BLOG TOUR: Review on Dare to Fall

Pages: 325

Publisher: Ink Road

Goodreads Summary:

There's not much that MacKenzie Rivers is afraid of. In the small town of Windsor, Colorado, she is known for her easygoing, strong personality, some would even say she isn't afraid of anything. But MacKenzie knows that's not true. She's afraid of losing those closest to her. Recovering from a family tragedy, Kenzie is fully aware of just how big an impact death can have on those it leaves behind. Seeing its effects on other people is something she just can't quite handle. From now on, Kenzie is her own priority.

There are not many things that Jaden Hunter can make sense of. He doesn't understand why it was his parents who lost their lives last year. He doesn't understand why his friends don't crack jokes around him any more. He doesn't understand why his teachers still insist on letting him skip assignments. He doesn't understand why MacKenzie, the girl he was falling for last year, has suddenly distanced herself from him.

Too afraid to get wrapped up in Jaden's world as he deals with the tragic death of his parents, Kenzie has stayed away from him as best she can, until one night when they unexpectedly come face-to-face for the first time in months. As old feelings resurface and new memories are made, both MacKenzie and Jaden show each other how to appreciate the little things in life, the moments that are taken for granted. But will MacKenzie dare to fall for the one person she's so afraid of growing close to?

So I'll admit that it took me a while to decide if I wanted to sign up to this blog tour. Dare to Fall sounded like the type of cheesy contemporary romance that I usually hate, but the fact that the characters had gone through some sort of huge tragedy piqued my interest enough to give it a go! The book follows MacKenzie Rivers, a girl in her senior year of high school. Four years ago, MacKenzie experienced unimaginable grief when her baby sister was stillborn. When MacKenzie's mum starts drinking as a coping mechanism, MacKenzie feels lost and alone in her own grief. The only people who she knows would understand how she is feeling are twins Dani and Jaden Hunter, who lost their parents in a car crash. I felt as if this book dealt with grief in a raw and open way. Everyone copes with grief in different ways, and I loved how this was shown through the characters, such as MacKenzie's mum's drinking problem, and Dani cutting herself off from the outside world. I felt as if the book gave some good advice on how to cope with the loss of a loved one, such as opening up to others rather than keeping the emotions bottled up inside.

So the characters! I am continuing my trend of having a side character as my favourite, as I absolutely adored Kenzie's friend, Will. I loved how sweet he was, and how much he cared about Kenzie. I also loved that her best friends were both boys, and that there were no romantic feelings between them. I did have one problem with Will, which was how his sexuality seemed to be dismissed. We are told that the reason Kenzie has never dated Will is because he is gay, but apart from one homophobic comment, his sexuality is never brought up again. Now I love when there is a gay character who's plot doesn't revolve around the fact that they're gay, but I felt as if that wasn't what was happening here. There are practically no diverse characters in this book apart from Will, so I felt as if he was made to be gay for the sake of diversity. As Kenzie's other friend, Holden, never really has a love interest, and is described as never having a crush on the same person for long, I was hoping that something would happen between the two of them, but sadly I got my hopes up for nothing.

And now the romance, the part where I inevitably complain about how much I hated it, except, plot twist, I didn't actually hate it! One thing that I loved about the relationship between Kenzie and Jaden was that it wasn't the typically cliché instalove that I have come to loath. They had dated before the accident that had killed Jaden's parents, so this was more of a rekindling of their relationship. I loved how their relationship progressed slowly and naturally, and although there were a few cheesy moments, nothing made me want to roll my eyes. I initially thought Kenzie was quite mean for cutting Jaden and Dani out of her life at a time when they needed her the most, but I slowly started to see things from both perspectives.

So that plot twist! It's always difficult for me to talk about plot twists, as although I obviously don't want to spoil them, I also can't not mention them, especially when they are as shocking as this one! Although little hints were given that something wasn't quite right with Holden, I really didn't expect what had actually happened to him. The ending seemed bittersweet, as although things were starting to go in the right direction for Kenzie and Jaden, they were definitely going in the wrong direction for poor Holden. I was torn between feeling really sorry for him, and thinking how wrong it was for him to have kept his secret for so long. Really can someone please give that poor boy a hug?

I'm actually quite surprised by how much I enjoyed this book! Usually contemporary romance is a big no no for me, but I found the characters realistic, and there was enough going on outside of the romance to keep me interested. This is the first book I've read by Estelle Maskame, but it definitely won't be the last!


Dare to Fall is now available to purchase!

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