Review: How We Fall by Kate Brauning

Publisher: Merit Press
Release Date: November 3rd, 2014
Pages: 304
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via Edelweiss
Series: N/A
Genre(s): Contemporary, Mystery, Romance
Synopsis from Goodreads:

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?

Special thanks to Merit Press and Edelweiss for providing an advance copy for review!

I knew from the moment I first read the synopsis for How We Fall that is would be my kind of book. Unique and taboo romances have a way of twisting and tearing at our hearts and emotions, and that’s just what How We Fall did to me. It was both sexy and sweet, fun and thrilling. And it brought on so many feels.

For those of you that wouldn’t normally be open to relationships like the one in this book, I strongly recommend you try out How We Fall. The romance and relationship between Marcus and Jackie is anything but unrealistic or strange. It was complex and raw, and will make you question whether the rules can apply when it comes to love.

Not only does the book deal with the romance between Jackie and Marcus, but it follows the parallel story of Jackie’s best friend Ellie’s disappearance. The connection between both aspects of the story is intriguing and thrilling, and kept me turning page after page. There’s a twist that you’ll never see coming, and an ending that will leave you wanting more.

That ending was the only imperfect thing about this book, and I say that because I wanted to know what happened to the characters I became so attached with after How We Fall came to a close. And to me, that’s not a bad thing at all.

All in all, How We Fall was a book that was emotionally raw and beautiful. It was heart-wrenching and dangerous. How We Fall is one of the best books that I’ve read so far this year. Kate Brauning is an other that I’ll be keeping my eye on in the future!