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

I really liked how Saoirse's conflicted feelings about her parents were explored, and how they color her view of love. Very realistic portrayal of a teenager and I actually laughed out loud

(I just about died when the audiobook narrator kept repeating "Satan's shrivelled left nut" 😭)

. No homophobia here; the characters' problems aren't due to their sexual orientations. It was nice to see young characters so confident in their identities. I was pleasantly surprised by the ending, too!

I expected a more traditional happy-ever-after, but what we got was perfectly in line with the book's overarching theme. I'm impressed that the author stuck by her guns.

I didn't become emotionally invested in the romance, which is why I'm not giving this 5 stars, but IMO it's a near-perfect coming-of-age story that's well worth the time. Oliver ended up as my favorite character.

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caseythereader's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective sad fast-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

4.5

- Oh my goodness, I loved THE FALLING IN LOVE MONTAGE. This book is YA at its best: silly and sweet, but also tackling tough life events and complicated relationships.
- Saoirse is prickly and angry, and the book does a good job of showing us how her feelings can be valid, but also a bit overblown where she doesn’t have the full context.
- I also loved how this book was virtually free of homophobia. Maybe a brief mention, but not a central part of the plot at all.

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dwoht's review against another edition

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emotional funny informative lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

i started reading this book with a lot of expectations in mind mainly because of the reviews that i've read before reading it. it wasn't the perfect "lesbian romcom" book that i expected. it's actually so much more. it's complex. it tackled friendship, family, heartbreak, loving again, etc. but what really broke my heart is the family one and i didn't expected that knowing that this book is advertised to me as a romcom. i may have cried a little bit with some scenes and i was even annoyed with the decisions of some characters, but that's how a book is. it's a bit heavy and emotional if you're kinda sensitive about family issues but it has its fun moments too. i also loved how oliver and saoirse's friendship developed! it was so cute.

the ending is a bit disappointing BUT i think it's realistic even tho i love them together 💔

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kirstenf's review

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emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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jourdanicus's review

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funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A

5.0

So sweet. Loved the focus on friendship and family love as well as romantic love. I was happy to read an LGBTQ+ romance in which the characters' identities weren't a central part of the conflict. The title definitely does not encompass the entire plot of this book. Totally worth the read.

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thelowlysloth's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective fast-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

5.0

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accio_gays's review

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funny lighthearted sad medium-paced

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

3.5

It was actually really good. For an wlw novel, it didn't fetishise, it didn't have sex scenes constantly, and it was really good rep. The only exception being with the straight girls thing but apart from that it was good. I say this as a lesbian btw. I thought the characters were interesting and the concept was really good.

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