Reviewed by Taylin
TITLE: The Hardest Fall
AUTHOR: Rheland Richmond
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 328 pages
RELEASE DATE: May 18, 2022
BLURB:
Re-Edited September 2022
Connor
I thought I had it all—an awesome family… mostly. A career I kinda like, and the man of my dreams.
But then life has a way of kicking me in the teeth when I least expect it. My prince turns out to be a toad. Okay, maybe it was too much to ask him to stick around when family responsibilities take over.
Who wants a man with baggage? No one. But I’m fine on my own. Right?
Brett
Moving back to my hometown was step one. Step two was finally finding my person only he’s definitely not supposed to be my new co-worker.
I’m determined to keep Connor in the friend zone but my heart seems to have other plans. Only Connor’s been burned before. How can I prove to him that not all men run when things get tough?
Will he give me a chance to show him I’m here to stay?
All I need is a chance to prove to him that falling isn’t so hard with the right one.
REVIEW:
You never know a person’s true nature until life throws you a curveball. Connor found out the hard way what that entailed, making him shy away from subsequent relations. Doctor Brett Rockwell wants a new start. After concentrating on his career, he also wanted a life outside the hospital. When he encounters Connor, he is captivated – but what is the way forward?
This story is written from the heart and makes one evaluate how lucky they are in life.
The Hardest fall is told in the first person with named chapters from the specified viewpoint. Given the nature of the story, worldbuilding is mainly kept in the bubble between home and work. Kudos to the author for maintaining a good focus. However, some technical issues exist, especially in the early chapters, where the author finds the story’s stride. The story contains autonomous body parts, which are a pet peeve of mine (E.g., ‘my eyes skimmed’, ‘my eyes widened, ‘my brain couldn’t help’). I understand the overlying sentiment, but there are rules governing their use. There is also the odd slip into the third person (E.g., they fell into step as they both). It may seem like I’m being a little hard here, but given that this is a re-edited story, these technicalities should have been picked up in the first issue, let alone the second.
Connor and Brett make a super couple who find each other at the right time in their lives. There is an instant attraction, followed by many internal ramblings, and nervous babbling of various natures. However, thought and action fly in opposite directions until they take the same path to what is meant to be.
The overriding element of this story is cancer. It deals with all the hopes, fears, and side effects surrounding cancer. The writing here is informative as well as genuinely heart-rendering. The extended cast is small and contains protective friends, family, and work colleagues who come across as realistic. Other elements of the story involve plenty of mutual appreciation alongside fears left over from the past.
Three hearts equates to a good book. The Hardest Fall is a lovely story that brought home many aspects of living with cancer, especially the importance of a sound support system – and for that, I want to thank the author for sharing. But the relationship story, albeit lovely, is a frequent flyer in hospital romances, and the technicalities let it down.
RATING: 
BUY LINK: