Review: Feels Like Falling by Kristy Woodson Harvey

Title: Feels Like Falling by Kristy Woodson Harvey
Publisher: Gallery Books
Genre: Contemporary, Women’s Fiction
Length: 400 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

From “the next major voice in Southern fiction” (Elin Hilderbrand) and the bestselling author of the Peachtree Bluff series comes an odd-couple tale of friendship that asks just how much our past choices define our happiness.

It’s summertime on the North Carolina coast and the livin’ is easy.

Unless, that is, you’ve just lost your mother to cancer, your sister to her extremist husband, and your husband to his executive assistant. Meet Gray Howard. Right when Gray could use a serious infusion of good karma in her life, she inadvertently gets a stranger, Diana Harrington, fired from her job at the local pharmacy.

Diana Harrington’s summer isn’t off to the greatest start either: Hours before losing her job, she broke up with her boyfriend and moved out of their shared house with only a worn-out Impala for a bed. Lucky for her, Gray has an empty guest house and a very guilty conscience.

With Gray’s kindness, Diana’s tide begins to turn. But when her first love returns, every secret from her past seems to resurface all at once. And, as Gray begins to blaze a new trail, she discovers, with Diana’s help, that what she envisioned as her perfect life may not be what she wants at all.

In her warmest, wisest novel yet, Kristy Woodson Harvey delivers a discerning portrait of modern womanhood through two vastly different lenses. Feels Like Falling is a beach bag essential for Harvey fans—and for a new generation of readers.

Review:

Feels Like Falling by Kristy Woodson Harvey is an entertaining novel of friendship and new beginnings.

Thirty-four year old Gray Howard is a successful businesswoman who is hoping to finalize her divorce soon.  She positively adores her eight year old son Wagner and she is struggling with the thought of him only living her with her part-time. Gray hopes spending the summer along the North Carolina coast will prove to be a time of healing. At the urging of her longtime friend Marcy, she also begins dating again. Gray also becomes close friends with Diana Harrington who finds herself unexpectedly at a crossroads after leaving her boyfriend.

Gray is a workaholic who is taking stock of her life. She is fighting to keep Greg from taking more than his fair share in their divorce proceedings.  She is trying to not to become bitter over Greg’s infidelity as she contemplates dating again.  With Marcy’s encouragement, Gray agrees to one date with a man she is attracted to and genuinely likes but cannot imagine being with long term. As she makes peace with these unexpected changes, will Gray give love another chance?

Forty year old Diana has a long string of broken relationships behind her. Finally fed up with her deadbeat boyfriend, she impetuously leaves him. Broke, suddenly unemployed and homeless, she is grateful for Gray’s job offer.  Having grown up in the foster care system, Diana has difficulty trusting and she is reluctant to rely on anyone for help. She is surprised by her friendship with Gray but she knows her job is only temporary.  With her dream of owning her own business finally within reach, Diana is stunned when someone from her distant past re-enters her life. But can Diana risk having her heart shattered by him again?

Alternating between Gray and Diana’s points of view,  Feels Like Falling is a touching novel that is light-hearted yet has plenty of depth. The characters are beautifully developed and quite appealing. The coastal setting leaps vibrantly to life and serves as the perfect backdrop for Gray and Diana to find happiness.  With a storyline perfectly balanced between humor and true to life issues, Kristy Woodson Harvey brings this heartfelt novel to an uplifting conclusion. I truly enjoyed and I highly recommend this delightful story to fans of the genre.