The Fall

by Kate Stewart

[stacey_is_sassy]

Being a doctor or a doctor’s partner doesn’t seem so glamorous anymore.

I started The Fall with a warning from Kate Stewart…it’s filled with angst. Hmmm, that’s not something that generally has me jumping for joy. I read and loved Kate Stewart’s Loving the White Liar, so I told myself to suck it up buttercup and started it with my stress ball and box of tissues within easy reach.

The Fall takes us on a journey through the lives of Dean Martin (I’ve been humming That’s Amore all weekend) and Dallas from the time they are in high school. The YA year bump in the journey was because Dallas is three years younger than Dean, and he’s not willing to go to jail to follow through on his lustful thoughts. The angst starts from the beginning with Dallas feeling unrequited love and Dean using other girls to distract him from the one he really wants, but can’t have. We then have our next bump in College when they finally have a chance to be together. Smooth, smooth, smooth sailings, until it’s time for Dean to move to then next stage of his studies and away from Dallas. This bump becomes Mt Everest and the safety ropes can’t stop the plummet and end of their relationship. The NOW has bumps, boulders and chasms to pass, but this couple must use all their strength, love and support to take that peak and fly their HEA flag.

So, as you can see their journey was not an easy one and I used up quite a stash of tissues before the end. For all the people who NEED to know whether there is cheating Dean never cheats, but he is with other girls before they are together in the high school time. While Dallas is trying to push Dean away in the NOW she is in a relationship with Josh. Dean kisses her knowing she has a boyfriend, and at first she kisses him back but always pushes him away in the end. No sex with other people while they are together.

At times I was not happy with either of the characters in this story and felt they were selfish. To some extent, you have to be selfish to want to be a doctor. Between the long hours of study to get to the position and being “on-call” if you work in a hospital, your focus needs to be centred on your career. That’s not very appealing to me. I wouldn’t cope with the job if I didn’t have enough time to recharge or turn off. To face sick and sometimes dying people daily would not be an easy job and my admiration for doctors increased peeking into their lives. I did enjoy this story, but it was a bit of a hard slog for me. Both Dean and Dallas have traits that I loved, but also ones I disliked. I really enjoyed both characters families as well. Between Dallas’ parents and siblings and Dean’s mother, I couldn’t pick one over the other who I loved more. Beatrice, a nurse, was also a favourite.

This story does have a bit of time jumping as we see what the NOW Dean and Dallas have to overcome. While it’s not a favourite type of story for me, it was essential to really get the feel of the characters, what they have lived through and managed to overcome. To be honest, by the end I had a lot of sympathy for Dallas and went from “Just forgive him already” to “Mr Martin, you’re lucky she doesn’t knee you every time she sees you”. A lot of growth was needed by both characters to see that they were meant for each other.

The Fall has a lot of love and a lot of tragedy. It also showed us the valuable lesson of making the most of everyday. Sometimes it’s easy to become too busy and not stay in touch enough to know when a loved one is suffering. I’m glad I read this story and was happy to see the couple’s journey come to a rewarding end. I will definitely be reading more by Kate Stewart in the future.

I received a complimentary copy of this story from the author for an honest review.

To buy The Fall from Amazon - http://amzn.to/1NiQIIY