Scan barcode
sarah_amy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
'WHEN THE SHOE DROPPED INTO her lap, the foot was still in it.'
This is the very first line and it kept me on the edge of my seat from then on! Full of suspense and so much plot-twisty goodness! I've been looking for something like this for ages and hit gold. I would have read it in one go but I needed to take breaks from the tension! Oh and the author has experience in being a flight attendant, so you're completely immersed and believe everything that happens. Deserves so much more hype.
This is the very first line and it kept me on the edge of my seat from then on! Full of suspense and so much plot-twisty goodness! I've been looking for something like this for ages and hit gold. I would have read it in one go but I needed to take breaks from the tension! Oh and the author has experience in being a flight attendant, so you're completely immersed and believe everything that happens. Deserves so much more hype.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Violence, Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Hate crime
Moderate: Blood, Physical abuse, and Death
_alyssabrown's review against another edition
fast-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Murder, Self harm, Grief, Suicide, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Violence, Gun violence, Physical abuse, and War
scburhans's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Yeah, this book was not for me. This is for several reasons: the Islamophobia, the Xenophobia, the half-assed and shallow characterization, and (surprisingly) the pacing.
I found it really cheap and frankly disgusting that Newman chose to play into stereotypes and make the bad guys Middle Eastern/Islamic. It's 2022, it's time we stop demonizing an entire ethno-religous group because of the actions of a few men 20 goddamn years ago. There were moments where it felt like Newman was trying to overcome this, but it fell flat and just came off as in bad taste. The whole brown guy = bad guy bullshit is overplayed, overused, and fucking disgusting.
I also didn't care about 90% of the characters. Theo, Jo, and the kids were pretty much the only people I cared about and, not so coincidentally, they were the only ones with complex characteristics! Bill was such a cookie cutter, rah-rah-All-American hero character that I could not care less about. So much of the plot was unoriginal as well. There were whole chapters that were almost scene for scene recreations of a Criminal Minds episode, season 10 episode 3 to be exact.
Worst of all, somehow, I was bored throughout this entire book. I have no idea how she did it, but I could only read a few pages before I would get bored and go do something else for a while. Very rarely have I ever been so incredibly bored by a thriller. Somehow, it was both faced paced and slow as hell. Everything happened quickly, but it wasn't fast enough apparently.
Not my cup of tea, probably won't reccomend it to anyone either.
I found it really cheap and frankly disgusting that Newman chose to play into stereotypes and make the bad guys Middle Eastern/Islamic. It's 2022, it's time we stop demonizing an entire ethno-religous group because of the actions of a few men 20 goddamn years ago. There were moments where it felt like Newman was trying to overcome this, but it fell flat and just came off as in bad taste. The whole brown guy = bad guy bullshit is overplayed, overused, and fucking disgusting.
I also didn't care about 90% of the characters. Theo, Jo, and the kids were pretty much the only people I cared about and, not so coincidentally, they were the only ones with complex characteristics! Bill was such a cookie cutter, rah-rah-All-American hero character that I could not care less about. So much of the plot was unoriginal as well. There were whole chapters that were almost scene for scene recreations of a Criminal Minds episode, season 10 episode 3 to be exact.
Worst of all, somehow, I was bored throughout this entire book. I have no idea how she did it, but I could only read a few pages before I would get bored and go do something else for a while. Very rarely have I ever been so incredibly bored by a thriller. Somehow, it was both faced paced and slow as hell. Everything happened quickly, but it wasn't fast enough apparently.
Not my cup of tea, probably won't reccomend it to anyone either.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Xenophobia, Murder, Racism, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Islamophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Gun violence, Self harm, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Physical abuse, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Vomit
sfbookgirl's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I finished Falling a few nights ago and thought, wow, this would make a great movie. Low and behold, Universal Pictures won the rights to the book…before the book was even published! Falling is best described as Speed at 35,000 feet. Once in the air, Bill, the pilot of flight 416 receives a call from an unknown caller with the message that his family has been kidnapped. In order for his family to remain alive, Bill must crash the plane. This quick, enthralling thriller consists of what Bill chooses to pursue during his 5-hour flight to avoid the death of his family, or the death of 140 passengers.
T. J. Newman is a debut author, but has 12 years of experience in the air as a flight attendant. The descriptions are incredibly accurate (or at least seem to be…I’m not a flight attendant) and the thriller’s plot is easy to plow through in less than a day. While reading Falling had me on the edge of my seat, I also learned quite a bit about the role of a flight attendant and the skill set that the profession requires. If you’re looking for a page-turning thriller, check out Falling by T. J. Newman!
Oh, and apparently there is a sequel?!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, and Violence
More...