Falling for Ellen

by Kaitlin Collins

Falling for Ellen was never in Fergus’ five-year plan, but when their paths repeatedly cross, the fall becomes inevitable.Fergus Morgan is the man with a plan. He has his days scheduled down to the minute and his whole life figured out. He’s going to graduate, become a best-selling author, teach English at the University of Edinburgh, and settle down in the city with a wife and two kids. One thing Fergus could never plan for is Ellen.

Ellen McLean has never been one to fit society’s expectations and rules of what a woman should or should not do. The village outcast since childhood, she moved to Edinburgh in hopes of making a place for herself in the biomedical sciences. However, due to her gender, she is still an outcast and finds herself fighting to prove her worth. Again.

While Falling for Ellen is the second book in the Falling series. It can be read as a standalone or read before/after Falling for Scotland.

238 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 15, 2025

About the author

Kaitlin is an elementary teacher and avid traveler based in the Kansas City, Missouri area. She lives with a menagerie of pets, including her bunny (Artemis), leopard gecko (Bruni), and puppy (Ringo). Books and writing have been her escape for years. When she isn’t creating stories in her head, she is daydreaming about her next trip.

Reviews

[Rhiannon Cheyenne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Falling for Ellen - Kaitlin Collins

This book was an introduction this author and it was a great one. It has so many tropes that I adore reading. Women in STEM And Academia are tropes, I’d never get tired of reading. And the dynamics between Ellen and Fergus was just perfect. I love these two characters. I definitely need to read the first book in this series. I can’t wait to see what else this author writes.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Out of 5 Stars ⭐️

Format 💫 Gifted Digital Copy

Series 🌙 Falling, #2

Genre/Tropes ✨ Enemies to lovers, Forced proximity, Found family, Opposites Attract, Woman in STEM, Academia, Challenging 1960 gender norms, historical romance, historical fiction

[Hannah Boyland · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

I wasn’t expecting to love this book quite as much as I did if I’m honest. An academic enemies to lovers featuring a 1960s woman in STEM dealing with misogynists.. Simply too good if I’m honest. This book progresses and flowed so well, the prologue and epilogue were beautiful 🥹
I loved Ellen SO much, but I also really related to Fergus (as an autistic girly who hates change).
Very cute & very wholesome read 🤍

[Andrea Milburn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book takes us back in time(1960s) to share a heartwarming love story! The banter between Fergus and Ellen was brilliantly written and I enjoyed the dual POV format. Fergus is always so organized while Ellen seems to be a hot mess, which makes for fabulous interactions between the two, starting with a battle over a table at the library. The connection is there, but neither wants to admit it at first. This book also outlines the struggles of women to be seen as professionals in that time. Overall, a fantastic read!

(I received a complimentary ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you Kaitlyn Collins and Torch Lit Ink)

[Susan (Purplegalaxyreads94) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Huge Shoutout To Kaitlin Collins and Torchlitink for allowing me the opportunity to be an arc reader for Falling For Ellen. Now onto my non-spoiler review!

When I saw that this was a historical romance, I instantly wanted to sign up for this story. This story follows Fergus, our MMC, who loves books and wishes to become an author. He has his whole life planned out to a T until the moment he meets Ellen for the first time. Fergus, who is very organized writer, meets Ellen, a chaotic mess biomedical student. Opposites truly do attract in this story and it was such a clean romance that was done so well where I found myself smiling and blushing anytime our lovebirds shared a kiss, held hands, danced or has some forehead kisses.

Let me just tell you that the prologue and epilogue of this story made me super emotional and made me super invested in Fergus and Ellen. I feel like this love story was so relatable and just absolutely beautiful in all things that I couldn’t help but want more from them. Definitely made me realize that finding the one you are truly meant to be with, can be the best miracle in the whole world.

[Blake · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC review
(no spoiler):

First of all, I want to say that I wasn't sure I'd be able to finish this book because I had so many ARCs to read at the same time (not complaining, really, but for a moment It felt like a lot), but I was so passionate about Ellen and Fergus's story that I finished it in just two days (last night I even went to sleep at 1:00 AM just to read more, lol).
I admired Ellen's character from the beginning, because she let nothing and no one push her around; it was considered unreasonable for a woman at the time to choose such a career (a woman in STEM), but if we think about it, even now, we want to be so progressive, and yet the same thing often happens. The only people who always believed in her were her family and, later, Fergus. Their relationship begins in a very peculiar way, with an argument over a table in the library, and neither of them knew at that moment that it would be the start of a spectacular love story, ready to overcome any barrier and prejudice. Of course, like all good love stories, the protagonists will have to navigate a period of uncertainty, as Ellen, despite her strong character, still feels a deep sense of inadequacy and sometimes even imposter syndrome, unfortunately caused by the society around her. But thanks primarily to her resilience and Fergus's constant support, Ellen will be able to continue her work without paying attention to those who want to bring her down (let's be honest, mostly men).
Finally, I'd like to thank the author for entrusting me with an advance copy of her debut novel and for allowing me to meet and get to know the protagonists of Ellen and Fergus. I look forward to reading more in the future.

[Angie (mushmysteriesandmore) · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the Highlands of Scotland lies this sweet tale of opposites attract. Fergus is a quiet, literary and very orderly young man, he has a routine and hates anything that changes it. Suddenly into his life (and taking over his table in the library) is Ellen, a chaotic whirlwind struggling to prove herself in the man’s field of medicine (this is set in the 60s).

Fergus was simply adorable, a lovable nerd who hates disruption, mess and chaos. He has his studies and his job in a book store, and he’s also writing a novel. Ellen couldn’t be more his opposite. When she studies, her books and papers take over the entire table, she’s never organised and never has a routine, she’s studying medicine, where her classmates and most of her professors don’t take her seriously so she’s constantly battling to make her opinions heard and prove she belongs. When these two souls first collide, they bicker like nobody else, they both rub each other up the wrong way. But slowly they start to come around, fate seems to be throwing them together in various scenarios.

One thing that threw me and therefore deducted a star, was the abruptness of the ending. We know from the prologue that Ellen is deceased but there was nothing of their life together once they established their HEA, I would have liked to heard more about that. I know this is the second book in the series and is definitely a standalone read but maybe there was more in the first book as that is regarding Fergus’ grandson and him coming to take care of Fergus. I would need to read it to find out.

However I did truly love this book, it was a gentle romance and I even loved the used of proper Scottish dialect, it was fun to read and really made the characters come alive.

[Summer Munroe {sum.mun.reads} · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5/5 ⭐️

Here’s to strong, intelligent women and the steady, unwavering golden retriever men who love them. 😭😭😭
Gosh. What an amazing, feel good story! You had me at historical Scotland and you absolutely won me over with just the prologue. Absolute melted mess. And I loveee it. Fergus and Ellen’s story is a love story for the ages. I would read this book 100 times and then I would watch the Netflix adaptation over and over again. And I would cry Every. Single. Time. You’re gonna love this book if you love a tender love story and if you love a FMC with bite. Thank you to the author and TorchLitInk for the eARC. This voluntary review is my honest thoughts and opinions about the book.
No spicy spice, kisses only.
I only got a couple quotes highlighted because I was just flying through these pages and loving it.

“She was still a table thief and a safe space invader.”

“It felt as if I’d been traveling through the desert before stumbling upon an oasis, and I was going to drink my fill.”

[The Literature Lizard · Rating 5 out of 5]

✨ARC Review✨

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/ ❤️

Thank you to Torch Lit Ink and Kaitlin for providing me with an advanced copy of Falling for Ellen. As always, my opinions are my own! ☺️

“Fergus had a way of painting a mental image as vivid as if I were at the picture show watching it play out on a giant screen.. I could feel what the characters were feeling; their emotions palpable through the ink. It made it so I hung on every word and read as fast as possible so I could figure out what happened next.”

Ok excuse me?! I’ve only gotten through the prologue and I’m heartbroken! (In the best way I swear) It’s so sweet and so sad. I’m in love with the aspect of a story within a story, with Fergus regaling his grandchildren of his love story! The quote above not only depicts Ellen’s opinion on Fergus’ writing, but I think this also sums up Kaitlin’s ability to write a story as well. It felt like Fergus and Ellen’s feelings and emotions were pouring off the page as we learned about how they fell in love and I was feeling them along side them. Oh it had me absolutely sobbing by the end!

