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A review by nicole_reads_everything
The Fall by May Archer
2.0
Okay read.
First, I'll admit, I've never particularly enjoyed the 'small town' trope. I've heard of small towns like these, but as somebody who grew up in a small town, the overly nosey, gossipy, frankly creepy involvement in everybody's lives was not my experience. This book wasn't as bad as many I've read, but it generally has me rolling my eyes. There were SO many secondary characters I couldn't keep them straight, and there were at least three couples the author was obviously setting up for future books, which I think is kind of a tacky practice--why don't you focus on getting us to care about the couple your writing about instead of trying to shove in characters for future books?
Second, I'm not generally a fan of the dead lover trope, as it's so very rarely done well. I actually appreciate the fact that the author did try and address the complexities of Ev's past relationship, but they fell into one of the traps I loathe which is feeling like they need to diminish the intensity/love/passion of the previous relationship so as not to ~overshadow~ the current one. I fucking hate this. You don't have to made Ev's relationship with Adrian to be lacking in passion and connection to justify him moving on. Frankly, it was a major turn-off. And it felt even more off because this was right alongside what we're told is Ev's overwhelming grief for Adrian, but I never felt like we really saw this, we were just told. It all felt very forced.
Third, I honestly just wasn't really feeling the connection between Ev and Si. Felt like it developed too quickly, and I just wasn't invested in their story. Si is supposedly afraid of commitment but jumped straight to forever. Neither of them gave the other a break, and the chemistry just wasn't there. I seriously cared more about the Hen/Diane side-story, which is not a great sign.
Forth, the mystery was not great. Super obvious, the pacing was atrocious, and the ~climax~ had me rolling my eyes.
First, I'll admit, I've never particularly enjoyed the 'small town' trope. I've heard of small towns like these, but as somebody who grew up in a small town, the overly nosey, gossipy, frankly creepy involvement in everybody's lives was not my experience. This book wasn't as bad as many I've read, but it generally has me rolling my eyes. There were SO many secondary characters I couldn't keep them straight, and there were at least three couples the author was obviously setting up for future books, which I think is kind of a tacky practice--why don't you focus on getting us to care about the couple your writing about instead of trying to shove in characters for future books?
Second, I'm not generally a fan of the dead lover trope, as it's so very rarely done well. I actually appreciate the fact that the author did try and address the complexities of Ev's past relationship, but they fell into one of the traps I loathe which is feeling like they need to diminish the intensity/love/passion of the previous relationship so as not to ~overshadow~ the current one. I fucking hate this. You don't have to made Ev's relationship with Adrian to be lacking in passion and connection to justify him moving on. Frankly, it was a major turn-off. And it felt even more off because this was right alongside what we're told is Ev's overwhelming grief for Adrian, but I never felt like we really saw this, we were just told. It all felt very forced.
Third, I honestly just wasn't really feeling the connection between Ev and Si. Felt like it developed too quickly, and I just wasn't invested in their story. Si is supposedly afraid of commitment but jumped straight to forever. Neither of them gave the other a break, and the chemistry just wasn't there. I seriously cared more about the Hen/Diane side-story, which is not a great sign.
Forth, the mystery was not great. Super obvious, the pacing was atrocious, and the ~climax~ had me rolling my eyes.