Strong-willed Adri Rivera nearly achieved her goal of being a professional mixed martial artist, but then she fell in love with a man who knocked all the fight out of her. When their abusive, tumultuous relationship finally comes to a head, Adri flees with their young daughter to her small hometown in the mountains of Pennsylvania. There, she must face the people she left behind and put her broken life back together again.
A hardened Max Lyons can't believe Adri is back in town after abruptly cutting him and everyone else off years ago. Despite the distance that grew between them, he feels compelled to help her regain her independence and offers her a job at his gym. But regaining each other's trust is another matter, made even more complicated by the lingering spark between them. As Adri dares to pursue her dream again, she trains for a big tournament with Max's help, but they'll both have to confront their own doubts in order to rise victorious.
My Thoughts:
After She Falls by Carmen Schober offers an intense, entertaining story that had me cheering for Adri until the end. I enjoyed this book and would read it again in the future, but I must note a few aspects of this novel.
First, After She Falls features lots of romantic tension between Adri and Max as it is a second-chance romance with two characters who have lots of history together. There’s attraction, betrayal, anger, and a deep, sometimes inconvenient, connection between Max and Adri. The powerful emotions avoid angst, but sometimes the tension overpowered other aspects in the novel.
Second, After She Falls tells Adri and Max’s story in third-person present tense. Occasionally, awkward wording pulled me out of the story, but this style shined during the fight sequences by depicting the actions in a quick, live-action way. Adri’s goal as an MMA fighter involves multiple fight scenes with punching, grappling, and bleeding.
Third, the first chapter in After She Falls by Carmen Schober depicts domestic violence. The unpleasant happenings effectively hooked my attention and made me sympathetic toward Adri. However, the presence of DV situations could be a trigger for DV survivors.
Wrapping up this review, I want to mention the beautiful themes
of bravery, finding strength, and growing in resilience that are present in After
She Falls by Carmen Schober. I loved how Adri strengthened her body, mind,
and emotions. Quotable phrases peppered the narrative and I’ll leave one here: “Reconciliation
involves an exchange in a relationship – exchanging brokenness and war for harmony
and peace.”
Disclosure of Material Connection: I was provided a copy of
this book by the author or publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.
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