The Upside Of Falling Book Review

Posted byreadandreviewit1Posted inCONTEMPORARY, REVIEWSTags:, , , , , , , , , , ,

Hi everyone! Today I reviewed The Upside Of Falling by Alex Light.

Rating: ✯✯✯✯

The Upside Of Falling follows the protagonist, Becca, after she lies to her ex best friend about having a boyfriend… When none other than Brett Wells, one of the most popular guys at school, steps in to be her fake boyfriend. Things seem to be going fine until the lines between what’s real and what’s fake start to blur and the two start falling for each other… But will they have a happy ending?

One of my favourite things about The Upside Of Falling would definitely have to be the romance. Despite not knowing each other for long, Becca and Brett seemed to instantly click, and I loved the bond the two soon formed. There were so many different cute moments between the two and it was lovely to read… From their date at the old arcade through to the bookstore at the very end, there were so many special moments between them, and it made for a really fun read.

Of course, the romance wasn’t the only relationship covered in this book… There were also some really great friendships! I think my favourite would probably have to be Becca and Jenny’s, though – it was great to see how far they came and how they made it through the rough patches. I think this was a really lovely inclusion on Light’s part because I’m sure lots of readers will relate to the theme of growing apart during the years, and it was great to see them come back together.

Family was also a prevalent theme throughout. Both Becca and Brett had some serious issues to work through with their families, which I think made the book that much more relatable. Seeing both of their progress when dealing with these was really interesting to read and I really appreciated Light writing families with real, relatable issues rather than simply portraying them as perfect.

There was also some really great character development, which was lovely to see! Both Becca and Brett really developed from the beginning of the book and I loved reading them grow. Becca’s in particular really stood out to me – at the start she was afraid of love and getting her heart broken but by the end she had realised that it was worth the risk, and wouldn’t necessarily end in heartbreak. I thought this was a really important lesson to include which I’m sure some readers would’ve struggled with before!

Speaking of Becca… I loved that she was such a big reader! Books with characters who like to read are an instant hit in my book, so it was great to see that included in The Upside Of Falling… And the books actually ended up being a major part of Becca’s character development, which was even better!

I also really liked Jeff, although he played a relatively minor role. He was super funny and a little silly sometimes but I loved how supportive he was of Brett, and how great a friend he was to him. It was really lovely to see how much he looked out for him – even if Brett never ended up confiding in him.

However, with all that being said, there were some things I didn’t like as much about The Upside Of Falling. I really would’ve liked to have seen more of Becca and Cassie’s friendship as, although they were supposedly best friends, we only saw Cassie a couple of times, which was a real shame. I think a large part of this stemmed from it being too centered on the romance, and not enough on the friendship. Obviously I understand that the romance was the main focus, but I personally think it could’ve been split a little better.

I also felt it was a little predictable, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but I still wasn’t a fan of. I think part of this was due to it drawing on lots of common themes in the genre, and so a good chunk of the story was made up of things which had been done before. That being said, if you’re looking for a cute and easy read to get lost in, this is still the perfect book!

Overall, I would recommend The Upside Of Falling to anyone looking for a cute new contemporary. This was a really fun and quick read, and perfect for Valentine’s Day! I’d also recommend it for any fan of the fake dating trope as, although I don’t read it often, this was a great example of it.

I hope you enjoyed this review!

Ceri

52 thoughts on “The Upside Of Falling Book Review”

  7. I like the description of this book a lot! It sounds like a fun and easy read. It’s unfortunate that Becca and Cassie’s friendship wasn’t covered as much. Although some parts may have been predictable, I’m glad to hear you still enjoyed it! Thank you for sharing your great and detailed review!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  13. A romance novel can be fun to read especially around Valentine’s Day, but yea I agree, it can be predictable and have some overdone themes.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  15. I love the whole fake dating trope, it’s one of my favourites but I do feel like they can be a bit too predictable now. A part of me feels like I could tell you exactly how this ends without even reading haha. That being said I’m glad you enjoyed the book!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  16. Another brilliant review! I love a quick and easy read, i can lose concentration sometimes so if I can get lost in a book that reads easily, that will be right up my street. Thank you so much for sharing with us lovely Xo

    Elle – ellegracedeveson.com

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  19. I’ve seen this book at my local book shelf but never really checked into it. It seems to be very similar to To All The Boys I’ve Loved (which I love!). Would you say this book is age appropriate for middle school age? Looking to expand my daughter’s reading and this seems light and cute. Wanting to keep it clean as well lol.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Yes it’s definitely similar to TATB! Honestly I would say probably not, there is a sex scene (not explicitly described though) so I guess it would depend on whether she’s at the upper or lower band as well as what you’re happy with her reading. I hope that helps! Thank you so much for reading and commenting.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  21. This would make for a great present for anyone who loves a romantic story around valentines day. I’m with you, I think if the book centres too much on the main characters it becomes a little one dimensional. It would be good to bring in the friends a bit more. Its strange though that her best friend was only in it a handful of times, hey? Thanks for sharing 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Yes it definitely would! Yes exactly, as much as I liked them I did want to see more of the others, and it was a pity the friendships weren’t fully explored. Thank you so much for reading and commenting 🙂

      Like

      Reply
  26. Pingback: Yearly Wrap Up: 2021 Edition – Read And Review It
  27. Pingback: Monthly Wrap Up: December 2021 – Read And Review It

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

%d bloggers like this: