A review by bookshelflawyer
The Fastest Way To Fall by Denise Williams

medium-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

3.75

This book had its ups and downs for me, but overall I found it to be delightful. Though there were moments where the cringe showed it’s face, it wasn’t hard to get through and I was glad that I stuck in and finished it.

Pros:
  • Funny main female character who finds a supportive main male to fall in love with
  • Interesting supporting characters 
  • Realistic repercussions for actions 
  • Easy read
  • Spicy scenes 

Cons:
  • Romance a little rough to get behind at first because of the character dynamics
  • Leans heavy into the whole HAES thing
  • Ending felt a little rushed, especially getting up to the hill of the conflict 

Now, onto discussing the book in a little more detail!

Nothing truly stuck out to me about the writing, for better or worse, but the characters were memorable - even the side characters. This book does seem to be the start in a standalone verse series, so it’s good that the side characters were lovable in this book. It makes the desire to keep up with the series in order to get to their books all the more present. Honestly, I would like to see more with Cord/Pearl and just Mason in general. 

Britta and Wes are cute. There does seem to be a bit of instant love going on in the story, which isn’t one of my favorite tropes, but that was easy enough to push aside. The chemistry between them was believable, even with the insta-feeling portion. It was a little disconcerting initially how much Wes seemed willing to disregard his professionalism, being Briggs’s coach. Even knowing this is a romance book and that’s part of the plot, it was off putting at first. That was really the only objection I had to their relationship while reading the book. Maybe if Wes hadn’t been so quick to fall into flirting, it wouldn’t have felt so off, but this is a romance book, so I couldn’t expect too much. It wasn’t a discomfort that stayed necessarily, but let’s say I wasn’t necessarily on Wes’s side when stuff came out and it was an issue. 

Britta as a character was fun. She’s funny and confident and she seems to really enjoy life even without a partner. Wes as a character also was perfectly fine. He has his shadows, which become more apparent in the book, and at times he reminds me of a kicked puppy, but he’s cute. 

I would have to say one of the things I didn’t like about this book was how it leaned into HAES. Britta seemed to point out constantly when starting the challenge that she wasn’t trying to lose weight, but rather get healthy. Later, the weight loss is acknowledged and it’s fine, but it just felt like overkill to keep saying that. There’s also a moment where characters dislike a food being called a guilty pleasure (because no morality to food and stuff) and it just felt eye-roll inducing. The book seemingly tries hard to keep Britta as the fat character who wants to be fat but also be super active and do these things like a 10k and participate in a fitness program while assuring everyone that she wants to and will stay fat. Without that pushed so hard, I might have been a bit less exasperated. 

Overall, the book had some good points and some less than good points. I still found it a worthwhile read and would recommend it to anyone looking for something fun and light. 

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