Falling From the Tree

Darshian Tales #2

by Ann Somerville

Sixteen years after "Kei’s Gift", Karik is taking his first steps into the wider world. But the question of his parentage, and the role Arman played in his history, are mysteries Karik has to solve. But in doing that, he gets a lot more than he bargained for – and to face the new challenges, he’ll need to grow up in a hurry. "Landing softly" is a side story to "Falling from the tree".

Genres: Fantasy, M M Romance, Romance, M M Fantasy, Paranormal, Coming Of Age, Fiction

553 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Ann Somerville grew up in one of Australia’s prettiest small cities. In 1989, she left Australia with a BA and a burning ambition to see more of the world and its people, and to discover this ‘culture’ thing people kept telling her about. In 2006, she returned home to Southeast Queensland with two more degrees (this time in science and IT), an English husband and a staggering case of homesickness, vowing never to leave Australia again.

Her long, plot-driven fiction featuring gay and bisexual characters has been published by Samhain Publishing and elsewhere.

Reviews

[Nene]

A great continuation, but a little slower than the first one in the series. I absolutely loved Karik. A very well written teenager! I was pleasantly surprised in a lot of ways by how the story developed, and must admit to shedding quite a few tears. But make no mistake, this really isn't Karik's story, it's really more Arman's. And of course Kei's. I liked how we went back and forth between Arman's POV and Karik's. The battle hardened general, to the young and innocent boy. Very interesting comparison that worked very well for me here.

[Viki]

Very different in some aspects from the first book.

The first one was so vast and complex and everything changed so much for so many people.

Here, you basically get two people who don't have much of a relationship and at the end, they do.

Felt a bit... anticlimactic. And, as I am now reading the third book, not that great for the series either. The conflict's focusing on the inside which might not have been as "bad" if it was not for the first book and if it didn't make me so. freaking. ANGRY.

Conflicts get internalised. Instead of tragedy and cruel people or bad circumstances, you have stupid misunderstandings and inability to communicate properly.

There is still much care given to the proper psychological and personal development of the characters and it was a nice book but I enjoyed the first one much more - even if there was some "miscommunication" it was more then expected and unnatural. Here, it just makes me see red and skip those paragraphs.

Still, a nice continuation.

[JJ]

3.5 stars

[Sho]

I loved the story of Arman's healing at last. First I wanted to kick him for being so blind but then it is understandable. People just don't see what they unconciously avoid. I felt really bad for Karik and was proud to see him rise to the occasion!

The side story was wonderful too. I am glad to know that lost boy has finally found a home.

[Aelfwina]

This would have made more sense if Karik was 11 instead of 16! And if the author could make up her mind about her target audience (kids? or adults?)

[Anna C]

Ahhh, well done. Very well done. Especially the character development part and the plot. Admittedly there were some frustrating parts for me to the point that I wanted to strangle both our MCs here : Arman and his 'son' Karik, but all ended well so I have no complaints. The case with frustrating story is sometimes I will drop it off instantly if it's too unbearable, but in this one it's the opposite. It's understandable, unputdownable and unpredictable.

Can't wait to read more from Somerville as I really love her storytelling style 😣. I have so many books of her waiting on my TBR list but I've only read three books of her and I love them all, especially this Darshian Tales series, it's a gem among stones. Sometimes you come across such hidden gems by chance. So it's no surprise that she is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors for this genre. 😍

Book 3, I'm coming~~~

[Ken]

Quite a departure from the strong political tones and vast scope of its predecessor, Falling from the Tree opts for a close study of two people and their relationship to one another. I, unfortunately found this one quite clunky in execution. There were lots of plot points that relied on characters being clueless, a lot of bad communication between characters, and plot points that looked promising (the return of Mayl) but were just dropped. It was quite anti-climactic. What saved this story was the fact that the characters were still very interesting.

The bonus story though, Landing Softly, was a lot better. It dropped the politics, it dropped the large scope, dropped the pretense that it was about those, and then proceeded to just tell an emotionally satisfying story that, despite being a small tale, managed to not feel slight.

[Xing]

This sequel to Kei's Gift is really two different stories: Falling From The Tree (about Karik) and Landing Softly (about a new character introduced in FFTT).

