The Upside of Falling

By: Alex Light

Narrated by: Caitlin Kelly, Austin Rising

Length: 6 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's Summary

A fun, flirty teen debut from Wattpad phenom Alex Light about a fake relationship and real love.

It’s been years since 17-year-old Becca Hart believed in true love. But when her former best friend teases her for not having had a boyfriend, Becca impulsively pretends she’s been secretly seeing someone. 

Brett Wells has it all. As captain of the football team and one of the most popular guys in his school, he should have no problem finding someone to date, but he’s always been more focused on his future than who to bring to prom. When he overhears Becca’s lie, Brett decides to step in and be the mystery guy. It’s the perfect solution: he gets people off his back for not having a meaningful relationship, and she can keep up the ruse that she’s got a boyfriend. 

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 what is pretend and what is real begins to blur, they're forced to answer the question: Is this fake romance the realest thing in either of their lives? 

©2020 Alex Light (P)2020 HarperAudio

Super cute read!

What a cute read! Becca and Brett are great characters, both aren't interested in dating but have reasons why having a partner would help them so they decide to fake a relationship. I loved that he was a good guy and treated her well from the beginning. He knew she wouldn't want to sit with his friends at lunch and automatically comes to her. She supports him when his family is going through a hard time. They had great chemistry and connected so well.
This dealt with some tough family and friend issues, while still having lighthearted moments and making me laugh. The story moved at a great pace and the narration on the audiobook was fantastic!

The Upside of Falling

Overall I enjoyed this story.

I like how they were very opposite but they came together and found they had more in common then they thought.

It was nice that she was there for him and vice versa. It was a good coming of age story.

I enjoyed the narration.

Mixed feelings

There were some parts I really liked, some I liked and some I didn’t. I love Caitlin Kelly as a narrator and think she did a wonderful job with Becca’s story. Not sure how I felt about Austin Rising as it was weird hearing him do Becca in the Austin parts.

Cutest!

The cover is what describes this book- JUST TOO CUTE!!!! If you dig Jenny Han or Kasie West’s books, this is up to par! Quick, light, and entertaining read. Yup, this YA romance story was well-rounded leaving me completely satisfied!

Teenage sex?

Why does a great romance have to lead to teens having sex? Too many social issues are exacerbated by this behavior, not to mention unwanted pregnancies. Novels for young adults should never encourage or glorify teens having sex that leads to happy outcomes—that’s too unrealistic, and can mislead young readers to believe there are no consequences. This novel was excellent except for that one flaw.

One-time listen

Started off in a fun way, but turned a bit meh, for me. It was cute until it turned unnecessarily cheesy. Characters are very “clean” and not too complicated, I wish their internal conflicts weren’t so obvious and laid out.
The narration was good, though.

One of the most realist romance books I’ve read.

Ive started to read lots of romance books over quarantine and liked most of them but for some reason while reading them they didn’t feel real but since the second chapter of this book started i actually feel like i could be one of these characters the way they act is so real that it made everything i read a hundred times more interesting this books is great and if your a highschool student like me it shows you that even when you feel alone you cant lose hope because you never know what can happen.

Cute premise, well executed

I liked the fake dating premise of this story as well as the fact the Hero is the one who claimed the relationship first. I thought Brett and Becca grew their relationship at a good pace and I liked that the conflict was mostly from outside the relationship, rather than within it, so they could support each other. There were a few things that I wished had more of a resolution and I really want a jelly bell, but it was overall a very enjoyable story.

Great teen love story

This book is well written. It talks about true love, love trial, the importance parent relationships and how their examples play important roles in a teens love life. I loved that it talked about forgiveness after divorce and the pain that affairs bring to all involved. The author did a good job at making the plot relatable to today's situations. The story was sweet and captivating. Very good book.

Good feel good story

The story was cute! The plot was sweet but can definitely be dug into a little deeper. Brett and Becca start “fake” dating but there’s never any awkwardness or push from each other they are just automatically in love. The story with Brett’s parents is very unfinished. The ending is sweet and happy.

Beautiful, absolutely amazing!

I chose all five stars because the book was moving and the choice of words made it feel like you were actually there. The performances were really good and were very clear and really brand the characters to life.

I am digging this fake dating trope!

"Love is temporary. It’s not some magical cure. That’s what Shakespeare was trying to show. That’s why they died, because they were naïve enough to think their love could end a war."

Okay, I know that I need to calm down but WHY ARE WE NOT TALKING ABOUT THIS BOOK?!

First of all, I used my Audible credit to listen to The Upside of Falling because it's only less than 7hours and I need a shift from my fantasy current reads. And boy, this book was adorable.

With Becca Cooper, our MC, as a resident bookworm who binge reads romance books to escape from her parents' tragic relationship resulting to divorce, and Brett Wells, your boy-next-door, soccer team captain who is the campus' apple of the eye but is proudly NGSB - I know that TUOF will surely be one hell of a rollercoaster ride.

The story started with the fake dating trope and did I already admit that I'm a sucker for fake romance and I just dig the vibe of this book? If not, then I'll let you reread the previous sentence.

Its feel-good vibe is the big factor why I finished this book in less than one day (including in-between chores and maps) and Alex Light is a brilliant author for creating such a fluid contemporary romance teenage story that feels so positive and enjoyable.

But don't get me wrong, this book is not full of rainbows and flying unicorns because the MCs each have a broken family backstory with Becca still chasing reason from his father and Brett unknowingly unveiling a months-long side affair by his life hero that is his father.

Also, the Becca-Jenny friendship is an excellent choice of subplot as it did not fully overshadow the main fake dating scene.

One thing that made me cringe? The scene when Becca ripped the pages of her book and threw it in the river. Ugh. My bookish heart is enraged.

But still, The Upside of Falling is an enjoyable read and I still recommend it if you want a simple town setup with a swoon-worthy fake romance plot.

RATING: 4stars