Review: The Upside of Falling Down by Rebekah

Title: The Upside of Falling Down

Author: Rebekah Crane
Publisher:  Skyscape

Publishing Date:  January 30th, 2018

Pages: 252
Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Series:  Stand Alone 
Source:  Audio

 

For Clementine Haas, finding herself is more than a nice idea. Ever since she woke up in an Irish hospital with complete amnesia, self-discovery has become her mission.

They tell her she’s the lone survivor of a plane crash. They tell her she’s lucky to be alive. But she doesn’t feel lucky. She feels…lost.

With the relentless Irish press bearing down on her, and a father she may not even recognize on his way from America to take her home, Clementine assumes a new identity and enlists a blue-eyed Irish stranger, Kieran O’Connell, to help her escape her forgotten life…and start a new one.

Hiding out in the sleepy town of Waterville, Ireland, Clementine discovers there’s an upside to a life that’s fallen apart. But as her lies grow, so does her affection for Kieran, and the truth about her identity becomes harder and harder to reveal, forcing Clementine to decide: Can she leave her past behind for a new love she’ll never forget?

The cover and title alone of this book caught my attention. They are both just fun and cute and makes me want to have some fun with this book. I read the synopsis and knew I wanted to read this book and it would be great for when I needed the short and light kind of read. I was right. This book was so fun and light and cute and fluffy and full of the good feels. The romance was cute, the story was good, and with the character development and wonderful setting if Ireland I couldn't ask for anything more in this kind of read. 

Clementine Haas was a girl with her entire future ahead of her. She decided to take a trip to Ireland and on the way there the plane went down. Clementine was the only survivor. She wakes up in the hospital with no memory of who she is or the life she had. When it all gets to much for her she decides to hide away with a guy she just met at the hospital. He happens to be nice and sweet and rich and has a nice home she can borrow for a couple of weeks. She wants to give herself some time to see if the memory comes back. Instead, she finds herself building a new life with new memories. It can't be that easy though... not when everything new is built on lies. 

This book was really adorable. I just loved every moment of it. Now I don't agree with running off with some strange guy you just met in a foreign country with no memory of who you are... but it fit okay for the story. So you know he was not a serial killer or anything like that. Now that I have given my few words of don't try this at home, let's get to my thoughts. 

The characters in this book were cute. I loved Clementine... as stated above didn't really agree with her actions but I wanted to enjoy the book as was and except for this decision... and the decisions of lying... I really liked her. I got her motive. I mean she has no memory and as far as she knows no life. It was going home with a stranger or escape with a stranger. There was no win for her. I love amnesia books because they are intriguing. This is something no would ever understand unless one has been through it. I can't imagine ever losing all my memories and knowledge of who I am. It's got to be plain scary. So I got why she did what she did. She was a brave individual and determined not to let this part of her life define her. She was just going to reinvent. 

Kieran... oh Kieran I loved him. Part jerk and part sweetheart. He was cold at times, built up a wall but oh all the nice things he did and said. He made me swoon. I don't like some of the choices he made either but I do know he had his heart in the right place. For most of the book, I was totally in love with him.... the accent didn't hurt either. 

There were some other adorable characters too. Clive... another one I just adored. He was so so cute and kind and funny and all that good stuff. I just wanted him in my life. Kieran's sister... I can't remember her name now... she was a little witchy but I knew I would end up loving her too and I did. 

The story was cute and fun and the kind of book that gave you warm feelings of goo in the end. It was the perfect light and fluffy that I needed and still had some deeper moment in there too. There was a little mystery as Clementine put together her past or remembered it little by little and few surprises down the road too. 

A good old fun time with this book. 

Rebekah Crane is the author of The Odds of Loving Grover Cleveland and other young-adult novels. She found a passion for this genre while studying secondary English education at Ohio University. She is a former high school English teacher, a yoga instructor, and the mother of two girls. After living and teaching in six different cities, Rebekah finally settled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains to write novels and work on screenplays. She now spends her days tucked behind a laptop at seventy-five hundred feet, where the altitude only enhances the writing experience.