Title: How We Fall

Author: Kate Brauning

Genre: YA & Teens, Contemporary, Romance

Publisher: Merit Press

Release Date: November 3, 2014

Pages: 304

Ever since Jackie moved to her uncle’s sleepy farming town, she’s been flirting way too much–and with her own cousin, Marcus.

Her friendship with him has turned into something she can’t control, and he’s the reason Jackie lost track of her best friend, Ellie, who left for…no one knows where. Now Ellie has been missing for months, and the police, fearing the worst, are searching for her body. Swamped with guilt and the knowledge that acting on her love for Marcus would tear their families apart, Jackie pushes her cousin away. The plan is to fall out of love, and, just as she hoped he would, Marcus falls for the new girl in town. But something isn’t right about this stranger, and Jackie’s suspicions about the new girl’s secrets only drive the wedge deeper between Jackie and Marcus–and deepens Jackie’s despair.

Then Marcus is forced to pay the price for someone else’s lies as the mystery around Ellie’s disappearance starts to become horribly clear. Jackie has to face terrible choices. Can she leave her first love behind, and can she go on living with the fact that she failed her best friend?

Received a copy from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. I wasn’t quite sure if I was going to enjoy HOW WE FALL based on the fact that this story at first glance is a YA romance about first cousins who fall in love… Uh…

That being said, this turned out to be a surprisingly enjoyable and extremely compelling story. An ultra quick-read and a serious page turner. I had to see how this one ended before I could go to sleep. I struggled to accept the romance almost as much as the two main characters struggled with their feelings for each other. But by the end I was rooting hard for these two kids to find a way to make it work. This was an extremely honest exploration of forbidden romance. LOTS of feels!

I particularly appreciated the suspense/mystery element of the story. It helped add balance to the plot and added some nice layers to an already complex piece. The theme of forbidden relationships was strong in this one.

Well done Kate Brauning. You managed to tackle an extremely difficult and obviously taboo subject with grace and humor. I’m still a little confused by my feelings after reading this book. But I kind of think that’s what the author was going for. Definitely worth a read.

Buy the Book: 

Connect with the Author: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads