The Falling in Love Montage by Ciara SmythMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Finished on May 15, 2021
Favorite Scene/Quote: The pedalos (paddle boats)
This is an interesting idea for a book, and I wish that the main character had been more likeable. It would have made the experience more enjoyable.
Saoirse is the main character of this book. She doesn’t believe in the idea of happy endings, true love, or anything of the sort. She can’t see how that could be true if her mother is suffering from early-onset dementia and her father is with another woman. She despises rom-coms and loves horror movies. She meets Ruby at a party and is immediately talked into doing something stupid. She’s intrigued by Ruby, but she doesn’t want a relationship. The two agree instead to have a montage. They won’t seriously date each other, rather they will set a breakup date for the end of summer and experience all the rom-com clichés they can think of. But they seem to forget the biggest cliché, fake dating always turns to real feelings.
My biggest problem with this book is that I do not like Saoirse. I understand why she doesn’t want a relationship, why she’s mad at her dad and the world, why she hides information, but she’s irritating too. She is a teenager about to go off to college, yet she seems determined to make her father out to be the bad guy. There is miscommunication and lack of communication in this book solely due to the fact that she doesn’t want to tell Ruby anything personal, even though Ruby tells her personal things. It’s just irritating. Ruby seems so genuinely sweet and likeable, and I don’t understand why she keeps wanting to be around Saoirse.
Outside of Saoirse, I really do enjoy this book. I love rom-coms and it’s so nice to read a book that specifically acknowledges the clichés and deals with them. The book also has a few times where the characters discuss some of the more problematic elements of popular rom-com films. It’s nice. The scenes involving the montage list are some of my favorite parts of this book.
I want more with these characters. Considering I don’t like Saoirse, it’s weird that I want more, but I do. I became invested in these two and the clichés and relationship. I want to know if there is more to them or not. I doubt there will be more of them, I don’t think the point was for them to have a forever relationship, but I still want more.
This is apparently a debut novel for this author, but it doesn’t show. The story is good, and the writing is really solid. She has an excellent way of writing teenagers, even if I don’t like the character, I can admit she’s written well, and it felt realistic.
Bonus Favorite Scene: Their second meeting, the one with the cat
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