Falling Softly by Maria Duffy

Blurb

Holly Russo couldn't be happier.

Christmas, her favourite time of year, is only seven weeks away and her boyfriend has just popped the question. David is steady and reliable, and Holly knows he'll give her a wonderful life. The kind of life she's always wanted. Right?

Then her new neighbour moves in.

Josh O'Toole is also approaching the festive season with joy. He loves his teaching job. He's about to have a baby with his adored girlfriend Stephanie, and they've just moved into a new home to begin their life as a family.

But as Josh and Stephanie settle into their new house across the road from Holly and David's, things begin to get complicated ...

Falling Softly is a sparkling, heart-warming story about first love, and how life has a habit of turning out in the way we least expect it to.

Review

I liked the way the author gently teases the reader with little excerpts from the past, and slowly builds towards revealing the history between the pair and the heartbreak they suffered. Both main characters have ‘settled’ for the partners they have, both sure there is more to be had out of life and love than what they currently have.

The story works well, with the viewpoints of Holly and Josh, and the surprises revealed by their respective partners (I really didn’t think David cared that much, considering he was still tied to his mother’s apron strings), and the sub characters were nicely depicted. Even David’s mother, who in initially comes across as an interfering old battle-axe, is revealed as being a lonely woman, scared of being usurped by her future daughter-in-law.

I ploughed my way through this, anxious to discover the next part of the story, and was almost sorry to get to the end!

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a free copy.