Overall, FFTT is a story about character development for Karik, and one of resolution for Arman. It teetered on two extremes: hurt/pain (with some teary eyed moments for me) and overly sugary sweet to the point of American family sitcoms reminiscent of the 90s. I'm not a fan of the later, it kind of threw me off given some of the painful hurtles our characters have to go through. Overall, it was a good story that felt longer than it needed to be.

To be honest, I enjoyed Landing Softly more. Can't really say anything about this, because of spoilers and all.

[Trefoil]

I rather enjoyed this. I wasn't sure if I would because it's a time leap of sixteen years after the first book. This book is told in the view point of two characters: Karik and Arman.  It was nice reading about the character development of both characters, seeing each of them grow, change,  and face their challenges in life. This book had a lot of drama, conflict, politics, character development. It explored heavy topics like prejudice, racism, and identity. I am looking forward to book number three.

This book along with every book is quite long! Each book is something like 900 pages!!! The last twenty percent of the book is told in the point of view of another character named Jembis, who was introduced earlier in the book. I really enjoyed reading his story and him finding happiness.

[JL Lucaban]

I love how this series doesn't just focus on romance between two people, but also shows other types of love. It's not always that I read this kind of books, in fact I only ever read two others, and every time I do read one, it feels refreshing.

Although, I have to say that the story was slow, which makes some parts a little... bland... to read. Still enjoyed it if you don't mind those parts, since I certainly did not. And the humour that was in the first book is still there which helps a lot. I still had moments where I had to stop a little while coz i can't stop laughing (Which might be because I take pleasure even from small things like a joke)...

Anyways, totally love it.

[Ulaumes]

This really isn't a romance, Arman and Kei are there, but this is more Karik centric.
Part 1: slow, kinda boring, nearly stopped reading - low 2 star, not offensive, just a slog
Part 2: decent, got stuff done, much easier to get through - 2 to 3 star, not romance, but at least not boring.
Side story: the shortest, but best part of the book though there wasn't much romance - 3 star

[Pandora]

Falling From The Tree 82%
★★★✩✩
I didn't like this one as much as the first. Mostly it's because I don't appreciate how almost all the conflict comes from misscomunication and missunderstandings, it's lazy and frustrating. Again, the characters are the book's saving grace, in my opinion. The plot itself wasn't more than allright.

Landing Softly 18%
★★★★★+++
Now this one I LOVED. Stunning story with stunning characters and stunning just about everything. It made me cry a few times, but it made me feel so good in the end. Just beautiful.

[Melissa]

I'm usually wary of books in a series that jump generations and charaacters (it took me 10 years to read Lord of the Rings after finishing The Hobbit), but I'm glad i took the chance with this one. there was quite a bit of character development and growth, as well as some much needed healing and resolution amongst the heroes. I look forward to checking out the third story, having gotten over my initial reluctance of the introduction of Karik as a young adult/main character to actually like him and I look forward to reading more about his adventures.

[Jen]

I just can't seem to finish reading this book. It's so terribly slow. I'm on page 1454 out of 1849. So close but yet so far. Setting this aside to read something else for a bit. Maybe I'll come back to it later.

Okay, finally finished it. It really doesn't fit the Romance genre. I really wish I could have given it more stars but I almost didn't finish it.

This also included a side story called "Landing Softly" which is about Jembis. Kind of sort of a romance? Hard to tell.

Don't think I'll read it again.

[Subaru]

The first half of the book was slow paced and made me slightly bored. I couldn't get interested in the plot though I instantly started to like the new protagonist(s). The second half was what I was expecting after the first volume. The best part was the ending, emotional and fulfilling.

[Nithu]

I enjoyed this book as much as the first one. Some reviewers have mentioned that they found the first half a little slow, but I have to say that I loved the whole thing and was hooked right from the start.

[Pickyreader]

Mixed feelings

I didn’t like this book as much as the first. I was good and I am glad i finished it. I just about didn’t a couple of time. There was to much arguing in this book. It had a nice ending though and i will see if the next in the series is any better.

[Snowtulip]

3.5

[Eija]

3.5

[Nicole]

I loved Karik's story... Even though I wanted to slap Arman at times. But he got his shit together eventually!

I also loved Jembis' story and was glad for the follow-up.

[A.B. Gayle]

I didn't enjoy this one as much as Numbers 1 and 3. Not sure why. But it is stil a great series.

[C. Roberta]

some very necessary character developments.