Besides being a big fan of contemporary books, I love watching romantic comedies. What can I say, I love the grand gestures and the happily ever afters! The Falling in Love Montage seemed like a book I just needed to read for that reason. I’m really happy I picked this one up and want to talk about this book today. Keep on reading for my thoughts on The Falling in Love Montage!

Saoirse doesn’t believe in love at first sight or happy endings. If they were real, her mother would still be able to remember her name and not in a care home with early onset dementia. A condition that Saoirse may one day turn out to have inherited. So she’s not looking for a relationship. She doesn’t see the point in igniting any romantic sparks if she’s bound to burn out.

But after a chance encounter at an end-of-term house party, Saoirse is about to break her own rules. For a girl with one blue freckle, an irresistible sense of mischief, and a passion for rom-coms.

Unbothered by Saoirse’s no-relationships rulebook, Ruby proposes a loophole: They don’t need true love to have one summer of fun, complete with every cliché, rom-com montage-worthy date they can dream up—and a binding agreement to end their romance come fall. It would be the perfect plan, if they weren’t forgetting one thing about the Falling in Love Montage: when it’s over, the characters actually fall in love… for real.

Review

“I kissed her soft like a question.”

The Falling in Love Montage takes place in Ireland and I loved reading a book outside of the countries a lot of YA take place in. I listened to the audiobook and loved the narrator. She fit the story well and kept me listening. This book is the perfect combination of a lighthearted summer love story and a book that hits you in all the feels. Ciara Smyth really balanced this well and her writing had me hooked.

Our main character Saoirse has a lot going on. Her mother has early-onset dementia and she’s recently come to the conclusion that she doesn’t have what it takes to take care of her. On top of that her relationship ended and that meant she lost her best friend as well, her father is getting remarried and deciding what she wants to do with her life is almost too much for her to handle. The last thing she’s thinking of is a new relationship. When Ruby comes along, it’s hard to resist the attraction and feelings she has for this girl. So when Ruby suggests they have a summer fling that includes all the cliches and big gestures we see in the movies.

Saoirse is such a realistic character and I’m so glad the author made her that way! Saoirse is sarcastic, funny, sometimes angry, but so so strong! Dealing with your mother slowly forgetting you and even realizing you have the chance to end up that way as well, has to be terrifying. She loves her mother and feels like she needs to be the one to take care of her, but not being able to has to be so frustrating! It’s clear that she really loves her mother. The relationship she has with her father is complicated, even more so now that he’s decided to remarry. Saoirse loves him, but is trying to find the balance between knowing he loves her mother, but moving on at the same time. You see her change a lot in this book and in a good way. Saoirse gets stronger, opens herself up a bit more and just tries to live.

Ruby is also a really interesting character. She’s just visiting town for the summer and has more on her plate than we know from the start. For me Ruby seemed really down to earth and honest in what she was feeling. I think we all knew that it would be inevitable to not end up feeling anything for each other, but they tried anyways! I think she was also looking for comfort and distraction and this worked out great. Ruby is another case of being stronger than she thinks and I think they found each other at the right time.

“I wanted to tell her how much I liked her, how I felt this tugging feeling in my stomach that drew me close to her, but I couldn’t let the words out of my mouth because it felt like unleashing something I couldn’t control.”

The Falling in Love Montage is filled with humor, love, family, loss, a lot of cheesy movie cliches (that are so much fun to read), growing up and letting yourself feel and live. I don’t think I’ve ever read any books that involve early-onset dementia and I’m glad an author wrote about this subject. It’s not easy, but something that does happen unfortunately. I think the author did this in a respectful way and I loved that we got to read memories Saoirse had from when she was younger leading up to things progressing. I know I want to read more from this author!

The Falling in Love Montage was a book that turned out to be a bit heavier than I expected, but it was so good. I loved the mention of different movie references. If you’ve read this book, I’d love to hear what you think in the comments! I’ll definitely be keep an eye out for what this author gives us next!