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Member Reviews

Thank you NetGalley and author Anna Salcedo for the ARC! Actually, I believe this one is already available to purchase, and I plan to do so!

This one definitely gave me The Hating Game vibes, as it’s also enemies-to-lovers, and an office romance.

Genesis Gonzalez and Will Kobayashi work at Siren Music Records, a production company, and find themselves working together to create a song for a contest that could end up on an album, and skyrocket their hopeful music careers. Her, producing, him a musician (granted, she is also an amazing musician).

It was a cute story, and it was nice to see adults talking about things (even if it’s eventually) as opposed to just keeping it to themselves.

Would definitely recommend!

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you know i love a good old fashion office romance. but this time it had a twist : music. and how suprising of me to have loved it. after all i am a fan of angst this book served. 4/5

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The Unexpected fall 

by Anna Salcedo


5 stars

Enemies to lover's workplace romance.

I thought this book was cute, the characters are very well written and being able to hear how they are with their families was great. I enjoyed how it didn't just stick with work and how they are in the office, it expanded. I love how Genesis grew she fought for what she wanted and got it in the end, Will did help with pushing her to open but he doesn't steal that credit from her it's like he nudged her just enough but also respected her. The love Will feels for Genesis you can just tell in the way he talks about her and how he just wants to be with her and willing to wait. It was super sweet the way he was willing to let her grow and find her own way to him instead of him being pushy.  The spice in the book was decent Will likes to dirty talk but for me wasn't spicey enough. I like spicey. The playlist they offer in the beginning for you is nice cause then you can hear some of the songs they talk about which is all what the book is about music and the love and passion for it. One of my top favorites.

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I just finished this book and I absolutely loved it. The connection to music, the relationship dynamics in the shift from enemies to lovers and the build up to steam along with the steam level was just perfection! I seriously enjoyed this book and I'm really hoping for Yari's story next!

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Will is the perfect man, everything that man does is wonderful. The way he knew everything that Genesis needed. Watching her fall in love with him while making music was amazing.

I need another book about yari and cal.

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For a debut book I thought it was cute. It was a tad long at times but it kept me interested enough to see it through.

Genesis works for a music label and has always dreamed of producing music. However, she has been stuck in the assistants position for far too long. She sends emails, takes notes, delivers coffee and avoids Will as much as she can. Under the impression that the handsome Will cannot stand her, she has made him her arch nemesis.

When a contest at works offers up the promotion of a lifetime, can Will and Genesis work together as a team?

What I liked:
The relationships and friendships. Genesis had such closeness with her sister and cousin. Will had great friendships with his band members.

I love music of all genres, and I believe there is something in song that can just ease your soul. This book relays that really well. You believe the characters when they talk about their music.

What could have been better:
The whole Genesis and Will relationship was a bit over the top for me. Some parts a little unbelievable.


But, I would recommend it for an easy read.

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2 stars.

This book definitely fell into the category of cliché and not my style for me. The main character Genesis was so oblivious to whatever happened around her and the way in which she held herself and regarded the world was just obnoxious. While I have to say that I like the premise of this book, I have to be honest with myself and say that I did not enjoy it in the slightest. I pushed through to get to the end and even the ending is predictable and can be seen from a mile away. This will probably be a book someone will enjoy, sadly that person isn't me.

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I really wanted to like this book. It had all of the tropes I generally enjoy including young woman finding herself in big city, friends to lovers, and of course, music focused, but for some reason, I really just couldn't get into this book. Maybe it's a chance of right book wrong time in my life. For that reason and because I think many others will love this (and I likely will too at another reading later in life) I am giving this book a 3/5.

Thank you to NetGalley and Anna Salcedo for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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"' knew we would be magic together, he said, his words a deep promise."

The Unexpected Fall was an unexpected delight in my books! An enemies-to-lovers workplace romance, if you enjoyed The Ex-Talk or The Hating Game you're going to want to read this book. It's told from Genesis' perspective, a marketing assistant at a record label who dreams of being a producer. When her company pairs musicians and producers together for a competition, of course, she is paired with her nemesis, Will. But soon she starts seeing him from a fresh perspective.

There's a lot to love about The Unexpected Fall:
- Firstly, the characters! Genesis is a complex main character, surrounded by the best group of friends and family. She's family-focused, driven, but also has trust issues. Meanwhile, Will is a stoic but sweet-talking (sometimes dirty talking 😏) guy that's total book boyfriend material. I highlighted so many of his swoon-worthy moments and comments to Genesis (like the reason behind her Buttercup nickname 😍) and the fact he's a singer was the icing on the cake!
- The chemistry between these two was electric! There's slow-burning tension, witty banter, great relationship development and some blush-worthy moments too.
- The diversity. Genesis is Dominican-American and Will is Japanese-American and I loved how their different cultures were a strong part of the narrative.
- The setting, including the NYC backdrop and the behind-the-scenes glimpse at working at a record label/making a song.

