Romance Book Review! ~ Falling First Hell by Marika Ray

Title: Falling First Hell
Series: Hellman Brother Series
Author: Marika Ray
Release: March 30, 2023
Genre: Small Town Romantic Comedy
Tropes: Reverse Grumpy/Sunshine; Cinnamon Roll Hero; Small Town
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/78295320-falling-first-hell

Cover Design: Jennifer Olson

Cover Model: Kevin J, BathDaddy.com

Blurb:

I’m unemployed and down to my last dollar—thank you stranger who bought my coffee when my card was declined this morning. If that wasn’t bad enough, I just T-boned the truck belonging to the guy I was meeting on a first date.

Ethan Hellman, small town sweetheart with a secret, and an instant—unbelievable—love for me despite me denting his truck.

It’s not that I don’t believe in love per se. It’s just that I’ve done the calculations—it won’t happen to me. And especially not now when I’m bouncing off rock bottom with the bruises to prove it.

But Ethan doesn’t seem to care about all that. He offers me a job, a place to live…and a rock on my finger. I just have to turn my back on my career, pretend to be giddy in love, and be the face of his new company. His constant sunshine makes me grumpy. It’s also kind of addicting. So I agree to his terms and find myself living a life I don’t even recognize.

Things are going surprisingly well when someone from my past reappears offering a similar lifeline. I’ll have to make some tough decisions that just don’t compute in my logical brain.

Ethan may have fallen first, but I’m afraid I’ve fallen harder.

This was a good, fun read. Andi was adorable and awkward in her quest to find her path in life. She didn’t have confidence in herself, her abilities or her feelings but with Ethan around she became a stronger version of herself. And Ethan, well he was the absolute best.
He was a real sweetheart who fell for Andi right off the bat and didn’t let her grump-itude change that. Together they found what they needed in each other and that turned out to be the best part of this story.