Free Falling, by Ana Simons

Publication: June 4, 2018

free flling About the book:

Does a man ever forget the first girl he truly loved?

I couldn’t get past the anger corroding me inside. Learning my fiancée was having an affair with a family friend, a man I looked up to like a father my entire life, left me broken and bitter. With little to no faith in women and relationships, I was determined to swear off love or any serious entanglements.

At least, that was the plan.

Enter Olivia, the girl who once left me without so much as a goodbye, and I’d soon learn fate always has plans of its own.

Our unexpected re-encounter triggered old feelings and sent my life into a tailspin. Looking into my own vulnerabilities would be just the beginning. Facing the uphill battle to find a way to her heart, which has been broken too many times, is the challenge that follows…

But with more at stake now than we could have ever imagined, will we be able to move beyond our past mistakes and get a second chance at love?

~ Brian Anderson

** Free Falling is a full-length novel that can be read as a standalone. **

My Review

Wow, I loved this book! This was my first time reading Ana Simons and I fell in love with Free Falling. This novel is about a man named Brian and a woman named Olivia. They’ve known each other forever, once had a romance, but she broke his heart ten years ago. Since that time, they’ve each had bad luck in relationships but when they meet again at a wedding, Brian realizes that his feelings for Olivia are as strong as ever. Told from Brian’s point of view, this is a story about love, making sense of the past, and trying to build a future with the one that got away.

First of all, there is a prequel novella to this called Before Dawn which is told from Olivia’s point of view. I have not read it, but this in no way impacted my enjoyment of Free Falling.

Now, onto what I loved about this novel! I enjoyed Brian’s POV, although it was scatter-brained and all over the place, it made him much more realistic and vulnerable. But let me just say, poor Brian is a walking disaster! Every time things started looking hopeful for this man, he managed to find ways to screw everything up! He is definitely a character that as you are reading along you want to scream out, “don’t do that, it’s not going to end well!” I think he meant well and truly loved Olivia, but Lordy, he just didn’t think (most of the time).

I also loved Olivia’s character, although she certainly went through some mood swings as she and Brian reconnected! Like Brian, it was obvious she still had unresolved feelings, as well as, new feelings brewing within. However, she would go from playing it cool to being completely cryptic to being completely crazy, then back to normal again. The way Ana Simons wrote Olivia was absolutely perfect. Again, with this story being told from Brian’s POV, the way Olivia was characterized went along perfectly with the ongoing theme of how clueless men are when it comes to women!

Also, I have to mention Brian’s wonderful nephew, Josh. This boy adds numerous hilarious situations to this story with his “life questions” he asks his uncle. Prepare to laugh and be so very glad that you aren’t the one having to explain all of the questions this boy has whirling around in his head!

“Free Falling is funny, romantic, sexy, infuriating, confusing, but wonderful. I absolutely loved this couple and their story. My only complaint is that when I reached the end, I still wanted so much more from this couple. Thankfully, I saw that a follow-up novel is in the works that will allow me to see where life takes all of the wonderful characters in this novel. Don’t misunderstand, this is not a cliffhanger, but there is simply so much more that can happen with these characters and I’m waiting impatiently to find out what happens next!