So, if you like steamy enemies-to-lovers workplace romances, I highly recommend reading The Unexpected Fall.

Thank you to Anna Salcedo for the ARC via NetGalley, in exchange for this honest review.

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I really wanted to love this book more than I actually did. It has everything I typically want in a book, diverse characters, enemies to lovers, workplace/office romance, and secret pining.

Genesis and Will have been working together for a few years at Siren Music Records, and they don’t exactly get along. So when there is a chance for both of their dreams to come true and be featured in the next collab album they have to learn to work together and let their love of music lead them to this big opportunity.

It was clear from the start that Will has always been pining over Genesis but the fact that we did not get his POV made it hard for me to understand how and why he fell in love with Genesis from the start. While we see their friendship develop as they work together, their chemistry was still lacking something that made it hard for me to fully believe their romance.

If you are a fan of The Spanish Love Deception and The Hating Game, I think you would enjoy this one too.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

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I want to start of by saying that I really wanted to love this book and honestly thought I would a lot more than I did. It follows a very typical work place, enemies to lovers trope which I usually ADORE but I this just didn’t have me attached like I normally am when reading books with this trope.

In all, I really did love Genesis and Will’s relationship and I loved the diversity that this book has. However, it just felt like something was missing. I feel that some of the writing style was a little too lovey dovey and I guess I’m just not into that☹️

But all in all, still a fun romcom and I’m sure a lot of people would love this. It just wasn’t for me:(

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I completely loved this book. It's writing is perfect, is Enemies-To-Lovers, ha a spark of hot and some complications as always. During my reading I found it very difficult to put it down because it's so good. I completely recommend this book. I really liked that the characters weren't what we always expect, Genesis has descentets from spanish contries and Will from Japan. I really enjoyed this multicultural kind of history.

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3.5
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read The Unexpected Fall.

I largely enjoyed this enemies-lovers workplace romance. Will was a charming hero and I loved the diversity in this book.

I found that I wasn’t as invested in Genesis’s family dynamics, and a large amount of book time was devoted to these relationships. However if this book is setting out to “universe build” as part of a larger series then I understand why the time was devoted to it.

Things I liked:
- The effort made by the author to include song lyrics and work in the industry
- We never got Will’s POV, but you knew everything he was feeling
- I liked that the complication wasn’t a standard “break up”

Things I didn’t like:
- As above, I wasn’t invested in the side stories of the sister and cousin
- I thought Genesis was a little immature and naïve when it came to Will
- I didn’t understand why she was so resistant to relationships – I think this was meant to connect to her father’s backstory, but it fell flat for me

In short: a really enjoyable story with a gorgeous hero.

Note to publishers/editors: a few typos, including “food” instead of “foot” during the dancing scene.

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I loved this book! One of the best enemies to lovers. It was so well written and there was some spicy which I am 100% here for!

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Thanks to Net Galley for an arc! This book was released November 30, so you can now buy it 😊

Genesis loves music and is working at a music label company trying to prove herself. One day, her company announces a competition that will allow 2 employees the opportunity to have their song on the label's most anticipated collaborated album of the year. However, she finds out that her partner is non-other than Will, with who she absolutely can’t seem to get along. They have 3 months to create the perfect song- how will they learn to get along?

I really enjoyed reading how Genesis and Will went from hating each other to falling in love! The way Will was so respectful, always caring for Genesis, and being patient for 2 years filled my heart with happiness. I really liked learning about their family. I could really relate to Genesis and her sister Alejandra, as well as with her cousin. As a Spanish speaker, I liked the few Spanish dialogues thrown in the story. However, I felt like the author only did it at the start of the book, and then there were only random phrases near the end. I would still recommend this book though!

