Do you remember that moment? That one moment. The one when you changed.People might say it was this or that, but deep down you know.You know exactly what that moment was. Even if you’re not ready to admit it to yourself.You know.I remember mine, it didn’t just change me.It changed everything.Everyone thought Mason Knight was the whirlwind that swept me away. But nothing compares to those two … But nothing compares to those two shots. Those two shots woke me up and made me see that when we fall, sometimes we need help to get back up.
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I read this book blind, not knowing who the author was or a blurb…nothing….and I loved it. It had me hooked from the beginning.
I think we could all relate to the first part of the book. At school, the groups of students divided by cool and nerdy and the bullying that went on there.
The story was at times intense, it drew out so many emotions. Once again on a blind date book I found myself teary on the train.
The characters were real. I loved them and hated others.
I highly recommend this book.
#quirkyblinddate
2.5 Stars (Rounded to 3 Stars.)
This is my first book by Sloane Murphy a.k.a Olivia Rose (the pen name she is writing under). What attracted me to When We Fall was first, the blurb and second, the cover, so keeping in mind the content of the burb I had a certain mindset regarding the story it somewhat lived up to it.
Erin Michaels was abandoned by her parents as a baby but despite that, she has had a good home life, with a guardian, Monica, who truly loves her. Her school life, on the other hand, is nothing but one torment after the other with the constant bullying and harassment and all she wants to do is finish her senior year as quickly and quietly as possible.
Mason Knight is the new boy in town starting his senior year and everyone in the new school is taken by the former bad boy until he is partnered up with Erin. Mason is drawn to Erin from the moment he sees her and they both quickly become fast friends.
Now, while I liked the initial beginning of the story, as it progressed I started to feel a disconnect between me and the story and its characters. I felt that it was too rushed and honestly, a tad lacking in a few areas.
I would love more depth in the characters, regardless of the fact that they were just high school students. I would have loved reading about Erin and Mason getting to know each other, the whole anticipation of meeting someone new and getting to know them and their quirks and what makes them tick. For me, Erin and Mason went from strangers to best friends to girlfriend-boyfriend way too quick.
Erin’s bullying is another aspect. She never fought back and I understand her thought process and not wanting to feed them more of her time but when we finally did get a reaction from her and there was a stark contrast between Erin and the bullies and Erin and the bullies with Mason. There was a lack of build-up in emotion even when she wasn’t letting them affect her.
Additionally, the jump from one scene to another wasn’t quite smooth flowing and I had to go back a couple of times to get the timeline right.
Rose highlights the issue of gun violence that is very much prevalent and haunted American schools, and this particular part truly broke my heart. One minute everything was fine and the next minute shots were being fired and the lives of these teenagers were forever altered.
Overall, in my personal opinion, this story had lots of potential to flourish but it failed to hit the mark. Sorry, but this was not for me, but if you are interested please go ahead and read it and form your opinion.
This book was so many things. It was sweet, it was a little spicy and it was a lot of tragic. I read the first chapter of this book in a back of another of hers and I knew I had to read it.
Erin is the teen that everyone feels bad for, might have even been some of you. She was bullied so badly at her school, and for things beyond her control. I wanted so badly for her, to have SOMEONE, ANYONE, speak up for her. These horrible people took away her back bone, vertebra by vertebra, and it was so sad seeing this happen. I was so beyond excited when Mason came into the picture. He was the one person who didn’t know her, didn’t judge her, and just wanted to say Hi. We ALL need a Mason in our life, for that reason alone! BUT Mason ended up being so much more than this!
Having a person in your life who sticks up for you and makes you proud to be you, that makes a world of difference. And that was Mason. As you can tell, I’m a big Mason cheer leader LOL. He really made such a difference in this book. Between him and her bff Scottie, I was so happy to see the changes in Erin. I really loved the development of Mason’s character throughout this story. We didn’t know much about him at first, but we slowly were shown so many things about him. I loved how mysterious he was, but also how devoted to Erin and his family he was. He was the ultimate hero!
In addition to Mason and Scottie, Monica was so truly amazing. I loved how this woman made such an impact in Erin’s life. Characters like these truly make for the best books. Add in Rico, Grams and Peter, the secondary characters just rocked my world!
There are so many layers to this story and it was written sooo beautifully. Olivia gave us an insane curve ball toward the end of this book. There were so many things leading up to it, that as surprised as I was that it happened, thinking back, it makes sense. This story needed that curve ball. It was DEVASTATING, but so was so much of this story. I think this book brings such a strong message, everyone needs to read it!
This book was just fantastic.
I can honestly say that so many people will be able to relate to this on some level. It has touched my heart and really pulled at my heart strings. It brought out all my protective instincts as a parent.
It was such a lovely sweet story. I can’t wait for the next one
Truly a gift to read.
Breathtaking and captivating from start to finish. Sloane Murphy explores social issues and teenage development with a fresh, poetic perspective that was hauntingly beautiful to read.
This was an eye opening, modern brilliance of a Bildungsroman that’ll take you on an emotional rollercoaster and remind you of the complexity and power of teenage emotions.
I can’t wait to discover more from this author.
Aaaaargh! The ugly tears are falling! So.Damn.Good! Love, hope, the horridness of mean girls and losing ones who give you everything…. book hangover, commence.
5 stars is not enough for this story. The ending ripped my heart out. Sloane Murphy
3.5 stars
ARC provided by the author to the Facebook group “Quirky Blind Date With A Book”
“I know a lot of people think he changed me, but the reality is, he just gave me the room and the courage to be who I’ve always been.”
“You have to let me go, Erin. You know I always told you, butterflies are the beautiful souls taken too soon. Now, you’ll get to see me become a butterfly all of my own.”
This book is very emotional. It works with a lot of very sensitive but very important topics. I’m glad Sloane created such easy lovable characters which let you live and experience this all with them. Mostly this book made me sad, but at the same time also happy, because you felt how deeply Erin is loved and cared for.
The reason why I couldn’t give more stars is mostly that I’ve got one problem with this book: There is a part of the book where IMO the whole story development reached its peak and this came way too early. Everything after felt like a second book or a very long epilogue to me. I missed some content here and the end was pretty cheesy. Well, don’t get me wrong, I like cheesy. But in case all conversation feels like endless love declarations without content, it’s a little too much for me.
“When We Fall” is a very enjoyable and cute love story working with different sensitive topics which will surely touch your heart.
“You are my world. My one. My forever and always. You are everything.”
“I want you to stretch your wings and fulfill your dreams, but I want you to make me your home.”