After a decade in a suffocating marriage, I finally walked away. Want to make me the villain? Fine. Here’s the when you hate yourself, you’ll hate everyone who crosses your path. I can’t love Chase enough for the both of us—and I’m done trying.
Now it’s a new city, new job, new start.
What I didn’t plan for? My new manslut coworker. Leo is everywhere. My office. The copy room. Even the women’s bathroom (no, I don’t care if yours is closed—get out). He’s everything I swore to avoid. Working together only makes the tension worse. He hides his pain behind hookups and humor; I’m still picking up the pieces of my past.
We weren’t looking for each other, but the more time we spend together, the more the walls start to crack. I don’t need a man to fix me. But do I want this one to love me? Maybe.
B.J. Hill wants to live in a world where it doesn't matter if you're a square peg or a round hole; where 'round' is a perfectly-acceptable goal for getting 'in shape'; and where unfiltered and messy life is not only welcomed, but celebrated.
Her books—edgy and heartfelt narratives—explore the depths of human connection, the bittersweet taste of life, the redemptive power of love, and the belief that true strength is often found in vulnerability. They are important to her because they offer a space where passion meets purpose, where characters break and mend, and where readers can find solace in the shared experience of resilience and hope.
Adding to her repertoire, B.J. is also the innovative founder and CEO of JibblyBitz, a company that embraces the vibrancy and authenticity of storytelling. Through JibblyBitz, she aims to extend that connection, crafting a community where stories uplift, challenge, and transform.
She is the sunshine to her grumpy-ish college sweetheart, mom to the three coolest offspring in the world, and devoted subject to her feline royal majesties, Belle and Lucy. When she's not writing stories about her imaginary friends, you can find her reading, using her outside voice at inopportune moments, or being generally awkward (I mean, awesome. Totally awesome).
Tori finally had enough and drew the strength to leave her abusive husband, and is starting over while crashing with her best friend. She has a new job, in a new place, and can't wait to leave her past in the past. Then she meets Leo, one of the professors at her new job, and he seems to hate her on the spot. She's had enough of making herself small to please a man, though, and stands up to him, effectively putting him on his ass and changes the course of what's to come. If she can continue to keep her wits around him, not give in to his charming attempts at befriending her once he realizes how wrong he was about her, then she stands a chance of getting through this with her heart intact.
Leo is the first to admit his reputation is well deserved - he isn't about to let a woman close enough to hurt him again the way his ex-wife did, so he he never dates, never is with someone longer than once, and is awful toward women when he meets ones who've divorced their husbands. But when Tori (Victoria) storms into his life, she brings him to his knees and nothing's the same ever again. After he realizes his own bitterness caused him to misjudge Tori, Leo knows he has to make it up to her. They start off as friends, but knows he wants more, even if he has to wait until her divorce is final to make his move to claim her heart.
I definitely wasn't expecting how much I would fall for Tori and her mathematician with the puns, Leo. It started off rough, and I have to admit I was tempted to DNF at first. But I kept at it and I'm glad I did because not only was it entertaining and witty (Leo's math jokes were hilariously bad but adorable and sweet), but it also tackled some sensitive emotional subjects with a deft, sympathetic hand. Both Tori and Leo had heartbreaking backstories that had left them with scars on their hearts, and I wanted to hug them each time they struggled with that pain. I was smiling by the end, though, when they finally broke through all their issues and were free to be happily in love the way they each deserved.
ARC provided by The Author Agency for an honest review.
This book made me wish I were a math person because Tori and Leo made it sound so cool. If only my brain worked that way. Quite honestly, if anyone tried to talk about the law the way Leo can pun about math, game over.
Okay, I'll stop. Tori and Leo. Having left her abusive husband after over a decade together, Tori moves in with a close friend and takes a job as an admin assistant to math professors. Leo is one of those professors; he holds it against Tori that she left her husband since his wife left him. But with some well-placed barbs and correcting Leo's math, Tori unintentionally wins Leo over. It's a slow burn, but a slow burn that builds an intimacy founded on friendship and fraught with math pun tension.
Underneath all of this is Tori's divorce from Chase, her husband. It would be so easy to despise Chase, yet Hill makes him sympathetic despite being highly unlikeable and mainly emotionally abusive to Tori (while there are no hands-on instances that I recall, there is a near miss). He's a man who loathes himself and Tori can't love him enough to overcome that self-loathing. Leo is the foil to Chase; as we shift between two timelines, we see the arcs of the two relationships building and coming to fruition.
Yes, there is a lot of fun to be had in this book, however, I found it very profound and emotional in the way it tackled two different relationships, highlighting the contrast of solid and stable intimacy versus intimacy because you think you're owed it.
Kudos to Hill for an excellent book! I can't wait to read the next one.
