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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
This book was not at all what I was expecting, and in the best way possible! With a title like "And Maybe They Fall In Love", you think the book will be a romance novel, cut and dry. However, this book had such a major mental health background to it with the added layers of social isolation during the pandemic that it just was extremely raw and emotional. Emma Hill bore her heart and soul into this story, and it shows very clearly. As someone who was in Nursing school and has become a nurse during the pandemic, the thoughts of fear, of uncertainty spoke extremely deeply to me while I read this story. Elle and Christopher are both imperfect characters living and trying to do their best in an imperfect, scary world when they meet each other. I think the part where it questions whether both people have to be perfect in order to have a relationship is extremely poignant and should make people think deeply. You don't have to have what people deem an "Instagram perfect" relationship to have real love, respect, and devotion towards another person. You simply have to have the courage and the heart to try. 5.0/5.0 and I cannot wait to see what else Emma Hill writes after this debut novel!
Merged review:
This book was not at all what I was expecting, and in the best way possible! With a title like "And Maybe They Fall In Love", you think the book will be a romance novel, cut and dry. However, this book had such a major mental health background to it with the added layers of social isolation during the pandemic that it just was extremely raw and emotional. Emma Hill bore her heart and soul into this story, and it shows very clearly. As someone who was in Nursing school and has become a nurse during the pandemic, the thoughts of fear, of uncertainty spoke extremely deeply to me while I read this story. Elle and Christopher are both imperfect characters living and trying to do their best in an imperfect, scary world when they meet each other. I think the part where it questions whether both people have to be perfect in order to have a relationship is extremely poignant and should make people think deeply. You don't have to have what people deem an "Instagram perfect" relationship to have real love, respect, and devotion towards another person. You simply have to have the courage and the heart to try. 5.0/5.0 and I cannot wait to see what else Emma Hill writes after this debut novel!
Merged review:
This book was not at all what I was expecting, and in the best way possible! With a title like "And Maybe They Fall In Love", you think the book will be a romance novel, cut and dry. However, this book had such a major mental health background to it with the added layers of social isolation during the pandemic that it just was extremely raw and emotional. Emma Hill bore her heart and soul into this story, and it shows very clearly. As someone who was in Nursing school and has become a nurse during the pandemic, the thoughts of fear, of uncertainty spoke extremely deeply to me while I read this story. Elle and Christopher are both imperfect characters living and trying to do their best in an imperfect, scary world when they meet each other. I think the part where it questions whether both people have to be perfect in order to have a relationship is extremely poignant and should make people think deeply. You don't have to have what people deem an "Instagram perfect" relationship to have real love, respect, and devotion towards another person. You simply have to have the courage and the heart to try. 5.0/5.0 and I cannot wait to see what else Emma Hill writes after this debut novel!
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a special book. In this slow-paced, character-focused story that stars two young college students just trying to navigate their world, Hill tackles some heavy struggles in a simple, easy-to-understand way.
I loved the characters, their real struggles and fears, the most tender love story that got me in my feels... great job, Emma.
Read it for:
✨ OCD representation
✨ A touch of magic realism
✨ Navigating difficult family relationships
✨ Imperfect people in imperfect relationships
✨ When your safe place is a person
✨ The sweetest love story... maybe
Elle is a young college student with the ability to Read minds. She also struggles with Afterthoughts (a creative way to portray the intrusive thoughts and compulsions that are part of OCD) Then she meets Christopher, who just got out of high school and is scared to pursue his dream of making art for a living. They both have secrets they're trying to hide and fears that are holding them back, but maybe, just maybe, they could fall in love.
I think this story will be so validating and comforting for those who share the same struggles as these characters, and eye-opening for those who don't.
I don't struggle with Afterthoughts like Elle, but I related to both her and Christopher's worries that there are so many things that could go wrong, so why even try? They taught me that life is full of uncertainty, but letting our fear of failure hold us back is even worse.
I'm taking this as my new motto: "You are worth the maybes." 💜
I loved the characters, their real struggles and fears, the most tender love story that got me in my feels... great job, Emma.
