When Adam Fell

Book – When Adam Fell (Foothills Pride #4)
Author – Pat Henshaw
Star rating - ★★★☆☆
No. of Pages – 92

Cover – Nice
POV – 1st person, 1 character
Would I read it again – Maybe

Genre – LGBT, Contemporary, Romance


** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK, BY DREAMSPINNER PRESS, IN RETURN FOR AN HONEST REVIEW **
Reviewed for Divine Magazine


For a quick rundown, here are the usual issues that stopped this from being more than 3 stars:
• homophobic hate crime element
• insta-love
• everyone is connected to everyone
• slipping into present tense and talking to the reader

It goes without saying that I missed the 'getting to know you' aspect and the progression of the relationship. The only difference with this one, compared to other books, is that this was an already established couple, so some things were a given. But, that doesn't negate the fact that there is no bonding at all in this book (or in other books) and there is no real relationship progress; it just happens and life moves on. There's always an 'I love you' somewhere and there's never any real relationship drama; that part always works like a perfect clockwork. It's the rest of their lives – mostly work – that dip into the crime category and always end up suffering a homophobic crime spree or trouble from Tommy the Bully.

As I hinted in the previous book's review, the format is dragging me down. Even if I read them a few months apart, all the books in the series are carbon copies of the same format.

In this one, Adam's ex Jason showed up. After five years, a serious drug addiction that lost them money and trust between them, as well as a past that extended all the way back to high school, it was actually a surprise to see them ending up together. However, we were shown only 2 memories from their past and it wasn't nearly enough to give us an insight into this all encompassing love they'd shared, that made Adam stay with someone who had apparently mistreated him so badly. Then, to make it more confusing, Jason comes back and claims that it was Adam who first started treating him badly, leading to the drug addiction.

It was impossible to know who to believe. It was hard to believe in the romance at all, when it was all based on a physical reaction to Jason's return and a few looks and memories. They never tried to get to know each other again, after all those years apart and Jason claiming he was a new person. They just jumped back into a relationship, pretended it was new and everything was supposedly perfect again.

I also had a bit of an issue with how Adam was described. When we first met him in 'What's In A Name?' he was a big guy, who acted halfway between gruff and effeminate. Suddenly, he's being described numerous times as a 'thug', with a massive scar on his face and a bruiser with no brains. It didn't jar with what we'd learned of Adam so long ago and it didn't endear me to him much, either. Yet again, I was left wanting when it came to main characters. Neither Adam nor Jason were really all that loveable; they kept blaming each other for their indiscretions and then forgiving stupid things, constantly going on and on about the old Jason and the new David. It got a bit repetitive.

I also noticed some spelling and grammar mistakes in this one. The first in the series, if I recall. I also got a bit fed up on the 'Naw'. Can't anyone just say 'no' anymore? At first, I thought it was a
dialect/regional accent thing, but even the people who moved into the area used it. Everyone used it.

Overall, it was just too neat and shiny for me. The series – this book included – is just becoming too predictable, too set in stone and far too 'easy'. I didn't buy the romance, because I've seen and know the way that drugs or drinking can dissolve trust in a relationship faster than acid. There is no way that Adam would forgive Jason for all that he did – for the money, the heartache, the pain and more that he caused – without even attempting to get to know him and let him regain that trust. He just let his dick do the thinking, dragging them back together again, and it didn't make any sense. I don't care how many times Jason apologise or how honestly, they had some serious work to do if they were going to get back together and it wasn't even considered.

For me, the series is becoming too embroiled with the Tommy vs every food/drink establishment and the homophobic attacks. It's not taking the time to focus on the romance stories, that it's supposed to show, in the detail they deserve. Issues aren't resolved or they're ignored and it's as though they were never issues at all. Massive relationship problems are glossed over or forgotten about, leaving me wondering if the issues (such as Jason's drug addiction) is nothing more than a nice little plot trick, only there for the illusion of a problem, even though it's never actually explored or carries the weight that it would in real life. It's there to make us think there are serious problems that need resolved, except that it never happens, because Adam's a bigger man than to hold onto grudges.

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Favourite Quotes

“I didn't want to love him. I didn't want to like him. He was dead. I had to get over this. I had to. I'd go crazy otherwise.”

I wrote this book. Of course, I love it.