They meet on a beach. . . . Abby Davis isn’t wearing a skimpy bikini or sipping umbrella drinks, not when she’s busy chasing around four little ones. And Matt McKinney isn’t looking for fun—he’s a Navy SEAL, a grown man with a long list of missions . . . and fallen brothers. They only have a week. . . . Abby has brought her children to this beach to start over, to give them the enjoyable memories they deserve. Matt’s been sidelined by a combat injury, and haunted by the best friend he lost and the promise he made: to remain a SEAL—focused and dedicated. This leaves no time for what he’s always wanted: a family. But a week is all it takes. . . . Matt opens her heart while Abby soothes his soul. And though they plan to say good-bye when the week is over, something magical happens on that beach, something neither can forget. Something utterly, completely worth falling for.
Thanks to Netgalley and Loveswept Publishing for the review copy!
"Worth the Fall" is surely worth the read if you are looking for a sweet romance. Although I had a few little gripes, I would definitely be interested in checking out other titles in this series, as I felt that overall it was quite well done.
This story is told from both Matt and Abby's points of view, and I found them both easy to like. Matt is an all-around great guy - fun loving, kind, great with kids, attentive, gorgeous, and he's just one of those men that seems to know how to handle pretty much any situation. I suppose that goes along with his Navy SEAL career, but yeah, a guy like that? What's not to like?
Then there's Abby. I guess you could say she's got her hands full! With four little kids and another on the way, and a widow to boot, it's a wonder she hasn't had a complete mental breakdown yet. She's decided to take the kids on a little beach holiday - which to me sounds extremely stressful, but that's just me! - where lo and behold she meets Matt. Matt has been dragged along to the beach by his cousin as a sort of blind date. Matt does not enjoy his "date's" company at all, so it's pretty easy for him to ditch their group and start hovering around Abby and her brood. Anyway, long story short, sparks fly and eventually, amidst all the chaos of four kidlets, they hook up.
So this is mostly all well and good, but I did have some problems, things that if addressed I think would make the story stronger. There were times that the plot seemed to drag, especially getting to that first kiss. There was always a kid to soothe, or feed, or put to bed! Speaking of kids, one of Abby's kids is named Annie, so every now and then I had to look again to make sure who was doing what - Abby said that? That doesn't make sense! Oh, okay, it was Annie!
I felt that Abby's character could have been developed more. We get enough of her backstory to understand why she's a little reluctant to trust Matt, but that was it. I wanted to know why she decided to have so many kids, especially with a man who was mostly absent and entirely hands off in raising them. I wanted to know if she had always wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, or if she had career aspirations of her own. I guess she didn't really have time for hobbies, but did she have any interests outside of raising her kids? Sure she was nice, beautiful, gentle, etc. But she was also kind of boring.
Matt, on the other hand, we find out was thinking about leaving the SEALs to pursue other avenues, and that he'd always pictured himself with a wife and family. He's also dealing with some guilt over promises made to a fallen comrade. When comparing the development of Matt's character to that of Abby's, it seems a little lopsided - I definitely felt closer to Matt.
My final gripe is with the cover. The guy is beautiful, no doubt, but why does he have his hand down his pants? That's just, ew!
Aside from these minor issues, however, I'd say that "Worth the Fall" is a strong start to this series, and I hope I get to read more from Claudia Connor in the near future.
My rating: 3 stars
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