The Way We Fall

Maybe we shouldn’t have fallen so fast and so willingly.

Maybe we shouldn’t have moved in together before we went on our first date.

Maybe we should have given our wounds time to heal before we tore each other to shreds.

Maybe we should have never been together.

Houston has kept a devastating secret from Rory since the day he took her into his home. But the tragic circumstances that brought them together left wounds too deep to heal.

Five years after the breakup, Houston and Rory are thrust together by forces beyond their control. And all the resentments and passion return with more intensity than ever.

Once again, Houston is left with a choice between the truth and the only girl he’s ever loved.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Cassia Leo writes of dark, twisted love and life in her novel, The Way We Fall. When someone's world crashes, those surrounding will feel the blow and experience the chaos. It's just a matter of time until the ripple reaches them. For Rory and Houston, the suicide of a friend and sister destroyed them. And the only way they could move on was to be together, to keep each other from completely falling apart. 

Aurora, aka Rory, and Houston aren't the most likeable characters. They have real flaws, some that are so deep it's hard to see pass them. Rory has loved Houston since she was a little girl but she tried to ignore her feelings because his sister was her best friend. Rory has grown into a self-sufficient woman. She has a decent job with dreams of more, a dog, and her own apartment. She built a life after she and Houston broke up five years before. A life, in which, she is happy, at times. But when Houston comes back into her world unexpectedly, she stands to crumble once again. Rory seems a bit naive when it comes to trusting others. She still considers herself damaged, yet, she sets herself up for more heartache. 

While I grew to like Rory more and more as the story went on, I did not like Houston at all. To me, he's selfish, slightly rude, presumptuous, disloyal, obsessive, and distraught. Though he does have the right to be happy and leave his marriage if he isn't, he's bad news for Aurora. He's toxic to her. A hurricane that destroys everything she builds. Their relationship is an 'easier said than done' situation, but if Rory wants a chance at a truly happy life, she needs to steer clear of Houston. 

Houston raised a lot of questions for me. I understood parts of his character, but other traits and actions I was unable to wrap my head around. Mainly, they have to do with his wife. Yes, Houston is married and he is still going after Rory. I didn't understand why he ever thought Tessa would be enough for him if he was still in love with Aurora? If he always believed he would find his way back to Rory, then why even marry Tessa? Was he trying to feed her mental instability? Or was she supposed to be Houston's chance to save someone since he feels like he should have saved his sister? Sometimes his line of thought comes into view, but I can't make complete sense of it. 

The plot of the story is two-dimensional: the present and the past. In the present, Houston has his sister's suicide note that he never showed Rory and it's been five years since their break-up. Houston wants to leave his wife, but her mental instability creates issues for him. Meanwhile, Rory has never stopped loving Houston, but she meets sweet Liam and wonders if he's her future. But Houston won't let Rory go without telling her the truth of his sister's death and their relationship. In the past, Houston and Rory are slowly moving towards each other, falling in love, dreaming of a future. But as time moves forward so does Houston's sister's plans in ending her life which throws Houston and Rory together in to swirling chaos of loss, love, pain, and the desire to escape it all. Cassia Leo writes a very entertaining, twisted story of two people life has thrown together, fated to tragedy. The idea of a sequel to this madness intrigues me, but, honestly, I don't know if I want to know how this story ends.

Rating: 2.5/5 Cups

The Cuckoo's Calling

After losing his leg to a land mine in Afghanistan, Cormoran Strike is barely scraping by as a private investigator. Strike is down to one client, and creditors are calling. He has also just broken up with his longtime girlfriend and is living in his office.

Then John Bristow walks through his door with an amazing story: His sister, thelegendary supermodel Lula Landry, known to her friends as the Cuckoo, famously fell to her death a few months earlier. The police ruled it a suicide, but John refuses to believe that. The case plunges Strike into the world of multimillionaire beauties, rock-star boyfriends, and desperate designers, and it introduces him to every variety of pleasure, enticement, seduction, and delusion known to man.

