PRE-RELEASE ARC REVIEW: Falling (Fall or Break, #1) by Barbara Elsborg

Expected Publication: March 24th 2015 by Samhain Publishing

Buy The Book:

AMAZON / BARNES & NOBLE / KOBO

Author's Page:

Goodreads / Blog / Twitter /Facebook

Genre:

MM Contemporary Romance

Summary On Goodreads:

Falling is easy. Landing without breaking your heart? Impossible.

Harper is no longer behind bars, but it doesn’t feel like it. Ten years serving time for a crime he didn’t commit have left him shut down, numb, and a frozen wreck over the simplest of choices.

He’s acutely aware of the dark-haired young man checking him out in the supermarket, but he’s too deep in panic mode to even meet the guy’s gaze. Afraid the slightest move will trigger a fall that will never stop.

Fresh off a long-term relationship with a controlling man, Malachi is stuck living with relatives who think he’s a waste of oxygen. The tall guy in the long, gray coat is the first bright spot he’s glimpsed in a long time…though the man’s unblinking stare at a bottle of shower gel is a touch alarming.

Hard experience tells both of them to turn away before lust turns to hopeless attraction, and inevitably to disaster. But once their sparks connect, the arc of electricity is too strong to deny. Even if the cost is too much to bear.

Warning: Contains an ex-con with disaster written all over him, a boy toy who’s trouble with a capital T, a damp old British house, compulsive meddling, and enough hot sex to cure the severe case of nervous babbling.

RATING:

***REVIEW***

Arc provided via Netgalley in exchange for honest review

"Without you, I'm nothing. With you, I'm everything."

My first mm read by Barbara Elsborg and all I can say is- what a pleasant surprise! This book was one of those spur of the moment/ I'm-captivated-by-the-cover picks, but it ended up being one of the best mm romance reads I read this year.

4 dark, bittersweet, suspenseful, & deeply emotional stars 

This is an mm contemporary romance with a suspenseful mystery which will keep you on your toes til' the very end. It's not an easy read, because it deals with some heavy subjects like abuse, rape, suicide etc. It is told from two point of views by its main characters: the 24 year old journalist Malachi and 34 years old high school teacher and ex-prisoner Harper.

Both MCs didn't have an easy life. The timing sucks when they meet for the first time, both of them not being in a good place. Their luck seemed to keep getting worse with every next chapter, but they are not the type of characters to give up so easily, especially not the adorable, selfless and witty Malachi. He always seemed to find something positive and humorous, even in the most chaotic situations. The story had me on brink of tears a couple of times, but then, he would say something totally inappropriate and hilarious and made it more bearable. In comparison to him, Harper was more one of those closed off and mysterious types, but fortunately Malachi's enthusiasm and humor were contagious and it was slowly helping him to come out of his shelf. Both of them are broken in their own way, but maybe together they can help each other heal. 

When it comes to the mystery the author keeps you second guessing til' the last page. I must admit that the revelation of the bad guy totally caught me off guard which is another positive thing, because that happens quite rarely lately.

And the ending? Well, I loved it! The last page left me with a huge smile on my face. That's all I'm going to share. I assume that the next book will feature one of the secondary characters in the main role and my vote goes to the guy who scared the c*ap out of me through most of the book and whose gut I hated almost til' the very ending and that's the cold, calculated, but intriguing Conrad. What can I say? First impressions can be misleading. The guy totally won me over in the end.

• Who should read this book:

1. Readers who enjoy dark, heart-wrenching & touching stories.
2. Readers who enjoy love stories with tormented, but fun & endearing heroes. 
3. Readers who prefer a slow-building, heartwarming, steamy and light on the drama romance.
4. Readers who love an interesting, suspenseful & unpredictable mystery/crime.

Message Of The Story: Sometimes, the people & world around us can be very dark and cruel, but at the same time, if you're lucky enough, there are moments when even in that ugliness of life you can find things worth living for, your personal ray of sunshine. Things like love.

Ok, I better stop now, before I get too sappy, LOL. All in all, I'll be eagerly waiting for the next book in the series! In the meantime I'm definitely going to read something new by this author.

Highly recommended to every MM Romance fan!

xoxo