FALLS BOYS

I was crying when i finished this bookI felt so resonated with Aro.. I felt like I was her and she was me.. i can't explain how much the feelings written in this book I felt for myself and for some people around me. I felt this book. I lived it. I loved the scene where Aro asks why Hawke doesn't look at him and Hawke replies at the end why does she look away when he does look at her.. it gave me swarms of butterflies and i love the quote Let us live since we must die. It feels so human. I fell for falls boys and i love you Pen! You're incredible and I'm grateful you and your books exist. I hope this wasn't too much but it's me being completely and honest! Also after reading your letter, I knew why I love you and relate to you so much. I have almost same life and I'm writing this while I'm living it.

So, here’s something I’ve been thinking about. Everyone has their own idea of success right? For some people it’s one single thing they’ve been trying to achieve all their life. For some people it changes midway, or it evolves as they grow. For some people it’s small steps they take every month. Sometimes it’s never even goals that other people can see but it’s world changing for you...a big moment. It was that way for me this month. I hit two of my success goals for this month. One, I don’t need to talk about and two, was reading a book and getting a review out this month. So, success. Just setting and achieving goals here people. Nothing to see. *waves crowd away*Anyway, this is closely linked to the book in someways but I’m not going to address too much of that because I think it’s a reader’s experience.I’m trying to figure out if this is one of my favourite Penelope Douglas books. It’s hard to speak about why without giving away a lot, but the characters really took the book farther than I would expect.Penelope Douglas has always worked her magic (in my opinion at least) best on characters. So while her plots are good, her characters most often outshine them all. Killswitch (Devil’s Night, #3) was the perfect example of that. She’s fantastic at bringing an imperfect character to the page and making them so readable.She does something very similar in Falls Boys, except… there’s a certain tenor of vulnerability to this story within and between the characters that I frankly can’t recall reading before in any other of PD’s work. Perhaps I'm wrong, but it certainly felt like I'd never read a book like this by her before.She truly represented a very very different set of personalities in this story and it was such a breath of fresh air. The pace stuttered for me a little in the beginning, but it really picked up soon and I couldn't put the book down.There were a LOT of characters and I’ve only ever read Bully like seven million years ago, so I don’t really remember everything and I should’ve checked out the family tree maybe to understand better but eventually you get the hang of most of it. However, I think the main characters root you to the story enough that you don’t feel discombobulated. The writing is all PD. She's always had this mixed sensation of messy and sorted, that she brings to the books she writes which somewhere strikes some kind of chord inside us that we keep coming back to her books.The plot felt like it was being built with this book so I would say this book had more character development than being plot heavy, but she’s introduced so many threads that it has me interested to see the tapestry she’s going to reveal slowly.A special mention to the author’s note. I think I recognised what vulnerability I saw in the pages of the story after reading Pen’s words at the end.Four and a half stars. A read that felt quick enough that I couldn’t believe it was a fairly long book.

If the Devil's Night and Fall Away crew had a baby, this would be the perfect love child they created. It's like the two worlds collided and BAM! We have this new hybrid creation. And I'm ecstatic about it.There are so many great elements woven into this book. There's rivalry, town legends, secret places, mysterious people, traditions, conflict (so much conflict) and cars (yes the cars are still there). There is everything you would want in a Penelope Douglas book (but are we really surprised by this? By her ability to present us with such creativity? DUH....no).Aro is absolutely way up there on the list of strong, determined, 'I'll kick your butt if I need to' main female characters. She doesn't sugar coat anything. She fights tooth and nail through everything! She does what needs to be done in order to survive and take care of the people she loves most. Making sacrifices time and time again. Even though it's destroying her in the process.And then there's Hawke. Dear sweet, tough, smart, oh so hot melt in your mouth not in your hands Hawke (ok, he can melt in your hands too) *eyebrow waggle*. Gentle but strong. He's in a battle with himself. There's fear, confusion and uncertainty. But you will love him for what he stands for.These two together....well, let's just say it's not just the cars that have someone in the driver's seat 'riding' in this book folks *double eyebrow waggle*.I wish I could divulge more, but even if I could I don't think my weak words and descriptions would do it justice. Just read the book and you'll get all the answers you want and need (or will you? 🤔). And maybe a new unhealthy obsession for the latest penelope douglas book series (Pfft. Been there. Done that. Therapy not needed. I like it here on the dark side. Cookies and all). Ok, enough rambling (did I even make any sense in all my gibberish talk)? *shrug*. Meh, whatever. I said what I said. Read it and draw your own thoughts and conclusions. Because in the end no one's opinion matters but your own. Happy reading!