Read it for:
✨ OCD representation
✨ A touch of magic realism
✨ Navigating difficult family relationships
✨ Imperfect people in imperfect relationships
✨ When your safe place is a person
✨ The sweetest love story... maybe
Elle is a young college student with the ability to Read minds. She also struggles with Afterthoughts (a creative way to portray the intrusive thoughts and compulsions that are part of OCD) Then she meets Christopher, who just got out of high school and is scared to pursue his dream of making art for a living. They both have secrets they're trying to hide and fears that are holding them back, but maybe, just maybe, they could fall in love.
I think this story will be so validating and comforting for those who share the same struggles as these characters, and eye-opening for those who don't.
I don't struggle with Afterthoughts like Elle, but I related to both her and Christopher's worries that there are so many things that could go wrong, so why even try? They taught me that life is full of uncertainty, but letting our fear of failure hold us back is even worse.
I'm taking this as my new motto: "You are worth the maybes." 💜
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Minor: Infertility
❗detailed descriptions of intrusive thoughts, infertility, family struggles
🌶️ One brief make out, kisses, tension
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
I have 18 quotes highlighted, and I want to share them all!
"And what I think, at least, is that you are worth the maybes."
Contemporary Romance is a very much hit or miss for me and this one was charming in every way. I loved the simplicity of the plot and the little touch of fantasy sprinkled in to keep my fantasy-hungry side satisfied. Elle was such a sweet main character! I think what I loved about her most is that she was "real". She deals with OCD and anxiety, and the "afterthoughts" were a very creative way to put that into perspective for someone who doesn't know what it's like to have those thoughts constantly invading one's mental space. But she cares deeply and I related to her need to take care of her sister and try to fix her mom's problems.
"Don't make life decisions at midnight."
Christopher was a bundle of adorable-ness! I loved his heart and how just sweet and compassionate he is. I also appreciated how he processed the dilemma with his parents and his brother as an 18-year-old. My first reaction was that he was being a little selfish, but it was room for him to grow and I know that at his age, there was still a lot that he didn't understand. But the way he chose to love Elle was just so pure and made me smile.
"White like a rainbow was white. White like every color in the universe had converged at once and it was too beautiful for her to see."
And on the topic of Christopher's brother, Martin and Thea need their own book! I ADORED them and their whole side-plot was near and dear to my heart. I would love a book about them because they were such a solid and adorable couple. Plus, Martin made me laugh so much.
"Beautiful wife, beautiful beer, beautiful peanut butter socks. What's not to be happy about?" ~Martin
Overall, I adored this romance and cannot wait for more books from this up-and-coming author!
"And what I think, at least, is that you are worth the maybes."
Contemporary Romance is a very much hit or miss for me and this one was charming in every way. I loved the simplicity of the plot and the little touch of fantasy sprinkled in to keep my fantasy-hungry side satisfied. Elle was such a sweet main character! I think what I loved about her most is that she was "real". She deals with OCD and anxiety, and the "afterthoughts" were a very creative way to put that into perspective for someone who doesn't know what it's like to have those thoughts constantly invading one's mental space. But she cares deeply and I related to her need to take care of her sister and try to fix her mom's problems.
"Don't make life decisions at midnight."
Christopher was a bundle of adorable-ness! I loved his heart and how just sweet and compassionate he is. I also appreciated how he processed the dilemma with his parents and his brother as an 18-year-old. My first reaction was that he was being a little selfish, but it was room for him to grow and I know that at his age, there was still a lot that he didn't understand. But the way he chose to love Elle was just so pure and made me smile.
"White like a rainbow was white. White like every color in the universe had converged at once and it was too beautiful for her to see."
And on the topic of Christopher's brother, Martin and Thea need their own book! I ADORED them and their whole side-plot was near and dear to my heart. I would love a book about them because they were such a solid and adorable couple. Plus, Martin made me laugh so much.
"Beautiful wife, beautiful beer, beautiful peanut butter socks. What's not to be happy about?" ~Martin
Overall, I adored this romance and cannot wait for more books from this up-and-coming author!
Content Warnings
Minor: Infertility
Content Info: (PG13) Romance consists of a few make-out scenes (no grabby hands) | No cursing | No gore.
