NMmomof4's Reviews > Touching Down

2 Stars

** Just a warning -- my spoiler tags in this review are for pretty BIG SPOILERS, so please click at your own risk ;) **

Overall Opinion: I am honestly surprised I stuck with this one tbh. I was bored and easily distracted a lot of the time, which is sad because I think it could've been so much better! It has a good premise, and it has an interesting twist that I wasn't expecting at all...but sadly it just failed IMO. This gets a little ranty, so I apologize in advance...
(view spoiler)[We have a hidden pregnancy, which tbh doesn't bother me all that much if there is a good reason for it -- and I actually felt like there was a good reason for once!! Then we have the h being diagnosed with Huntington's disease. Tragic! I cannot imagine the things that people experience when they themselves go through it or even their loved ones experience it! I felt sad for the h's prognosis, but I never fully felt connected to her for it to really affect me (if that makes sense). I also didn't feel the h and H's connection. Even though a lot of readers don't like this, I think a few flashbacks or a more in-depth history into their past (other than the few brief mentions of how bad their childhoods were) would've been really beneficial! They start out with really strong feelings, and we don't really experience that development of feelings at all!! I just felt like I was told about their connection throughout instead of being able to make my own connection to their connection (I hope I make sense here). TBH I was wanting to get to the end so bad, because I wanted to see how the author was going to handle the not-so-pleasant effects of the disease. We don't even get that! We get some stupid "miracle" European experimental drug that has helped her symptoms and allowed her to live at least to the 12 years later in the epilogue. I feel like that was a complete cop out! That was the only thing really keeping my interest (because I've never read a story with a mc with a disease like this, and I was totally picturing Anne Hathaway in Love and other Drugs -- and maybe Jake Gyllenhaal too ;D), and it was just pushed under the rug IMO. Which is unacceptable! I think if the author had given some significant time to develop my connection to these characters through experiencing them developing their own feelings, and had not just given us a fluffy ending for something that really shouldn't be pleasant at all -- it could've been a great story! It would've been ugly for sure, but it would've been REAL -- and I think that is what bothered me the most about this book. (hide spoiler)]. I suppose for those that are ok with the fluffy story about second chances, professional football players, and super loyal mcs...this might be just fine for you! It just didn't work for me ;)

Brief Summary of the Storyline: I'll keep this brief, so hopefully I don't give too much away. This is Ryan and Grant's story. Ryan reluctantly returns to her hometown for the funeral of the woman that helped her survive her bad childhood. She knows that she will probably see Grant, because the woman helped him as well and they are connected through her. They don't have the best reunion. Even though they have a strong history, they didn't have the best ending -- but Ryan gets Grant to agree to talk, and she drops some big bombs on him and seeks his help. They have some huge obstacles to get through, but their feelings are as strong as ever for each other and they work through them to get their HEA.

POV: This was told in Ryan's POV. I do think the story would've benefited from hearing some of Grant's POV.

Overall Pace of Story: Not so great. I found it boring and slow at times, and I skimmed a good bit through the last 1/3ish.

Instalove: No, they already had strong feelings for each other when the story starts. We don't get any development of feelings to experience, as they are just building on old feelings.

H rating: 3 stars. Grant. I appreciated how he stepped up to the plate with his new heavy realities, but otherwise I didn't really connect with him.

h rating: 3 stars. Ryan. I felt bad for her situation, but again -- I didn't really connect with her either.

Sadness level: Low/moderate. I personally didn't cry, and I think that was mainly because I hadn't connected with either character or their connection -- BUT this does cover some heavy topics, so I can see where some others might get more emotional.

Push/Pull: Yes (view spoiler)[ The h is hesitant to start anything with the H because of her prognosis, so she pushes him away some at first. The H is the main pursuer. (hide spoiler)]

Heat level: Low. I didn't find the scenes to be sexy, but I'm not sure if that was the author's goal either.

Descriptive sex: Kind of. There were some descriptive details, but also a kind of fade-to-black type also. It was a little choppy feeling, and I definitely didn't find it sexy. I also skimmed some scenes later on in the book, because I wanted it to move along.

Safe sex: Yes. (view spoiler)[Mentions of birth control being used, and neither of them had ever been with anyone but each other! I know the safety gals will like that ;) (hide spoiler)]

OW/OM drama: No (view spoiler)[There is one woman (the owner of the professional team's grand-daughter) that is a weird addition, because she implies something happened with her and the H. He later tells the h that he hadn't been with anyone other than her, so I was a little confused as to why the whole scene was even put in tbh. (hide spoiler)]

Sex scene with OW or OM: No

Cheating: No

Separation: Yes (view spoiler)[ They are separated for ~7 years. The h left when she found out she was pregnant, because the H was about to enter the draft and she knew that it would ruin his life because technically it was statutory rape (h was 17, H was 21). She only returned when she found out about her diagnosis of Huntington's disease, and needed to tell him about their daughter. (hide spoiler)]

Possible Triggers: Yes (view spoiler)[ Unexpected pregnancy, 4 year age difference (h was 17 and H was 21 when she got pregnant), h has Huntington's disease, mentions of attempted rape as a child, drug use and alcoholism by parents, domestic violence as a child, and death if a parent and a parental figure. (hide spoiler)]

Closure: This had a jump ahead epilogue and what I would (hesitantly) call a HEA. (view spoiler)[They are married and it's 12 years later (hide spoiler)]. I had a ton of unanswered questions that didn't get addressed. It kind of felt like the author was more focused on (maybe?) setting up a story for another book than giving closure about the big stuff (view spoiler)[ like the h's disease (hide spoiler)] in this one.

How I got it: I got it on loan through booklending.com (thank goodness!)

Safety: I'd say that this should be either Safe or Safe with exception depending on personal preferences.
(view spoiler)[
- Does Not have cheating
- Does Not have a descriptive sex scene with OW/OM
- Does have the h pushing the H away
- Does have a ~7 year separation between the h and H
- Does Not have abuse in present tense (BUT there are brief mentions of past abuse)
- Does Not have OTT sad parts
- Does have a HEA ending...kind of (see above spoiler) (hide spoiler)]