Falling for June by Ryan Winfield was amazing. It made me laugh and cry I felt so many other emotional. I was immersed by the story and I couldn't put it down. The love story was so beautiful and also seemed realistic to me. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a fantastic love story. This book is a book you will want to read again and again.

I'm not sure why it has taken this long for Falling For June to reach the top of my TBR. It's a delightful and emotional novel written eloquently by a favourite author of mine.

This review was originally posted on Cocktails and Books

This is the first Ryan Winfield book I have read, so I didn’t know quite know what to expect from Falling for June. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this read! Winfield has a wonderful way of transporting the reader to the past. I felt very much a part of David and June’s love story. Readers learn about David and June’s story of love and adventure as David is telling it to Elliot. I did not expect to fall in love with the characters as much as I did. I was as rapt listening to David’s story as Elliot was and was all along hoping that Elliot would find true love as well. This was a very emotional read. I felt the characters’ pain, love, longing, despair—I know that sounds as corny as hell, but it’s the darn truth! I had tears streaming down my face for half of this book! Read this book. It is touching and awesome. I will definitely be looking for more of Winfield’s books to fall into!

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4.5 stars. Lovely romantic story and not only did I fall for June, I fell for David too. Sigh. Can't wait for Mr. Winfield's next book.

This review was originally posted on Bookish Things & More

Thoughts on Falling for June

This is probably one of the best love stories I've read.  There is definitely romance, but there are other types of love shown in this book as well.

I couldn't help but fall for Mr. Hadley and June's love story.  It's almost magical in the way they met and how they fell in love with each other.  It's a great, once in a lifetime love.  A love that I think everyone deserves.  And I really enjoyed that we don't really see it first hand.  We see their emotions grow through Hadley's storytelling with Elliot.

Elliot is a character that doesn't believe in love.  Well, that's what he claims, but everyone has a soft spot for an epic love story.  He learns a lot about himself through his time spent with Mr. Hadley.  He finds himself wanting to spend more time with Mr. Hadley in order to hear more of the story. Elliot hasn't been on the receiving end of much love in his life, and his dad told him it would bite him in the ass if he fell in love.  That advice has kept him guarded his entire life.

Falling for June is a love story, finding yourself story, and emotional at times.  While it had it's slow moments, I enjoyed the writing and the story it puts in our hearts.

Favorite Quotes

 

 

This book was such a refreshing read. It's a romance, but more than anything this is a story of how friendship can form in the unlikeliest of situations. In Elliot's case he meets David at a time in his life when he is at a crossroads and his relationship with David is what will determine the course that the rest of his life will take.

Elliot is a man who, from a very early age, was turned against the idea of love. His mother left him with his father when he was only three years old and his father never quite recovered from the heartbreak. He dates, but he's determined that love isn't something he will ever need in his life. He's never seen this modeled in his life so he thinks his life will be just fine without it. Elliot works for a company that buys out mortgages on home properties that are struggling to stay afloat. One day a letter comes across his desk and while it intrigues him, he's passes it on to be picked up by someone else in the office. On his 33rd birthday he can't seem to get the letter out of his head so he digs it out and decides to pay the man a visit. It turns out to be the best decision he ever made.

"I think sometimes life lines up to give you exactly what it is you really need, and on my thirty-third birthday that's exactly what happened to me."

Elliot meets Mr. Hadley and over the course of a couple of days his life changes. David tells him the story of June and how they met and fell in love. His story is compelling and has the power to change how Elliot feels about love. Elliot may have fallen for June, but I definitely fell for David. He's in his early 50's when he initially meets June who becomes the love of his life. She changes his life in such an amazing way and David does the same for Elliot as he's relaying his love story with June to him during their visits.

There is a thread of a love story going on in the present with Elliot and Estrella, but it's not the driving force of the novel and it doesn't really happen until David makes Elliot believe that a true and lasting love is possible.

"Find yourself someone worthy of your love, and love her with all you've got. It's the only thing that's worth a damn in this life."

I have never read The Notebook, but I did see the movie years ago and this reminds me a little of that for some reason. I think it's the dual story that's happening and the fact that the major love story happening is the one that is already coming to an end in the present. I freely admit that there was some sobbing going on even after I had a feeling what the end was going to bring. I was finishing the book on a break at school and I had to put it down a couple of times so I could compose myself.

While I still think that Jane's Melody is my favorite of Ryan's books, this is most definitely a close second. I will say this again and again, but it's always true, there is such a lyrical quality to the writing and there are lines that you just have to highlight because you don't want to forget them. This is a beautiful story with characters that you will absolutely fall in love with. They have grand adventures complete with skydiving in Spain. I also happen to know that Ryan Winfield is a big believer in researching what he writes about, so you can be assured that when he describes the skydiving scenes he is doing so from a point of experience.

This is also a clean romance which was kind of unexpected because there are some very sexy love scenes in the Jane's Melody books. I have to admit, though, that some stories just need to be told in a certain way and I think that adding sex scenes into this particular one would have somehow taken away from David and June's story. This is a book that I wholeheartedly recommend to anyone who believes in long and lasting love. If you don't believe...read this book, it may just change your mind.

I'm not sure why it has taken this long for Falling For June to reach the top of my TBR. It's a delightful and emotional novel written eloquently by a favourite author of mine.