
Member Reviews

I love a good enemies-to-lovers trope, and this story had me hooked from start to finish.
Will made me want to shake and hug him at the same time. Going back home after two decades away, he is ready to tie up loose ends and get back to his city life. His trip was filled with nostalgia and the mixed emotions of being back at the farm he was so desperate to leave. There, he meets Casey, who is wholly content living the life that Will never wanted. Their chemistry was undeniable, and it was so sweet to watch the tension between them melt into something deeper.
There was a lot to unpack in this story: family expectations, grief, and identity. Yet, the way the story unfolded felt really authentic and was nicely paced. The apple farm setting added a cozy feel. It made me want to travel to Glenriver to experience it.
This was such a sweet, cozy story that brought all the small town nosiness that I love.
Thank you, NetGalley and Storm Publishing, for this ARC.

I started this book at 11pm, thinking I would read for an hour and then go to bed. I did not go to bed. I read until 3 in the morning. It was that good. I absolutely adored this book and the more nuanced look it took at family. If I had to sum it up, I would say that this is a self-aware hallmark movie in book form, but one that explores overcoming childhood trauma, and the nuanced dynamics of families, and familial expectations and how those things shape us into adults, and shape our lives.
The animosity between Will and Casey feels real, and is rooted in a realistic misunderstanding, and the way that they thaw for each other is likewise rooted in a mutual uncovering of the circumstances that led to the misunderstanding. It felt very realistic to me, or at least as realistic as a hallmark-esque book can be.

Fall into You had its moments—I really liked some of the emotional depth and the chemistry between the main characters in certain scenes. Morrison has a way with words that pulls you in now and then, and there were a few chapters that really hit. That said, the pacing felt a bit off for me, and I didn’t fully connect with the story as a whole. It wasn’t a bad read, just not one that totally stuck with me. A decent pick if you're in the mood for something mellow and romantic, but not one I’d rush to recommend.
Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC.

what a lovely read. i immediately fell in love with will, a neurotic weirdo, and was rooting for him from page one. casey was such a lovely surprise — capable but not without his own baggage. i loved how realistic it felt that both men had Issues stemming from how they grew up that resulted in different approaches to life, and that they were able to work with and through it together. and above all, this book is funny. morrison has such a specific cadence with his sentences and a great sense of humor and it made for a very enjoyable read. i just felt such joy with this!

I so wished I loved this book more, but it felt like page after page of internal monologue and the love interest felt so flat. I knew this was a romance but there wasn't really a whole ton of tension or build up. It just felt like your average romance to me unfortunately. HEA and low stakes.

Loved the idea, didn't like the execution as much.
The characters were my main issue with this book. I loved the whole YA vibe, but I feel it could've worked better if Will, specifically, were younger. He was just really immature, especially with how he handled the selling-the-farm situation. I understand if the author intended to create a quirky character with social anxiety, but Will was straight up irresponsible and unempathetic.
My other issue with the book was the romance, or the lack of it. I would've loved to see more development in Will and Casey's relationship. The book is marketed as enemies-to-lovers, but I would say that the tension between them is only a dislike, not really 'enemies', and it lacks the longing that an enemies-to-lovers should have. Also, I didn't like that they waited so much to talk about the elephant in the room, when that should've been their first conversation when they ended up having to live together. They barely knew a thing about each other, and somehow were already in love?
I don't think it was a bad book at all. The story was interesting, and I really wanted to know more about both characters' backstories, and this is something that motivated me to keep reading. I think the side characters were interesting, and I loved the small-town vibes!

