Falling Is Like This

I went to Barnes & Nobles to buy Good Night Moon for my neice (she's coming soon) and of course when I enter a book store, I can't not look for books for myself. I strolled past the NY Times Best Seller' s table and behind that was a recommended by employees table (very cool). I saw Falling is like this on the top of a pile recommended by "Kelly". The cover was funky in design and appealing to the eye, but as my Grandmother always told me...you can't judge a book by its cover. As always I read the back cover and it seamed interesting enough. I strolled on over to Starbucks, ordered an iced latte and plopped down in a nice big comfy chair. I opened the book and started reading. Before I knew it, I had read 2 chapters. I was hooked and didn't want to put it down. I rushed up to the counter, paid for my new book and hurried home so i could continue reading. Once I got home, I got comfortable out on my deck and continued reading until there was nothing left to read. Kate Rockland has a way of making you see the characters and even feel their emotions. I even LOL'd alot while reading about Harper's ecentric family. There were so many moments that I could relate to the main character Harper. I love music, I love to review music and would love to be a rock journalist, I have had a boring yet safe relationship with a man who I cared about but did not fall hard for, I have had a relationship with a man (an artist) who was everything but safe and made the fire in me ignite every time he looked at me. I think it's safe to say that most women over the age of 21 have had similiar moments in life. I also think it's safe to say that most women over the age of 11 have fantasized about being with their favorite rock star. Isn't that a right of passage in every young woman's life? I have to say at the end of the day, Kate Rockland wrote a great book that many readers could not put down and for me, that puts her on the top of The Kimberly Best Sellers List! I can't wait to read more from this new up and coming author! Maybe even a follow up to this book? That would be rad!

FALLING IS LIKE THIS has the best beginning of any book I've read in years. Rockland's honest, vulnerable, real and relatable voice grabbed me from the start and I couldn't put it down. An engaging poignant look at young passion.

Falling Is Like This, the debut novel by New Jersey author Kate Rockland, is a fun and clever story about a young woman's fiery romance with the rock star from her long-time favorite band. After fleeing a sour relationship with her East Village boyfriend, main character Harper Rostov returns to the safety of her native Garden State and subsequently falls into the turbulent lifestyle of music icon Nick Cavallero. Rockland's novel is as much about Rostov's outer exploration as it is about her inward journey in finding her place against a changing landscape. New Jersey and Manhattan dwellers will appreciate the vivid descriptions of familiar locales, including the vacant lots and abandoned marshland that lie between the Empire and Garden states. Falling Is Like This is Rockland's love letter to her two homes and reminds readers to appreciate the journey in life, even when we fall.

I couldn't put Falling is Like This down from the moment I read the first page. It's one of those books you start over breakfast, then take to the bathtub, and then to the park or beach and finally finish in bed at 3AM. Kate's protagonist Harper is so easy to relate to, and so is her uneasiness at what she is doing with life. Every woman has experienced the same kind of fear at making major life changing decisions, whether it's dumping their snoozy boyfriends, quitting their jobs or fooling around with someone wildly inappropriate, just like Harper does in just a couple of days. Fantastic debut and I can't wait for her second book!

This book is smart, sexy, poignant where it oughtta be, and even educational! (At least for somebody like me, who doesn't know much about NYC's present-day punk scene.) It's also a quick, fun, escapist read. Overall, a real winner! I highly recommend it.