Fall for Him by Andie Burke

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin

Date of publication: September 3rd, 2024

Genre: Romance, Queer, Adult, Contemporary, LGBT, Fiction, MM Romance, Contemporary Romance, Gay

Publication Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

In Fall for Him by Andie Burke, seven-hundred-fifty square feet isn’t enough for the home-renovation-fueled hatred and the building sexual tension.

Dylan Gallagher’s hot neighbor loathed him from the second he moved in, and causing a flood, falling through the floor, and landing directly onto that same neighbor’s bed probably means that’s unlikely to change. The poorly timed “It’s Raining Men” joke didn’t help.

Meanwhile, ER nurse Derek Chang’s life is a literal when-rains-it-pours nightmare. A man he hates dropped into his life along with an astronomically expensive problem originating from Derek’s own apartment’s plumbing. Also, the local HOA tyrant has been sniffing around trying to fine him for his extended, illicit banned breed dog-sitting.

Since Dylan also wants to keep the catastrophe quiet, he offers to fix the damage himself. Dylan’s sure he’s not Derek’s type, so he focuses all his ADHD hyper fixation energy on getting the repair job done as quickly as possible―avoiding doing anything stupid like acting on his very inconvenient crush. Meanwhile Derek tries to ignore that the tattooed nerd sleeping on the couch is surprisingly witty, smart, and kind, despite the long-term grudge Derek’s been holding against him. But will squeezing all their emotional baggage plus a dog into a tiny one-bedroom apartment be a major disaster…or just prove they’re made for each other?

Fall for Him combines banter, hijinks, and heart in a story of finding out what it means to fix things after your life crumbles.

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First Line:

The only warning had been a millisecond of ominous crunching before the kitchen floor collapsed beneath Dylan Gallagher’s feet.

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Important details about Fall for Him

Pace: Medium

POV: 3rd person (Dylan, Derek)

Content/Trigger Guidance: Fall for Him contains themes that include alcoholism, death, homophobia, death of a parent, workplace violence, anxiety, anxiety attacks, blood, physical injuries, grief, physical assault, and bullying. Please read carefully if any of these triggers you.

Language: Fall for Him contains mild swearing and language that might offend some people.

Sexual Content: There is moderately graphic sexual content in Fall for Him.

Setting: Fall for Him is set in Frederick, Maryland.

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My Review:

When I got the invite for Fall for Him, I was excited to read it. I had read Fly with Me and enjoyed Olive and Stella’s romance, so I was giddy when I realized that this was Derek’s romance. Derek was one of my favorite secondary characters in Fly with Me, and I was hoping he would get his own book.

While these books are technically not in a series, I recommend reading Fly with Me before reading Fall for Him. That first book gives a lot of background about Derek (which should have been my first clue there would be a book 2). The author goes over everything rather quickly in Fall for Him. However, the nuances and relationships are fully explained in Fly with Me.

The main storyline of Fall for Him centers around Dylan and Derek and their romance. The book literally begins with Dylan falling through the floor onto Derek’s bed and taking off from there. I found the storyline to be well-written, funny, and often sad.

The romance angle of Fall for Him was slow. While Dylan and Derek had feelings for each other, some major misunderstandings kept popping up. The most major one (and the one that broke my heart) was Dylan and Derek’s relationship with Olive’s deceased brother. That relationship and what Derek thought he knew about it almost derailed Dylan and Derek’s romance. Besides that, it was fun to see a relationship that was true to life.

Dylan’s mental health issues were also a considerable part of the book. As the mother of a daughter who has severe ADHD, I applaud the author for her true-to-life depiction of ADHD. Everything that Dylan experienced in the book mirrored things that my daughter has experienced. It was refreshing to read a book where ADHD wasn’t demonized or put down.

A secondary storyline runs throughout the book involving a nosey HOA president. I couldn’t believe her audacity and the power trip she was on because of that title. I will give a small snippet of what Carol did:

• Tried to tell Derek that renovating an apartment was against HOA rules (it wasn’t)
• Broke into Derek’s apartment with a spare key given to her (it was in case of an emergency)
• Tried to have Dylan’s younger sister arrested for breaking and entering.
• And my favorite
• Accused Dylan of making porn in his apartment.

And that isn’t even all of it. Carol made me mad and even more determined not to end up in a building or house with an HOA.

The author also touches upon workplace violence (Dylan is an ER nurse) and sibling bullying (his father and brothers mercilessly bully Dylan). It is essential to understand that both happen, but only workplace violence gets any attention if brought up. Seeing how Dylan was treated by his father and brothers was heartbreaking.

The end of Fall for Him was perfect, and the epilogue had me laughing and crying. I will never hear “Death to the Patriarchy” again without picturing Dylan’s niece. I am also looking forward to seeing if there will be another book.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin, NetGalley, and Andie Burke for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Fall for Him. All opinions stated in this review are mine.