An online marketing consultant, an avid reader of 400 + books a year. Professional reader, reviewer, and blogger. Enjoy ARCs and new releases.
Jane Green returns following Summer Secrets (2015) with her latest, FALLING a story of two people from different walks of life, and an unexpected bond with a child.
A wide range of reviews for this one. Straightaway, getting right to my feelings about this book, versus an overview. I had not planned on writing a review-not a fan of giving bad reviews; however, many of my Goodreads’ friends have asked for my brutal honest opinion. Here it goes:
Falling fell for me. I have read ten Jane Green books. This was one of the most “boring books” and literally nothing about it made any sense. Totally flat, weak, and uninteresting.
I listened to the audiobook, narrated by the author, and could not wait until the ending. It never came together. From the storyline, plot, and the characters. The reading was so annoying and robotic, I kept shaking my head thinking, what is this? I continued listening thinking it would get better. Unfortunately, it did not.
The only part I enjoyed was the latter part, where the tragedy occurred and the character of the little boy, Jesse was front and center. I agree with several of the other reviewers--everything seemed robotic. I could not connect with any of the characters. Was never invested or hooked in any way.
Emma was the worst, and Dominic not much better. Their relationship was undeveloped, and awkward. Jesse, the son was the only one which added to the story. However, unfortunately, he could not save it in the end.
When reviewing the past books I have read by Green, my ratings have not been consistent, and range from 3-5 Stars. The first thing I noticed was the cover. Not an appealing high-end image. It did not draw me in any way. It looks cartoonish, and low end. I choose a book by the cover, and almost passed over it due to this factor; however, her last three books, I rated five stars (enjoyed them), and decided to give it a chance.
Also noticed this time around, the publisher was Berkley, not St. Martin’s Press. I could tell right away this was not a SMP cover. SMP is one of my favorite publishers. Not sure if the publisher, editor, or designer had any part in the book’s overall outcome; however, cannot recommend this one.
As another reviewer mentioned, I too may be outgrowing her books. I do not read a lot of women’s fiction or chick-lit anymore; too light and uninteresting for my taste, plus not a romance fan. I need substance, intrigue, and much more. When you read over 400-500 books a year, you are more selective about the books you really enjoy reading, due to time management. I do have some select authors, which I still read in this genre.
Your taste in books change over the years, the more you read. I prefer more literary, historical, domestic suspense, psychological, mysteries, thrillers, and well-written, thought-provoking books, preferring more intense, deeply complex page-turners.
Everyone has their favorite types of books. Unfortunately, Falling did not "fall" into any of these categories. Making this fit in a one–three star category, at best.