Title: The Upside of Falling

Author: Alex Light

Year of Publication: 2020

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary/Romance

Number of Pages: 288

Summary: From Goodreads: “It’s been years since seventeen-year-old Becca Hart believed in true love. But when her former best friend teases her for not having a boyfriend, Becca impulsively pretends she’s been secretly seeing someone.

Acting like the perfect couple isn’t easy though, especially when you barely know the other person. But with Becca still picking up the pieces from when her world was blown apart years ago and Brett just barely holding his together now, they begin to realize they have more in common than they ever could have imagined. When the line between real and pretend begins to blur, they are forced to answer the question: is this fake romance the realest thing in either of their lives?”

Review: Becca doesn’t believe in love, her dad left, and for her romance only exists between the pages of a book. Brett is the star of the football team, and he doesn’t see the point in having a relationship right now, he wants to focus on school and football, even if it would thrill his parents if he brought a girl home. When Brett overhears Becca tell a former friend that she has a secret boyfriend, he swoops in and becomes her fake boyfriend. It’s the perfect arrangement everyone will leave them alone, what’s the worst that could happen?

I absolutely adored this book, and once I started reading it, I couldn’t put it down. I love books with fake dating, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Becca and Brett’s fake relationship and watching them go from basically strangers, to friends, to being in an actual relationship. I also loved that this book also dealt with things like friendship and processing family issues.

Unsurprisingly, my favourite thing about this book was the characters. I loved how bookish Becca was, and I found her to be incredibly relatable. I liked how caring she was, and I liked that she was able to use her experiences to help Brett process what was going on with his family. Speaking of Brett, I thought he was a cinnamon roll and a sweetheart, and it hurt me to see him hurting. I thought that Becca and Brett made a great pair, I thought they complimented each other well, and I was very invested in their relationship.

I also liked the subplots in this book. I enjoyed reading about their broken friendship between Becca and Jenny, and I’m glad that they had an opportunity to talk about everything. I also enjoyed reading about Becca and Brett dealing with their fractured families. I especially liked the story with Brett’s family and watching him go through the cycle of processing and dealing with everything that was unfolding in front of him. Finally, I loved Becca’s mom’s bakery, and I think that all books should have a storyline that involves cupcakes.

Overall, I highly recommend The Upside of Falling. The two main characters are amazing, and Brett is a cinnamon roll. This book does deal with some serious issues like divorce and infidelity, and I really enjoyed reading about the characters processing these issues. I thought the romance was super cute, even if it was predictable. I recommend this book if you like fake dating, cinnamon roll characters, and are looking for something quick to read.

Rating: 4 Stars!