After his controlling father dies, botanist Will returns to the family apple farm he ran away from years before and has to face his traumas and how he's handled them, if he wants to finally be happy.
Will was a well-developed and interesting character and the author did well incorporating Will's past traumas into the storyline especially by utilizing Will's childhood home and apple orchard to evoke his feelings of pain and regret in a tangible sense.
Will's relationship with Casey, who besides a few anecdotes about his childhood was a touch underdeveloped, tended to be on the back burner, which for a "Romance Book" seemed rather unfocused.
I read some descriptions describing this as a feel-good enemies to lovers rom-com, I would instead describe it as a melancholy drama with only some romance.
For an enemies to lovers story, none of the fights felt real, or the issues meaningful enough for Will and Casey to be arguing about. Most of the supporting characters were rather underdeveloped, which sadly meant that they just read as annoying. The pace was slow due to the almost constant inclusion of mansplaining sentences from the omniscient narrator telling us some unimportant random detail that broke any tension and slowed down the pacing of the book while the many over-detailed jokes tended to fall flat for me as they were often too long and lacked punch.
An earnest personal story with some good points that ultimately did not work for me.
Thank you, NetGalley and Storm Publishing, for the e-arc.

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!!!!!! I'm sorry this is pretty late into the month :')
<img src=https://media1.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExcTA3OHc4eDJ0amFjenh5NTJhM21wZGcyNTZrYm9hdzUxZzhqMzdlZiZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjdD1n/Ga1UmWZ9jdYOc/giphy.webp />
3.5
I want to first thank Storm Publishing and NetGalley for giving me the chance to review this book.
**NOTE**: I didn't comment on the fact that it's a LGBTQ+ book because in the end, it is still a romance book and I'm treating it as such. I don't think I have a right to comment too much on it because I'm an ally, and can't speak for LGBBTQ+, but I do appreciate the support and acceptance there was for the community. I guess this is my comment for the LGBTQ+ mentioned in this review. Thank you [author: Dylan Morrison|7760851] for bringing this book to life. I believe it will resonate with a lot of readers.
**NOTE #2**: I am deeply sorry if I offend anyone in this review.
"I think for a lot of people, it's easier to just live with what hurts than face the effort of trying to change it. They'd rather do what they know, even if all they know is suffering."
Wow this book was...something. Not in a bad way though. I had a lot of fun reading it, and even went on longer than I planned to read, to read it because I was so invested towards the end, I had to finish it.
<img src=https://media2.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExZWpoZG1yZWk5aXI3d3FvYXEyZmVtaHhsYTMzMHV4YzdmdTJ4N25ydiZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjdD1n/8dYmJ6Buo3lYY/200.webp />
"Is <i>anyone</i> morally correct, really?"
The characters were okay. I think that might be due to me being annoyed with Will, but also this could be because I couldn't relate to him. I felt a little disconnected from him. I liked Casey's character and really appreciate the work he's put into the farm. I also liked reading about Will's surprised self when he basically inspected the farm and all the changes that had been done to it. I honestly believe Will never truly hated the farm because they were known for apples, right? How is it he hated the farm, but went into studying apples?
"I'm not one for tiptoeing around issues until they blow up in my face."
One thing I didn't like (this is kind of a kudos to the author) is how quotable the book is. It's my fault because I log everything manually. Like I write down every quote that interests me in a book. Basically I have an annotation book, where I write my thoughts, feelings, quotes, and descriptions of words that are new to me. I believe that's what took me so long to finish reading, because half of the "reading time", I was writing down quotes. I think this is a good thing for the reader itself because I feel like it will resonate with the reader. I'm just being annoying about having to (not really but I feel the need to) write down all these longer quotes that piqued my interest.
<img src=https://media2.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExcG5oaXdjOXp6cmFha25oeTdvMmdiaTIzeDkwZHliaHA0MHcxczg3bSZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjdD1n/fhAwk4DnqNgw8/giphy.webp />
"But the idea was that what made a human being a human being on a fundamental level, was the ability to look at almost any given situation and figure out a way not to just get on with it, but to forget there was ever a time before it was <i>normal</i>."
I'm gonna be honest, reading the connotation of them sleeping together made this book for me. I don't know if it's just me, but it was a breath of fresh air not having to read the exact intimate moments. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with smut, but it kind of isn't for me. I'll still read anything with it, it's just not my favourite thing to read.
"It wouldn't be worth it, to go upsetting the equilibrium over something that, at least to Will and at least right now, doesn't matter very much at all."
One thing I'll say about this book is that the beginning was slow. I understand that there needs to be context about the character, it just felt like everything moved so slowly. Maybe I'm just a reader who likes to see more of the story progressing, but it did maybe after the first...third(?) of the book. I do want to add that because of so, I understood the main character more, but I think it moved too slowly in the beginning.
"I feel. As though it would be nice. For things to... stop for a minute or two"
All in all, I appreciated the opportunity to read this book. Romance isn't my biggest cup of tea, but I'm glad I liked it. Thank you so much, and if you read this to the end, thank you for giving me your time. I feel this book can resonate so much with readers who enjoy enemies to lovers.

