A plane crash is a different way to start a lesbian romance book. An unconventional pairing between a plane crash survivor and a fiance left behind when her partner died in the crash. I liked the side characters, without them, the book wouldn't stand. Definitely, an interesting read how two people deal with their newfound infatuation and the way the got together. I was wondering all along the way how they were really going to make the relationship work with what happened sitting between them.

When Shaylie Beck’s flight from New York to Denver crashes, she’s one of eleven survivors. If she’d been in her seat instead of the bathroom, she would have perished with the other passengers. Piper Cole’s fiance and best friend were sitting next to Shaylie on the plane, but didn’t make it. The two meet while in a support group for survivors and the loved ones of those who perished and strike up a friendship. Shaylie is having trouble fighting her feelings for Piper, and a secret from the crash may ruin any chance they have for friendship or love.

This was a nice, romantic read. There is enough romantic tension to keep the plot moving, and I enjoyed the supporting characters’ and their romance as much as the main plot. It’s got a bit of an easy pace after the initial action of the crash, but I think that balances the book out pretty well. If you’re looking for things to add to your reading list for Pride Month, definitely check this one out.

Bryant’s books are all great, and this one is no different. I have enjoyed everything written by her. I was a bit worried in the beginning how the two mains were going to fall in love and it not be uncomfortable, but Bryant wrote it in such a way by the end I was a believer. I thought both mains were great, and I enjoyed the bonus romance between secondary characters. If you are looking for a great romance, with an excellent story pick this one up.

Received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

It took me a while to finish this. I just didn’t feel pulled in. We all know how this is going, we’ve seen this story before. By all means, it’s a great book if you’re looking for a lesfic romance book. But I feel like we always see these kinds of storyline in a lesfic.. i found it a bit boring and predictable to be honest. I would love more angst in this story, and I felt like it skipped in time every once in a while. But, if you’re looking for a feel good lesfic to read this is perfect for you

Shaylie is one of the eleven survivors of a plane crash as we go on journey of her recovery. When she meets Piper at a support group we find out that Piper fiancee and best friend was also on the plane next to Shaylie and she knows something that Piper doesn't.

Roller coaster of emotions as Piper and Shaylie help each other heal they don't really know if they want more or not.

I like the friendship with Shaylie and Marisa and Marisa romance with the rancher Jason.

It was a bit heavy sometimes but overall a good read.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

Before starting the book I wasn’t fully aware of the entire plot but slowly as I read ahead, I started feeling as if it was a great decision. My experience of the book would have been so different if I had gone in knowing what the plot was. However I really want to advise people not to read the book if they’re on a plane or maybe in a airport as the book starts off with a description of turbulence during a flight which turns out into a horribly unfortunate crash.

Throughout the whole book we follow Shaylie Beck who’s one of the only eleven survivors of the plane crash. Through her journey we learn more of how such accidents effect individuals emotionally and mentally and how survivors guilt impacts an individual’s life, preventing them from moving on with their lives.

This was definitely a very impactful book that contained a sort of emotional rollercoaster where the reader is presented with various emotions at once. I totally recommend this to anyone who loves reading emotion heavy books that feel as if you’re also sharing the characters experiences.

'ARC provided by both NetGalley and The Publisher in exchange for an honest review'

Falling was one of the books here that took on a deeper character approach. Two women find themselves impacted by tragedy as a plane crash derails their lives, and they find their connection may be not just shared disaster, but also a chance for growth. I found this one to be pretty slow going at times, with some excess padding, but I appreciated how Kris Bryant sought to make this meaningful. This was one of the better books of the bunch.

Review will appear at provided link by 5/30/19.

I’ve got dyspraxia so sometimes when I get too enthusiastic about what I’m reading or when I’m tired, my eyes go faster than the rest of me and I end up spoiling myself by reading the end of the page before the middle. So I’ve learned to hide the lines below the one I’m reading with my hand (like little kids). I don’t usually need to do it all the time, except maybe with mysteries, but I ended up reading almost this whole book with my hand hiding what was coming next. I got so invested in what Shaylie was feeling that I didn’t want to miss even one word. I even almost had to take a break when I was two thirds in, there were so many emotions.

The premise for this novel is a lot of people’s worst fear, a plane crash. Shaylie survives. Piper’s best friend doesn’t, and neither does her fiancée. When Shaylie and Piper first meet at a support group for survivors, then a second time by chance, they’re immediately drawn to each other but at first they don’t know whether they want to be friends helping each other to heal, or more. Bryant dealt with that beautifully.