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<p>Title: The Unexpected Fall<br>Author: Anna Salcedo<br>Genre: Romantic Comedy<br>***I received a copy of this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for my honest feedback.</p>

<p>Tropes to expect: Enemies-to-Lovers, workplace romance, competition/games, miscommunication, slowburn, forced proximity</p>

<p>Written in one POV </p>

<p>Review: <br>When I open the pages of a romantic comedy, I fall into a safe space within the lines of that book. Some might say that this specific type of genre and trope are predictable, and while that is true, what sets each book apart is the characters of the books and the author's writing style. </p>

<p>To say that I fell for The Unexpected Fall is a complete understatement. I am obsessed with this book and since I read it on my Kindle, I will be ordering a hard copy of this book for my trophy shelf...I mean my bookshelf. </p>

<p>The Unexpected Fall follows Genesis Gonzalez [Dominican-American representation] in her quest to produce music at Siren Music Records, unfortunately for now she's an assistant - overqualified and hating her job. When it's announced that there will be a company wide competition where two employees will be paired up and the winners will receive a dream producer job and a record label.</p>

<p>Genesis decides to take a chance on her dream and enters the competition. Unexpectedly, she's paired with Will Kobayashi, the Finance Analyst for Siren Music Records, office hottie, and the person she's hated since day on of working for Siren Music Records. </p>

<p>Enter forced proximity, slow burn moments [the bathroom scene...oh my GAWD], and the banter. Don't walk, run, to read this masterpiece.</p>

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First of all, I want to thank the author for giving me an advanced copy of this book, I really appreciate it!

The Unexpected Fall follows Genesis Gonzales and her work nemesis Will Kobayashi both of whom work at Siren Music Records and strive to make their goal of producing and creating music respectively. As Genesis is about to give up on her dream, the perfect opportunity arrives: a work contest in which the winners will have their song featured on one of the label’s most anticipated collaborative albums. The problem? Genesis has been paired with Will and together they have three months to come up with a song that is up to the task and allows them to make their dreams a reality.

Okay, I am going to start this review by saying I absolutely love the premise of this book, I was a bit scared because it’s easy for romance books to forget the plot at some point and focus solely on the characters and their relationship- which I honestly don’t mind most of the time since I am more of a character-driven person; However, that is not the case with The Unexpected Fall, I believe the author was pretty consistent with the whole plot line of the music contest and I think the fact that this was a big part of the characters’ personalities helped a lot with keeping it on track.

I really enjoyed reading about the dynamic between Will and Genesis, though I have to admit some of the romance scenes were a bit too cheesy for my taste, still, their banter was really entertaining and I loved the support they offered each other. Now, something that did disappoint me a little was the third conflict act, jut because I really did not think it was an issue in the first place, I understand where one of the main characters was coming from by thinking there had been a breach of trust, but I actually think it was a bit underwhelming and it could have been handled better.

To end on a positive note, I have to talk about the thing I appreciated the most about this book and the author: It did not forget about the characters identities. Often, and I mean pretty often, I find that books mention characters have heritage from x country and then completely forget about it, like there’s nothing except the mention of it. This book did absolutely AMAZING in that aspect (at least in my opinion) their backgrounds - Genesis is Dominican- American and Will is Japanese- American- were seen in the little things that were put throughout the book: the food, their dynamic with their families, what they do or don’t in their respective homes, it was really refreshing to read about it. I feel like sometimes authors don’t really find a way to incorporate these details in a way that feels natural instead of a list of qualities/customs that proves the character’s background, so I greatly appreciated the small details that the author included in this book.
Overall, I believe if you’re looking for a quick and entertaining romance read with a bit of rivalry, banter, and music, of course, you should pick this one up and give it a chance!

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First: I liked the story. I love enemies-to-lovers and office romance.

I thought the story started out strong but then bogged down in the extensive descriptions of her family and her thoughts. What I wanted to read about was Genesis and Will and I got a lot of unnecessary information. Because the extended family never really played a role in the story, only her younger sister. There were a lot of pop culture references (movies, tv shows, singers etc.), a lot. And many descriptions (ordering in a restaurant, watching a certain tv series) The scene where the younger sister barges in on them .... was that really necessary? What did it add to the story?

The story has a strong basic arc - the developing love story between Genesis and Will. I liked that one. But I had to skim through all the extra weight to get there.

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Thank you to Netgalley and the author for this free ARC.

This book was amazing! This is definitely a must read if you love a forced to work together rom-com!

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Thank you to Netgalley for the review copy of The Unexpected Fall

The story is an enemies to lovers, work rivals forced to work together music industry themed romance with Dominican American and Japanese American rep.

I'm giving this book 3 and a half stars only because I really struggled through the first 25% of this story. It was heavy on (mostly negative) monologue and lacking in dialogue. Nothing much was happening and it was a chore being in the head of the main character, a self confessed ice queen with trust issues. Possibly the beginning of the story simply needed more editing? I considered giving up in the first few chapters but am glad I didn't as I did enjoy the rest of the book.

After a slow beginning the story and most importantly the banter picked up and the main character thawed out a bit and I found her far less grating.

I'll be interested to see if any of the side characters get a companion novel as there are a few characters I'd be happy to read more about.

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