Penelope Douglas' books always make me feel like coming home....although my HS days weren't nearly as dramatic or exciting as these kids, I always get a sense of nostalgia reading their YA novels, and Falls Boys took me right back there again...the young love, the rivalries, the HS drama, parties and evading parents and authorities. Pen's books are THE PERFECT ESCAPE and I loved every second of Falls Boys.What I loved most about this book is the heroine - Aro Marquez is a force to be reckoned with, and I loved every bit of her fight, grit, determination, and when she finally let her guard down, showed her vulnerabilities and asked for help. This girl was experienced beyond her years. She stepped up for her siblings when her parents didn't, and she fought again and again for them. Her selflessness was so admirable; throw in her tough and take no prisoners attitude, and she's an absolute queen.Hawke Trent had no idea what he was taking on when he cornered Aro one night. Their chemistry was electric from the start, and all of the mystery, the hideout, and their towns' rivalries just added lighter fuel to their fire. I loved the unexpected from these two - but Hawke especially. He is not who you expect him to be, even knowing who his parents are; and his character was so refreshing as the hero to Aro, and so perfectly matched for her.Not only has Pen written another page-turner with angst, enemies to friends to lovers romance, and sit on the edge of your seat scenes; but they also have done it weaving a powerful message into their story: life is short, don't waste it. Pen's characters live their lives to the fullest, and Aro & Hawke were no different...it was a ride to watch Aro teach Hawke this life lesson, and my love for her grew over and over each and every time one of them reminded the other of this message.As I was reading to the very last page of this novel, Pen's personal message stuck out the most to me, and sums up the theme of this book:People change people.And sometimes people save you.Ask for help. Be willing to give help if you can.We're only here once.And every now and then, look up.THIS is why I love Pen Douglas and her original and amazing words and worlds!! Well done once again P Douglas!!

Esse primeiro livro é sobre Hawke Trent, filho de Jax e Juliet (do livro Falling Away), mas a verdadeira estrela dele é a protagonista feminina, Aro Marquez.Onde Hawke é o filho perfeito, melhor aluno, amado por todos e com uma enorme família amorosa e que lhe dá suporte, Aro é uma garota que passou a maior parte da infância em um lar conturbado e a partir dos 15 anos, em lares adotivos igualmente perigosos.Quando o livro começa, ambos estão com 18 anos, mas suas vidas não poderiam ser mais diferentes. Onde Hawke se preparava para ir para a faculdade e começar uma nova fase da vida, Aro estava presa em sua rotina de cometer pequenos (e grandes) delitos para sobreviver, incluindo a tarefa de cobrar dívidas para seus irmãos adotivos.O mundo dos dois se choca justamente numa dessas cobranças e daí em diante, nada mais é o mesmo para nenhum deles. Penelope nesse livro se superou e deu pra notar que ela se sentiu mais confortável em desenvolver o tema que escolheu para os personagens do que estava em livros anteriores (falling away e hideaway, por exemplo, já que tem semelhanças bem grandes com esses dois livros nesse). POR EXEMPLO, trabalhou melhor a falácia do discurso meritocratico, assim como também desenvolveu certas questões de gênero e como isso influência de forma diferente a vida de cada indivíduo ainda que inserido em ambientes semelhantes.Esse é provavelmente o maior slowburn que Penelope já fez, e isso porque diferente de todos os livros anteriores, nosso protagonista masculino era virgem e tinha algumas inseguranças que precisava superar antes de se sentir confortável para começar a vida sexu4l. (Mas tbm depois que começa nunca mais quer parar) e nisso também tem uma sutil crítica a masculinidade tóxica e como isso afeta meninas e meninos de todos os lugares e classes.Como não poderia faltar, nesse livro também tem muitos elementos que já estamos acostumados a ver nos livros de Pen Douglas: corridas, perseguição, mistério, gente mascarada, rivalidade feminina, rivalidade masculina, rivalidade generalizada, irmãos que não tão se dando bem, lendas obscuras, muita gritaria e muita confusão, mas no fim tudo acaba bem.Eu realmente amei esse livro e sem dúvida é um dos meus favoritos de PenD a partir de agora. Aliás, todos devem ler a carta do autor no final, porque é bastante explicativa e bastante emocionante.

The story is so intense, the main characters so special and deep, I had a hard time stopping my reading. That was so nice following those people who are just fighting to get what they want and free themselves from their unhappy life. I totally recommend that book !

Even though I didn't read the Fall Away series before reading Falls Boys, I'm absolutely hooked, I'm sure it would have been easier to connect all the relatives if I'd read the Fall Away series first, but nonetheless I absolutely loved this book, it was such a great storyline full of rivalries, mysterious town legends and secret places that left me wanting more, so the second book is already in my cart...Aro gave me sort of Nikova Banks and Emory Scott vibes from the Devil's Night series and I loved, loved, loved her character, she is such a tough, loving and family first kind of girl but she will knock your teeth out if you get on her nerves.Well and Hawke kind of surprised me at first I thought his character would be a total prick but he turned out to be one of those touch her or my family and you'll die kind of guys and he was sweet, smart and ultimately protective.