The Year We Fell Down

Great 1st book in a the series! Loving It!

I loved this book! This book was very different from all the other books I've been reading. I have read so many "injured athlete" books in the past but never where the girl is the athlete in question. This book made me think about so many things I haven't really considered before. It was so sweet and romantic and had so many real life problems. Book 1 has me completely sucked in! I am dying to start book 2.

The narration is great! Nick Podehl is great but I don't love his female voices and Saskia Maarleveld was perfect all around!

15 people found this helpful

Hope Fairies Everywhere Rejoice!

I am kicking myself for waiting so long to read/listen to this book! Sarina Bowen writes the most heartfelt, yet humorous and quirky, books. Thanks to the wonders of whispersync, I was able to switch seamlessly back and forth between the ebook and audiobook. Nick Podehl and Saskia Maarleveld do an amazing job narrating and I especially enjoyed Saskia's performance as Corey.

Corey was an amazing heroine. She was tough yet vulnerable and showed such incredible strength. She did seem more mature than the average college freshman, but given her history/past it made sense. I loved that she stayed true to herself, despite the heartache, and moved forward instead of wallowing in her own sadness. Her fortitude and bravery make her my favorite Bowen heroine to date.

Hartley made my heart hurt at times when he denied his true feelings, but I could also understand to a degree why he made the decisions that he did. At his core, he's a good guy. It just took a while for that side to prevail. The only thing that didn't sit well with me was what happened the night of his 21st birthday.

***SPOILER***

Just because his girlfriend was off with another guy and they have an "understanding", a little hook up is still a hook up. I know that he was grappling with his feelings for Corey, but it still felt like cheating to me. Also, if my timeline is correct, he broke up with Stacia and had Corey's virginity the next night. Even though they had been building up to this for months, it still seemed crazy fast. I'm hoping he at least changed the sheets in between! Corey was a very willing participant though and knew exactly what had been happening, so there really isn't any blame here. Just my own 2 cents ;)

*****

I couldn't wipe the goofy grin from my face once Hartley finally admits the truth and lets his sweetness show. I don't think that I have ever rooted for a couple harder to get their HEA. My hope fairy was definitely rejoicing at the end! I can't wait to read the next book in the series and I'm hoping we will continue to see Hartley and Callahan throughout the rest of the books too!

4 people found this helpful

Not my favorite Sarina Bowen, but still good.

I liked this one, but I've read better from Sarina Bowen. I'm hopeful that the series continues to improve. It was a little bland for me, but I saw potential there.

The narrators were good, especially the male narrator, but I thought the female narrator sounded a little old for new adult. I still think that they did a very nice job, especially with the voices for other genders.

All in all, worth the money.

3 people found this helpful

So good!

I fell in love with this book all over again. Fantastic narrators. They were perfect.

3 people found this helpful

Good but a bit frustrating

This is a difficult review. I LOVED Corey. She was an amazing character- strong even though she went through such trauma after losing her legs. She was still happy and an amazing person, someone to look up to. Then we have Adam Hartley. ARGH. She deserved more. We had moments where you saw the wonderful aspects of Hartley but he really made me mad. (if you read it, you'll know why).

The point being, I didn't want to stop reading or listening (the audiobook is available through audible escape) because I thought that Corey was an amazing character. But I wanted a stronger figure for her than Hartley.

That said, as I noted, I didn't stop listening the audiobook. So the author (who is fantastic and who I love) is an amazing writer. I'm definitely looking forward to the next book. But I certainly hope that the heroes in the next books are worth the heroines :D

In terms of the audiobook, both narrators were good. I love Nick- he has great pacing and inflection though that is even better for some of the more humorous books I have listened to with him. saskia was overall great. I’m happy I had the opportunity to listen though audible escape.

2 people found this helpful

College Romance with a twist

Not the traditional college romance. The story takes place in a college known for it's historical buildings but non for it's accessibility, two injured jocks meet while the school makes room for them. One is just temporary while the other suffers a devastating injury. Starting out as friends but developing into a deeper closeness, Corey and Hartley must navigate through seen and unseen insecurities to come out better people on the other side.
Definitely a different read than what I expected. Well written, the main and most of the supporting characters were well written and fully developed. The plot moved at a steady pace and had moderately low angst.
The audiobook was really enjoyable to listen to and the narrators were a great choice. Nick Podehl was somewhat new to me but did an amazing job. Saska Maarleveid bought to life the reserved courage in Corey. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a quiet college romance with a few different angles thrown in.

2 people found this helpful

Cheaters....

i hate them. in real life and in books. and no matter how its handled, this is emotional cheating, so, hard pasa, despite the good narration.

1 person found this helpful

Very uplifting, very inspiring

Any additional comments?

You never know how strong you are ....until being strong is the only choice you have
This was a very beautiful and tender story...
It touched something deeply inside me and many times i thought that something get caught in my eyes!!!This was a story about fighting and courage and bravery...
Because you have to be brave to succeed to have this kind of life that had our heroes and especially, Corey!!!Corey was a fantastic heroine that didn't let her disability get in the way of living her life, despite what she'd been through. Her strength was admirable and I couldn't help but root for her to get a well deserved HEA!
It might have taken Adam a little longer to figure out how great Corey is.....but in the end he recognizes what's in front of him and goes after the girl.

1 person found this helpful

loved it

I really enjoyed this book. I look forward to reading more books by this author.

A different kind of college sports story

Cory has a permanent spinal cord injury and is wheelchair bound so in a handicapped dorm room. Hartley is the hunky hockey player with the broken leg across the hall. They develop a close friendship while his high maintenance GF is doing a study abroad semester. Cory falls for him but keeps it hidden. She is still adjusting to her new life on wheels and crutches. They bond over the difficulties of getting around and playing hockey video games. She has to witness his relationship with his GF. Other readers criticized her going after a guy who’s taken, but I never saw it that way or her encouraging him to date her or cheat on his GF. She kept her real feelings hidden. I only wish Hartley had been smarter and not held on to his terrible GF for so long. It made me lose some respect for him and I kinda felt he was cheating on Cory at that point. Hartley and Ashley hooking up across the hall from Cory felt icky. It was so awesome when Cory moved on and made new friends and showed Hartley what he was missing. Hartley finally wises up and redeems himself. We don’t often have MC with a handicap and it was great. I enjoyed this book a lot and recommend!