Trigger warnings: Infertility | Adoption | Anxiety & OCD | Divorced parents
DNF at 13%
While the premise of this book sounds really awesome, I can’t quite get past the writing style / grammatical structure of the writing. Many sentences just made me furrow my brow in a “um, that doesn’t feel right” way. I noticed within the first 2% that this would be difficult for me to adjust to - and I gave up when the plot itself just didn’t vibe with me either.
Examples of the sentences that made me pause.
“Footsteps thumped in the kitchen against the hollow wood floor: Ericka heating up the casserole Elle made earlier that day, shaking the whole house.”
“The thing about Ericka-the good thing about Ericka not the annoying little sister habits about Ericka-the best thing about Ericka was her brightness.”
“They stayed in the kitchen, trying to guess how the date was going and talking about ordinary little everythings, until they heard the car pull into the garage.”
“What did Martin think Christopher thought was going on?”
Then there’s the plot - which again I thought the premise sounded cool… but I didn’t like the subplots at all. We have a mom who doesn’t care about her daughters on the FMC side and a brother who wants to adopt a child (that the MMC is against for some reason??) on the other side. Neither plot is interesting and both are weird. I wanted more focus on the main plot of her Reader powers - which honestly I barely got in what I read.
Then we have a spoiled brat MMC. He wants to be an artist; that’s cool! I can get behind that. But where is his Instagram? Where is his patreon??? Where is anything that artists nowadays use to make money??? He looked up jobs and they needed experience- and of course they do. But as an artist, you’re going to be looking for commission so you need to make a name for yourself online. 🤷♀️ And he just puts off the college talk bc he doesn’t want to do it. It truly feels like he’s not trying very hard.
Okay, that was a rant. The MMC is the main reason besides the writing style that I gave up. He really wasn’t my vibe. 💀
I’m done.
While the premise of this book sounds really awesome, I can’t quite get past the writing style / grammatical structure of the writing. Many sentences just made me furrow my brow in a “um, that doesn’t feel right” way. I noticed within the first 2% that this would be difficult for me to adjust to - and I gave up when the plot itself just didn’t vibe with me either.
Examples of the sentences that made me pause.
“Footsteps thumped in the kitchen against the hollow wood floor: Ericka heating up the casserole Elle made earlier that day, shaking the whole house.”
“The thing about Ericka-the good thing about Ericka not the annoying little sister habits about Ericka-the best thing about Ericka was her brightness.”
“They stayed in the kitchen, trying to guess how the date was going and talking about ordinary little everythings, until they heard the car pull into the garage.”
“What did Martin think Christopher thought was going on?”
Then there’s the plot - which again I thought the premise sounded cool… but I didn’t like the subplots at all. We have a mom who doesn’t care about her daughters on the FMC side and a brother who wants to adopt a child (that the MMC is against for some reason??) on the other side. Neither plot is interesting and both are weird. I wanted more focus on the main plot of her Reader powers - which honestly I barely got in what I read.
Then we have a spoiled brat MMC. He wants to be an artist; that’s cool! I can get behind that. But where is his Instagram? Where is his patreon??? Where is anything that artists nowadays use to make money??? He looked up jobs and they needed experience- and of course they do. But as an artist, you’re going to be looking for commission so you need to make a name for yourself online. 🤷♀️ And he just puts off the college talk bc he doesn’t want to do it. It truly feels like he’s not trying very hard.
Okay, that was a rant. The MMC is the main reason besides the writing style that I gave up. He really wasn’t my vibe. 💀
I’m done.
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Pregnancy
Moderate: Alcoholism
A rom-com with fantasy mixed in? Hill was speaking my love language from the start!
Elle and Christopher’s story was seriously perfect! I loved the pair of them as individuals, and loved them all the more as a couple. They are goofy, imperfect, adorable characters that made me root for them the whole way!
Elle and Christopher’s story was seriously perfect! I loved the pair of them as individuals, and loved them all the more as a couple. They are goofy, imperfect, adorable characters that made me root for them the whole way!
This book is a college students romance, with a dash of magical realism. I haven't read much of this genre so it was fun getting into this book and finding out all the difference between our world and the &MTFIL world