I adore Jenny B. Jones books. She is one of my favorite rom-com authors. I can always count on her stories for plenty of lol moments, swoony heroes, witty banter, and great chemistry.
First to Fall is her latest. It’s Book 2 of Jones’s Lost Story Bookshop series. The series follows three sisters in Jones’s Sugar Creek world. The first book, Sweet Right Here, was a delight, so when given the opportunity, I immediately pre-ordered First to Fall.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
When I woke up this morning, I became aware of two things:
One, I felt hungover, and I knew I hadn’t had a drop of liquor.
And two, I was pretty sure I had accidentally married someone.
I, Olivia Sutton, have a Ten Year Plan. It’s air-tight and written in permanent ink. You know what’s not on the plan? Getting married to the man I used to love to hate. But when my sister’s pre-wedding trip goes horribly wrong, I find myself legally bound to my old nemesis, tech sensation Lachlan Hayes. Lachlan pitches a plan to temporarily stay married. It is absolutely insane? Yes. But it has the potential to fix so many problems for both of us—and create even bigger ones.
As secrets unravel between us, I discover there’s more to my nerd husband than arrogance and a party-boy reputation. Falling for this guy is definitely not on the Ten Year Plan, but living in the same house? Acting like I’ve given my heart to my husband? Public kisses that make me forget my name? When our fake marriage becomes all too real, Lachlan and I find ourselves crossing lines we swore we wouldn’t. It has me wondering if I can walk away from Lachlan when our time is up.
Or if I’ll be the first the fall.
Grab the second book in the hilariously swoony A Lost Story Bookshop series. Perfect for fans of closed-door romantic comedy.
MY THOUGHTS:
I really enjoyed first in the series, Sweet Right Here, but I loved this book. Marriage of convenience stories in a modern setting can be tricky to pull off, but First to Fall was well done. Buttoned-down, control freak Olivia Sutton is my spirit animal, and the scenes showing her in PR mode gave me flashbacks from my agency days. Lachlan Hayes was swoony as the perfect blend of nerdy cool. While I loved both main characters, Lachlan was downright endearing. There was so much depth and sweetness to him! The backstory of their nemesis relationship was plausible, and it made the growing tension between them crackle. This enemies-to-lovers story is definitely of the opposites attract variety, and I am here for it!
In typical Jenny B. Jones fashion, the flirty banter was whip-smart and had me laughing out loud on several occasions. The story was peppered with snappy, snarky dialogue and sweet, sarcastic text exchanges. And the chemistry – and Olivia and Lachlan’s efforts to fight it – felt real and organic. Those kisses…whew! Perfection!
The side characters were fun and added a lot to the story. (Ugh, but I hated the way Olivia allowed her boss Celeste to mistreat her far too long.) I loved reading more about Olivia’s sisters, Hattie and Rosie, especially how they cared for Olivia. I can’t wait for Rosie’s story in the next book in the series. And I know they’re a little over the top, but I adore the CIA grannies, Sylvie and Frannie. Their humor and antics make me smile (or guffaw) every time.
First to Fall is so much fun, but there’s a lot of depth and heart, too. Jones balances these with finesse. When I pick up one of her books, I know it’ll be a great escape and fast read with an HEA, but it will also give me at least a few scenes that will have me dabbing my eyes. For me personally, that’s the best kind of book because it mirrors real life: trials and triumphs, heart palpitations and heartache, laughter and tears, joy and pain. Thank you, Jenny, for this sweet story that gave me all the feels!
Grab this book today if you enjoy:
- Romantic comedies
- Marriage of convenience (or accidental marriage as it started out in this novel)
- Forced proximity
- Enemies-to-lovers
- Opposites-attract
- Small-town setting
- Dual POV
- Nerdy hero
- Swoony kisses
- Flirty banter
- Lots of lol moments
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Award-winning author Jenny B. Jones writes romance, mystery, and YA with sass and Southern charm. Since she has very little free time, Jenny believes in spending her spare hours in meaningful, intellectual pursuits, such as watching bad TV, Tweeting deep thoughts to the world, and writing her name in the dust on her furniture. Jenny is a foster care advocate, an animal rescuer, and mother of one beautiful boy. Learn more at her website.