Of all the taxis in all of Cape Town, Sophia Roux had to stumble into his. She should be at her “perfect” sister’s bedside, awaiting the arrival of the newest member of her family. But the thought of spending hours at the hospital with her suffocating relatives has Sophia hailing the first taxi she sees. Only to realise too late that the man at the wheel of her getaway car is the most unpleasant … unpleasant one she’s ever had the misfortune to meet.
Parker Jones, the handsome yet surly driver in question, is used to dealing with baggage of the family variety. And it just so happens he’s in need of temporary escape from his own. Witty banter with a beautiful–if exasperating–woman while chauffeuring her around the city on a gorgeous spring day makes for an ideal break from reality.
But a lot can happen in twenty-four hours: babies can be born, family can reconnect. And maybe the most unlikely pair can fall in love.
One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise!
This book is approximately 72,000 words
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Sophia is feeling suffocated by her family who keep comparing her to her ‘perfect’ big sister. The idea of sitting in a hospital waiting room for hours is too much to bear, so she runs away.
Parker is also running away from the same hospital. In his case, it’s from his mother’s diagnosis. Sophia jumps into his taxi and despite himself he cares that she might not be safe.
Eventually, they make a pact to have this one day to run away from their problems. One day to forget it all and have fun. One day in which they fall in love.
Both Sophia and Parker start the book in terribly bad moods. They are sharp and angry and snipe at each other. As time goes on, they mellow.
This is a slow burn (despite it all happening in one day!), introspective, character driven romance. I love this kind of thing. Sophie is prickly and blunt. Parker is adorable and kind. They complement each other beautifully. It’s a minor thing, but I liked how Cape Town was so vivid that it almost became a character in the book too.
One Day to Fall is the second novel about the Roux sisters set in South Africa, though in the interest of full disclosure, I did not read the first novel. This is an oversight I hope to rectify, as this novel was a pleasure to read.
Beharrie’s romance takes place in the course of an intense and emotional day. There aren’t many circadian novels, and the ones that come to mind are not romances, such as Michael Cunningham’s The Hours, Saturday by Ian McEwan and Christopher Irshwood’s A Single Man, so I was particularly excited to see her take on this particular structure and execute it so well. The emotional intensity is heightened but it is punctuated with moments of humor that keep the narrative from being claustrophobic.
A further variation that I truly enjoyed in this novel is the Sophie, a heroine who is prickly, bad-tempered and not in a particularly good place, emotionally. Parker, the driver for the car service who picks her up and with whom she falls in love, is also suffering from his own personal complications. They essentially use each other to distract themselves from the distressing facts of their lives but in doing so, discover that they have stumbled on the one person who might understand them better than anyone else in their lives.
I also enjoyed the way the author used the premise to treat readers to a tour of Cape Town, the setting of the romance. I’ve never visited so my natural wanderlust was stimulated by the descriptions of the places they visit.
A well-written, thoroughly satisfying romance.
ARC provided by Netgalley
CW: past death of parent (brain tumor), grief, parent diagnosed with dementia, past parental abandonment, references to labor/delivery
I just want to gush about this book! It made me smile throughout and there’s a lovely sense of humor, even as the characters dealt with hard things.
Parker and Sophia have magnificent tension, from the moment they run into each other at the hospital. The barbs turn into banter which then turns into conversation over the course of 24 hours together. I don’t think this type of short timeframe has ever worked so well for me. I was fully invested in their world and I loved all the glimpses we got of Cape Town.
Both characters have great arcs but for me, the star of this story is Sophia. If you love prickly heroines, this book is a must. Sophia has valid reasons for said prickliness but she also knows there are areas where she can grow, especially when it comes to her family dynamics. We can put up with a lot of BS from our immediate family simply because it’s family and not even realize it. Sophia and her younger sister Zoey come to see they see everything through an Angie-filter (their other sister), which doesn’t serve anyone well. But as adults, they have the power to change that dynamic. I loved watching them have open, honest dialogue and figure out a new way forward.
