When I read Listen in one sitting in January, I felt a connection with it that I didn't think I'd feel again (as a lifelong musician and one-time piano major in college who struggled with performance anxiety) in a book. Enter Falling, which as every reader who hasn't been under a rock knows details the aftermath of a plane crash and the relationship between a survivor and the fiancee of one of the victims. But before we can follow the relationship though, we first have to survive the crash from Shaylie's point of view. And it FEELS like a plane crash. Not since Jeff Bridges in 1993's Fearless have I felt like part of that kind of gruesome scene. I have been a fearful flyer my whole life, and in my 20s when I had to begin traveling for work I read a fantastic book that's probably out of print now. It was so bad that I had to look away when I drove past an airport and saw airplanes at the gate.

Fast forward to last week and again I read this book in one sitting. I literally couldn't put it down. I just couldn't help but root for Shaylie and Piper, and each had her own issues to work through. As it's still early in the cycle of this book I won't divulge any of the storyline, but just know that you will experience a full range of emotions and need some time to process it afterwards. Shaylie's friends are fantastic and really add to the story.

My last two comments: I'm normally not a fan of "people" on covers because I like to conjure up my own faces. This cover, however, is destined to win an award next summer for best cover. It's gorgeous and perfectly captures the mood of the story. And you know that a Kris Bryant book is going to have inventive love scenes - but she made us wait a while this time!

Recommended

Kris Bryant is on my list of authors whose books I'll automatically pick up - she's an adept writer whose romances just draw you in. Falling did not disappoint. If you're looking for a well written romance this is the book for you.

I had a few moments of indecision on whether I wanted to read the book now - especially with the recent events with the Max 737. The first few pages of the book were particularly harrowing but it didn't feel exploitative of the inherent horror and tragedy of a crash. In fact, Bryant doesn't go the easy route and ratchet up the angst by focusing a story around Shaylie's recovery, survivor's guilt, etc. Instead, Bryant focuses on the changes Shaylie makes and her moving forward with her life and friendships - including the burgeoning relationship with Piper.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and the characters, including Shaylie's bestie, Marisa, and the big lug of a cowboy, Jason. A slightly cheesy ending - but who doesn't like a little cheese in their happy endings (that is not a spoiler ... romances are expected to have happy endings or they'd be considered boring literature)

As this is a first person narration, there were aspects of Piper that weren't fully fleshed out or addressed - I'd like to have gotten a better feel for her and how she was dealing with everything, but that's one of the drawbacks of first person narration.