This is the perfect read for fall. Although it’s not always an easy read. I like the way it tackles grief, especially as someone who has also recently lost a close friend. It’s delightful and funny.

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

Let me start by saying the premise of this book really hooked me! I was intrigued from the start and enjoyed the two main characters a lot. However this book fell a bit flat for me for a lot of reasons. Fair warning, this is not a positive review, continue at your own risk.

To start, the main characters names are Derek and Dylan and I had the hardest time remembering who was who. Maybe it’s a me issue but having the two main characters names be so close was kind of irritating and distracting when I had to constantly remind myself which was which.

This is unfortunately the first time I’ve really noticed when there is a writing issue in a book. And I’m not saying sentence structure is bad, although it was at parts. No the issue in this book is the author does a poor job of explaining little details so you end up lost. Like they would be on the couch with no mention of how they got home. Or the descriptions of where hands were or bodies just made no sense. I understand this might feel nit-picky but it was soo distracting when it felt like whole sentences or scene setup was completely missing. I found myself going back to read previous sentences to see if I missed something just to find, no it wasn’t there at all. And this happened constantly where they were just suddenly in a completely different place or conversation.

I do understand that this is an eARC and it’s supposed to be rough and in final edits it could be fixed but there is so much fundamentally wrong with the structure, I don’t think it could completely be erased. This is definitely the roughest arc I’ve seen, it felt like a first draft with zero edits. Which was extremely distracting at times when attempting to figure out where the thought was going. However this book doesn’t come out until September so it’s possible I’m being a bit too harsh on this I will admit.

I also felt like this book got worse as it went on? I was super interested for the first hundred pages even over looking some very key issues but it started to drop for me when the characters lost some integrity. The lack of ability to have a conversation that mattered was annoying. They would talk around stuff and then only let each other get one line out before they moved on. I was dying for a longer, meaningful conversation that wasn’t them just yelling at each other for past trauma. These characters never figured out how to communicate with one another and just left me feeling frustrated.

Every character also decides to be a complete jerk to each other? I spent the first half really disliking Derek because he would make all these assumptions about Dylan and then Dylan started doing it too. Which goes into communication issues but it was again distracting from the plot.

This ending was also so unsatisfying. The author doesn’t explain how the characters grew while they were apart or made up with their siblings at all. They are just suddenly getting married? Like what did that do for the conclusion of the story other than show they stay together?

I struggled with what to rate this book because I did like parts of it but when writing this review I realized how hard a time I had getting through it. The bones of this are good but the writing, poor character development, unnecessary asshole-ness and just general lack of scene work makes this very difficult to push through.

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️

Andie is a phenomenal writer, and anyone looking for a good queer romance will enjoy this book and her previous one. I can’t wait to see what else she does in her career!

Ok, first off I hated that the two main characters were named Dylan and Derek. Why do they have to have names starting with the same letter? Anyway, on to the good stuff.....this book was adorably cute and I loved their jokes and banter. The initial meet cute was OTT and I loved it and thought it was a great setup to how the book would play out. This book will take you on a bit of a roller coaster of emotions, but in the best way possible. It is also a bit of a slow burn so don't think you are going to be getting any smutty scenes too early on. I like that the pace wasn't super quick and it let the emotion and tension build up. Carol was horribly annoying and just the type of neighbor everyone hates!

If you are looking for a fun, emotion filled, angsty romance, look no further.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An enemies-to-lovers turned home renovation calamity wrapped in mutual healing, all while fighting toxic masculinity! I fell hard for Andie Burke’s writing in Fly with Me, and I had so much fun diving into Derek and Dylan’s love story soon after. I finished it in a day, whoops!! We got to meet Derek as Olive’s best friend in the Fly with Me, witnessing his broken heart after the death his childhood best friend turned unrequited lover. Both Derek and Dylan feel like hope is lost in the long term love realm, until they are forced to learn about each other and work together to repair both of their apartments. Both characters carried layered complexity and the way their scars were revealed was genuine to the story. The humor from the side characters was pitch perfect - although I crave reading about Felicity and Olive’s meeting! As in Fly with Me, Burke’s craft of the sexy scenes was surprising, hot, and loving. I thoroughly enjoyed this! Add it to your fall TBR for sure!

I absolutely loved this enemies-to-lovers rom-com that actually delivers on the comedy and made me laugh out loud multiple times. This book starts off with Dylan literally falling through the ceiling into the bed of his downstairs neighbor Dylan. Sort of a meet-cute meets disaster. Romance novel circumstances ultimately force them to cohabitate as they try to hide apartment repairs and a dog from their nosy neighbor. What on earth could end up happening?

