Reviews with content warning for Ableism - Bevor wir fallen

The Year We Fell Down is the first book in Sarina Bowen’s The Ivy Years series. I’ve had this book on my TBR since its release in 2014. Thankful to the Romanceopoly challenge hosted by Under the Covers Book Blog, I finally read the book, and it fulfilled the Campus Corner Challenge. I love Sarina Bowen’s MM Romance books with Elle Kennedy, so this was my first MF from the author.

Storyline/My Thoughts: I will immediately admit that I loved the FMC over the MMC in this book. Corey Callahan is downright the sweetest and down-to-earth FMC who grew up loving and playing hockey. She had her life all planned after she graduated high school and got accepted into Harkness College to play college hockey. Unfortunately, she is in a severe accident where she can no longer play the sport. After everything, though, she won’t let it affect her life at college. The college sets her up in the handicapped-accessible dorm rooms, and right across the hall is a cute guy who is also injured and ready to get back on the rink to play hockey for the college team after he is healed. She immediately befriends Adam Hartley, especially since he knows her brother. The issue is that she has a crush on the guy, but he’s way out of her league and has a girlfriend so nothing can come between the two.

I love the stories where a girl and a guy become instant friends and have much in common. The issue is that one doesn’t do relationships or is already hooked up with someone. In this case, the MMC has a long-term steady girlfriend he loves. It’s hard when the guy starts doing things that make the FMC question his intentions, which is when she starts having to guard her heart and push away from him, so she doesn’t get hurt. I felt for Corey’s character because she lost the sport she loved to play and was watching a guy she liked to be with his girlfriend. She handled it well, so she was an instant favorite for me. I probably wouldn’t have finished reading the book if it wasn’t for her.

Don’t get me wrong, I liked Hartley but didn’t love him. He was sweet and caring toward Corey and was always there for her, but he had a girlfriend. There was a scene when he was with his girlfriend, and he was thinking about Corey. There’s also a scene where he hooks up with Corey when he’s with his girlfriend. I’m not okay with cheating in real life, so I’m not too fond of it in books, either. Some readers may like it in the books since it adds to the drama but not this reader. I didn’t understand why he was still with his girlfriend when he had obvious feelings for the FMC. A reason does come later in the story, and it may be a decent reason, but at this point, the damage was already done, and I didn’t like his character.

The ending didn’t feel like a HEA, too. It felt more like an HFN since it was rushed with the characters coming together. I was rooting for Corey to find someone better.

Overall, this book was an okay read. I give it three stars. If you are okay with an MMC with someone else for most of the book but have feelings for the FMC, then the book may be for you. I will continue reading this series and also read ALL of Sarina Bowen’s backlist since I made it my mission to do so. Here’s hoping I can make time this year with every other book being released, especially with Sarina’s latest release(s).

Standalone or Part of Series: It’s part of The Ivy Years series, but each can be read as a standalone.

Steam/Spice: 🌶 🌶

Genre(s)/Trope(s)/Element(s): New Adult & College Romance. Hockey Romance. Sports Romance. Friends to Lovers. Hurt/Comfort. Slow Burn Romance.

Would I recommend this book? Yes. I recommend this book to readers who love the Friends to Lovers and Slow Burn tropes. This book does have cheating in it for readers who do or do not like that in their books. This book wasn’t my cup of tea due to cheating, and I wasn’t fond of the MMC. The FMC won me over, though.

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noorii's review against another edition

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1.5

'im not like other girls'

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stupidcat's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I really love how the disability and struggles of the main character are described -- that's the best part of this book. You really feel for Corey and wish her the best, because she deserves it. However, the romance between the two main characters felt somewhat forced. I thought they spent way too little quality time with each other to fall so head over heels in love. The conversations weren't very deep, they mostly focused on their shared disability and I suppose it's great that they connected on that, but it still seemed flat. I wish the author spent more time describing Hartley's POV, because I didn't really relate to him all that much.

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danajoy's review against another edition

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I couldn't get past the use of derogatory terms that the disabled characters referenced themselves with or the justification of pain killer abuse/over consumption.
If it says 2 every 4 to 6 hours you don't take 6 at a time because you are physically bigger. It is dangerous to spread that sort of misinformation.

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tragicgloom's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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cookie_123's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

it was an okay book
didn’t love it, didn’t hate it

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lanidon's review against another edition

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2.0

This had so much good to it and I'm really conflicted about my rating. On the one hand, I love the setup and how well the two characters bond over the course of the book. On the other, the rampant ableism is unforgivable. The MCs both use slurs and a buttload of other ableist language. The MC refers to herself as not a whole person and completely unworthy of love or friendship. As a disabled person trying to find representation in romance this was a rough read

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