Review: Finally, a book I can call my favorite!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 26, 2013
~* I received a copy of When the Heart Falls from the authors in exchange for an honest review. I have not been and never will be compensated for my review of this book. This review is my honest opinion and is in no way influenced by the authors' generosity. *~When Kimberly Kinrade and Dmytry Karpov offered their street team a chance to beta read When the Heart Falls, I jumped at the opportunity even though the deadline was short. I had nothing holding me back from completing my beta reading at the time I started. But life got in the way and I could only complete the first half of the book. I never did finish my beta reading because the issues took a handful of days to resolve, but as I read, the story helped me in ways I cannot wholly convey. I need to take this time to copy a quote from the beta copy that filled me with so much emotion I had to stop reading. This quote fits the problems I was having in my life so well, it feels like it was written specifically for me to see."Yes. That's passion, not love. Passion fades. And once it does,you're left taking care of someone you can barely stand, sufferingthrough hard times, putting up with each other, trying to make eachother happy when you're not even happy yourself. A sculpture of reallove wouldn't look this enticing. It would include pain and cruelty."While this quote was about Rodin's sculpture The Kiss, it felt so real to my life at the time I was reading. I felt hopeless as I continued reading, but all of that faded as I learned with Cade that there is such a thing as passionate love. My problems have been resolved now and I have to thank Kimberly and Dmytry for writing this novel and helping me through a particularly hard time even though they had no idea at the time.Also, at the time I beta'd this, I told Kimberly that I would have rated it 4 stars on the first half alone. Since then, she and Dmytry have worked so hard on this novel, bettering and strengthening it so that it would be the best they could give. That hard work has quite clearly paid off and I can't think of any other rating befitting such an amazing story than a solid 5 stars.Why 5? The characters were so finely developed and so unique in ways that make them feel almost real. Nearly six chapters in, I had such a hard time believing that I was reading fiction. One thing I base ratings on is the ability to create characters that you won't soon forget. I feel that Winter and Cade were outstanding examples of characters that will haunt your thoughts for a very long while after the last sentence.I also base my ratings on the ability to evoke strong emotions. A book that doesn't leave me emotionally exhausted is not worthy of 5 stars, but I experienced every emotion as each character felt it. Every tear, every laugh, all of the fear, anxiety, and stress, I experienced every last bit of it. And even though this is a romance, there are tears. I cried more times reading When the Heart Falls than I did watching Nicholas Sparks' The Last Song. When the Heart Falls left me hollow when I finally finished it. I feel as if a piece of me was left in the words as I read. And for once, I have a book to call my favorite.