Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - The Falling in Love Montage

Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

The Falling in Love Montage by Ciara Smyth

9 reviews

genevieve_eggleston's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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billievee's review

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I read this not long after finishing Smyth's second novel, Not My Problem, and I was taken aback by how much more intense this one is. The romance is front and center here, but more than that, the protagonist's backstory is absolutely devastating. The montage scenes are a lot of fun, and the author has a lovely sense of humor, but don't let the playful cover art fool you; this is a bittersweet story, and it handles the tough topics with both delicacy and honesty.

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lolajh's review

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emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

First of all, any potential readers know that Saoirse’s name is pronounced Seer-sha and I only found that out at the end of the book where she explains it and it’s not something like say-or-rees or say-ors or freaking ‘sauce’ like I’ve been pronouncing in my head the past two weeks of reading this. Anyways! Here’s the review!

I just want to say that I am ANGRY. This book right up until literally the last chapter was an absolute five-star read. I hated the ending and feel so underwhelmed.

You’re telling me these lesbian ass bitches didn’t drop their futures to break the rule of the montage and “having to break up” (because they didn’t have to at all) to be gay in Ireland together? What the fuck! WHO IS VERONICA. FUCK OFF I NEED SAOIRSE AND RUBY TO BE ENDGAME HELLO? Where was their wedding? I cannot tell you how much I NEEDED the (what I thought would be) predictable cheesy plot twist where it isn’t literally JUST A SUMMER THING and they’d JUST FUCKING DATE. Sorry. I’m so opinionated about this book. Where was the “happily ever after” that’s literally above the book’s blurb, the thing that’s foreshadowed throughout the whole book? The meet cute happened, the falling in love montage, the big fight, the hero realising they’re wrong, the grand gesture, now where is the happily ever after? I thought my fucking book was printed wrong and missing the actual last pages. I’m so pissed off.

Now, onto what I liked. So, Saoirse, let me tell you I loved to hate her. Why? Because she’s ME. She is the most relatable character I’ve ever read the perspective of. Her life and character all has such human reason it feels like she really is real. Flawed characters are the best <3

And I FUCKING LOVED RUBY (among other characters like Oliver and Beth and not really Saoirse’s dad) She is a lovable little ball of sunshine that in some parts maybe deserved more than Saoirse and shouldn’t have forgiven her so many times, but that’s okay.

I don’t have much else to say. Maybe if the ending was different I’d be able to appreciate the parts of this book that I loved so much, but I really feel like I can’t. I’m going to be resorting to ao3’s alternate endings to this book immediately to fill the void in my heart that I now have because of that ending.

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viireads's review

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inspiring lighthearted reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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lisa_m's review

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I was hoping for a cute sapphic romance. It kind of was that but also not at all. This book is sad - I cried multiple times and there is a lot of things to unpack.

Let me start of by listing what I didn't like about this book:
- the main character was kind of annoying at times. Also I got really mad at her for the way she treated other people and argumented herself out of every wrong doing.
- the book was really sad and depressing at times (I cried a few times throughout the book)

- it doesn't have a happy ending

I really liked Oliver and his dynamic with Saoirse. They had that teasing brother and sister "funny enemies" thing going on which I really like.

I also liked Beth. I get why Saoirse didn't like her but I think she is actually pretty great. I did not however like her father. I get that he's trying his best but I would be so so mad at him for everything he has done.

The ending was fine I guess. I don't have super strong feelings for this book I have to say. I thought it was okay but I doubt it will stick in my mind for long.
I think I'm just kinda disappointed because I wanted to like this book so bad and I also really thought I would..

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jazdono's review against another edition

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emotional funny slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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stopthesun's review

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-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

4.0

"'See, the thing about the falling in love montage,' she said, her voice horse, 'is that when it's over, the characters have fallen in love.'"

Saoirse's been having a rough go at life lately - she's sworn off love and maybe even planning for the future. But when she meets Ruby, who proposes a summer romance without all the bad stuff that goes along with relationships, Saoirse agrees.

