Book Review: Feels Like Falling by Kristy Woodson Harvey

Pages: 400

Genre: Adult Fiction

Pub. Date: April 28, 2020

Publisher: Gallery

Source: Publisher for review

Other Books by Author: Slightly South of Simple,
The Secret to Southern Charm, and The Southern Side of Paradise

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Goodreads says, "It's summertime on the North Carolina coast and the livin' is easy. Unless, that is, you've just lost your mother to cancer, your sister to her extremist husband, and your husband to his executive assistant. Meet Gray Howard. Right when Gray could use a serious infusion of good karma in her life, she inadvertently gets a stranger, Diana Harrington, fired from her job at the local pharmacy. Diana Harrington's summer isn't off to the greatest start either: Hours before losing her job, she broke up with her boyfriend and moved out of their shared house with only a worn-out Impala for a bed. Lucky for her, Gray has an empty guest house and a very guilty conscience. With Gray's kindness, Diana's tide begins to turn. But when her first love returns, every secret from her past seems to resurface all at once. And, as Gray begins to blaze a new trail, she discovers, with Diana's help, that what she envisioned as her perfect life may not be what she wants at all."

At first glance, Gray has it all.  She has an adorable son, a gorgeous home on the Carolina coast, a successful marketing company, and loads of loyal friends.  However, if you dig deeper, you would find someone who is grieving the loss of her mother to cancer, getting over a difficult divorce, and the loss of her sister to her controlling husband.  Whens Gray messes things up for Diana at her work at the local pharmacy, she feels compelled to offer her boarding in her guest house.  In fact, Gray even offers Diana a job as her housekeeper, and after some time, the two hit it off like no other.  Their friendship fills the gaps and holes in each their lives and they are there for each other like sisters.  Diana encourages Gray to branch out and live a little this summer while she supports Diana when her world turns upside down.  Feels Like Falling by Kristy Woodson Harvey is a satisfying beach read depicting two strong Southern women and an unlikely friendship that ends up being transformative.

At first, Gray seems a little too good to be true in Feels Like Falling. She is a very successful businesswoman with blonde hair and the perfect body; however, not everything is ideal. Once readers find out that her husband left her for his assistant, the tides begin to change for Gray. Perhaps she doesn't have it all together like we thought? To complicate matters, she shares a child with her ex-husband, so there's no escaping him or his young girlfriend.  Also, her ex-husband is the CFO of her company and isn't making this divorce easy.  So, obviously, things get sticky.  

A beach read isn't a beach read unless it has a little bit of romance, right? Well, in Feels Like Falling, Gray attracts the attention of her son's tennis coach, Andrew, but she couldn't actually go out on a date with him, could she? He is way younger than her, has the perfect body, women flock to him, so why would he want to date Gray with all of her baggage? Well, there's no rules against a summer romance though, right? Gray enters a summer fling with Andrew, but it ends up being so much more.  Harvey created a really swoon-worthy boyfriend in Andrew and I loved their relationship even if it was difficult for Gray to really let herself fall for him.

Then there's Diana in Feels Like Falling. She has a complicated past and when she moves into Gray's house she isn't just escaping her former life, but instead, she is almost starting over.  Her friendship with Gray becomes so much more than the usual friendship and I love watching it blossom. They ended up being there for each other through it all, especially when Diana's ex-boyfriend reenters her life and makes her question things. Diana, like Gray, is going through some things as well and they help each other get through life's ups and downs.

I loved the summertime setting of the Carolina Coast in Feels Like Falling. It was the perfect setting for a beach read.  Harvey definitely didn't disappoint and had me dreaming of happy hours on the bay and gorgeous sunsets.  

My only issue was some of the slow parts in Feels Like Falling, especially because I found myself interested in Gray's story a bit more than Diana's.  Nonetheless, Harvey provided her fans with a solid  Southern beach read that will be sure to transport readers. 

Are you a fan of Kristy Woodson Harvey's novels?  Is this beach read on your TBR list? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.