Review: The Art of Falling by Julie Jarnagin

2015 Reading Challenge: Book Set Somewhere I'd Like to Visit (Texas)

Wyatt Lawrence rides bulls for a living and doesn’t understand girly stuff like art; Heather Tornsten is works for an art museum and needs a celebrity to emcee their upcoming fundraising dinner … the two are thrown together by his matchmaking mother, who is sure Wyatt will make a great emcee. Wyatt isn’t so sure, given his feelings about art in general, but his growing feelings for Heather might just persuade him …

Yes, I know this was a novella, but it seemed short—too short for the amount of plot. I’d have liked to have seen a little more getting-to-know-you before the proclamations of endless love. Yes, I know it’s a romance and has to have a happy-ever-after, and yes, I know it’s fiction, but it shouldn’t stretch logic, and this almost did. Almost. But the ending made up for it.

My other grouch is purely from the point of view of this as a 2015 Reading Challenge book: I chose it as a book set somewhere I’d like to visit, Texas. But it could have been set anywhere (well, anywhere big enough to have an art museum and enough people rich enough to pay a small fortune to attend a fundraiser). I never really got the feeling this was Texas, which means it could have done with more setting (although it’s possible this too was a casualty of the short word count of a novell).

Overall, I enjoyed The Art of Falling. The title is an excellent play on words, the character were original and interesting, and the writing was good with flashes of brilliance (personally, that’s what I want in a book. I want to be engaged in the story, not be thinking about how good the writing is or isn’t. If I’m thinking about the writing, it means I haven’t been pullled into the story, and that’s never a good thing). Recommended for those looking for a feel-good romance novella.

Thanks to Redbud Press for providing a free ebook for review.