Book Review: Deeper We Fall (Fall and Rise #1) by Chelsea M. Cameron

Summary:
Two years after her best friend was involved in a car accident that caused a traumatic brain injury, Lottie Anders is ready to start her freshman year of college. Ready to move on. Ready to start forgetting the night that ripped her life apart.

Her plans come to a screeching halt when not one, but both brothers responsible for the accident end up back in her life again.

Zack is cruel, selfish and constantly rubbing what happened to her friend in Lottie's face.

Zan is different. He listens to her awkward ramblings. He loves
To Kill a Mockingbird as much as she does, and his dark eyes are irresistible. His words are few and far between, but when he does speak, she can't help but listen.

The trouble is, Zan was the driver in the accident, and now Lottie's discovered he lied to her about what happened that night. Now she must decide if trusting him again will lead to real forgiveness, or deeper heartache.
 
Release Date: January 24, 2013
Age Group: New Adult
Source: NetGalley
Reviewed By: Kelli
 
Review:
New Adult contemporary fiction is an increasingly popular genre, and I definitely have the fever for these books.  During times of stress, illness, or just being overwhelmed, I  find that I don't want to work at reading a book, as with paranormal or fantasy books where the reader has to remember the rules of the world.  Sometimes I just want to read something fun and easy to read.  Contemporary fiction has always been a favorite of mine for this reason, and I love the New Adult contemporary fiction genre because the stories are more adult than YA fiction. 

The only caveat to this genre is that the stories can start to feel pretty similar over time.  After all, the setting is usually a college campus, where the main characters live in the dorms and are away from home for the first time.  The characters usually experience all of their "firsts" in NA fiction, from my experience. 

So, like with any genre, I love it when authors distinguish their stories from the rest of the pack.  Chelsea Cameron does a great job setting Deeper We Fall apart from the rest of NA contemporary fiction with her writing style.  Everything about this book felt authentic.  The dialogue---even the cursing and sarcasm---was used to perfection, to advance both the storyline and the reader's knowledge of the characters.  Cameron's tone was perfect for the story, matching exactly what I'd expect a college freshman to sound like.  Her writing is intelligent, quirky, and fun to read.  It was my favorite aspect of this book.

Strong heroines are the best, and Charlotte's get-up-and-go spirit endeared me to her right away.  She's spunky, sassy and unafraid to speak her mind.  Her trait of always saying too much was a defining characteristic and it made me like her more.  Charlotte is a twin and a very devoted friend: once someone is in her inner circle, there's nothing she won't do for them.  I admired how she never gave up on Lexie, even though it was unbearably hard to see her friend go through so much.

As for the love story, while it had the opportunity to fit into the "bad boy/good girl" cliché, it didn't.  Zan was a mystery and I liked that he didn't fit the usual bad boy profile.  I liked that the love story develops slowly, over months, because it felt deeper and again, more realistic.  

Cameron surprised me with the conclusion---a good surprise---and I was so happy to learn that Deeper We Fall is the first in a series.  It looks like book two focuses on Stryker and Katie (yay!).  I love it when series books focus on one character (or pair of characters) at a time, providing plenty of closure from book to book, instead of drawing the love story out for books on end.   

In a genre where the stories can be so similar, Deeper We Fall stands out from the rest.  I highly recommend this book, and can't wait to read book two!
 


 
 

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