I would love to read this, but the ARC has an unfortunate feature that seems like a result of somebody doing a find-and-replace on "fi" with "!" so every instance of e.g. "first" reads as "!rst," "fight" as "!ght" and so on. This is intensely distracting and I find myself unable to get past it. I'll try again when this book has been published, at which point I hope this error will have been corrected.

3.75 stars. This book very much “does what it says on the tin,“ which if that’s what you’re looking for, you’ve absolutely come to the right place. It’s fun, it’s charming, the two main characters have chemistry, and the formulaic rom-com elements are made all the more dynamic by the author’s truly lovely prose.

This book got me with the small town romance however I did not feel the chemistry. I’m not sure why, and Idk if it was just me. It was fast paced and cute. So would definitely recommend checking it out.

What??? Enemies-to-lovers that's actually enemies-to-lovers?? IN THIS ECONOMY????
I've ranted elsewhere about the watering down of the enemies-to-lovers trope, so it's great to see an author really leaning into the arsehole potential of both MCs from the jump. (Although Will isn't really trying to be an arsehole, or at least his actions are more understandable to the reader; but his inability to relate to the situation he's in can justifiably be read as a hostile move.) This is a really well-written slow-burn with two likable, relatable MCs whose initial mutual hatred feels authentically grounded in the circumstances they find themselves in, and whose gradual armistice-to-friendship-to-loverdom is equally rooted in how their understandings of those circumstances change as they get to know each other better. Will is a frustrating character, at times, especially in how he ices out Selma, although his self-awareness of the unhelpfulness of his coping mechanism goes a long way, even as he is unable to change it. Casey, the non-POV character, is genuinely unsympathetic at first, but also takes responsibility for his antagonistic behavior once he gets the full story; he's also in a difficult situation, which explains his reactions but is not used to excuse them.
ymmv on the whole "going back to the small town you justifiably fled" trope, which is not typically my jam; it has a conservative Hallmark-ian tone that puts my back up, quite frankly, and was definitely the part of this book that I resisted the longest. Points for Morrison not making the townspeople a collection of quirky stereotypes, though, which seems to be the norm in these cases and is invariably cringe. They are, for the most part, just normal people, which is much more interesting to read than a self-consciously cutesy collection of weirdos.
The epilogue was a bit sugary for my taste, but, hey: no secret baby! No kids of any kind! Huzzah!
I really loved this author's fic (not an unmasking; they mention their fic writing in the acknowledgements, but since they don't give their pseud, I won't either) and am delighted to see them making the leap to tradpub. So good that I almost didn't notice it's fade-to-black. Excited to see what this author comes up with next!
I got an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Storm Publishing for their generosity.
This was the perfect read for Pride Month. It is charming and gives a Hallmark vibe in the best possible way.
Congratulations to Dylan Morrison for this wonderful book.
I’m not the biggest fan of long chapters but it is not a deal breaker.

I really enjoyed this book! The author's writing style was definitely well-suited to the context of the story. I loved the premise and plot, and it was so well executed. I will be sure to keep my eye out for more books from Dylan Morrison! Thank you, NetGalley and Storm Publishing, for the eARC of this book!

