While this is set against the backdrop of a possible end of the world, this fact has little to do with the actual plot of the story...not that there is much of a plot. Unfortunately, the world-ending scenario was the one that drew me in to the book, so I was highly disappointed when I read half of the book and nothing of note had happened. Add this plodding storyline to a cast of characters that are vapid and hard to tell apart, and you can see why I couldn't finish this book. I had high hopes, and sadly they did tumble and fall.

First, I was expecting a full time love story between the characters or something. I would really change the cover... maybe for something about an asteroid? or the island? There actually is ROMANCE in the book, each character has its little love story. And I must say that I was really routing for Nick and Zen... but the cover, as I said before, had me thinking it was a literal, full time, love story.

The ending was so unexpected... 0_o Almost fainted... jajaja

To the author: *thumbs up* I'm giving it 3.5 stars, because, even though this isn't my habitual genre, I was captured into the story. And I cant believe that you had such courage to liquidate all the world you created! I was really expecting the salvation point and the happily ever after... but that obviously never came. Liked it.

Definitely stopping this book because it wasn't what I anticipated. I thought it was going to be more chaotic.

I forgive me,
For doubting you.

Maybe a tribe isn't about fitting in, she thinks. Maybe it's not about the people you've know the longest. Maybe sometimes, it's just about the right place at the right time, and moving in the same direction, together.

I loved this and judging from the 1 and 2 star reviews all over the place my opinion isn't popular. I'm quick to drop books that I don't feel anything for so this isn't a case of me slugging this out to like it in the end, I loved this from the very beginning. Coutts's writing is beautiful. I was absorbed by the world she created and I loved her take on what people's reactions to the end of the world would be. I loved the path that each of these characters took and where each of their journeys ended.

I had been hesitant to pick this up because of all of the low ratings. I'm so glad that I didn't let the negative reviews stear me away from this because I would have missed a real gem. My advice is to read the books that you want regardless of what everyone else says because who knows you may just end up loving them.

I didn't like this book at all. it was so boring and I kept hoping to hear more about the meteor. The characters got all mixed up in my mind and I feel like their journeys were pretty pointless.

I really tried to wrap my brain around how to rate this.

This book has a really interesting idea - it's one that's been done before but it definitely has a different idea about it.

It tells three very different stories about 3 very different people and the week before an asteroid is expcted to hit earth and kill everyone.

Except, this really isn't the plot. The plot....is really three different plots. And they are so different and just jammed full of different people, places and themes. The start of the story is absolutely jarring and doesn't seem to make sense. I actually broke down and had to make notes to myself for every single chapter in every single day so I could pick the book back up and remember who was in which storyline.

And, I thought after I worked that all out - I'd have some really profound message. I thought, at the end, I would be really moved and really touched at these last tender moments.

Instead, I couldn't figure out what the point was. it just wasn't big enough or special enough for me to have so may headaches over the way it's written.

Title: Tumble & Fall
Author: Alexandra Coutts
Genre: Realistic, YA Fiction, Apocalyptic, Romance

Premise: The premise is the world is going to end. Again. But this story is unusual. The world is ending in a week. And there’s a rocket about to launch to try and stop the asteroid on its trajectory. The story is about people surviving the week before the end of the world. It’s not about survival itself. It’s about people trying to survive the grief.

Plot: The plot is interesting. It is such a short time, but it isn’t too fast. It’s surprisingly…well-paced. The twist with the rocket was interesting. It was a nice twist. And the result is much more…surprising.
For the separate character, they have stories that collide in the end.
Sienna has an interesting story line. She is reckless and crazy after her stay at a rehabilitation place. She races off someone without telling her dad. She thinks she loves this guy. She seems to be with him until she realizes how much she misses home.
Zan chases after a stupid lead. From her deceased boyfriend. From one of his favorite books. The twist in this one is nice. It’s sweet. I do hate how Zan hooked up with Nick after giving up on finding Vanessa. Giving up? Seriously? Did all your love for Leo just…disappear suddenly? No, dude. That does not happen. You seem to still have feelings for him! What’s your goddy problem? Gah. And then they discover why Leo was out on the day he died. He was looking for Joni, Zan’s sister who ran away. It’s sweet how much he cared for Zan to look for Joni/Vanessa. Oops. Spoiler.
Caden. Caden is kidnapped. Seriously? Wow… Nice touch, Dad! You totally steal your son! And he goes through this ‘nice’ hook-up with Sophie. Who is she anyways? A little toy for Arthur to play with? Seriously? And he gets to see what life might have been. And decides to go back to his island home.
All three have intertwined fates. They all end up together on the beach. They all get back together. I feel like that commonality is such an interesting point. It reminds me of