Warnings for

Spoiler

Abelism, Homophobia, Slut Shaming, Dementia

When I picked up [b:The Falling in Love Montage|53066661|The Falling in Love Montage|Ciara Smyth|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1570034111l/53066661._SX50_SY75_.jpg|69421272] I expected a fluffy romance... which isn't exactly what I got. I almost feel like it's less of a romance and more of a coming-of-age story.

THE GOOD

Saoire's Growth: I love when characters have clear growth. At the beginning of the book Saoire was a piece of work - stubborn, pessimistic, scared. The world's wronged her and she's not letting anyone in to make it worse.

Over the course of the book you can see her mature though. She slowly (and reluctantly) gets to know Beth. She starts to let Ruby in. She makes up with some people. The only person whose relationship resolution bothered me was with her dad, but more on that later.

Saoirse & Ruby: I saw some people saying that they didn't see the chemistry between Saoirse and Ruby, but I thought they were really cute. And I appreciated their resolution at the end of the book - I thought it was appropriate, realistic, and hopeful.

Characters: Specifically, I really liked Oliver (for his an Saoirse's "rivalry") and Beth ( for how hard she tried).

THE NOT AS GOOD

Miscommunication: Pretty much all of the conflicts in this book are based around Saoirse keeping secrets and not wanting to talk about her feelings.

And here's where I admit that miscommunication doesn't actually bother me. It's only in the this section because I know miscommunication bothers other people. Personally, I feel like it's realistic - some people are like this. And [a:Ciara Smyth|6910324|Ciara Smyth|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1571741138p2/6910324.jpg] handled it well. There are clear consequences to being the way she is and I think Saoirse learns her lessons.

Saoirse & Her Dad: I understand that Saoirse is angry with her dad because she feels like he abandoned her mom. But the book makes it clear that her dad still loves her mom and visits her all the time and I just don't think Saoirse is fair to him. In fact, she's so mean to him that I felt bad.

It seemed like all the things Saoirse was learning was leading her to a healthier relationship with herself and her dad. So I kept waiting for a satisfactory resolution between them but it never came.

Some Favorite Quotes:

"I'm so glad we have this chance to get to know each other," she said. "Your dad talks about you all the time."
"OK," I said flatly.
Dad shot me a look. I shrugged at him. What was I supposed to say to that? I'm familiar with your existence and I disapprove. Seemed rude even for me.

"You want to have meaningful eye contact with me now?"
"Sure."
"Shouldn't it be, I dunno, more natural?"
"You're OK with a list of dates and a prearranged breakup, but we can't schedule meaningful eye contact?"

He stuffed a biscuit in his mouth and got crumbs all over my bed. Was this what being straight was like? A boy in your bedroom making a mess? Not for the first time, I thanked God I was a lesbian.

"What is wrong with you, Saoirse?" Dad hissed.
"I have no impulse control?" I replied, like I really wanted to figure out the answer to this question with him. "No, wait, it's that I don't have any fucks to give? I'm all out of fucks."

Sometimes the best feelings in the world don't last forever. They're explosions in the body or the heart of both at once, and you know that you'll never be the same as before, but it's OK because you can always build something new in the wreckage.

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corabookworm's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I really really enjoyed this book! It started out a little bit slow, and I wasn't really vibing with the characters or the writing style. But when the romance started to pick up, it got a lot more interesting, and towards the end I feel like the book really found it's voice, and the main character was a lot more likable. I'm definitely glad that I read this book, and if you're looking for a cute sapphic romance, this one's for you. :)

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foreveristhesweetestcon's review

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

So cute!!! And because it's a rom-com, it's great for some light-hearted summer reading :)

I felt all the right things in the right places (the "grand gesture" is a personal favorite--Ciara Smyth did it so well!!), and I think Smyth definitely hit all the rom-com tropes in the nail. The jokes mostly were very funny and relatable, especially for me as a lesbian. Saoirse and Ruby have this adorable chemistry that made me really root for them, and I also loved seeing Saoirse's development with Beth. (Also shout out to Barbara, she was hilarious as well).

The ending left me wanting a little more, but I should have expected that things would have happened the way they eventually did. Overall, this book was so good though, and it was refreshing to read a sapphic book that didn't center around coming out/homophobia!

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