I can't help but feel this fizzled out a little - maybe I'm cynical or just tired, but it lost me towards the last section.

[Danique]

Maddie wrote: "4% [spoilers removed]

7% [spoilers removed]

13% [spoilers removed]

33% [spoilers removed]

34% [spoilers removed]

47% [spoilers removed]

60% [spoilers removed]

63% [spoilers removed]

72% [sp..."

Ah so nice to hear that the narrator was good! I thought the same thing with the books looool!
(view spoiler)[ Exactly like you said, I love that a family didn't have to be 'whole' to be happy! (hide spoiler)]

[Danique]

Karen wrote: "Finished. Review on home page. I can't help but feel this fizzled out a little - maybe I'm cynical or just tired, but it lost me towards the last section."

Ah that's too bad! Did you still enjoy it though?

[Karen]

I loved the start, but the last quarter felt rushed and just a little unrealistic. This affected me far more than I expected.

[Maddie]

Karen wrote: "Maddie wrote:
33% [spoilers removed]

[spoilers removed]"

Yeah very true, but have to be willing to change together

[Maddie]

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Date changed. Restarting August 8th 2022. Happy Reading ☺

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[Maddie]

I can't remember much about this book but watch my updates be exactly the same to the last time I read this haha. My updates are literally right there

[Kat]

Haha I’ll have a look as I go along :)

[Maddie]

Sure thing haha I'll make updates as if they're new to me :) I'll be doing it physically this time so much less updates. I think I did it in a day last time on audio while working so I was at my desk to always update

[Kat]

Maddie wrote: "Sure thing haha I'll make updates as if they're new to me :) I'll be doing it physically this time so much less updates. I think I did it in a day last time on audio while working so I was at my de..."

It’s good we are both doing it on physical

[Maddie]

Yeah! I might do the audio alongside if I can find it, but will still be reading it physically too

[Kat]

I’m really enjoying the start of this

[Maddie]

Nice! How far in are you?

[Kat]

Maddie wrote: "Nice! How far in are you?"

Only a few chapters but I loved it instantly. How u getting on?

[Maddie]

oh cool! I got sidetracked by other books haha

[Kat]

Haha 😂

[Maddie]

I'll pick this one up this month though :) Keep the updates coming!

[Maddie]

Also make sure to post some of your thoughts in spoiler tags :)