My Ramblings on The Impossible Art of Falling by Sara Fiorenzo

Synopsis:

​When eighteen year old, Jena Grayson witnesses the death of her father at a competition, she sees her Olympic dreams slipping through her fingers. Feeling abandoned and alone, she no longer cares to ride and retreats into her own silence while seeking refuge at her uncle's farm. With her own horse in tow, perhaps it is there that she can overcome her past. 

Luke Thomas is at the farm for his own reasons, but when he meets Jena, he finds someone hurting just as much as he is. Determined to be the one to break her silence, Luke spends as much time as he can with her. As they are drawn together by their shared love of horses and a history of grief, will these two lost souls be brave enough to fall and together land on their feet? 

The Impossible Art of Falling explores the ways in which we overcome grief, the healing power of horses, and the importance of love. The Impossible Art of Falling is the first book in the Impossible Art Series. ​

My Ramblings: 

So I feel like I need to start this by letting everyone know that the author of this book is my best friend. Which I imagine might make some of you think that my review is biased. It might be a little, but there are other authors out there who I'm friends with who were not so pleased when I wrote unfavorable reviews of their books. What I'm saying is that if I didn't like this book, or if there were technical issues that overwhelmed me while reading it, I would say so... and I did. I've been reading this book for months. Sara sent me this one to Beta read forever ago and I instantly loved the story. Sure there were glitches and things that had to be hammered out and cleaned up, but if the story is good, you can work with the rest. Sara definitely worked the rest and the result is a really fabulous book and I'm so proud of the final product.

So with that out of the way.... about this book. I love it. I love the characters and I've been invested in how it all works out from day one. If you are a horse person you will instantly recognize that Sara is one as well, as only someone who really knows and loves horses would be able to get all that stuff spot on. I know that when I read and I come across something that I know how to do, but is misrepresented in the book, it totally takes me out of it. There is none of that here, especially on the ranch, which is my home turf. For me the parts on the farm were instantly relatable, more so then anything to do with the show world, mostly because that is so out of my wheel house that I wasn't sure how that world works. Still, it all rings true, Sara's words paint a very clear picture of what life is like for Jena and Luke and I could picture myself there watching it happen. 

The plot is also spot on, coming back from an accident, or watching someone else have one, is hard. It can take years to get it back, and it's worse because you know that it's something you can do... but you can't get your heart back in it. Watching Jena and Luke help each other get past the pain was great.  I loved that there was more to the story then just these two as well. Sure, Jena and Luke might have found a way to heal each other alone, but at it's heart, this book is about a family and how family can knock you down and lift you up when you fall. Without the pain of her father's death and her mothers absence, without Luke's family history looming in the distance, without her aunt and uncle opening their home, without the affections of the other man and without the unconditional love of her horse, this story would fall apart. Jena and Luke both need more then just each other to be whole again and I think Sara managed to weave those threads together in a way that shows you how love can heal and how some scars, no matter how painful, are still part of your story. 

I've already made several friends buy this book, and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes horses, who loves a story about overcoming obstacles and anyone who is a fan of love and seeing it win out in the end. 

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