4.5 rounded up. It turns out I really enjoy a romance with grief elements. This novel made me laugh, cringe (cop scene as mentioned by others), and cry. The two characters felt real and had legitimate dimensions.

All of the emotions! I loved the story and being able to laugh, cry and feel the emotions the characters went through. Great story!

This was an enjoyable read!

Dylan and Derek were likable if a bit frustrating. A major point of conflict in this is connected to Burke’s previous book Fly With Me and I’m glad I read that one first even if these are technically interconnected stand-alones.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the eARC.

This novel is a romantic and enjoyable read. The story starts off very chaotic yet it turns into a very cute and humorous novel. The book follows an enemies to lovers trope that felt a little forced since there wasn't a large reason for the two to hate each other. Besides for that, the romance was adorable and I found myself constantly rooting for them to get together.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin Publishing Group for providing me with this ARC!

2.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 3

I really wanted to adore this book, but it ended up just alright for me.

The characters individually are pretty well done, and their internal growth is the most interesting part of the book. It has a more general fiction than romance feel because the characters felt well written on the own, but less well done when it came to them together

The relationship between Derek and Dylan really feels like it moves at an unnatural pace, with many areas unexplored or underdeveloped. The enemies to lovers aspect feels very forced and at times clunky, especially when they’re insta-lusting after each other. Romance novels obviously need to focus on the romance, but it’s the *building* of that romance that is truly driving the story, and often I found the building brushed over to get to the being together which, frankly, isn’t as entertaining.

I always dislike contemporary romances that make far, far too many pop culture references and this book was a major victim of that.

I’m rounding up my rating because there was some really funny dialogue and the overall concept was compelling and enjoyable. I can see what the author was trying to do, but I think they were weighed down by too many ideas and not enough time to let anything really cook.

dnf @ chap. 7 // honestly i couldn't stand this. the writing made me cringe so much. if i wanted to read a wattpad-level book i would. the references to pop culture, the random metaphors, and the overly detailed descriptions detract from the overall plot so much that i forgot what was happening. and i only made it to chapter 7. if i didn't mind the writing style so much, i might've liked some of the characters. the premise was interesting too, which makes this so frustrating.

tdlr: not for me.

* thanks to the publisher st martin's press via netgalley for the advanced copy!

Thank you so much to  NetGalley and SMG for providing this ARC. I was immediately drawn to this incredible cover and the trope list sounded right up my alley. I'm honestly a little torn on what to rate this one, but I think I am somewhere around a 2.75 or 3? Not sure. 

What I enjoyed: 
- The concept and meet cute was really unique, silly and fun. A renovation romance is always a good time for me, and I enjoyed that aspect
- The ADHD rep and portrayal
- There were some hysterical one liners here. 

What did not work for me: 
- Like some other reviews have mentioned, I struggled soo hard with these characters having practically identical names. I'm frankly surprised a dev editor or beta reader did not point this out. It was really confusing trying to figure out whose POV I was reading.
 - Throughout the story, their relationship would make really big leaps/.shifts without a lot of explanation or connection and it left me feeling lost.
- The ending was not my favorite here. 

Overall, I feel as though these two characters were growing as individuals and working on finding themselves. In that vein, it felt like a lot of the time, the romance took a back seat which left me feeling like I was reading more general fiction as opposed to romance.

Fall for Him by Andie Burke was absolutely adorable! This was such a great enemies-to-lovers and I was giggling the entire time I was reading it. It was sweet, it was charming, it was fun! I think romance readers will love this. The writing was well done and kept my attention. I can't wait to recommend this to anyone looking for a fantastic enemies-to-lovers.

I love an enemies-to-lovers rom-com style book. This book had me laughing and kicking my feet multiple times. My favorite part has the be the disaster of a meet-cute in the beginning when Dylan falls through the ceiling into his downstairs neighbor's bed. The banter was amazing, and I loved the slow-burn romance as the two characters navigated living together. I also thought the side characters were likable and well fleshed out. I can't wait to read this author's other books in the future!

3.5/5 stars

So many aspects of Fall for Him are really great. I love enemies to lovers and I think the sort of antagonism between Derek and Dylan really makes this a great example of that trope. This book has some of your expected type banter and misunderstandings that you'd find in an average contemporary romance and much of this is executed well.

The primary reason I didn't rate this book higher was it felt simultaneously long and a little underdeveloped. At times, the misunderstandings and conflicts for this relationship were a bit forced. Something was just missing for me and I kept waiting for that something to appear or for the book to end.

