4 Stars
“Falling over can be magical—if and when you find the right person.”
Falling over is a wonderful standalone short story by Melody Jones. I really enjoyed reading this book; it was light-hearted, sweet and a surprisingly good read. The story wasn’t only a very clever concept, it was well written, quite interesting and made me want to flip the page and discover exactly what was happening.
Emma Chasen is twenty-five year old who works in pharmaceutical sales. She has made a great life for herself, has a loving family, wonderful friends, and a job she adores- but that seems to be where her luck runs out, as she hasn’t had much success when it comes to men and romantic relationships.
Because of this Emma has become a little negative with her outlook on life. This is also fuelled by the fact that she has a lot of insecurity and fears, originating from a childhood trauma- and she has the tendency to over think or over analyse everything.
So when her latest ‘relationship’ ends, her friends whisk her away for a weekend at the lake for some fun and relaxation. Her best friend Courtney suggests that it’s time to concentrate on herself for a change, to not to worry about relationships or putting pressure on herself to find a boyfriend- also hinting that she may benefit from a one-night-stand as it may help her get her ‘mojo’ back.
The weekend will test Emma on many levels, but her biggest test will be overcoming and dealing with her intense fear of boating, falling overboard and drowning. But when she meets someone with an impressive and contagiously optimistic outlook on life, Emma can’t help but begin to rethink her own circumstances. What will Emma learn from her weekend away? Will she learn to appreciate herself and her life? Will she unshackle herself from the past and the fears that have been crippling her? Can she embrace the future with a more positive outlook?
This is such a charming, quick and easy read that really made me stop and think of how easy it is to get caught up in the negatives in our life that we lose focus on all the good in our life- we stop acknowledging our blessings and lose sight of the big picture. Also about love, and loss. And about the mistake of completely giving up your individuality and own identity in a ‘one-sided’ relationship. And about ‘not judging a book by its cover’.
A great read and I look forward to Ms. Jones next release.
Thank you Ms. Jones!