Jae is one of my favourite lesbian authors. I have read a good number of her books and enjoyed most of them specially ‘Under a falling star’ and ‘Heart trouble’. Maybe I set the bar too high when it comes to Jae’s books but unfortunately, ‘Falling hard’ disappointed me a bit.

The story revolves around Jordan, an African American surgeon and Molly, a white virtual assistant and mother of a five year old girl. The plot can be found in many books: a womaniser (Jordan) meets a woman looking for a committed relationship (Molly). The reader can more or less guess what happens as this is labelled a romance book. There’s nothing wrong with that as it’s not much about the destination but the journey to get there.

My main issue with this book is how the author deals with the tension in the plot, mainly the sexual tension. I felt the tension building was ok until approximately half of the book when it starts to drag and some situations seem unrealistic. That diminished my enjoyment and consequently dropped my rating. However, the characters are multilayered, the supporting cast is ok and the description of the 5 year old girl is spot on (I have a son that age).

Despite my criticism, it is an entertaining read, specially if you don’t get too frustrated with the prolonged characters’ hesitation and insecurities. Overall 3.5 stars rounded to 4.

ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.