Review: Falling Into You

I wasn't always in love with Colton Calloway; I was in love with his younger brother, Kyle, first. Kyle was my first one true love, my first in every way.

Then, one stormy August night, he died, and the person I was died with him.

Colton didn't teach me how to live. He didn't heal the pain. He didn't make it okay. He taught me how to hurt, how to not be okay, and, eventually, how to let go.

Title: Falling Into You (Falling
Author: Jasinda Wilder | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Website
Publication Date: March 14 2013
Publisher: Self-Published 
Length: 223 Pages
Add it to your TBR Pile: Goodreads
Buy It: Amazon US / Amazon UK

Source: Purchased (Kindle Edition)
Cover Love: Very nice, love the black and white.
Point of View:  Alternating 1st person between both Nell and Colton

My Rating: 3 Stars

Hhhhmmm.... where do I begin?  I would like to start out by saying that I didn't hate Falling Into You but I can also say that I didn't exactly love it either.  Let me try to explain....

“Compassion and pity are not the same: pity is looking down on someone, feeling sorry for them and offering nothing; compassion is seeing their pain and offering them understanding.”

I have no problem with emotionally charged books.  I have in the past read and loved books that covered just as many hard hitting topics as Falling Into You does.  But there was just something holding me back from really connecting with the characters.  Even now I can't seem to put my finger on why I never felt that connection.  It was all there.  A girl, a guy, tragic circumstances...   But there was just something missing for me.

“Feel. Grieve.  Let yourself feel the anger at the fact that he was taken from you.  Feel the loss of him .  Feel the sadness and the missing him.  Don't block it out, don't cut so it so stop, don't drink yourself numb.  Just sit and let it all rip you apart.  And then get up and keep breathing.   One breath at a time.  One day at a time.  Wake up, and be shredded.   Cry for a while.  Then stop crying and go about your day.  You're not okay but you're alive, and you will be okay, someday”

I am going to be honest and say my favorite part of this book was the first 26%.  You can read the synopsis and gather that Kyle, Nell's first boyfriend and Colton's younger brother, dies.  I really connected with Kyle.  It is almost as if so much effort was put into Nell and Kyle at the beginning to show how great they were together and how everything should have been perfect, until tragedy strikes and Kyle dies.

I know this is about moving on and showing that there can be life after such terrible circumstances but I just didn't feel the same love for Colton as I did for Kyle.  There wasn't enough of a build up of him.  So while Nell was moving on and falling in love with somebody else I was still thinking about Kyle and had not moved on as quickly.  I just didn't get the 'spark' between Nell and Colton.  It seemed to happen rather fast for my liking.

“We understand each other, Nelly.  We’ve both lost someone we love.  We both have scars and regrets and anger.  We can do this together.”

I am a sucker for the happily ever after.  Nell and Colton are left in an 'okay' state of being at the end.  Things are not perfect and things are not all doom and gloom, but I can honestly say I still felt rather depressed at the end.  There are some heavy hitting subject matters that are touched upon but frankly it just doesn't feel like everything is really dealt with. It all felt a bit rushed and for such important and traumatic subject matters I would think a little more time would be spent talking about things and healing the wounds.

Also I didn't cry.  I know this is not a prerequisite for a good book but if you know me then you know I cry at everything.  I cry at happy, I cry at sad... I should own stock in a tissue company.  But while reading Falling Into You... zero, zip, nada, zilch.  The only time I even came close was when Kyle died and even then, nothing.  For there to be such heavy topics discussed, and for me not to shed one tear for them just shows my lack of connection to the characters.

“You need to let yourself feel. Feel it, own it. Then move on”

You can obviously tell that Jasinda Wilder has talent as a writer and just because I didn't connect to the characters or story I am in no way shape or form telling you to stay away from Falling Into you.  There are a ton of five star reviews out there so obviously there is much love for this book... just for whatever reason I didn't feel the same.

MORE QUOTES FROM FALLING INTO YOU