So Down I Fall

Broken Fins #1

by Alex Benedict

I'm Grace O’Neal, the sixteen-year-old girl who attempted suicide in the sea. If you’re wondering what happened to me, I didn't die that night. Adam wouldn't let me. At first, I didn't want his help. A strange new islander with no shoes and a retro haircut. Who did he think he was? My hero? But when he pushed me to accept my mom’s drowning, to heal, I realized I needed a friend. I should have known someone so weird and wonderful wasn't a normal teenage guy. I should have known my complicated life was going to get a lot more complicated when I fell in love with him ... and discovered his dark secret.

Genres: Mermaids, Young Adult

247 pages, Paperback

First published October 18, 2012

About the author

Alex Benedict is the young adult author of dark fantasy fiction with a romantic twist. An animal lover, she is the proud parent of a rabbit and two cats. She works in an animal hospital.

In another life, Alex also writes historical romance under the pen name Alexandra Benedict. Her work has received critical acclaim from Booklist and a rare and coveted starred review from Publishers Weekly. Romantic Times awarded her a TOP PICK review and raved: "There is nothing quite as exciting as finding a fresh, vibrant new voice, and Benedict has it!" All of Benedict's historical novels are translated into various languages. To learn more visit www.AlexandraBenedict.ca or follow her on FACEBOOK at Alexandra Benedict Author.

Reviews

[Seeing Double in Neverland · Rating 4 out of 5]

For Full Review go to http://seeingdoubleinneverland.blogsp...

4 out of 5 stars

I think it was a great build to a second book.

[Alexandra Bayer · Rating 4 out of 5]

After her mother's death, Grace O'Neil is tired of living a life full of depression. So she attempts to join her mother in the deep, by trying to commit suicide in the ocean. But Grace is saved, supposedly by a boy that lives on the island. But that boy doesn't match up to her memory... someone else saved her. Or something else. While unraveling mysteries, Grace befriends Adam, a new boy from Iceland. But Adam seems to be keeping secrets. Why is he on the run from his father? Why are all five of his sisters bald? Why is his room covered in tinfoil? And why can he swim in a pool, but not the ocean? As Grace uncovers more clues, she ends up finding out some things that she didn't want to know. Maybe sometimes, secrets are meant to be hidden.

I was very excited to read this book after receiving it through Goodreads First Reads, because this is the kind of book I would actually pick up on my own. I love mythology, the supernatural, and the sea. Plus a female lead in first person just added to my anticipation. I knew I would have to read about Grace's attempt at suicide if I was to make it into the good parts of the book. Normally, this wouldn't bother me. I know that these are just words coming from the author's imagination. However, when reading the suicide scene in So Down I Fall, I found it really disturbed me. The descriptions were incredibly accurate and almost made me feel nauseous. I had to take pauses and deep breaths to make my way through it. And I love that in a book. I was barely past page one, but already the writing was making me feel something. That's an incredible feat. I sympathized with Grace and felt her pain. I commend Alex Benedict.

One thing that really bothered me about this book was all of the editing errors. Spelling mistakes, lack of punctuation, simple things like that that could be so easily corrected with more thorough editing. When a book has such silly mistakes, I expect there to be not many of them. One to three is probably the average. This book had upwards of seven. And every time I saw them, I had to laugh. Because it is just ridiculous to be a published book with so many errors. It distracted me from the writing each time, which is not what Benedict was going for, I'm sure. If these errors had been fixed, I think I would have enjoyed this novel even more than I did.

Cliff-hanger ending. I'm giving the warning now. If you want to read this book, you better have the second in the series at your disposal. It is so frustrating when a novel ends on a cliff-hanger. I don't like it at all, but it is a good way to sell sequels. Near the end, I could feel the story winding down, trailing off, and so I was prepared for a gentle ending. Then, out of the blue, something terribly exciting and unanticipated happens, and the reader is left off on that note. If I see book two in this series next time I'm at the book store, I'll buy it. Which is, of course, what Benedict was looking for readers to do. I suppose I'm predictable in that way, but then, who isn't? If I read a good book that ends abruptly, I don't know who wouldn't go looking for the sequel.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a twist on mythology, but still kept the main focus and points of the creatures. I'll definitely be on the look-out for book two. I found this novel to be something of a modern classic. I would recommend it for anyone looking for water mythology, mysteries, and romance.

[Shara · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can also read my review here: http://thebookendreviews.blogspot.com...

Note: I received this book as a Goodreads.com First reads contest winning.

★★★3/4

One gets tired of reading about the same type of super natural creatures. Vampires, werewolves and zombies, all seem to be the hit thing at the moment and it gets old. So Down I fall by Alex Benedict isn't about creatures on land, but in the sea.

I entered to win this book from the author as a part of the Goodreads.com contest giveaway..Obviously, I won and when I received it in the mail I began to read and 6 hours later (doing a few things in between) I was finished.

The first sentence, had me hooked. "I thought about killing myself the old-fashioned way: overdosing on a handful of pills, driving my truck into a tree." Its one of those sentences where you get so engrossed into the words that you just keep reading........and reading......and reading, until there is nothing left to read.

Grace O'Neal, no longer cares. Everything that mattered went away the day her mother died. She gives in to everything and attempts suicide but gets rescued. A few days later, she meets the new boy in town, Adam, and everything she knew changes. She starts to feel again....but its no happy ending.

As I mentioned above, this book captured me into a little Island off of Maine. I enjoyed the book until about 60 pages left to read. It seemed like it just got very corny. The things you find out, was not really a surprise, but more of a "Really? That's the best that you can come up with?" Then the last 30 pages it got too mushy. It was one of those "I love you" "Don't Leave" "I wont" "I love you." Rinse and repeat.

Regardless of the mushy corniness at the last 60ish pages, I still highly enjoyed it. Some was a bit predictable, but for the most part it was interested and I look forward to reading #2.

[F. A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book reminded me of The Little Mermaid with a male as the Merman.Grace a female struggling with the loss of her mother who died one stormy night and she has not been the same since. She tries to kill herself by slitting her wrists and drowning herself in the ocean. She was saved and does not remember how. Adam is the new guy in town who lives with his sisters in Grace's old home. Grace seems to be drawn to Adam but is also receiving the attention of her forever crush Nick. She remembers Nick was the one who called the ambulance after her accident.

I really liked this Mermaid book. There are interesting powers that come to play in this. There are some disturbing parts of suicide so reader be ware. I liked how the emotion was raw and stripped down though. It also was not all teen drama. The second half of this book gets into the Ocean mythology and I am so looking forward to the next book in this series. I cant say to much about the second half as I feel it would give away too much to the story. I am giving this 4 out of 5 stars. I think it was a great build to a second book.

[Ornella · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

When I picked this one up I had no idea it was a retelling of The Little Mermaid and only figured it out after I was 80% done with the book. Even though the MC kinda annoyed me at times, it wasn't enough to put me off the book, so I was able to finish it and actually ended up liking it. It's a sweet but dark story and I'm looking forward to finding out the fates of Adam and Grace.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful cover, sweet romance springs from tragic start. This is a well scripted YA novel that touches briefly on serious emotional crisis. It builds in mystery and drama and begins a first true love. If you want to know how it ends then like me you'll have to wait for the next book as this one doesn't bode well for a happy ending.

[Randi (The Artist Formerly known as Guitar Chick) · Rating 4 out of 5]

TW: suicide.

A sweet, but dark, retelling of the Little Mermaid, I'm curious to see where the story will go, and I enjoyed it quite a lot. I was little unhappy with the mushy stuff that ensued later on, and some of the pacing could use some work. But worth a read, especially if you're looking for a different fairy tale retelling.

[Conny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm crying my eyes out here ...
Please Alex tell me Henry is ok? PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE ???
I loved the book and can't wait for the next one.
Thanks

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know that book you always find yourself re-reading every couple of years because it just captivated you? That's what this book is for me. To this day still one of my all-time faves.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Waiting for the third book, about 4 stars. I would like to read more from this author.