You may think you know detectives, but you've never met one quite like Strike. You may think you know about the wealthy and famous, but you've never seen them under an investigation like this.

Introducing Cormoran Strike, this is the acclaimed first crime novel by J.K. Rowling, writing under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.

*May Contain Spoilers*

J. K. Rowling's latest book, The Cuckoo's Calling, is a mature crime novel that centers around a supermodel's suicide. While Lula Landry is the focal point of the investigation, Strike becomes the main character as he tries to determine if the police missed some key evidence when ruling Lula's death as self-inflicted. 

Cormoran Strike is an experienced war veteran who also served with the military police force. He's always had the knack for close observation and he utilizes his unique skill set by working as a private eye. Strike is intelligent and curious, a former Oxford student. He's pushy, demanding, persuasive, and persistent. These traits, coupled with his attention to detail and ability to sell a lie, make him a damn good detective. While not working on the case, readers also learn that he is loving, thoughtful, and understanding. Readers will revel in his investigative nature but connect with his personality and past. The not-so-lovey side plot will bring readers close while the main story line keeps them reading.

The plot starts off slow, which is odd in a crime novel. The first two parts of the book work to set up the investigation and then the story takes off when readers learn that Strike has a theory - and so far it's spot on. Though, the theory isn't revealed until the end. It isn't an easy conclusion to draw but I think reader's will enjoy the surprise ending. There were a couple of typos in the Kindle edition, but nothing more than instant distractions. I love Rowling's writing style, her ability to apply intent to a description, and the thought process behind the character's actions. Highly recommended novel. 

Rating: 3.5/5 Cups

Thirteen Reasons Why

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers thirteen cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker, his classmate and crush who committed suicide two weeks earlier.

On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list.

Through Hannah and Clay's dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers. - Goodreads Blurb

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Thirteen Reasons you should read Thirteen Reasons Why

1. Jay Asher creates a character so compelling and real it's almost as if the reader is listening to the tapes themselves. The tapes allow an inside look into the mind of Hannah Baker -- a high school student who committed suicide two weeks prior to the beginning of the novel. 

2. The dual narration gives the reader both sides of the story. Hannah tells it as the truth, while Clay shows the lies that were born of it. 

3. Clay Jensen (one of the narrators) is on the tapes and readers get to witness how the tapes affect the people that are on them. 

4. As the novel continues the readers can see how everything that happened to Hannah changed her. It shows how she lost friends, hope, the ability to trust, and love. 

5. The book is raw. Blunt. And refuses to ask forgiveness for it. 

6. Through Hannah's story, readers can see how her thirteen reasons will react to each other when they receive the tapes and find out the roles they all played in Hannah's suicide.

7. High School was tough, for everyone. Readers can relate to the situations that Hannah had to go through. Whether they lived them or witnessed them. 

8. The web of reasons that Asher creates is unbelievable. How the reasons connect with each other, continuously loop around, and knot together is a work of art. Without one, the other twelve would never have been. 

9. Asher's writing style is fresh, honest, yet merciful. 

10. From the first page, readers will know this book is about to change their lives. 

11. "I guess that's the point of it all. No one knows for certain how much impact they have on the lives of other people. Oftentimes, we have no clue. Yet we push it just the same." (Kindle Location 1886-87)  Jay Asher shows us. 

12. Hannah asked for help. Throughout everything that she went through, though she admits that she had already decided to commit suicide - she still went and tried to ask for help. Asher shows his audience that, even though it may not be known, there is always someone willing to help. 

13. Thirteen Reasons Why doesn't limit itself to the focus of depression. It shows love, trust, desire, hope, happiness. It brings tears and causes out loud laughter. It is a novel that everyone should read at least once, because it will to stay with you. 

Thirteen Reasons Why 

on Amazon

rating: 5/5 cups