PS. Lois the neighbor is *chef's kiss*
🔥Academia Romance 🔥Enemies to Lovers 🔥Forced Proximity 🔥Love After Divorce 🔥Love After Trauma 🔥Only One Copy Room
Thank you to the author and The Author Agency for the gifted copy!
This was my first BJ Hill read but it won’t be my last. I’m so thankful that I stumbled across a post from another author recommending Victoria Falls! This is book 2 in the series and I read it as a standalone having not read book 1 without any issues. I absolutely loved Tori and Leo. She has been through hell and back trying to be everything for her husband Chase but nothing she does is ever enough. After a decade of being demeaned, belittled, and blamed, she has had enough. Her strength in walking away is rivaled by nothing else in this novel. If it were this alone, the book would be great. But it gets even better watching Tori find herself again and learn to be the person she recognizes and believes in again.
Leo has been burned once before and he’s sworn off love because of it. But he is drawn to that same light and strength in Tori despite his best efforts not to be. He becomes her friend to support her through her divorce but once it’s finalized, he can no longer lie to himself that their relationship has become more. Determined to let her stand on her own two feet but equally as determined to back her up, he becomes everything she never wanted to find again. These two are perfect together and bring out the best in each other. I love his unwavering support and her ability to make him believe in love and truth again. Even better is when he doubts her, she doesn’t cower but stands right up for herself and tells him off as he deserves. This book had me laughing, crying, and feeling from start to finish. Highly recommend to anyone wanting to feel the emotion jumping off the page. I can’t wait to read book 1 and the hints we got of book 3 will definitely have me coming back for more!
BJ Hill is a new-to-me author, and I am so glad I got the chance to read Victoria Falls. The blurb drew me in, and the story itself was phenomenal. It was so much more than I was expecting from a workplace romance with a playboy hero.
After leaving her abusive husband, Tori starts her life over again, moving in with a friend and taking a job as an assistant to several math professors at a college. She and Leo, one of the professors, get off on the wrong foot, mostly because while Tori is trying to deal with the trauma of leaving an abusive ex, Leo turned into a manwhore after being dumped by his wife, and holds it against Tori that she left her husband.
It's a super slow burn between these two (and lots of math puns, which were genius) as they keep bumping into each other everywhere they go. The way they exchange barbs was foreplay all on its own; the witty banter between these characters was top-notch. But the core of this story is a messy journey of finding yourself again, and that wasn't just true for Tori, but for Leo as well. While Tori's hurt and pain were more apparent, Leo hid his underneath sarcasm. And once you got past his prickly personality, he was such a gem. The building of Leo and Tori's relationship is told against the breakdown of her marriage with Chase, and in each other, Leo and Tori found exactly what they needed and what neither of them ever expected, and it helped them both heal and find a way to forge a path forward.
I will definitely put this one on my re-read list! I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
What a great read! Thanks for the early copy, The Author Agency!
After ten years in a suffocating marriage, Tori finally finds the courage to walk away, and that decision launches her into a new city, a new job, and a wholly unexpected co-worker: Leo, her office’s resident provocateur.
B.J. Hill’s writing strikes a strong balance between raw emotion and witty banter. Tori is a heroine readers will immediately empathize with—strength tempered by vulnerability, cautious but ready for change. Leo surprises: the slick exterior hides genuine regret and longing, making his transformation satisfying rather than predictable.
The story doesn’t shy away from the heavier theme of self-worth, the tone threads hope and heartache together in a way that leaves you invested in more than just the “will they/won’t they”.
Victoria Falls is a compelling and emotionally rich romance that delivers both heat and heart. If you enjoy stories of second chances, healing together, and characters who fight for something real, this one hits the mark. A very strong pick for contemporary romance lovers looking for depth wrapped in satisfying romantic tension.
This book had me laughing so hard from all of the corny math jokes that I was crying…
then crying so hard from everything these characters endured.
It literally had me on an emotional roller coaster…and it was PHENOMENAL!
We’ve previously meant our FMC, but we didn’t really see how amazing she was until now. She’s someone who is the brightest light in the room… the person that is kind and loyal almost to a fault…the person that without even meaning to dims their own light so others can shine brighter.
Same goes for the MMC, he’s the broody professor who also happens to be a walking god with an arsenal of corny math jokes. But he’s also so much more.
These two have endured so much…I was rooting for them from the start!
Their chemistry. Their banter. It’s all amazing!
And lawd have mercy who would have thought that math could be so HOT?! Not me… that’s for sure!
And naturally Author Bj Hill leaves us with a little sneak peek of what’s to come next for this incredible group of characters!
Oh my heart, I loved this book so much I don’t even know where to start. Victoria Falls hit me right in the chest — raw, messy, emotional, and so freaking real. This isn’t just another office romance, it’s a story about finding yourself again after being broken down, about rebuilding your confidence and realizing you deserve more.
