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A review by beate251
Catch a Falling Star by Laura Carter
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC.
The main characters in this dual POV second chance romance are wedding photographer Lyra who is the disapproved of black sheep in a family full of doctors and Guy, a former rock star who is now making ends meet by being a wedding singer and full of guilt and self-loathing about his brother Scott's death from a car accident after drug use three years ago. They actually met seven years ago at a concert of Guy's band The Hand Me Downs but Lyra had to abruptly leave due to her father's illness.
Now their paths suddenly cross all the time in the Newcastle wedding season. They feel drawn to each other, but the romance is slow-burn due to their insecurities. Especially Guy is grumpy and his constant not feeling good enough is a real downer. I don't mind a few childhood traumas in a romance book but I couldn't be with a man who constantly puts himself down that much and says things like "you're better off without me". It's extremely off-putting, and the book dragged because of those indecisions.
It is all quite samey, with Lyra forced to say things like "But if you can’t learn to love yourself, what chance do I have of you letting me love you?" in variations all the time. I wasn't invested in the characters, the dialogue or the storyline - the blurb sounded so good but the plot is very repetitive and I was missing any sparkle that would outweigh the constant negativity from Guy. I'm sure a lot of people will love this but it wasn't for me.
The main characters in this dual POV second chance romance are wedding photographer Lyra who is the disapproved of black sheep in a family full of doctors and Guy, a former rock star who is now making ends meet by being a wedding singer and full of guilt and self-loathing about his brother Scott's death from a car accident after drug use three years ago. They actually met seven years ago at a concert of Guy's band The Hand Me Downs but Lyra had to abruptly leave due to her father's illness.
Now their paths suddenly cross all the time in the Newcastle wedding season. They feel drawn to each other, but the romance is slow-burn due to their insecurities. Especially Guy is grumpy and his constant not feeling good enough is a real downer. I don't mind a few childhood traumas in a romance book but I couldn't be with a man who constantly puts himself down that much and says things like "you're better off without me". It's extremely off-putting, and the book dragged because of those indecisions.
It is all quite samey, with Lyra forced to say things like "But if you can’t learn to love yourself, what chance do I have of you letting me love you?" in variations all the time. I wasn't invested in the characters, the dialogue or the storyline - the blurb sounded so good but the plot is very repetitive and I was missing any sparkle that would outweigh the constant negativity from Guy. I'm sure a lot of people will love this but it wasn't for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Car accident, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail