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janina_reads's review against another edition
2.0
At first, I thought I would put this book away unfinished after the first few pages - the writing style just didn't suit me at all. It was very jarring and the combination of third person and past tense made the characters seem very far away. This feeling subsided after a few more chapters, though - so maybe it was intended and supposed to underline the situation of two women after the death of their fiancé/son. I got lost in their story and actually looked forward to the outcome. Still, after about two thirds, it really started to drag. I had figured out a few things that seemed to be meant to come as a great surprise at the end - and was therefore a little bored and ready for the story to end.
A nice read for a rainy Saturday afternoon, but not one that made a lasting impression on me.
A nice read for a rainy Saturday afternoon, but not one that made a lasting impression on me.
shelleyrae's review against another edition
5.0
Nicola Moriarty has an impressive pedigree, her sisters are well known Australian authors Liane Moriarty ([b:What Alice Forgot|6469165|What Alice Forgot|Liane Moriarty|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1273500356s/6469165.jpg|6659752], [b:The Hypnotist's Love Story|12063986|The Hypnotist's Love Story|Liane Moriarty|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1310980029s/12063986.jpg|17031353]) and Jaclyn Moriarty ([b:Feeling Sorry for Celia|82783|Feeling Sorry for Celia (Ashbury/Brookfield, #1)|Jaclyn Moriarty|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1312026150s/82783.jpg|1013926], [b:I Have a Bed Made of Buttermilk Pancakes|12273757|I Have a Bed Made of Buttermilk Pancakes|Jaclyn Moriarty|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg|17249312]).
Free Falling is Nicola's debut novel and it is a wonderful story of love, family, grief and moving on. It begins when Andy is killed and his mother blames his grief stricken fiance, Belinda. While Evelyn rages, alienating her surviving son, refusing to return to work and taking up sky diving with a young man named Bazza, Belinda is falling apart. She is drinking too much, blaming herself and wakes each morning forgetting he is gone. When strange things begin to happen - a delivery of flowers, a repaired letter box hinge, Belinda thinks Andy may still be with her, and he is in a way. It is weeks before she discovers he has left her with a surprising parting gift. Both women must learn to let go of their anger, their sadness and their grief to create a new future in honour of the man they have lost.
I admit I was a little nervous accepting Free-Falling for review, as a fan of both Liane and Jacyln, I felt Nicola had a lot to live up to. Thankfully I was captivated by this novel from the first when we are introduced to Belinda in the rawness of her grief. Moriarty is not only able to capture Belinda's immediate grief, as the novel develops, she realistically portrays the range of emotions Belinda experiences. Her sadness, fear and courage create a well developed protagonist that I cared about.
Moriarty takes equal care in developing Evelyn who is not immediately sympathetic, especially after the events at the funeral, but as her character is revealed I began to understand her better, even though her behaviour continued to be unpleasant.
Moriarty slowly reveals the the circumstances of Andy's death, initially the event that led to his death is barely mentioned and it isn't until the near the end of the novel that we learn the truth. While we never meet Andy we get to know him a little through the people he left behind, Belinda and Evelyn of course, but also Andy's twin brother, James. Naturally enough James struggles with his brother's death especially given that James is the less responsible of the two, more likely to take risks.
Bazza, a sky diving instructor, becomes an unlikely confidante for Evelyn. I found him very likeable but I would have liked to have learnt a little more about him as he plays such a surprisingly pivotal role in the novel.
While Free-Falling is a character driven story, well grounded in human drama, it does have it's lighter moments and a touch of magical realism. I found the story well written and was quickly engrossed, reading it straight through, from beginning to end.
Free-Falling is both a delightful and heart breaking story, described as a tragic - romantic comedy it is light women's fiction at its best. Free - Falling should be on your reading list and I am eagerly looking forward to her next book.