A super cute, seasonal romance that leaves you feeling loved up and warm inside.
Admittedly, I struggled to get into the flow of the story because it's written in third person yet I felt like it was first (which was weird for me) but once I got into the swing of it, I flew through this book.
Will had me cackling throughout the entire book. His shy and awkward personality that had him getting all in a fuddle whenever he was around Casey, his inner monologues when he tried to be serious but he'd go off on a tangent about Caseys arms, or pushing him against a wall - even though he was furious with him in the moment 😂 the poor guy didn't know what was happening from one minute to the next.
Casey was adorable. He was the ultimate people pleaser, and I resonated with him so much, especially when he had moments of burnout but still kept a smile on his face for those who needed him. I felt awful for him when everyone was constantly asking him for help, yet they wouldn't support him in saving the farm. I understand why, but it made me feel so bad for him.
The romance was cute and I felt like Casey brought out the best parts of Will. In return, Will provided care for Casey that no one else had ever shown him. He made him feel like he mattered.
It is a no-spice, fade to black romance that leaves you with all the warm feelings that only a small town, found family story can give you.
Thank you so much to the author, Dylan Morrison and Netgalley for an advanced copy of the book. Fall Into You is available NOW on Amazon & Kindle Unlimited ✨️

3.25 stars
I want to start with what I enjoyed. The premise of this story is really interesting and grabbed me. I also really like the depth of our MCs, Casey and Will, but especially Will. I could definitely easily empathize with many of his struggles. All that said, there was still a lot left to be desired here, and I think it boils down to the writing and editing. The storytelling often felt like it was dragging, some descriptions of scenes went on more than necessary (a scene about Will trying to figure out how to fix his car in the rain went on for five pages, and it added nothing to the story.) Many of Will's internal monologues were slightly repetitive and also dragged. I would catch my attention drifting during many of these moments. This also makes the story drift far away from the plot. Ultimately, if the writing was more concise, this would have been a hit. Although, I definitely see potential since the premise is solid, so I can see myself giving this author another shot.

Thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read this through Netgalley. It’s the first of this authors works for me.
Will returns to his hometown after the death of his father, having left years ago, and never having returned. Upon doing so he’s planning to sign his fathers house and orchards over to a developer. During some stilted negotiations Will meets Casey, his father’s orchard-hand and is promptly smitten, though this feeling is briefly disguised as outrage. Casey in truth is similarly outraged after having only Will’s deceased fathers version of events for the past 6 years.
What follows is a particularly slow-burn, closed romance set against the backdrop of Will’s former home. There’s a lot of introspection from Will, with most of the story from his perspective, so much so that Casey sometimes feels like a side character instead of the love interest. Will is quite immature, for having made it in the big city in his own, as a scientist.
I’m not sure whether it was the closed door aspect or not but these two didn’t seem to have chemistry. Sure there was understanding and empathy but it seemed like there was insta-love without the ardour, and as the relationship progressed, there was no proximity or intimacy, which didn’t make the pining during a period of separation very realistic.
What worked for me was the small town setting and feel which was translated well, as were some of the side characters.
An interesting read, importantly during Pride month (read queer all year). Definitely sweet but not effortless by any means.

This book grabbed me from the first paragraph and I couldn't put it down!
This was such a lovely, heartwarming read.
Such a devourable story! This book was exactly what I wanted and needed.

This was a beautifully penned work. In fact, I loved everything about it from the settings, the characters, the plot. Very, very enjoyable read.

This was very cute without being sickly sweet. We get a cracking opening with the birth of Will and then a potted history to bring us to the present day. The importance of the land and the farm is made clear, and so clear that Will is not comfortable with what he has been born to do and needs space. There is then a fast forward to the present day and and the land and farm calls Will back. The love interest in Casey is very cute and almost low key just bobbing along in a lovely manner. The best friend is amazing, a loud bark, a deep love for Will and the sort of best friend we all want. She is the cherry on the cake!