As the first book I’ve read by Andie Burke, coupled with an enticing book summary, I had high hopes for this MM romance. While the book started with a comical premise and had the potential to be a beautifully woven tale, unfortunately, it fell short in its delivery. Although it is presented as a standalone, I felt it was critical to have read the first book, Fly with Me, where it is alluded that the primary character, Derek, is introduced; otherwise, it feels like you’re coming in on the middle of his story instead of the beginning. That being said, Fall For Him is filled with humor and heart for those who enjoy a spicy, queer romance.

Dylan has made some blunders in his life, but falling through his neighbor’s roof takes the cake! How could he have known that leaving the water running and getting distracted would expose a hidden problem in his poorly renovated neighbor’s apartment? To add insult to injury, this neighbor has despised him since their first encounter. All Dylan was trying to do was focus on his work, a task his ADHD brain tackled with a vengeance if he forgot to take his medication which helped his hyperfocus. Now, he must endure close quarters and death stares as Derek is forced to move into his apartment while they make Derek’s livable again.

After working a long shift, Derek was just trying to get some rest. What he wasn’t expecting was to almost be buried under a failing ceiling, water, and eventually a neighbor who has come through his ceiling, nearly crushing him and his dog Gus. Said neighbor, whom he already loathed for treating the person he cared most about on this planet as a social pariah, was now someone he had to live with while his apartment was fixed – a situation he doubted would go well since the rumor has it he’s just his uncle’s deadbeat nephew mooching off him. To make matters worse, when his best friends Olivia and Joni get involved, the ideas that start sparking about a chemistry that definitely does not exist begin to make him see Dylan in a new light and question how he truly has dealt with the pain of his past, the relationships of the present, and the possibilities for the future.

Despite the overall disconcerting story format, the humor was well-placed throughout. There were plenty of moments that provoked full laughter, a few giggles, and a handful of chuckles. The comical interactions between the characters were some of my favorites. I enjoyed Olivia’s humor, as well as Felicity and Dylan’s quick wit, and eventually, Derek’s, which seemed to shift to match Dylan’s as the story progressed.

I appreciated the introspective moments of Derek’s character as he reflected on how he truly felt about Jake, his role in the lives of his family, and how the death of his father and his dedication to his role hindered more than helped. These moments provided significant insight into the character, but at the same time, they still made him appear very two-dimensional, focusing more on how this one role completely defined everything about him. We only received glimpses of his relationship with Amy and his mother, his time as a hairdresser, his journey to becoming a nurse, and brief moments of life before Jake died. 

While enjoyable for the most part, the book was at times a little too chaotic for me. There were passages that I had to read numerous times because they contained dropped thoughts – meaning the story was heading in a particular direction and then abruptly stopped, and grammatical errors that made certain moments hard to understand. The story really struggled in two noticeable areas: maintaining clarity with the third-person dual POV and managing timelines effectively. As mentioned above, the story also does a poor job transitioning between moments. One minute you have Derek and Dylan having an intimate moment that is defining their relationship, and then suddenly we leap ahead in the future without an understanding of how much time has passed. Similarly, the development of feelings – one second the idea of dating Dylan isn’t even a remote possibility, and then suddenly we witness Derek becoming extremely self-conscious around Dylan because he suddenly likes him. 

This transition was extremely important! As the reader, we understood that the death of Derek’s father started him on a rigorous path of protecting those he loved, and the loss of Jake solidified the fortress around his heart to let others in; however, the transition from never getting close to anyone to only having eyes for Dylan was glossed over. One moment he loathes the guy, then an undisclosed amount of time passed, and suddenly you begin to witness a fondness, but we miss those moments between the characters to understand how it happened. If it was explained, it wasn’t clear, which was an ongoing theme in the book. It is also surprising how characters just disappeared. What happened to Gus? When did Felicity move out, or is she staying with their mother who is remarried? In the middle of the book, these two constant presences were just noticeably gone and then towards the end, suddenly back like they had always been there.

As for the third-person, dual POV – that was an absolute headache. You could be a few pages into a chapter and have no idea whose perspective you were reading from. I respect an author’s choice in terms of naming characters, but I knew having two names so closely aligned as Dylan and Derek was going to be a challenge. The third-person perspective made it manageable, but there were times where any other name but another “D” would have been appreciated – though it would have taken away from Olivia’s hilarious stand-up comic type joke.

The biggest issue with this book was the flimsy overall structure, which made it hard to commit to the characters and be lost in the moments. Burke seemed to have found her way close to the end, but by that point, you were just ready to be done. The professions of love, the big reveal, the sweet epilogue were marred by more plot holes and missed moments. When and how did Derek and Michelle make up? How was life living together? What happened with the apartments? What happened with Gus? One moment it seemed like Gus was Derek’s dog, but then later it was stated that he only kept him when Olivia traveled. Did Gus move to the house or go back to Olivia? The book accelerated when it should have decelerated and vice versa—focusing on some moments longer than necessary and speeding through (or skipping over) others that would have been vital to the story.

The attempt at steam was there, but I can’t quite put my finger on it; something was definitely missing in these moments. They should have been hot, engulfing, and memorable but instead, they were just words with very little impact. Again, I’m not sure if it’s because we were already disconnected from the characters or if the necessary fire to heat those scenes was absent.

The story does focus on grief, loss, and the impact of survivors. While brief and through a quick explanation of the characters, we learn how Derek’s father’s death and Jake’s death affected those around him. We also got a glimpse of mental health through Derek’s method of dealing with grief and Dylan’s ADHD. With Dylan, we saw how society treated those they may not understand – with him being the butt of jokes by his family at the Grill-Out or his defensive lashing out at Derek. We understood how that could impact personal relationships and hinder self-esteem, especially when those close make them feel broken.

The grief Derek experienced with his father and how much it shaped his childhood were some of the more heartfelt moments in the book. We saw how his feelings for Dylan transformed his perspective of how he felt towards Jake and how the death of his father played a role in that initial attachment. It was a very beautiful moment at the end when he finally allowed himself to properly grieve his loss and understand how to embrace the moment instead of continuously moving past it, avoiding it, and pushing it down to be dealt with another day.

The back of the book summary gave such high hopes for this book, but it just didn’t deliver as promised. Again, it may be because I hadn’t read the first book in the series, or because this is an ARC and states that it is “Uncorrected” so many of the issues may be resolved in editing; however, as is – I wouldn’t be able to recommend this book. Burke has shown that she is capable of creating stories that think outside the box. Hopefully, in time, her craft will continue to grow, bringing those creative concepts to life and successfully sharing them from start to finish.