Review: How Not To Fall by Emily Foster

How Not To Fall by Emily Foster
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love the idea of a feminist, sex-positive, intelligent and nuanced romance. It isn’t something that is always present in the romance genre. My understanding is the author read Fifty Shades of Grey and decided to write this novel in response to the things about that novel which bothered her. And there are similarities between the two books – the heroine is Annie (similar to Ana) and the hero is Charles (similar to Christian). Some are more obvious and some are more overt. But, I do like what the author did with the ideas in FSG and how she turned them around and into one with more nuance. This book is steamy. It’s not for the faint of heart – if you don’t like reading about sex, skip this one. My only critique is that it seemed to be quite complex when it could have been more simple. Almost like the book was taking itself so seriously. I’m not sure how to explain it but it felt weighed down in some way. But, overall, the book was a good read. And it’s, in many ways, a more literary version of FSG. There is more emotional depth here than I saw in FSG. I think it’s worth a read and I do recommend it!