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michaelinereadsalot 's review for:
Can't Help Falling in Love
by Sophie Sullivan
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Can't Help Falling in Love was a sweet love story, but it had a lot of issues that could've been fixed with better editing.
When Lexi desperately attempts to avoid letting some girls she went to high school with know that she's a waitress (and a really terrible one at that), she panics and sits down at a very attractive customer's table, and, assuming they would never see the girls again, he helps her out of the situation by pretending they're engaged. But it turns out the attractive customer is Will Grand, the incredibly rich heir to a major company in Seattle, and when Lexi's high school friends invite her and Will to a party, the white lie snowballs into a full-blown, high-profile fake engagement.
I really did enjoy the story and characters in this book for the most part, and I found myself swooning and kicking my feet over the romance (I really am a sucker for fake-dating), but there were some issues with the writing that I felt could have been made a lot cleaner with some additional editing.
A ton of my annotations mentioned some heavy-handed and/or repetitive descriptions that made it feel like the author didn't have trust in her reader to understand or remember what she had already expressed earlier in the story and sometimes made Lexi feel really annoying. I also found some of the dialogue to be a little unrealistic and clunky. But all of this could have been resolved by rewording some things or cutting some of the repetition out entirely.
My one other complaint about the book was something that was fully personal to me and my own baggage that I brought to the story, and that was that Will was completely unable to see his own privilege and understand how not having that privilege would affect Lexi's day to day life, feelings, and mindset. It was super irritating that he could not fully empathize with her and would try to minimize the differences between them. He also would try to use his privilege and money to help Lexi when she explicitly asked him not to get involved, and while in Will's case it was done from a genuine and caring place, I could not stop thinking about my ex who would do the same, but would use it as a means of control and manipulation. So, for me, this aspect was a little bit triggering, but again, that is completely a personal issue.
I was mostly able to look past these things to enjoy what was a really cute story. I especially enjoyed the side characters in this, especially Will's sisters. I thought they brought a lot of warmth to the romance. I also really appreciated the mental health and grief representation in this book and the depth Sullivan included by showing how difficult it is when you want to help someone you love when they might not be ready for that help. Overall, this was a super cute and fluffy fall romcom with a lot of heart, but if you have an issue looking past editing issues or can't stand a rich man/poor woman power dynamic, I wouldn't recommend picking this one up.
Read Oct. 27, 2024.
*This book was sent to me by the publisher, and this is my honest review.*
When Lexi desperately attempts to avoid letting some girls she went to high school with know that she's a waitress (and a really terrible one at that), she panics and sits down at a very attractive customer's table, and, assuming they would never see the girls again, he helps her out of the situation by pretending they're engaged. But it turns out the attractive customer is Will Grand, the incredibly rich heir to a major company in Seattle, and when Lexi's high school friends invite her and Will to a party, the white lie snowballs into a full-blown, high-profile fake engagement.
I really did enjoy the story and characters in this book for the most part, and I found myself swooning and kicking my feet over the romance (I really am a sucker for fake-dating), but there were some issues with the writing that I felt could have been made a lot cleaner with some additional editing.
A ton of my annotations mentioned some heavy-handed and/or repetitive descriptions that made it feel like the author didn't have trust in her reader to understand or remember what she had already expressed earlier in the story and sometimes made Lexi feel really annoying. I also found some of the dialogue to be a little unrealistic and clunky. But all of this could have been resolved by rewording some things or cutting some of the repetition out entirely.
My one other complaint about the book was something that was fully personal to me and my own baggage that I brought to the story, and that was that Will was completely unable to see his own privilege and understand how not having that privilege would affect Lexi's day to day life, feelings, and mindset. It was super irritating that he could not fully empathize with her and would try to minimize the differences between them. He also would try to use his privilege and money to help Lexi when she explicitly asked him not to get involved, and while in Will's case it was done from a genuine and caring place, I could not stop thinking about my ex who would do the same, but would use it as a means of control and manipulation. So, for me, this aspect was a little bit triggering, but again, that is completely a personal issue.
I was mostly able to look past these things to enjoy what was a really cute story. I especially enjoyed the side characters in this, especially Will's sisters. I thought they brought a lot of warmth to the romance. I also really appreciated the mental health and grief representation in this book and the depth Sullivan included by showing how difficult it is when you want to help someone you love when they might not be ready for that help. Overall, this was a super cute and fluffy fall romcom with a lot of heart, but if you have an issue looking past editing issues or can't stand a rich man/poor woman power dynamic, I wouldn't recommend picking this one up.
Read Oct. 27, 2024.
*This book was sent to me by the publisher, and this is my honest review.*