3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Cassie came to Vancouver to start over, fleeing her past and her demons. She thought a new town meant a new life, and a fresh start. Her plan seems to be working – no flashbacks, no nightmares, no falling apart – until Connor. Cassie soon realizes monsters come in more than one form, and demons don’t always stay in the past. As Cassie fights to pick up the pieces yet again, a new knight in shining armor appears not on a horse, but a Harley Davidson and with a dark past of his own. Soon the two begin to wonder just how broken they are, and if the key to facing the past and starting over can be found in one another.
When I first picked up E.L. Green's Falling to Pieces, I was incredibly excited and I couldn’t wait to begin reading. MC romances, or motorcycle clubs/biker romances, tend to be my weak spot, a guilty pleasure of sorts; however, I quickly was hit with a few surprises.
I first noticed a fresh and colorful, albeit muted, cover. Falling to Pieces does not have a stereotypical dark and brooding cover with a highly attractive man or a man and his bike, nor does it have a man and woman in an intimate embrace or anything or the sort, really. It is an image of a young woman whom might be looking back or preparing to run away. Even the title is in a softer and slightly more feminine font than some other novels with the same themes. This may be a subtle difference, something many may not notice, but it stuck with me and while reading it kept coming to mind.
My second surprise came as I read, this is not an MC romance in the traditional sense but rather a contemporary romance with an MC element. Some readers may not think there is not much to distinguish between those ideas, but I found there is. I was skeptical in the beginning, thinking the contemporary romance and MC aspects would not blend very well.
I will inform potential readers this is contemporary romance focusing on characters and emotional relationships rather than the stereotypical erotic romance MC books that focus more of the physical aspects. While sex scenes do occur occasionally throughout the work, they are not overwhelming and random. Depending on reader preferences this can be a pro, or a con, I found myself enjoying this reading aspect but not expecting it due to other MC books I have read. By the end of E.L. Green’s novel, I found myself pleased and wishing I had read the first book as well.
Falling to Pieces is the second novel in Green’s Broken series; however, it can be read as a standalone work. The connections between works are due to characters and the same MC, but each book follows a different main character and has a self-contained story. Book one followed Cassie’s friend, Ellie, while this installment follows Cassie.
This novel was not flawless, but it was an interesting and fun read. My interest in the main couple ebbed and flowed, I found myself more interested in the support characters at times. I questioned the chemistry between Cassie and Leif at times and lost focus while reading. I think this could have been remedied by having more scenes where they see one another equally and explore the possibility of friendship and companionship a bit more, rather than being at odds almost constantly.
My biggest complaint would be that at times the plot seemed rushed. The book is not very long considering just how much happens in it. This gave it an air of being unputdownable but also a sense of moving too quickly and a bit vaguely. I would have loved the conflicts to have a bit more depth and focus, to see characters go head-to-head or certain scenes to have a bit more suspense and moments of menace. I found that the lack of this was the most frustrating part, the subdued moments popped in and out and never lasted long enough to really make an impact and resonate with me as a reader.
Despite this, I absolutely loved the friendship aspects between Cassie and her girlfriends, but also the friendship/brother-like relationships between Cassie and the men of the club. The lighter moments held hope, love, and laughter and balanced less occurring darker scenes while reading.
Falling to Pieces has a bit of everything that can appeal to readers, characters trying to survive a personal trauma, friendship, suspense, hope, and love. It is also a fast read with language that should be easy for people with various capabilities. There are some variants in spelling due to UK English rather than US English, but there were no typos or grammatical errors that I noticed. I would recommend this for mature readers due to possibly triggering topics such as child abuse, rape, physical, mental and emotional abuse and strong language. With these topics in mind, E.L. Green delivers the story in a manner that is not lacking detail but not overwrought either. Potential readers need not fear grotesque, overly explicit or exploitative scenes. Overall, I think Falling to Pieces is a solid 3 out of 4 and I will be following the rest of the series.
******
Falling to Pieces
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like AnnaKathleen's review? Post a comment saying so!