Like other reviewers, I could have had a bit more on Shaylie’s PTSD but I get why the author would want to focus on the good that comes from the bad. As I wrote above, there were already so many feelings coming from that good, I didn’t feel like I was missing out. And though I knew there was a HEA coming, I nevertheless sometimes had doubt as to whether Shaylie and Piper would reach it. They had a lot of heavy stuff to deal with, and as meant as they were to be together, it could not be easy.

Definitely one of my favorite books so far this year.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The first chapter was so exciting and well written I couldn't wait to read on. And then the story turned into a slow, slow burn and inappropriate romance. Pages and pages of talking, staring, drooling, and wanting from afar. Neither one brave enough to make the first move. When they finally did.....I didnt care. I didnt feel the chemistry between them.
And the epilogue is way over the top sickening sweet.
Kris Bryant is a talented writer. The action and dialogue was well written but this storyline just went on and on. Im sure her next book will be better.

I was given an ARC for an honest review.

This was a fun unique twist on your typical romance. Most of the book follows the typical path of meet, lust, wait, fall, fight, and finally together however, the particulars in this book had some real twists turns and such fun back stories. I would recommend this book if you are in the middle mood to try something a little different. I can't wait to read more from this writer.

This book started out strong but kind of fizzled for me in the third act. The conflict and the resolution felt rushed after such a well developed opening and middle. Interesting premise though but just felt a bit rushed and not fleshed out enough.

Falling by Kris Bryant started with a bang. A very vivid plane crash throws us straight into the action. Enjoy it, because that is all the excitement you’re going to see in this story.

Told from plane crash survivor Shaylie Beck’s point of view we see a small part of her road to recovery (other than her fear of flying Bryant chose not to delve too much into the trauma). Her boss is pissed at her refusal to fly to perspective jobs (Shaylie is in commercial real estate) and we see all throughout the book that there is no love lost between those two. There are not many work related scenes so it’s more peripheral.

Much time is spent on her relationship with bff Marisa and said friend’s burgeoning romance with Shaylie’s personal savior, rancher Jason. So you get two sweet romances for the price of one (although one is straight). We see Shaylie befriend and slowly fall in love with yoga goddess Piper Cole. Piper lost her fiancée and best friend on that same flight. The fiancée and best friend who were sitting next to Shaylie and were making out like there was no tomorrow (well… in their case there wasn’t). This secret weighs heavy on Shaylie’s mind as her relationship with Piper evolves and deepens and you can rest assured it will come back to bite her in the ass.

Like I said, most excitement is in the first chapters, after that we coast along between the yoga studio, work, Jason’s family ranch, home. The inserted drama at the 80% mark was one of ridiculous proportions and I had to deduct points for that. I would have preferred we had coasted on with all the nice, rich people towards the wedded bliss and the babies.

Romance lovers will certainly get their money’s worth.

f/f explicit. Bryant has proven by now she can write hot sex scenes.

Themes: there was PTSD on both sides but it was mostly handled off screen, Piper remained a bit 2 dimensional, Clifford the cat gets a special shout out, lawsuit, yoga, real estate, Piper’s crisis was just silly.

3.6 stars

* A free copy was provided by Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books Inc. for an honest review.

I wanted to really like this book. I have enjoyed several others from Kris Bryant and had high hopes for Falling. It just fell short for me.

Maybe because the last book by Bryant that I read, Listen, was so highly enjoyable for me. I did not relate to the characters in this book on such a personal level.

It also may be that my background brought a different thought process to the plane crash that acted as a catalyst for the story. Bryant, in her Acknowledgements section, and a lot of reviewers have mentioned fears of flying. I do not share this fear. In fact, I am more intimately aware of airplanes than most with my education background. As such, I found myself drawn to the plane crash itself and wanting to know more details on this aspect. And I think it drew my focus away from the developing story line.

Shaylie Beck is one of a handful of survivors when her plane goes down. But even out of the darkest days there is hope. She meets Piper Cole, who lost her fiancée and best friend in the crash, at a support group and they hit it off right away. They become fast friends as they move forward in their lives in the face of the tragedy. Soon their feelings begin to change. Is it too soon? Or is true love always meant to be?

This was a really neat idea for a story. However I don't think the plane crash and the emotions surrounding it were done justice. This is a first-person book that has so much telling where such an emotional storyline really should draw you in with the emotional aspect of such a tragedy. I didn't feel or see Shaylie's pain or fear. I enjoyed the romance however outside of the plane crash, it was sweet and genuine. Honestly the little side romance with Jason and Marissa was what really stole the show for me. I loved Jason's family and the warmth it brought to the story - I think that's where Bryant's writing shone the most. If you accept the plane crash was just a way for Piper and Shaylie to meet and enjoy the rest of the ride, it's a really sweet and simple story.

