Official Review: Survive The Fall by Julia Bright

[CommMayo]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Survive The Fall" by Julia Bright.]

---

2 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

In the opening scene of Survive the Fall by Julia Bright, Kelsey finds herself in Wyoming for the funeral of her brother and father who are killed in an explosion overseas. The alcohol on tap at the hotel bar isn’t doing enough to dull the pain, but it is effectively lowering her inhibitions. She spies a handsome stranger and propositions him to spend the next few hours distracting her from the pain of her loss. Adam’s reluctance turns to enthusiasm as he obliges her request. Under the guise of anonymity, they refer to each other as Angel and Brick and assume they will never see each other again.

Fate has other plans for the pair after their passionate night in the hotel. Kelsey ends up staying in Wyoming while she is working towards avenging the deaths of her family members. She puts out word that she needs a private security guard and Adam answers the call. After a whirlwind mission overseas, the pair continue to grow closer as they both deal with their individual hardships and discover that weathering the storm together is preferable to being alone.

Julia Bright starts off with a bang in the opening chapter, giving readers a window into the thoughts running through Kelsey’s mind as she surveys the bar for a distraction and then acts on her impulses. The point of view switches back and forth between the two main characters, allowing the reader to view the plot from the male and female point of view. This is one of my favorite aspects of romance novels, and Bright does it justice with predictability and clarity. Overall, the interactions between the main characters were written in a believable manner and had the reader pulling for them to succeed throughout the story. While the book does not end in a cliffhanger, it is obvious that the author is setting up for a series involving other characters introduced late in the novel.

This novel advertises all of the exciting elements of a new adult, action packed romance. Take one mourning woman out for vengeance, add the hunky alpha male veteran, stir in a little international terror cell and you should get a compelling novel full of steamy scenes and redemption. Fans of Jodi Foster or Suzanne Brockmann would gravitate towards this style of romance novel. Unfortunately, the similarities to those authors end pretty swiftly. One gets the feeling that Bright is trying to fit ten gallons of water into a five gallon bucket. The improbable denouement of the main plot occurs midway through the novel, leaving the reader to wonder what the rest of the book is going to focus on for the remaining eighty pages. Small sub plots are hastily and predictability thrown into the mix, incorporating most romance genre tropes into a novel that had real promise.

In addition to the cliché ridden subplots, the level of writing and lack of solid editing is distracting. Minor plot holes and continual repetition of statements or concepts was noticeable enough to be annoying. In one instance, the main characters are traveling by ferry but they stopped at a café, “on the ways towards the airport.” At some points, entire sentences are repeated just a few paragraphs apart from each other. There were numerous instances of improper punctuation and incorrect word usage (e.g. tire instead of tired or wed instead of wet). Capitalization of proper nouns and apostrophes denoting possession were also apparently up for debate at different points throughout the book.

While Survive the Fall was an entertaining and fluffy romance read, the issues encountered with the plot and technical editing have me rating it 2 out of 4 stars. I removed one star due the occurrence of plot holes, overall pacing, and clichéd elements hastily included in the last part of the book. The sheer volume of errors that are a direct result of lack of proofreading automatically took another star off the score. If there was an additional round of thorough editing after the advanced reader copy was published, I could see the star rating increasing. This book has the potential to be a fun beach read, but as it is currently written, I was looking forward to simply getting to the last page to be able to dive into a different book.

******
Survive The Fall
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

Like CommMayo's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Social Butterfly]

Such a steamy cover that book has. Its rather unfortunate that there were plot holes in the story. Sounds to me like all the other romance novels I've read. We need unexpected twist in romance novels even though they are difficult to create.

[kandscreeley]

Wow! I'm not into romance normally. So you add in the plot holes and cliches and I'm definitely out. Thanks for the review, though. You always do a good job, and I enjoy reading your reviews.

[Dael Reader]

I'm not really fond of romance novels, unless there is a compelling story behind the gratuitous sex scenes I got a kick out of your review though. Very nicely done. And now I know to steer clear of this entirely.

[CommMayo]

Such a steamy cover that book has. Its rather unfortunate that there were plot holes in the story. Sounds to me like all the other romance novels I've read. We need unexpected twist in romance novels even though they are difficult to create.

Poorly done CG tattoos superimposed on the model is usually a dead give away that you might be in for a rough ride.

If you want some fun, well written romance novels, try Penny Reid (new adult, has a great rugby series) or JR Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood (not usually into vampires, but an awesome series).

[inaramid]

That opening scene reminds me so much of Grey's Anatomy , where the one-night stand guy turned out to be her boss. It's a concept I might still go for, but the editing errors make this a definite no for me.

[gen_g]

Thanks for the really detailed review! It's a pity when the premise is interesting only to find out that the delivery falls short. These errors will make this a no for me, I'm afraid. On an unrelated note, I'm also a huge fan of the BDB series!

[María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda]

Too bad this has plotholes and cliches, at the beginning of your review I was getting excited about the possibility of this book. Maybe with some good editing, the author can work towards something better next time.

[crediblereading2]

Well, I am just an avid fan of romantic stories, especially those with happy endings. I am so sorry though about the plotholes and cliches. Thank you for your detailed review.

[CommMayo]

Well, I am just an avid fan of romantic stories, especially those with happy endings. I am so sorry though about the plotholes and cliches. Thank you for your detailed review.

What's the point of reading a romance novel if there isn't a HEA, right? This one does fit that bill.

[Bianka Walter]

I totally agree, I love books that deliver two points of view successfully. It makes it that much more enjoyable to get both romantic perspectives. What a pity about the rest not being up to scratch. I hope the author heeds your advice and gets going on some proofing.
Thanks for the awesome review

[Jackie Holycross]

I have to admit, the cover caught my attention. I don't read much romance, and this one sounds like a dud. Thanks for the clear review.

[stacie k]

This had some great potential, especially with the alternating points of view, but it seems to have fallen short. Thanks for the comprehensive review!

[Helen_Combe]

Great review. Odd that the main story should finish half way through. Mind you, I reviewed a book recently and it actually had ’The End’ printed halfway through. Then it blithely continued.

[Sahani Nimandra]

Sounds like a hot steamy read. Too bad about the negative points. Thanks for the detailed review!