Holly Kerr

Falling for The Suitor

Alexa Agabon

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Three Birds Press for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

⭐ Review: First of all, I just want to say that being provided this ARC felt like fate. I only very recently came back to bookstagram and this is both my first ARC of the year & the first ARC I've received in about three years and the fact that I'm actually such a reality show fan just makes this all so much sweeter. Anyways, to the actual review. 

I literally DEVOURED this book. I was torn between going through it in one go and stopping every once in a while so I wouldn't finish it so quickly. The writing is amazing, the premise already sucks you in and it feels like there's so much happening that you just have to continue reading. It's such a light, fun & easy read that I sometimes forgot I was reading. 

As someone who's a huge fan of reality TV shows like Are you the one, Love Island & Ex on the Beach, I feel like all the events that happened in the book are actually feasible and can actually happen behind the scenes in reality TV shows so the imagery in this book is definitely something I could praise for hours on end. 

There's a gaggle of characters (as expected, since we already have the MANY contestants, plus you gotta bring in the crew mentioned, as well as family members, Grayson's friends, etc.) and literally almost every single one of them is multi-dimensional, and the author shows you so much of their personality, but still leaves enough for you to want more. I love how there's different thought processes there, from Grayson who's The Suitor who was actually a contestant in a previous season. We've got Fiona, Bex's best friend, who wasn't even physically present in the actual storyline, and we only got to know her by Bex talking about her and yet, we got to know her and her perspective on both the show & love in general. 

I absolutely ADORE the fact that this book gives you a glimpse of what actually happens behind the curtain, so to speak. What you see on the TV isn't even remotely close to what actually happens. The producers can alter it any way that they want, take whatever parts of real life they have from the footage and edit it to their liking, to tell a storyline of their choosing. They can depict the contestants however they want, they can nudge them in the direction that they want, not every conversation is genuine, and not every conversation will be shown in its entirety and the book really talks about it, which is something I deeply appreciate. It gives a certain perspective that I feel like plenty of people would find refreshing. 

However, what I didn't particularly like about this book and the reasons I didn't immediately give this a 5 star rating are:
- Bexley sometimes comes off as that "I'm not like other girls" trope that I absolutely DESPISE. It was only mentioned about two times in the book that she's an electrician, she's used to being around grumpy men or smart men, she never had a group of girlfriends before, that she's the quirky "I didn't bring a bag of makeup, unlike SOME girls, because I'm different and therefore, much better than them". I'm pretty sure that wasn't the author's intention but but it did leave a bad taste in my mouth. 
- The ending felt incredibly rushed. It felt like a very hastily wrapped gift, and someone slapped a bow on it and called it a day. I feel like the book deserved at least one more chapter to just purge all the feelings from the last few pages, instead of just going the '...and they all lived happily ever after' route. There was so much potential, so much could have been done and it really made me think about how some parts in the middle of the book felt dragged out and yet, near the end where things are SO IMPORTANT and the pressure is high and the stakes are high, everything was just fast forwarded. 

📖 Would recommend for: Those who are fans of The Bachelor & the show UnREAL! If you're a fan of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo because it gave the perspective of life behind all the glitz and the glamour, then this book is for you too! 

Expected publication is on January 25, 2022!

Falling for The Suitor

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