Mel's Shelves: Book Review: Fear of Falling by Catherine Lanigan

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Book Review: Fear of Falling by Catherine Lanigan

Fear of Falling
(Shores of Indian Lake #5)
by Catherine Lanigan

Adult Contemporary Romance

Paperback & ebook, 368 Pages
March 1st 2016 by Harlequin Heartwarming

Her best bet is to stay away

Was Olivia hearing this right? The one man in Indian Lake she'd found truly intriguing since, well, forever—the hopelessly handsome heir to the region's most successful farming operation, Rafe Barzonni—was involved in horse racing? That made him, and her sudden attraction, downright dangerous. He wasn't just out of her league. He was a gambler. Like her father. With the shame of her father's racetrack betting addiction still haunting her, Olivia can't be part of that world. Rafe's world. She can't trust him, or his magnetism. But there's something deep in his incredible blue eyes that keeps drawing her closer…

This is the fifth book in this series. I've only read one other book and, while this book works well as a standalone, there were stories I definitely missed out on.

Rafe lives and works on his family farm but his heart is in horse racing. Olivia's father left years ago and she was left to help her mother pick up the pieces and create a new life for them. They own a deli and catering company, but her true love is photography. Olivia and Rafe meet when she and her mother have a catering job at Rafe's home. There is an attraction but she spends a lot of time convincing herself that he's a gambler like her father and she doesn't want any part of that.

I thought it was strange that they didn't already know each other. They live in the same town and she has friends that are married to his brothers. It just seems like someone would have thought to set them up before now, or they would at least know each other better.

That aside, I did like how their relationship grew over time. They had some hurdles to overcome but also had enough in common to keep their relationship progressing. They are likable characters yet each have their flaws. Family and friends are important to them and are a big part of their story. It's a great read for those who enjoy clean contemporary romance!

My Rating=4 Stars
Source: Received a copy via Prism Book Tours for an honest review

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The Other Books in the Series

Catherine Lanigan is the bestselling author of over thirty published titles in both fiction and non-fiction, including the novelizations of Romancing the Stone and The Jewel of the Nile, as well as over half a dozen anthologies, including “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Living your Dream”, “Chicken Soup for the Writer’s Soul”, “Chocolate for a Woman’s Heart”, Chocolate for a Woman’s Spirit”. Ms. Lanigan’s novels have been translated into over a dozen languages including German, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, Chinese, and Japanese. Ms. Lanigan’s novels are also available on audio-cassette, CD and on electronic format. A prolific writer, she is always writing wonderful stories. She has several titles only available in ebook format on Amazon.com Several of her titles have been chosen for The Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Clubs. Her novel, The Christmas Star, won the Gold Medal Award Top Pick from Romantic Times Magazine for December, 2002, and has also won Book of the Year Romance Gold Award from ForeWord Magazine as well as Book of the Year Romance from Reader’s Preference. In March, 2006 Divine Nudges: Tales of Angelic Intervention and the second in Lanigan’s Angel Watch series of books, was published by HCI, the Chicken Soup for the Soul publisher.