There’s also some really great exploration of parent-child relationships and grief. Parker has a really complicated relationship with his father who was not around while he was growing up but is now back in the picture. He’s also grappling with his mother’s diagnosis of dementia and what that will mean for them. Sophia differentiates between grieving the loss of a role (i.e. her dad) vs. the loss of the person (someone whom she wasn’t close with.) That’s an important distinction in grief, particularly with complicated relationships.
Also worth noting: I loved how straight forward Sophia was about not wanting to have kids. It made complete sense given her feelings about her childhood and how she was raised. And it was nicely juxtaposed with Angie giving birth.
Beharrie has a really deft hand in getting her characters to confront their weaknesses, while also putting the building blocks in place for their romantic relationship. No matter what Parker and Sophia are figuring out, their romance is front and center and what a delicious ride it was. They were so good for one another and I absolutely believed in their HEA. Such a gem!
I absolutely loved A Wedding One Christmas, the first in this series about the Roux sisters, so I was excited to pick up One Day To Fall to review as well. It’s a different kind of book to the first; while Angie and Ezra’s first meeting and subsequent day together read like a delightful romantic comedy, Angie’s sister Sophia is a much more prickly customer, and her love interest Parker is in a very difficult headspace as well after just learning his mother has early-onset dementia. The timing is poor for both of them, and yet when you find that one person who understands you, the one person who’s both on your wavelength and with whom you share an intense attraction… well, maybe the universe is telling you that the timing doesn’t really matter.
Sophia and Parker spend an intense day together, using each other as distractions from the emotional situations neither are ready to deal with. Neither of them are the type to back down from speaking truths, no matter how harsh, though, and from each other they also gain a new perspective. It’s a very introspective read as both protagonists examine themselves and their situations and realize they need to make changes, and at times I found myself disliking both Sophia and Parker even while I understood the background and motivations which made them react so defensively, at times going on the attack just to avoid having to face unpalatable truths about themselves.
Here’s a truism about romance, though; everyone deserves it, and even though Sophia might be a hard person to like at times (her own sister, when accused of being passive aggressive, comments that Sophia is just ‘aggressive aggressive’) she still absolutely deserves to find love with someone who gets her, and she and Parker really are superbly well-suited.
The other thing I really enjoy about Therese Beharrie’s writing is that her protagonists are ordinary people. They’re not billionaires or film stars; Sophia works in Human Resources and Parker is a freelance journalist who drives regular shifts for a car service. They’re normal people. Oh, and they’re Black South Africans living in Cape Town, a city which plays a large part in the story as Sophia and Parker ‘play tourist’ for the day.
I have to confess I didn’t like this one as much as A Wedding One Christmas. Lacking the romantic comedy aspects and featuring a great deal more soul-searching, the writing was still superb but it was Sophia’s aggressive nature that put me off a bit. I honestly think I’d avoid her as just a bit too much if I met her in real life. Still, it’s a great story and I’m going to give it four and a half stars.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for review via NetGalley.
This was a lovely, lovely book, with this remarkable balance of serious, emotional topics and fun, adorable dating high-jinks. Sophia and Parker had wonderful banter and chemistry and watching them figure each other out and let each other in was magical. And there were hot together. Totally hot.
However, what was especially poignant and special about this book where the complex family dynamics and stories, both Sophia’s and Parker’s. We got to see families who loved each other but often either didn’t quite know how to convey it or balance real, difficult circumstances with their own needs, work and struggle and finally communicate in such important an meaningful ways. There were no true villains, only real, imperfect people. Nothing was going to be perfect (or could be) but watching equilibrium and honesty get achieved was really, just special and wonderful.
Anyway, this was such a fabulous read and I can’t wait for Zoey’s story!
One Day to Fall is the second book in Therese Beharrie’s One Day To Forever series and centers around a freelance journalist with a side job driving for a car service along with a human resources pro. On an emotional day for them both, they find themselves colliding and hanging on for dear life as they each undergo deep introspection of who and what they are.
