"Falling" by Jane Green

Emma Montague is looking for a new life, one far from her days as a banker in New York City where she moved to escape the confines of her upper-class British family.  When she finds a cottage in the beautiful town of Westport, Connecticut that is in need of a lot of TLC, she knows she has found the perfect place. She can leave the fast-paced and stressful world of finance behind and pursue her passion for interior design.

Knowing only one other person in town, Emma throws herself into fixing up the cottage, much to the dismay of her landlord and next door neighbour Dominic. But she quickly wins Dominic over and when he lends her a hand, she realizes that the two of them make a great team. And not just at fixing up houses.

Dominic isn’t the type of man that Emma usually goes for but that doesn’t stop her from falling for him. As they spend more and more time together, she realizes that in him and his six-year-old son she has found the family she has always wanted. But the circumstances of their lives mean things won’t be easy for them. The mother of his child fled shortly after he was born but now she has come back to town looking to be in her sons life. And Emma’s mother isn’t exactly about to welcome Dominic, a bartender, into their upper class world. When her strength is put to the test, will she give up and go back to what she has always known or will she stay and fight for what she loves?

Falling is the newest novel from best-selling author Jane Green. Touching and heart-warming, it is the story of a woman who leaves behind everything she knows in search of the life she has always wanted.

This is the quintessential love story. It’s about the love between a man and woman and also the love of family. It’s about finding a family when you’re not looking for it. It’s girl meets boy, they fall in love, become the perfect instant family, but then difficulties hit and you’re left wondering if they’re going to make it (but deep down inside you know that they are.)

I really enjoyed reading this book. As I began reading it felt like it was going to be one of those books where I would know everything that was going to happen. And for much of the book I was right. Then something happened that threw a wrench in that and I couldn’t put the book down until I had finished it (good thing I was on vacation.) So while the book can feel a little formulaic, it’s doesn’t take away from it. 

My only criticism of the book is that the ending is very rushed. Which is a shame because that is such a beautiful part of the story and it really deserved more pages. I would have preferred more of what happened at the end than the set-up of the relationship that dominated most of the book.

The reading experience of this book totally reminded me of JoJo Moyes’ Me Before You. Both were books I wasn’t sure I wanted to read (just not the type of book I tend to pick up) but once I had started it, I was hooked. And both were very emotional reads for me. In the past I have been underwhelmed by Green’s books (my sister is always recommending them to me) but this book took me on an emotional ride and it was a beautiful read.