Character Development:
Zan. Zan. She is sad. She is hanging onto the past. She rushes through her chase. She ends up looking to Nick. Which…isn’t cheating but it isn’t right. I don’t like Zan. She’s annoying and cheeky. I don’t like her character. She chases after Vanessa. In the beginning, she doesn’t know the truth. But…Joni comes back. She finds out that Joni was the person Leo was looking for. She ends up understanding things. She forgives.
Sienna. For Sienna, she has depression. I guessed it in the beginning, but it came out completely. She ends up speeding through her romance with Owen. I mean…really? That history is literal history. Gah…blegh. I’m not an insta-love girl. She ends up caring about her family. She ends up going back to her family. And luckily gets a sweet, happy ending.
Caden. Caden is a smoker. A crazy party guy. He is someone who is selfish. He is selfish as fuck. He grows out of it, though. He realizes the important of family.
All of the characters realize the important of family.

Problems: The problems… Well. Insta-love. That is definitely a problem. It happens in all the stories. All three of these. Owen and Sienna. Caden and Sophie. Zan and Nick. They aren’t built on anything. Just…teens being angst-y and needing someone to kiss while the world ends.
The cliffhanger is terrible. Who survives? Who doesn’t? Does anyone survive? Seriously. I want to know!
There is also little action. There is the Caden fight scene. Not anything special. It’s a tiny action scene. I feel like this book is more teen drama. I’m not a big fan of teen drama. It’s just…okay.
The sex and hook-ups. Why are there so many hook-ups? I mean...they’re trying to survive the last week…but seriously? I hate these things. It happens too quickly. Just grabbing a girl and having sex? I know that happens in real life…but…it tainted my book!

Good points: This book is well-paced. It’s only a few days, but it’s well-paced. It’s not too quick or too slow. The gap of a few years isn’t bridged with a few pages.
The fact that all three characters went home is nice. It’s a nice touch. They get to realize that home is important. They all return for different reasons, but they all came together. Coincidence? I think not!
This story is about tomorrow. What will tomorrow bring? What is the future? That is an amazing point in a book. For a book that isn’t about a deep premise, this thought of tomorrow and family and home and hearth makes it have a deeper meaning. Yes…this book changes because of these topics.

Score: 7/10
Recommended: If you like teen angst. If you like insta-love. If you like romance.

See review on: intothewrittenword.wordpress.com

dnf at page 16. I wasnt a fan of the voice and skimmed ahead to the end.

I made it about halfway through this one before I had to give up.

My main problem was that it was boring. Excruciatingly so.
The prose was dry and I found it impossible to connect with. I didn't give a crap about anything that was happening or any of the characters.

Speaking of the characters, they were all the same to me. There were too many names to remember, and that's all they were to me: Names. I didn't feel like they had their own personalities and I had trouble telling any of them apart. I kept having to go back through the story to figure out who was who. Plus, there were not one, not two, but THREE different points of view. Sometimes multiple POVs works, but this time it just didn't. It was cumbersome and confusing, and I could hardly tell the difference between the three speakers.

Plus, the happenings were just....meh. I don't know how else to describe them. Caden was kidnapped by his long lost father, and said father drags him to throw a baseball, even though they both hate sports. Huh?
Zan was fresh out of some place called the House (or something?) - a mental hospital, I'm assuming? - meets this kid Owen that she may or may not have had childhood memories with but can't remember, then immediately after meeting him gets naked with him to skinny dip and make out (and 'wrap her legs around him.' While they're NAKED). He seemed to know her but SHE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WHO HE WAS. I was like, what the eff...? Did I miss something??
Wait wait wait. No, I lied. That was Sienna. Zan was the one that lost her love interest and found a receipt with some chick's phone number in his book, then teams up with some dude Nick (not sure what he is to her?) to find out what really happened when he died.

Like I said, it was confusing. I had trouble keeping the stories separate, and because they all had the same names in them (I'm guessing all the stories tie together in the end or something), I struggled even more. I didn't see a point to what I was reading and like I said, I was bored to tears.
I don't see the point in continuing, either.

I skipped to the end out of morbid curiosity...they all find happiness and forgiveness in the end. Blah, blah, blah.

Thanks to Netgalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for early access to this title.

2 1/2 stars - Not the best book I've ever read, but not the worst either. I did find Zan's story compelling, and sort of liked Sienna'a. Caden's was really unrealistic and the hardest to get into. I quite liked the Forgiveness Machine - that was the best part of the ending. However, there's a lot that is not great about this book. It's much too long for what it is, and I started to get really annoyed at the 2 page chapters throughout. I do think this is a writer with some real potential, but this book still needs some work.