Parker Jones has been hit with a bombshell that is going to change his life forever and he’s not sure how to process it all. He’s in a surly mood as he leaves the hospital and runs smack into Sophia.
Sophia Roux is feeling the pressure of holding her family together for years and now finds herself resentful as she’s being made to cater to her “perfect” sister who’s about to give birth. She happens to jump into the car of a man who just might have an attitude to rival the biting edge of her own.
I recommend this book to anyone who loves a snarky banter that keeps you smiling as the characters try to act like they don’t like each other, when it’s obvious to all looking on that they do. The day drug out a tad, but the feel of the story was enriching and delightful!
“I’m sorry.”
“Finally. The apology I deserve.” There was a beat. “I do not accept.”
You have been missing ONE DAY TO FALL all your life if you are a fan of:
– Badass, unapologetic heroines
– Grumpy but secretly angelic heroes
– Biting humour and casually awesome social commentary
– Rom-com-style shenanigans paired with sob-inducing events and emotions
I still can’t quite grasp that this book takes place in a single day, even though it is literally called ONE Day to Fall and it is part of the ONE Day to Forever series. My lack of comprehension is not (solely) due to my being especially slow on the uptake. SO MUCH happens in this book, you guys. I don’t mean a ton of events are cramped in, I mean THINGS happen. Transformations occur, years of pressure and strain come to a head and are resolved, people know themselves in ways they’ve never known themselves before. I can’t believe the journey Therese takes us on over 24 hours. Virginia Woolf is quite frankly shaking.
So, here’s a basic rundown: Sophia (grumpasaurus-rex, meaner than you, bad mama jama) is at the hospital with her mother and two sisters, one of whom is giving birth (that would be Angie, heroine of A Wedding One Christmas). If you read the previous book (which you should) you’ll already know there’s family tension re the death of the girls’ father, emotional labour, and Angie running off to leave Sophia as the family caregiver. Sophia is undervalued and misunderstood by her family, and resentful of Angie’s sudden reappearance. Plus bored because childbirth be long.
The other MC is Parker, whose mother is in the hospital after an accident caused by her developing Alzheimer’s Disease. Parker adores his mother, and is also dealing with the reappearance of his NO GOOD WOTLESS FATHER. Basically, Parker be struggling.
So these two are having a truly sh*t day, they meet each other, and immediately brighten – wait, no, they don’t get along at all. Top-notch bickering, snarkiness, and enemies-to-lovers energy here. But they are both in desperate need of a distraction, and bothering each other proves an excellent distraction indeed. Over the course of the day they get to know each other, help each other, talk each other through their problems (and get to thinking on new perspectives), acknowledge their burning attraction (I said, BURNING, BABY), decide they can’t be together because baggage. But then… uh… well, you know. It’s a romance novel!
It was incredible how honestly and realistically the characters’ personal and emotional issues were dealt with – and when I say ‘dealt with’, I don’t mean ‘magicked away’. Although it IS entirely possible that the author is a witch, considering how invested she made me in the future of two people who have known each other for a single day.
Now, you might be wondering why I described this as rom-com-like when it is undeniably heavy in subject matter and clearly very emotional. The answer is, this story somehow manages to be both – largely because Sophia is delightfully chaotic. I mean, DELIGHTFULLY. The insults, the tour bus, the stand-up, THE SNEEZE – when you finish reading this book, come back here and tell me how right I was about its powerful rom-com energy.
Okay, okay, I feel I’ve said enough. If I keep going I might slip and tell you the whole story, but you should go and let the BOOK tell you its whole story, because it does a much (MUCH) better job than me lol.
Content Notes –
1. As you may have gathered, there’s a lot of reference to parental illness and death. Sophia’s father died after a lengthy illness and his passing still affects the family; Parker is coming to terms with his mother’s Alzheimer’s.
2. Sophia’s sister, Angie, has a very long labour and eventually goes into surgery. She and the baby are fine.