This one seemed a bit too much of a slow burn for me. I felt like it could have been organized differently to make this less of a slow burn.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review

While I really enjoyed this love story, there were a few things that could’ve been better. The beginning had a lot of unnecessary scenes that really made this a super slow burn. Also, without Will’s perspective, it felt really ridiculous that he was fully in love with her from the start while she thought he didn’t like her and so she hated him. Other than that this story had a good amount of spice and cuteness. I would love to see stories about Genesis’ sister and cousin’s love life.

This really gives me Spanish Love Deception and Hating Game vibes and I'm here for it because those two are like comfort books to me!

Our FMC Genesis is determined to win the competition at her work to produce her own album BUT she's partnered with her enemy.

You see where I'm going? ;)

This is a slowburn but so worth it to see them finally together at the end!

It's just what you'd want in a cheesy, fluffy, romance book. Such an easy read - would be good to get you out of a slump! A really enjoyable debut book I can't wait to see more from Anna Salcedo!

Now, I'm a sucker for both enemies and lovers AND workplace tropes - so this book sucked me right in and it didn't disappoint! Don't get me wrong, it's a bit of a slow burn as it's a bit lengthy, but it was such a feel-good read with a touch of spice (my favourite). I've never read a book about the music industry (only watched movies) so this was a great insight into those kinds of jobs & it was super interesting. Only one thing I wish was featured in this book, is dual POV so I could get more into Will's head a little more. But overall, I loved it!!

Thanks Netgalley, the publishers & Anna for allowing me to review this!

Thanks to NetGalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review!

When I heard that this book was essentially “The Spanish Love Deception” meets “The Hating Game”, I dove in with high expectations.

…yeah…the fall was unexpected because he was kind of a dick to her for 2 years. The first third of the book is so slow that it took me about two weeks to read the entire novel. Thankfully, it picked up steam by the second third and kept going.

Another reviewer mentioned how they felt Will was basically two characters - and I definitely agree. He was pretty much an entirely different person once he and Genesis actually got together. I get it. Love changes people. But to the extent of a full 180? It was a sharp transition, for sure. But, once the two get together the book becomes ten times more interesting! The tension is exquisite, and the sex scenes were <3 Their banter kept me thoroughly entertained, and of course they get bonus points from me for being an interracial couple! I always love when a couple bonds over the experiences of being children of immigrant parents, or when they share bits and pieces of their culture with each other!

The chemistry was definitely there, and overall the book redeemed itself in the end. 3.75 stars rounded up.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I DNFed about 20% through the book. It was slow and it lost me, I just couldn't finish. However if I ever come back to it I think it has a lot of potential to be great.

I loved Genesis and Will - they are so cute - I wasn't expecting to like this book as much as I did. The Unexpected Fall is a fun, forced proximity romance set in the music biz. I loved reading about the process Genesis and Will use to create songs and their back and forth about their favorite artists, music and styles. Learning about Genesis and Will's family and cultures was great. The story had me laughing out loud and I even cried a couple times. You could really relate to Genesis and her struggles with trying to advance at work, pursue her dreams and also toe the line to make sure she could provide for herself and her sister.. Her need to protect herself and her heart from falling in love due to loss early in life was also very relatable.
Get this book!

I love a good "enemies to lovers" trope and The Unexpected Fall definitely rises to the occasion. Diverse, funny and oh so sweet, I could not put this story down. The characters so were well developed and their diverse backgrounds helped connect them to their story and the reader. Will and Genesis had witty banter and chemistry without making the story too unreal or straight out of a hallmark movie. It's the realness of the characters that drew me in and the quality of writing and pacing that kept me going. Kudos to Anna Salcedo for a great book and debut!

Thank you to Anna Salcedo, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cute story line, a little slow at first but overall a fun and easy read. Was perfect for a day by the pool.

Genesis dreams of becoming a music producer and quitting her boring job in marketing. Fortunately, her company organizes such a contest. However, Genesis will compose and record the song for this contest together with Will. Of all people, Will is the one she doesn't like at all. Or does she?

My opinion:
The book cover is very nicely designed and I like it. Especially the individual details fit very well to the story. The writing style of Anna Salcedo is very pleasant to read. The author writes soulful, profound, but also funny. This is a great combination!

It was not so easy for me to get into Genesis at the beginning. She is very determined and goal-oriented, but also heady. Genesis worries about way too many unnecessary topics and slows herself down. It's especially bad in situations where she meets Will. He makes her nervous and there is a certain tension between them.
However, Will is friendly to everyone, but not to Genesis. So the cooperation between them is really difficult in the beginning. Even though I can understand Genesis' dislike for Will, it took me a little too long for her to give him a fair chance. Genesis is often so set on her own opinion that she misses a lot. I find that very unfortunate

I really like the plot itself, even if some parts are way too obvious. Here I would have liked more action and suspense.
Still, I liked it, especially when Genesis decides to give Will a chance and the two get closer.
As a couple, I like Will and Genesis very much! They support each other and slowly thaw out. In addition, I had the feeling that they develop further and become more open to other people. I liked that a lot!

The end was unfortunately a bit too rushed for me. I would have liked a few more pages.
Nevertheless, I found the end very fitting for Genesis and Will. Things don't always turn out the way you want them to, but there are other opportunities and you just have to believe in yourself and your partner. And I think that's a very nice thought.

My conclusion:
I liked the story very much, even if it was a bit too little for me in some places and I perceived Genesis as a bit difficult in the beginning. But together with Will I really like her and also enjoyed the plot.

I was incredibly impressed upon learning this was Anna Salcedo’s debut novel. Granted, it was predictable and a tad formulaic, but I don’t see these traits as flaws nor inherently negative. I was engaged and invested in all aspects of the book from beginning to end, from the easy to root for romance to the friendships and family dynamics. I found the contest plot line to be an interesting one that introduced a well loved trope—forced proximity— which I appreciated.
His feelings were clear to the reader whilst his actions still made it reasonable for Genesis to not realize/deny them, which isn’t often found in a romcom. Enemies to lovers isn’t always done believably in contemporary romances, and while I’d have appreciated a more smooth transition from hostile to kindhearted on Will’s part, I still think the tension and banter was done very well and I’ll certainly be keeping an eye out for the author’s future works.
I was very pleased to have both MCs come from diverse backgrounds (Latina and Japanese, respectively) and although I can’t speak for either culture I viewed the portrayal to be respectful, and I appreciated the awareness of what impact gender and race have on the workplace in both subtle and plain ways.
Overall, I very much enjoyed this book and I look forward to getting a physical copy of my own!

The Unexpected Fall
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Romance
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 11/20/21
Author: Anna Salcedo
Publisher: Independently Published
Pages: 431
Goodreads Rating: 3.73

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Anna Salcedo and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: Genesis Gonzalez has spent the last two years trying to prove herself at Siren Music Records. She was just about to throw in the towel when her job announced an opportunity that could change everything—a work contest that would allow two employees the opportunity to have their song on the label’s highly anticipated collaborative album, which features music from all their hottest artists. But her plans take an unexpected turn when she finds out that she gets paired with Will, who she is humanly incapable of getting along with. They have three months to create a song that will impress the record label enough to make both of their dreams come true. But the one thing Genesis could’ve never seen coming is that the only thing harder than getting along is not falling in love …

My Thoughts: The author did a fantastic job of incorporating the Japanese (Will) and Dominican (Genesis) cultures and customs into the American lifestyles. This has an enemy to friends to lovers trope, which is one of my favorite types of tropes. The beginning starts out pretty slow with a lot of internal monologue and it takes a bit before we really get into the character interactions. The characters are developed well with depth, chemistry, hateful then witty banter, were creative, and the supporting characters really balanced out the mix. The author’s writing style had a sense of complexity, creativity, and kept me engaged from beginning to end. With this being a debut novel for Salcedo, I cannot wait until her next novel. This book was released already, so go buy it!

I really liked this book. I’m a huge fan of enemies to lovers and workplace romances, so this was the perfect book for me.

