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

and no I don't mean that this book is just as much about dementia, instead of being a cute rom-com that it is marketed as.

Saoirse's feelings were *chef's kiss.* I could see many students (former high school teacher here), responding to major life changes the way she does. Especially if that's what your parent models.

Also, Oliver, sweet baby child. Love him, he deserves the world.

Now be warned for an absolute rant about the Dad/Beth and

Baby

storyline below. Feel free to skip if you didn't have a strong (or visceral, as is my case) reaction towards it.

I 100% detested the absolute piece of turd that her father is. Now, a part of this could just be my effed up issues from my own childhood with my parents but,

you refuse to talk about anything serious with your child, you start dating someone, propose, get married, move and have another child with another woman less than one year after your "wife" (ex-wife) moves out. All of which, done WITHOUT discussing this with (or hell even considering) your daughter who you know is absolutely drowning in all of the major changes going on in her life in regards to her mother, your divorce, AND the possibility that she could suffer from the same disease that is taking her mother away from her . . .

And for the most part, I was okay with it, I thought it was pretty realistic, until you just bombshelled the

pregnancy in the last two chapters. And again, it could be due to my issues, but I firmly believe having a child is soley up to the decision of the person carrying said child, but the consequences (both positive and negative) are felt by multiople people. And when it comes to having another child, the (holistic) wellbeing of your LIVING child should be a factor in your decision as to what you do. Having a child is not a decision about you and your desire to have children. If Saoirse regressed in her growth, I could not blame her, because, putting myself in her shoes, it would be completely understandable for her to feel like she was bing replaced. As what's been modeled for her is that we only sacrifice for someone we love, when it's beneficial towards you, and once it's not, we just pretend it's not there.

I'm not trying to say that her father's life should be put on hold or his life choices should be determined only by what Saoirse wants, but for god's sake, think about her for once and put her first at least once. She is your child, she should come first before yourself at all times. Or at the least, just think how she would feel or how your decisions would impact her. That's what you sign up for when you decide to have a child. End of rant.

Content Warnings

beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

The Falling in Love Montage is another winner from Ciara Smyth.

It has sharp (at times razor-sharp) writing, believable character development, snarky dialogue, and nicely paced. It also provides real insight into

what life is like for the child of a parent with early onset dementia

, a topic which I knew very little about, and which is

pretty devastating to read about

.

The best character development award goes to our MC, Saoirse (pronounced Seer-sha, as she makes clear right at the beginning). Her distinctly sarcastic narrative voice engages you immediately, even as you think, this girl has issues (well, that's what I thought, anyway).

The plot is well-paced, and it is in some ways I could see where it was going,

, particularly with the romance plot

, but it was told so beautifully that I didn't mind the journey getting there.

I also really appreciated how everything

wasn't neatly wrapped up at the end, because that felt more realistic

.

Overall, this was a really well-written, feel-good tale with a knockout MC.

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stacy837's review

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lighthearted medium-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

3.75

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neverlandpages4's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny sad tense 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

3.0

I was excited about this one because I haven't read many romance books where the main character is cynical and doesn't want a relationship. And as a cynic who doesn't believe in true love, I related to Saoirse a lot.

Reading this was refreshing because of how different it is from many of the previous romance books I've read. Both characters deal with their own issues and take their time revealing them to each other. And from the beginning, you know that it's a short, fleeting summer love and ⚠️ slight spoiler ⚠️ they don't end up together which I thought I'd hate but I ended up admiring.

Saoirse's cynicism comes from both having had her heart broken and the fact that her mother has dementia and her fear of inheriting it and not being able to remember the people she loves. I really felt for her and it's such a difficult feeling to explain and navigate.

I have very mixed feelings about the ending, part of me appreciates that it stays true to Saoirse’s cynical outlook on love, and the fact that they don’t up together at the end sets a good example of the way the author described love throughout the book. That love doesn’t always have to last forever, that you can love someone, and regardless of how long or how short the relationship lasts, you can learn something from the experience and have that love to remember forever. However, another part of me was hoping that despite all of that, they’d end up together because they were adorable together 🥹

This has the Insta-love trope which I’m not the biggest fan of but I can make an exception for a cute sapphic couple, and it was slow and dragging sometimes in the middle but other than that, I feel like my perception of love has changed and as the author intended, I've learned from it and will carry the memory of Saoirse and Ruby with me 🩷

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nano_noa's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring sad

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

4.0

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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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annorabrady's review

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dark emotional hopeful reflective fast-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

4.75

The characters set out to recreate a series of romcom tropes but this book proves the complexities that written word can channel in ways the visual medium would struggle with. While a movie night get to keep one or two of the side plots or backstory elements, this book is able to tackle some complex topics like a having a parent with dementia, being the sibling of someone with a lifelong disability, income inequality, remarriage of a parent, the act of forgiveness, learning how to see past your biases to who someone actually is, learning to make friends after betrayal, and coming to terms with the potential of losing everything because of circumstances beyond your control while also having fun with the cheesy romcom tropes.

I will say, as someone who took care of their grandmother who had Parkinson's induced dementia and whose mother died 6 months ago, there was a lot in this book that was both triggering and healing. I'm glad I read it, but if you've been there yourself and you're still working your way through the trauma that can come from those situations, this book might be too much.

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ana_the_frog's review against another edition

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3.75

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