Falling

By: TJ Newman

4/5 ✈️

Bill Hoffman is a family man... well, when he's not working as a pilot. He loves his wife and two children, but when the job calls, Bill answers. His wife, Carrie, has been understanding, but with a new baby and 10-year-old son, she's beginning to lose some patience. When Bill takes a last minute call, their lives change forever.

What begins as a routine call, turns to a traumatic event. Bill is given the choice: save your family and crash the plane or save the plane and let your family die. Bill's answer is simple - the plane will not crash and his family will not die. But how will he do it? What ensues is an action-packed adventure filled with thrills and turns.

Falling has been given quite a bit of hype, and for the most part, it's well deserved. The novel is fast-paced and action-packed. The variety of characters (minus the perpetrators, of course) are all incredibly likable and inspiring. The fact that TJ Newman is a former flight attendant really lends some credibility to the story, as well. Her insight provides an even more chilling edge to the story.

Honestly, I was at the edge of my seat most of the story! Parts were a little more slow, and Newman's writing style can drag at times, but it was overall an excellent story. My only complaint was the motive and perpetrators. It was a little cliche in the end. I think Newman did an excellent job of providing a motive that gave information, but I was hoping for something a little different. I'm trying to avoid spoilers in this review, so I don't want to say too much, but I was a little disappointed in the end.

One thing Newman did really well, however, was integrate past memories into the story. It didn't happen very often, but the information was sprinkled during important moments and called upon later. It really added some background to the story and some depth to the characters. The dialogue was rather cliche at some points, but it also gave the characters personality. I will forever love Jo!

So, while I did have some hang-ups, I think this was a great debut and I do think it will top some charts in the summer! It's an easy read and can be devoured in a day or two. Just avoid my mistake and don't read this before you're about to fly.