Blueprint For Falling in Love - Best Shot of Romance in 2023
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- Shalini
- in Book Posts, Book Reviews, Digital Reads Media, Digital Reads Reviews, Fiction
Table of Contents
Blurb of Blueprint for Falling in Love
In Blueprint for Falling in Love, sparks fly and the air sizzles when Josh meets Greer disembarking a flight from London. Sparks, and a strange sense of familiarity…
Josh
I can’t believe I hit on my best friend’s little sister. In my defence, she’s changed since I last saw her ten years ago. A lot. I wish things were different, but there’s no way I’m going there.
Greer
Josh may think denying our connection is the right thing to do, but I’ve got news for him. And working together on renovating his new house gives me the opportunity I need to prove it to him.
Giving in to temptation puts everything Josh holds dear at risk, but not giving in might just break both their hearts.
Publication Date: July 4, 2023
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What was Blueprint for Falling in Love all about
Blueprint for Falling in Love by Carrie Clarke was a cute romance, filled with the banter of flirting, heat of attraction, and loads of love. When the emotions were powerful, it was often thought we were not worthy of such a love.
That was the case with Josh, who was returning to Sydney after 10years and who managed to catch a glimpse of a red-headed woman while disembarking from the plane. His pick-up lines were corny, but luckily, the woman responded with her number, but not her name.
Josh was pleasantly shocked to see the entire family of Carters waiting for him. But none knew of his arrival. So how? Were they really waiting for him or for the daughter of the family, Josh’s childhood friend, the sister to the three brothers? Greer. You guessed it. The redhead from the plane. Best friend’s sister. Bro code.
Other Details
This was book 2 of the Falling in Love series, and such as the case may be, I didn’t remember much of book 1. And it didn’t hamper my enjoyment of this book. So, the book worked as a standalone.
Romance with HEA as the ending was a given. I downloaded the digital format from Kindle Unlimited because it would take a month or so for the paperback to be delivered to me, and I didn’t have that much patience to wait for it.
The Hook
Trigger Warnings: A few F-bombs. But they came at the apt place, not written for shock value.
The characters and their banter. Greer’s belief and trust in Josh. The love and attraction, the warmth of Greer’s family. All of these and more made this book a compelling read.
I liked Book 1. But if you read my review here, there were a few places where my attention was diverted. And I am happy to point out here that Book 2 held my attention from the beginning to end. So, it completely surpassed my expectation in this situation.
The cover would give the feel that it was a rom-com, but believe me, it wasn’t, not entirely. It was a book of feels.
The Main Characters of Blueprint for Falling in Love
Greer
Loved her.
It was amazing to see the way she stood by Josh in all his problems, even when the idiot kept making the circumstances murky by blowing hot and cold. Hot with his body and cold with his words. I loved her intelligence and how she micromanaged the tradies who came to work on Josh’s house.
Stubbornness was her middle name, and nothing could say or do could make her back off. In my books, female characters who took charge and gave it their all before calling it quits were my favorites.
There were hints of bullying in her past in high school and to some extent, in her office, but those were just mildly touched upon. I felt the author could have spent a bit more time to show us the life-limiting emotions of it. Then again, there was a scene or two, but they didn’t make me feel the entirety of it.
That was the only chink in Greer’s portrayal in this story.
Josh
Liked him
He didn’t reach the final frontiers of making me fall in love with him as his low esteem, despite all proof of his being a good man, made it difficult to do so.
Altogether, he was sexy, with tattoos and male bun and sexy body, and had no qualms about going down on Greer made him quite a hottie. His work atmosphere too showed the respect and camaraderie he garnered.
Only the past with his horrible, uncaring parents held him back from embracing the future with Greer. He was quite a boor with her and a couple of her workmates in some scenes. But he could be forgiven as he was so jealous of all the attention she was getting. Something he desperately wanted but couldn’t seem to reach for it.
The Intricacies of Blueprint for Falling in Love
As every romance written, this too had their meet-cute, followed by kiss and sex, and the blow-hot-blow-cold moments, then the final break-up and the grand rom-com gesture that made the entire city of Sydney to root for their love.
To be honest, I would cringe if my guy ever posted my pics on social media and banners and busses, where everyone wanted a selfie with me. Noooo, that would bring out the crazies too. Nope. Never. Nada.
Being fiction, why not? Bring it on.
The story was a high-intensity love affair, where family and friends helped in bringing out the bonds that the two shared with others.
Knowing Greer by the end of the book, I knew she wouldn’t be able to resist this delicious man. And they definitely lived happily after where Josh could see himself as he was, not via his parents.
The Setting
The only word that came to my mind was warm. Everything in this book bespoke of family and love and childhood bonds. I loved the interactions, the family dinners, the bonds between siblings, the office workmates. Enjoyed every moment of watching the story unfold.
The Pace
I didn’t find anything dragging in the book. To tell you the truth, I started reading it during breakfast, went to work thinking about it, and completed it while having dinner. Perfect way to read, according to me.
The style of writing - The Prose of Blueprint for Falling in Love
Pure perfection. Not because of the vocabulary and the number of words used, but the way these words were used.
When I started reading, it struck me hard how each word was stringed with the next. In the first few chapters, I was completely bowled over how the lines brought out the perfect imagery. I could, in fact, visualize the entire book from beginning to end like a movie.
That, for me, made this a compelling read. I was so happy to see how far this author had developed from her first book. There was a depth to her writing, even when it was all fun and banter.
Romantic books formed the biggest market on Amazon and other book sites, and it was difficult to make your book stand out. I loved how Author Carrie Clarke took each review to heart in a positive way and incorporated everything the readers said in this one. Definitely a growth in style.
How it made me feel
On the condition that the author continued to write her books in this manner, growing from strength to strength, while remaining lovely to interact, I would read her books forever.
In truth, the book was warm, the story a ray of sunshine piercing the storm clouds of life. The two characters had chinks, no doubt, but they were the perfect pieces in the jigsaw puzzle of love. Greer understood and saw Josh for what he was before he could begin to do so.
And their steamy scenes undoubtedly ensnared me completely. I wouldn’t mind a guy like Josh, though I wouldn’t want a similar chip on his shoulder.
Do I recommend Blueprint for Falling in Love?
Yes. Yes. Yes.
The book made me so happy, even when life was difficult. So, go for it. Forget the real world for a couple of hours. And just enjoy Sydney’s finest author.
A point to note.
I don’t take ARCs anymore because that meant I would have to gloss over my reviews. And I no longer had the patience to do that. A couple of mean authors cured me of taking ARCs.
Life is too short for all this negativity, and my arse has been royally kicked. When this author came to me with the ARC reading request, I had had deaths in the family and was completely shattered. Her sensitivity and understanding and the timely reminder about the book’s release made me want to download and read it ASAP.
I love authors like Carrie. And would read any romance book from authors like her. My Contact Me page is open for romance
Check out Author Carrie Clarke’s books available on Amazon.
You can read her books with 2 months of free Kindle Unlimited
I downloaded the digital version of the book from an online retail, and this is my journey down its pages, straight from the heart. STRICTLY HONEST and UNBIASED.
If you’ve loved the review, buy me a cuppa to perk me up.
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