This is definitely a specific to me issue, but the fact that the two main characters have names that start with the same letter makes the book harder for me to follow. This is the case whether the relationship between characters of the same gender is romantic partners, siblings, friends, whatever. I often found myself trying to remember who was Dylan and who was Derek. So that's not something I took into consideration when rating this book, but something to think about if that's also something that throws you.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys contemporary same sex romance books. It is definitely an enjoyable read, and I think I would read it again even if it wasn't my favorite I've ever read of the genre. I will also be seeking out other books by this author to see if I enjoy those as well.

ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for honest review.

Thank you St Martins Griffin and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. This is so cute! Dylan and Derek live in the same building. Well Dylan is staying there while he renovates his Uncle’s apartment, which just happens to be right above Derek’s. For some reason Derek seems to dislike Dylan, which isn’t helped at all by Dylan’s floor caving in right on top of Derek’s bed. Oh and Dylan fell with it. Luckily no one was hurt. When it comes to renovating the apartments Dylan would like it if his family doesn’t find out and Derek doesn’t want to HOA snooping around because of Gus, his unsanctioned dog. While Dylan fixes things the two are forced to live together, will their forced proximity make them evaluate the feelings that didn’t know they had? As they spend more time together will the true reason Derek disliked Dylan become a wedge between them? Sweet, charming, and will have you swooning! Also full of snark and wit that will leave you laughing! Highly recommend for romance readers!

DNF’D at Page 54]

Thank you so much to Maximillian Publishing for the opportunity to read this book. But, I just couldn’t get through it.

The characters were amazing, well fleshed out to the point where I was so excited to get to dig deeper into them. Especially learning about someone who grew up with ADHD (which I also have).

But, everything was happening so quickly that I had no idea what was going on. All I know, there was a roof cave in, an HOA, so many characters lumped together, and the constant switching of POVs that I had no idea where we were or who we were with.

And the sex talk. I understand that people sometimes have sex on their minds, but right after they see each other after falling through the floor? It was so unrealistic that I just couldn’t.

Once again, thank you to the publisher, but I’m going to skip this author in the near future.

This book couldn't decide if it wanted to be a rom-com or a serious family drama, and in doing so failed on both counts. Part of this, I think, is because this is absolutely part two in a series but was not marketed as such. About 1/5 of this book made zero sense to me, 2/5s were cringy references to media that dates it immediately, 1/5 weird mental health pedestals, and 1/5 sex. The most interesting part of the story, Derek's relationship with his estranged sister Michelle, had no clear resolution. It feels like this book was something that the author wrote during a crisis of her own and is very much a reflection of her own lived experiences. As such, I hesitate to comment on the handling of some of the more sensitive issues in this book and the portrayal of mental illness. All I will say is that no one in this book seems to have actual conversations, but instead parrot therapy-speak like, while, characters in a play. This, along with some editing errors that I can only hope will be fixed by the time it goes into print, means that I can only rate it a 2/5 stars.

Fall for Him literally begins with a bang, or rather one of my anxiety’s worst nightmares: the floor of my 100 year old apartment building caving in. However, my anxiety never considered that I might fall directly on top of my hot downstairs neighbor...likely because I live above the communal laundry room. Dylan quite literally falls through his rotting floor. Coincidentally said rotting floor also happens to be the ceiling of his neighbor Derek’s condo...the neighbor he lovingly refers to as McDickhead. While Dylan works out the details of skirting around the HOA narcs to covertly repair the damage, he and Derek are forced to coexist in 750 square feet for several weeks. What’s the worst that could happen? If you guessed wild attraction and completely inconvenient sexual tension, you were correct!

This is my first Andie Burke novel and I cannot rave enough about how witty and well written this book and these characters are. Fall for Him perfectly combines classic romcom hijinks with the very real and devastating struggle of being a human and healing from trauma. Dylan is learning to manage his newly diagnosed ADHD while simultaneously coping with a family that treats him as though he was simply a hot mess and not a person with a brain that works a little differently than theirs. Derek’s part-time job is avoiding the grief associated with the loss of loved ones and the pressure of being tasked to take charge of his family from a young age. Their humanity as they get to know each other and learn to navigate their relationship absolutely shines in this book. You will laugh, you will cry, you will definitely laugh whilst crying. It is an emotional workout in the very best way.

Fall for Him is scheduled for release on 9/3 and can absolutely be read as a standalone. The characters from Andie Burke’s previous novel Fly with Me (which I want to read immediately) are featured in this story but it is not necessary to have read that before diving into this one.