How Not To Fall

four stars!

*I received this book via Netgalley for my honest review*

How Not To Fall by Emily Foster is a new adult romance that I at one point in personal correspondence called “a better 50 Shades of Grey but with less various beads and caning”. I still stand by that description. It is a great consensual romance story of two intelligent people - Charles and Annabelle - exploring their wants and needs. The most refreshing thing about this novel was how everything was discussed and talked through. There was never any issue of consent or lack of it. One side did not dominate over the other, and if they attempted to, they were called out on it. For instance, Charles is Annabelle’s postdoctoral fellow in the lab, and they both confess to mutual attraction, but decide to wait to act on their feelings until Annabelle graduates. It’s not often that the dominating side makes absolutely sure there can be no repercussions to either of them.

I think the main thing I loved about this book is how smart it was. First of all, it featured two academics, who may have been naïve in some things, but they never came off as dim or silly. In addition to that, the main male character was a feminist. It is slightly sad that this declaration made me so happy and was so unusual for a romance book, but I’m glad the author touched upon this subject. As the female protagonist says, “You see why I like this guy? He says it like it’s just understood that any reasonable person would identify as a feminist”. Exactly! I've read some other romances in the academic setting and this one was one of the more believable ones. The protagonists were serious about their education and the university wasn't treated as a mere backdrop or a setting.

I don’t think the book really had any big faults. I mean it didn’t fully resonate with me, but I think it may have been more about me feeling slightly slumpy than the novel. I even understand dragging out the story into a duology in this case, as it would be extremely illogical and unlikely that the tortured hero (not a spoiler, it's definitely implied right away) would find resolve in just 300 pages. Hence a slight cliffhanger warning here, but I think it was done incredibly well. Again I have to reiterate the fact that Annabelle stated some of the terms and stood by them, despite how hard it was for her or how the initial decisions were redrawn. I think it shows a great promise for the future of new adult novels. None of the characters really came off weak or fledgling, traits that can sometimes render them unbelievable and/or unlikeable.

This is a strong four, almost five, stars and I’d recommend it to anyone who prefers a steamier romance. It also had a literary twist, and was very quotable. I will definitely pick up the sequel. Can’t wait, in fact.

I turn my face to him. “Is there a book I can read about how to fight?”

He shrugs. “It’s not that complicated. The main thing is to remember that you like the other person enough to care about what they’ve done or said.”