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was an intense book, especially at the beginning following the plane crash and upon Shaylie's first meeting with Piper. The I enjoyed the overall storyline, Shaylie's dilemma about telling Piper, and the supporting characters of Marisa, Jason, and Jason's mother. I wish we could have gotten to know Piper a little better throughout the story though.

I received an ARC via NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the unique premise but there were a number of things about this book that I didn't find believable: Shaylie not going through any sort of PTSD after such a major incident or Piper being engaged to someone she'd only known for 6 months. The romance between Piper and Shay was well paced and sweet but I think a third person POV would have worked better - I felt I didn't learn much about Piper and the narration was too much telling and not enough showing.

The story started pretty intense and I was glued right away. But before that, I tried to guess the mysterious “what really happened before the accident” that was on the description, I thought it was something naughtier like Shaylie had a mile high fun with the fiancée. And I think it would have been less devastating. But meh, it’s no fun if it’s not about violating the bro code.

Losing someone very close to you can be truly heartbreaking but for someone to have suddenly lost not one but two people, Piper seemed okay. I mean aside from the mentions of therapy, her grieving process wasn’t highlighted enough for me to feel how devastated she was. I couldn’t feel her grief, and I wanted to feel her grief. I wanted to feel her inner struggles, her dilemma. It didn’t help that the story was told from Shaylie’s POV. I think I wanted the story to feel heavier than Kris Bryant wanted it to be. But that’s okay. This is still a very enjoyable read and a step up from the first book I’ve had of her. No fillers, all scenes were relevant, and thankfully they were not confined to 2-3 locations only 😁. The supporting characters were great and the subplot was cute. I’ll definitely read more from Bryant.

ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this one but there were a few things that stopped me from really loving it.

First, the pros. The setting was intriguing. MC Shay is at the end of a not terribly enjoyable flight when the worst happens, and the plane crashes. She one of few survivors. She meets the other MC Piper (whose fiancée and best friend we’re both killed in the crash) at a group counselling session for the victims and their families.

Both Shay and Piper are lovely people who had something awful happen to them. They begin to bond as a result of this. Problem is that Shay is instantly attracted to Piper, who is obviously grieving her fiancée and friend. Despite this, Shay continues to see Piper (as friends) even though she’s attracted to her, and their relationship grows. Shay also has a BFF, Marisa, who hits it off with another survivor from the flight, Jason.

Other than the honking red flag of Piper obviously not being in a place to begin a relationship and her dependency on Shay coming from a place of grief and loneliness, I actually liked how their relationship unfolded and how sweet they were together. Although I could have done without both Piper and her yoga trainer friend making multiple comments about Shay‘s level of fitness. Thankfully Shay ignored this and ate/did what she wanted anyway.

The issues I had were that Shay went through a horrible trauma, and apart from some mentions of counselling and a fear of flying/noise/small spaces, Shay is remarkably well-adjusted for someone recovering from something that I would think would have had more of an impact. I think it would have been better to have the MCs meet the way they initially did here, but then have a much bigger time jump before they meet again, so that some of the healing would have reasonably been expected to have already happened.

The requisite breakup was also telegraphed early on and it annoyed me that it was resolved by Piper having the issue confirmed with ‘evidence’ rather than just realising that Shay would never lie to her about something like that.

There’s also very little angst in this book, everyone loves one another, and gets along with everyone else (with the exception of Marisa’s completely understandable scepticism about Piper’s ability to be in a relationship so soon). And while I usually love an epilogue, I found this one to be overly sweet.

Anyway, that aside, I’m a Bryant fan, and while this isn’t my favourite of hers, it’s still a nice read. 3 stars.

When reading the blurb I was quite interested in how Bryant was going to make this work. After reading I can say that she made it work wonderfully.

I was hooked immediately when the book started with the action on the plane. For a minute I thought there was going to be some time spent before being found (stranded on the island type idea) but I'm happy that wasn't the case. Talking about the crash was a big part of the book but not the crash itself.

Both main characters were very likeable and the build-up was done well. I just wish that we were privy to Piper's feelings before she revealed them to Shay. I couldn't exactly tell what she was thinking leading up to that moment.

One thing that I really loved was that there wasn't a huge blowup between the two mains about Piper's building and Shaylie's part in the initial plans for redevelopment.

Marissa and Jason were nice secondary characters. I liked that Marissa kept Shay in check where her feelings for Piper were concerned. That seemed like something a best friend would do.

This is a great book and definitely worth the read.

(A copy was generously provided by BSB via NetGalley)

Sometimes love happens unexpected. This book will not disappoint you. From the beginning to the end it's a wonderful story. The strength of friendship is amazing through difficult times.