We'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read a copy of this book.

The Unexpected Fall was a really cute read. This was a slow-burn, multicultural romance. Genesis and Will start off as enemies, brought together to write a song for a contest. As they spend more time together and because of the nature of the collaboration they're doing, they end up becoming friends and falling in love. We found it took quite a while for the romance to actually start, but once it did, it was really sweet and spicy. We would have loved to see a bit more development in their relationship, but for a debut novel, it definitely defied our expectations and we really enjoyed their moments.

But, besides the romance, this book also explored family relationships to a great extent. Genesis is an older sister and we loved reading about her relationship with her sister. We thought Anna Salcedo was able to explore that aspect of Genesis' life as her sister's primary care giver really well. We also liked how Will's relationship with his parents, especially his dad was navigated. It was really interesting to see these family dynamics play out.

We really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more of Salcedo's work in the future!

What a book! The first thing I did this morning was pick up this book and finished it. I knew I could wait until this evening to find out how it ended.

When I started reading this it is very much like the hating game but in the music industry. I love an enemy to lovers story and this one was pretty perfect. Will and Genesis make a great pair once they get over a misunderstanding. Genesis's family are really well developed in the book and had great plotlines and I would love to read about there lives in the future.

It felt sweet to begin with but it definitely end with spice!

Anna Salcendo will now be an instant buy for me in the future.

Thanks to netgalley for the arc, all views are my own

This read didn’t really rope me in. It was your typical enemies to lovers, work place romance. Nothing stood out that I would say I exceptionally loved. But if that trope is your vibe, then I would recommend it to you- just not my cup of tea.

The Spanish Love Deception meets The Hating Game, in the music industry.
Don’t you love a good romance book where the guy is in love with the girl and she hates his guts?
Starting from enemies, going straight to lovers?

“When I finally kiss you, it’s going to be more than a kiss in the dark.”
“I knew we will be magic together”.
THIS is the point where I started to enjoy the book.

Here are Genesis and Will, whom both work at Siren Music Records. Finance analyst Will and Marketing assistant Genesis dream of a music career while working on a 9-5 job. What happens when a challenge arrises at the office? A contest that would allow two employees the opportunity to have their song on the label’s highly anticipated album. Do you think they will make it?

I liked the book, the plot, the chemistry, but the first part was just too slow. I’m happy that we got to discover the background stories of our main characters, but I would have loved more to dive into the creative process of writing and producing the song, to bring out more the chemistry they have through a common passion: music. I really liked when the first lyrics hit them and how that was the starting point of the love story. I would have loved to see more of that.

Thank you NetGalley & Anna Salcedo for this ARC. It was a lovely read!

This was really cute. I liked it alot. It has everything I enjoy, slow burn, office romance, enemies to lovers. The relationship development was done well between genesis and will. Great debut!

This book was eerily similar to the Spanish Love Deception at first but as the story progressed I started to love it more and more. I really loved the characters and their relationship and how they bond over their mutual love of music.
Will was a total heartthrob, I absolutely loved him in the end even if our initial impression wasn’t great. But his explanation for the way he acted is something I RELATE TO SO HARD. so it made my heart soft in the end. And his dirty mouth was really unexpected but DAM it had me blushing.
Genesis was incredible. She was vulnerable and badass and she made me cry when she talked about wanting so badly to make friends. I think out of all heroines I’ve read I’ve related to her the most. I too come off as cold/robotic at first and I have a hard time making friends because of it so I really felt for her.

The Unexpected Fall by Anna Salcedo was one of the best debut novels I've read. The workplace romance between Genesis and Will felt natural, and not at all cringeworthy--which can be a big problem for this subgenre.

It is hard to believe how much time passes from the beginning to the end of the story, because it feels so slow. The beginning seemed to drag on, but things really pick up in the middle.

This novel would have greatly benefited from being Dual POV. I would have loved to know what Will was thinking in certain scenes.

That being said, I can't wait to see what Anna Salcedo has in store for us next (hopefully a story for Callum and Yari!). All thoughts and opinions are my own.