Catch Us When We Fall
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Average rating5
15
Ratings1
Average rating5
If you love the emotionally complex novels of JoJo Moyes and the dramatic books of Jodi Picoult, you won't want to miss this newest book about second chances, redemption, and the power of hope from USA Today bestselling author of Shelter Me, Juliette Fay. On her own since the age of eighteen, Cass Macklin dated brilliant, troubled Ben McGreavy, convinced he was the smartest person she'd ever known. They partied their way through their twenties, slowly descending into a bleak world of binge-drinking and broken promises, inebriated for most of a decade. Now Ben is dead, and Cass is broke, homeless, scared...and pregnant. Determined to have a healthy pregnancy and raise Ben's baby, Cass has to find a way to stop drinking and build a stable life for herself and her child. But with no money, skills, or sober friends or family, the task seems insurmountable. At wit's end, Cass turns to the only person with the means to help her: Ben's brother Scott, third basemen for the Boston Red Sox, a man with a temper and problems of his own. The two make a deal that neither one of them is sure they can live up to. As Cass struggles to take control of her life and to ask for help when she needs it, Scott begins to realize there's a life for him beyond the baseball diamond. By turns heartbreaking and humorous, with its message that change is possible, that forgiveness can be freely given, and that life, though imperfect, is worth embracing, Catch Us When We Fall is a story of human connectedness and hope.
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There aren't enough well-written romantic dramas around anymore (everyone seems to want to write suspense), so I'm grateful to Juliette Fay for providing me with a well-written, engaging one. Cass is a pregnant alcoholic. Scott is an emotionally scarred journeyman baseball player. They have nothing in common except Ben, the father of Cass' child and Scott's brother, who died of alcohol poisoning. Scott reluctantly let Cass move into his house temporarily, and she promises to sober up for the sake of the baby. Cass is fragile and insecure, but after a short stay in a rehab facility she is determined to change - attending meetings, finding a sponsor, and making a few unexpected friends along the way. But her sobriety is tested numerous times, and her relationship with Scott is confusing to say the least.
Cass' mother died when Cass was a teenager, leaving her to fend for herself in foster care. She's always been poor, barely scraping by on low-wage, short-term jobs. She loved Ben, but their relationship was based on drinking, being hungover, or finding the next drink. It's easy to root for her recovery and understand how alcohol remains such a temptation when she is stressed. I appreciated the evolution of her relationship with the family next door and her attempts to help another friend who is also trying to get sober. Scott is a bit of an uncommunicative jerk sometimes, but he also had a traumatic childhood, and he demonstrates his support and generosity in many ways. As much as I dislike the “heroine falls in love with former lover's brother” trope, in this case it didn't bother me because the relationship develops very gradually, to the point where I wondered if it would happen at all.
The outline of the book may sound cliched, but Juliette Fay fills in the story with nuanced characters and dynamics, turning a long novel into a compelling, page-turning read.
ARC received from Net Galley in exchange for objective review.
