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A review by bookstolivewith
Charming Falls Apart: A Novel by Angela Terry
reflective
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Okay y’all — I’ve just gotten back in the NetGalley game, but this one was not for me.
Charming Falls Apart by Angela Terry has an incredible premise. Our protagonist, Allison, goes from having just about everything she thinks she needs to losing all of that (except for one great friend and a new local coffee shop) in 24 hours. So what’s a girl to do? How do you move forward when your whole life suddenly collapses?
It sounds totally intriguing, right? I was expecting lots of girl power, a bit of romance and a well-worn realization that she’s enough, in-and-of herself. And yet, the book was incredibly... boring. Allison was somehow both relatable and generic, the romance plot was so light that at the end, it felt rushed and out of nowhere, and I kept cringing at the way Allison was trying to find help and redemption through self-help books and off-the-beaten-path “Eat Pray Love” type retreats. The only parts I truly loved were anytime Allison’s best friend Jordan, a go-getter out-spoken woman who does her best to help Allison whenever she needs, showed up.
I am 100% aware that I may not be the audience for this book, as someone who has a suspicion of many self-help and self-care ploys as merely pyramid schemes, and I’ve certainly never experienced anything Allison encounters. So, this is to say, that while this book was not for me, it very well might be for someone. After all, the writing was decent and the characters could be quite endearing to the right reader, and I finished it, so it clearly wasn’t terrible, as I have no shame DNF’ing books I really don’t like. It just seemed to lack some depth and momentum that I really hoped it would have.
Charming Falls Apart by Angela Terry has an incredible premise. Our protagonist, Allison, goes from having just about everything she thinks she needs to losing all of that (except for one great friend and a new local coffee shop) in 24 hours. So what’s a girl to do? How do you move forward when your whole life suddenly collapses?
It sounds totally intriguing, right? I was expecting lots of girl power, a bit of romance and a well-worn realization that she’s enough, in-and-of herself. And yet, the book was incredibly... boring. Allison was somehow both relatable and generic, the romance plot was so light that at the end, it felt rushed and out of nowhere, and I kept cringing at the way Allison was trying to find help and redemption through self-help books and off-the-beaten-path “Eat Pray Love” type retreats. The only parts I truly loved were anytime Allison’s best friend Jordan, a go-getter out-spoken woman who does her best to help Allison whenever she needs, showed up.
I am 100% aware that I may not be the audience for this book, as someone who has a suspicion of many self-help and self-care ploys as merely pyramid schemes, and I’ve certainly never experienced anything Allison encounters. So, this is to say, that while this book was not for me, it very well might be for someone. After all, the writing was decent and the characters could be quite endearing to the right reader, and I finished it, so it clearly wasn’t terrible, as I have no shame DNF’ing books I really don’t like. It just seemed to lack some depth and momentum that I really hoped it would have.