Free Falling is Nicola's debut novel and it is a wonderful story of love, family, grief and moving on. It begins when Andy is killed and his mother blames his grief stricken fiance, Belinda. While Evelyn rages, alienating her surviving son, refusing to return to work and taking up sky diving with a young man named Bazza, Belinda is falling apart. She is drinking too much, blaming herself and wakes each morning forgetting he is gone. When strange things begin to happen - a delivery of flowers, a repaired letter box hinge, Belinda thinks Andy may still be with her, and he is in a way. It is weeks before she discovers he has left her with a surprising parting gift. Both women must learn to let go of their anger, their sadness and their grief to create a new future in honour of the man they have lost.
I admit I was a little nervous accepting Free-Falling for review, as a fan of both Liane and Jacyln, I felt Nicola had a lot to live up to. Thankfully I was captivated by this novel from the first when we are introduced to Belinda in the rawness of her grief. Moriarty is not only able to capture Belinda's immediate grief, as the novel develops, she realistically portrays the range of emotions Belinda experiences. Her sadness, fear and courage create a well developed protagonist that I cared about.
Moriarty takes equal care in developing Evelyn who is not immediately sympathetic, especially after the events at the funeral, but as her character is revealed I began to understand her better, even though her behaviour continued to be unpleasant.
Moriarty slowly reveals the the circumstances of Andy's death, initially the event that led to his death is barely mentioned and it isn't until the near the end of the novel that we learn the truth. While we never meet Andy we get to know him a little through the people he left behind, Belinda and Evelyn of course, but also Andy's twin brother, James. Naturally enough James struggles with his brother's death especially given that James is the less responsible of the two, more likely to take risks.
Bazza, a sky diving instructor, becomes an unlikely confidante for Evelyn. I found him very likeable but I would have liked to have learnt a little more about him as he plays such a surprisingly pivotal role in the novel.
While Free-Falling is a character driven story, well grounded in human drama, it does have it's lighter moments and a touch of magical realism. I found the story well written and was quickly engrossed, reading it straight through, from beginning to end.
Free-Falling is both a delightful and heart breaking story, described as a tragic - romantic comedy it is light women's fiction at its best. Free - Falling should be on your reading list and I am eagerly looking forward to her next book.
whatdaniellereads's review against another edition
5.0
Wauw, wat een prachtig boek. Heb 't met plezier gelezen!
rachellip's review against another edition
2.0
Takeaway: Sometimes, comfort for your grief comes from unexpected places.
tien's review
4.0
Whilst I prided myself to read pretty much everything, there is actually a type of book I usually try to avoid and that’s any contemporary chick-lit type of story. Nevertheless, I think I still read an average of 2-3 a year (out of my usual 200+ books). So why did I choose to read this obviously girly book?
The first seed of interest was sown when I first read the blurb, it brought to mind PS I Love You by Cecelia Ahern which I have a read a couple of years ago (after the movie) and absolutely loved, mostly due to the supernatural possibility it represent. After the read, I can confirm that whilst the blurb made them sound similar, it's a very different story whilst tackling same topic (grief).
I actually found out about this book from a flyer at my local library promoting a book launch. My interest was piqued even further when I found out that [a:Nicola Moriarty|5347787|Nicola Moriarty|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1327020406p2/5347787.jpg] is a local. I mean that she lives 2-3 suburbs away from me (approx 20 mins drive). This got me totally excited and in a bid to support a truly local author, I took the plunge.
The first line of chapter 1: I really didn’t know whether I was supposed to laugh or to cringe knowing that something is bound to go wrong.
The day after her fiancé died, Belinda drove to the RSPCA and picked up a puppy.
I totally get it why this makes complete "sense" but… if you know me, you know that I’m a proud mother of a gorgeous pug so whilst I wanted to snicker knowing something is bound to go wrong (this is soo not why you get a puppy), I also wanted to cringe for the poor puppy. You’ll have to read it to find out what actually happen ;)
To begin with, I didn’t like Belinda at all due to the way she was dealing with grief however as she dealt with it and her real-self started to show about mid-way of the novel, she grew on me. She was actually quite a sweet, confident, and capable young woman.
This book is told from 2 main perspectives: Belinda and Evelyn. Evelyn was Belinda’s mother-in-law-from-hell-to-be. She doesn’t sound very pleasant at all, huh? But, actually, she’s the one I like from right near the beginning. This is because I feel that I can relate to her better. Okay, not the criminal inclination nor the skydiving but her way of dealing with grief; of anger, of shutting everybody out and yet still seem to be altogether in public. I can understand this and sympathise with her but I just couldn’t sympathise with Belinda’s break-down.
Most memorable bit for me:
But then that moment passed and Evelyn remembered why it was that she kept doing this [skydiving]. That feeling of absolute freedom exploded from within and a gleeful smile was pasted across her face – despite the fact that her cheeks were rather unattractively flapping in the wind and her skin was being stretched back as though she’d just had an intense does of Botox.
Despite my initial reluctance, this was an easy book to read and love. 60 pages from end, I found myself thinking that I didn’t want it to end. It’s a very sweet and heart warming story which tugged and squeezed not only your heart but your tear-ducts. (Disclaimer: I cry pretty easily whilst reading :p) So, what does it say when someone who doesn’t usually read chick-lit type books like a chick-lit type of book? I say, you should give this book a fair go ;)
The first seed of interest was sown when I first read the blurb, it brought to mind PS I Love You by Cecelia Ahern which I have a read a couple of years ago (after the movie) and absolutely loved, mostly due to the supernatural possibility it represent. After the read, I can confirm that whilst the blurb made them sound similar, it's a very different story whilst tackling same topic (grief).
I actually found out about this book from a flyer at my local library promoting a book launch. My interest was piqued even further when I found out that [a:Nicola Moriarty|5347787|Nicola Moriarty|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1327020406p2/5347787.jpg] is a local. I mean that she lives 2-3 suburbs away from me (approx 20 mins drive). This got me totally excited and in a bid to support a truly local author, I took the plunge.
The first line of chapter 1: I really didn’t know whether I was supposed to laugh or to cringe knowing that something is bound to go wrong.
The day after her fiancé died, Belinda drove to the RSPCA and picked up a puppy.
I totally get it why this makes complete "sense" but… if you know me, you know that I’m a proud mother of a gorgeous pug so whilst I wanted to snicker knowing something is bound to go wrong (this is soo not why you get a puppy), I also wanted to cringe for the poor puppy. You’ll have to read it to find out what actually happen ;)
To begin with, I didn’t like Belinda at all due to the way she was dealing with grief however as she dealt with it and her real-self started to show about mid-way of the novel, she grew on me. She was actually quite a sweet, confident, and capable young woman.
This book is told from 2 main perspectives: Belinda and Evelyn. Evelyn was Belinda’s mother-in-law-from-hell-to-be. She doesn’t sound very pleasant at all, huh? But, actually, she’s the one I like from right near the beginning. This is because I feel that I can relate to her better. Okay, not the criminal inclination nor the skydiving but her way of dealing with grief; of anger, of shutting everybody out and yet still seem to be altogether in public. I can understand this and sympathise with her but I just couldn’t sympathise with Belinda’s break-down.
Most memorable bit for me:
But then that moment passed and Evelyn remembered why it was that she kept doing this [skydiving]. That feeling of absolute freedom exploded from within and a gleeful smile was pasted across her face – despite the fact that her cheeks were rather unattractively flapping in the wind and her skin was being stretched back as though she’d just had an intense does of Botox.
Despite my initial reluctance, this was an easy book to read and love. 60 pages from end, I found myself thinking that I didn’t want it to end. It’s a very sweet and heart warming story which tugged and squeezed not only your heart but your tear-ducts. (Disclaimer: I cry pretty easily whilst reading :p) So, what does it say when someone who doesn’t usually read chick-lit type books like a chick-lit type of book? I say, you should give this book a fair go ;)
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