Sophie Reads YA: Alex Light

Waiting On Wednesday: The Upside of Falling by Alex Light

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2020 Contemporary Romance Challenge

ARC Review: The Upside of Falling by Alex Light

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The Upside of Falling
Series: None
Author: Alex Light
Published February 18th 2020 by HarperTeen

Goodreads Synopsis
It’s been years since seventeen-year-old Becca Hart believed in true love. But when her former best friend teases her for not having a boyfriend, Becca impulsively pretends she’s been secretly seeing someone.

Brett Wells has it all. Being captain of the football team and one of the most popular guys in school, he should have no problem finding someone to date, but he’s always been more focused on his future than who to bring to prom. When he overhears Becca’s lie, Brett decides to step in and be her mystery guy. It’s the perfect solution: he gets people off his back for not dating and she can keep up the ruse.

Acting like the perfect couple isn’t easy though, especially when you barely know the other person. But with Becca still picking up the pieces from when her world was blown apart years ago and Brett just barely holding his together now, they begin to realize they have more in common than they ever could have imagined. When the line between real and pretend begins to blur, they are forced to answer the question: is this fake romance the realest thing in either of their lives?
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.

As soon as I heard about this book, I knew it was one for me, and I immediately pre-ordered it, and when I was sent a review copy from Harper360, I dove straight in. The fake relationship trope has always been a favourite of mine, and will probably be in the future too.

In The Upside of Falling, our MC, Becca, adores reading romance books, but is jaded against actual relationships or love, after seeing her parents disastrous relationship. She's 17, and has never been in a relationship, and when an old friend, turned quasi enemy, makes a dig at her, Becca decides to make up the fact that she's been in a relationship for sometime, but has been keeping it quiet. She doesn't know why she says it, nor who she could say is her 'boyfriend', but when Brett overhears her statement, he jumps in to play the role of boyfriend, and soon the two of them are in the deep end acting like a couple. Brett is football captain, and well known and popular around the school; the opposite of Becca. On paper, they really shouldn't work, but somehow they seem to find a way to grow close, first as friends, and later, as more.

I really enjoyed this book, and it was such a quick and nice read. Becca and Brett both had their issues, and weren't perfect, which made them more likeable and relatable. The only real issue I had with this book, which left it as a 4 star read, was the way that nothing really seemed to happen. It was fast paced, but didn't really take much time for everything to progress, and the plot was cute and fluffy, but that's about it. I would've liked a bit more depth, and bit more delving into Brett and Becca's lives and the lives of those around him. All in all, a really good debut, and I am looking forward to seeing what Alex brings out next.

Dates Read:

January 20-22, 2020

Rating
4 Stars