[Celina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this sweet story of Fergus writing the story of falling in love with Ellen. The girl who changed him and was definitely not a part of his five year plan in college. I thought this was going to be a Nicholas Sparks' rip your heart out kind of heartbreak, but it was just a really sweet story of these two falling in love. The banter between these two was perfect turning these rivals slowly into lovers. The way Fergus respected Ellen in everything she does which wasn't the norm in the 1960s let alone in a career in STEM.

I love how Kaitlin truly captured the Scottish and English language by not being afraid to have the characters use it. Oftentimes, I could hear myself with an English or Scottish voice when reading from each character's POV. Probably terribly done, but it drew me that much more into the story.

[Y L Bishop · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Enemies to lovers. Forced proximity. Found family. Academia. A fierce woman in STEM challenging 1960s gender norms Falling for Ellen has it ALL. As someone who isn't normally into anything that isn't dark and spooky I really enjoyed this read. To me it felt like brigerton and outlander had an academic baby. You know that season where Johnathan Bailey plays Anthony Bridergton and he hates Kate, then he doesn't hate Kate? Like that! But Ellen.

So Fergus may have had his life planned down to the minute, but he didn't account for Ellen. So their story is kinda like, excuse me sir, I'm going to ruin your plans.😂😂😂
10/10 recommend if you like slow burns, sharp banter, and watching a man’s carefully crafted life plan get absolutely obliterated by love. 💕🤣

[Ashley Jacobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a sweet love story. I loved that the author went against gender norms in the 1960s. Ellen is going to university to study medical sciences with aspirations to go into the medical research field. This book showed the prejudice that Ellen faced as a woman in science.

Fergus was so supportive of her studies and career goals. He knew she was brilliant and wanted her to go far. She was even supportive of him wanting to publish his novel.

I also loved how they were opposites and balanced each other out. Where Fergus was organized and thrived on routine, Ellen was chaos and feisty.

If you love historical romances, women in STEM, and no spice, then this book is for you.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I don't read much romance, enemies to lovers is one my favorites. This is in the Falling Universe, but it isn't necessary to read the first book in order to read Falling for Ellen. However, if you have read the first book, that just makes it even sweeter to learn about Ellen and Fergus's story. This is set in the 60s and Ellen is determined to break through the boy's club and prove that women can do it too. Fergus is put out of order when he meets Ellen. Not because he instantly loves her, but because he instantly dislikes her. Have fun reading their story of how they make a connection and realize they are meant for each other.

[Shannon H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Falling for Ellen was such a sweet and charming read. I loved the Scottish accent writing throughout and how it gave the whole story an extra layer of depth. The academic backdrop made it even more enjoyable as there’s just something about romance that blossoms in libraries that always gets me.

Ellen and Fergus were so easy to root for and the book felt light and heartwarming in the best way. It's the kind of book that leaves you smiling after the last page.

Thank you for this ARC; all opinions are my own!

[Beena K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah this book 😍 I don't even know where to start with it. Ellen is a badass, a woman in the 60's that goes and fights for a carerr in STEM, something that at the time felt totally impossible. Fergus, the man who has everything planned, who sits always at the same table and does nothing out of his plan, goes and lets hos life get totally wrecked by Ellen.

The story is super well told and I wish this will get a film adaptation


Thank you Torcklink for the eARC

[Andrea]

A charming Scottish romance. She’s a prickly medical researcher, fighting against gender prejudice in the 1960s. He’s an uptight English major and aspiring novelist. She took his study table in the library—so let the war begin. Only, they’re both secretly sweet, kind people, destined to fall in love. This story was so lovely and easy to read. The writing really sparkled when our main characters were together.

[Shannon Monahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a sweet love story! Enemies to Lovers. This takes place in Edinburgh at the University. She is fiery and smart with a chaotic mind and lifestyle with the love of science. He is routine and organized smart with the love of literature. While it started with a feud it resulted in them spending more time together that leads to him standing up for her due to having feelings for her.

This has no spice just kissing but is a cozy read.