The heroine’s strength just radiates off the page. You feel her exhaustion, her anger, her growth. And Leo?? Ugh, he’s the perfect mix of infuriating and irresistible — the kind of man who hides his pain behind sarcasm and bad decisions, but underneath it all, he’s loyal, protective, and full of heart. The banter between them had me grinning like an idiot one minute and clutching my chest the next.
Their chemistry? Electric. The emotional tension? Off the charts. The healing? Beautifully done. BJ Hill wrote something so human here — imperfect and honest in the best way. I laughed, I teared up, and I didn’t want it to end.
From the beginning this book lured me in and by the second chapter I was hooked. The emotions in Tori and Leo throughout this book was palpable. You truly felt it all. It made it hard to put the book down. As the book went on and you understand more about their marriages and what all happened to each of them it has you feeling giddy and excited for them. The humor, banter and math references helped make the heavy feelings not so heavy. Loved George and what his character brought to Leo’s life. ❤️ Lois is hilarious, I needed more of her in the story 🤣 I can’t wait for Skye’s book! Her story, I imagine, will be just as good if not better.
⭐⭐⭐⭐/🌶️🌶️🌶️ Victoria Falls by BJ Hill (Natural Wonders #2)
This book tackled some hefty topics like leaving a spouse when you're afraid, starting over, childhood trauma.. I was not expecting to laugh as much as I did. Despite the pain, Tori finds her joy and cracks jokes with her girlfriends and learns to live again. And of course there's the added bonus of tension and banter between her and her sexy new coworker. This was not what I was expecting!
💚Professor x Secretary 🤎Starting over 💚Grumpy-sunshine 🤎Dual timeline 💚Found family 🤎Beautiful female friendships
Whew. This was not your typical romance book. First I want to point out how lovely the writing style is. The words flow so well it’s almost like poetry rather than reading a story. While you could say the romance is a slow burn, it’s really not present until the very end of the book. This was a very emotional book with glimpses into Tori’s past, while showing Leo’s current life. Very well written and great story.
Tori was the definition of strength. She let a marriage that was not healthy, moved to a new city and started over. The way Leo had a way of being everywhere, cracked me up.
The tension between them is electronic and the way they open up is emotional. Beautifully written story.
GAHHHHHHHH!!!!! This book WAS SO GOOD!!!! The characters feel so incredibly real, relatable, hilarious, and the story is just so good!!! THAT ENDING THOUGH?!?!? @bjhillauthor girl, YOU’RE KILLING ME!!!! The cliffhanger 😫😫😫😫 is it time for book 3 yet?!?! Pick up your copy IMMEDIATELY! Don’t wait, it’s so good!!!
With laugh out loud humour, emotional turmoil and despair this book gives you a tumultuous read and engrains you into this group of friends even more than the previous book. You are as a reader now invested in the lives of these characters and I cannot wait for Skye to meet her match in the next instalment.
Victoria Falls gives a great mix of pop culture references and adorable math puns as flirtation while bringing us along for the slow burn romance because Tori and Leo.
This is the second book in the series but it is easily read as a standalone.
First time reading this author and I was blown away. I seriously felt like she was writing my own emotions and divorce story. Add in Leo, going through his own stuff. And together, just wow. And the scene with him locking himself out, so good!
💋I laughed, I cried, and everything in between. If you love good punny jokes about math, this one is for you. Oh and amazing side characters you are going to love!
📐We meet Victoria - Tori- who is trying to find herself after being in an emotionally draining marriage, but there is only so much one can put up with until they snap or until they get the courage to leave and start anew. New beginnings, new city, new job and a new coworker who seems to always be in her space and not just at the office.
🧑🔬Brooding, hurt and acting like a frat boy without a heart, enter the coworker- Leo. But that couldn’t be further from the truth and we get a beautiful glimpse into his life outside of the office. Unfortunately though Leo doesn’t let people see that side of him. He keeps letting the hurt of his past dictate his future.
🩵While I loved our main characters in this book, I also became obsessed with the side characters. Tori has an amazing group of friends who rally behind her during her divorce even when her parents disapprove. And outspoken old lady who I need as a neighbor 🤣
‼️Now I may be a little biased as I love the author, but I highly recommend this book to anyone, anyone wanting to find love after trauma, healing and being surrounded by friends in hard times, anyone who needs that push to fight for themselves. Don’t make yourself small for someone, shine bright 😘
✨🌻Tropes:🌻✨ 🎓Academia Romance ⚔️Enemies to Lovers 💙Forced Proximity ♥️Love After Divorce 💛Love After Trauma 📎Only One Copy Room
While this read had some hard topics to discuss, scenes that made my heart hurt so big, & definitely some tears, it was worth the time.
The math jokes and puns were absolute gold. And though the initial foundation their initial relationship was founded on was rocky, man it was as solid as could be by the end. These two have a piece of my heart.