One Day to Fall by Therese Beharrie

One Day to Fall by Therese Beharrie
Series: One Day to Fall Forever #2
on 09/12/20
Genres: Romance, Contemporary
Goodreads

Of all the taxis in all of Cape Town, Sophia Roux had to stumble into his.

She should be at her “perfect” sister’s bedside, awaiting the arrival of the newest member of her family. But the thought of spending hours at the hospital with her suffocating relatives has Sophia hailing the first taxi she sees. Only to realise too late that the man at the wheel of her getaway car is the most unpleasant one she’s ever had the misfortune to meet.

Parker Jones, the handsome yet surly driver in question, is used to dealing with baggage of the family variety. And it just so happens he’s in need of temporary escape from his own. Witty banter with a beautiful—if exasperating—woman while chauffeuring her around the city on a gorgeous spring day makes for an ideal break from reality.

But a lot can happen in twenty-four hours: babies can be born, family can reconnect. And maybe the most unlikely pair can fall in love.

One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise : all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise!

cinnamon-roll-hero, contemporary, emotional-baggage, favourite, hero-to-adore, likeable-heroine, part-of-a-series, slow-burner, snarky

FTC – I bought this book.

Content Warnings – childbirth, death of a Father (prior to the start of the book), parent with a long term illness, dead-beat Dad.

I picked this up because I loved the cover. Yes, I know that that goes against that old saying, but I do it all the time. This cover looked cute, light and lots of fun – this is not that book. This book is dripping with angst, tension and humour. I simply could not put it down.

This book takes place over a day. I need to keep repeating this as the amount of character development that happens over the course of this book is remarkable and then you remember that it all takes place over a day … wow.

We meet both of the protagonists having a really bad day at the hospital.

Sophia is at the hospital with her sister who is in labour. Of course, all those hormones, and all that emotion, means all the family tension that has been brewing starts to come to a head. After their Father died, Sophia was left as the main carer for her family. One sister left them to do her own thing, the other was too young and so Sophia is left holding the reigns… And the family doesn’t seem to appreciate it one bit. They judge her by her manner, which is very direct, and not her actions, creating a resentment that she holds close to her chest. When they all end up in a hospital room together for hours, she feels that she needs to escape as soon as possible.

Parker is in the hospital with his mother. He has to deal with the reappearance of his sperm donor alongside the knowledge that his mother has Alzheimers, a fact that she has apparently hidden from him for years. Devastation wars with anger and he ends up leaving the hospital too … in his cab. Which Sophia thinks is in service and jumps in the back of in a bid to find some peace….. And so their day begins.

This book is so well written. Very little else happens in this book but it doesn’t matter; this story is a microscopic view into the beginnings of a romance. They spend the majority of the day with each other, unloading their baggage and opening up to each other in a way that they haven’t been able to do with anybody else. I loved it.

The dialogue really drives this plot forward. There is snark from line one, but it quickly transforms into honest communication that leads them to question themselves and their perception of their own lives. Both of these characters are stuck in their own heads at the start of this book. They have taken on massive responsibilities and dealt with it on their own; they are so used to doing all things solo that they have stopped considering other points of view or even attempting to lean on others.

They hold the mirror up for each other and it opens their eyes up to how others see them. Sophia is so angry all the time that she has forgotten how to trust anyone else. Parker is so devoted to his mother, he can’t quite get his head around the fact that she is starting to be become vulnerable and needs help. I immensely enjoyed watching how their developing relationship challenges their world view and that then starts to mend some fences in their lives.

I loved this book – It was beautifully written with wonderful characters and engaging dialogue. I cannot wait to read book three.