![Courage, Love, & All the Feels! The Year We Fell Down by Sarina Bowen [Audiobook Review]](https://i0.wp.com/www.eyeheartromance.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/year-we-fell-down-sarina-bowen.jpg "Courage, Love, & All the Feels! The Year We Fell Down by Sarina Bowen [Audiobook Review]")
The Year We Fell Down written by Sarina Bowen
Publisher Audible Studios, Rennie Road Books
Publication Date: March 21, 2014
Genres: New Adult, Sports Romance
Series: The Ivy Years, #1
Format: Audiobook
Narrated by Nick Podehl, Saskia Maarleveld
Length: 7 hrs and 13 mins
ISBN: 0991068009
Rating: 
Flame Rating: 
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The sport she loves is out of reach. The boy she loves has someone else. What now?
She expected to start Harkness College as a varsity ice hockey player. But a serious accident means that Corey Callahan will start school in a wheelchair instead.
Across the hall, in the other handicapped-accessible dorm room, lives the too-delicious-to-be real Adam Hartley, another would-be hockey star with his leg broken in two places. He's way out of Corey's league.
Also, he's taken.
Nevertheless, an unlikely alliance blooms between Corey and Hartley in the "gimp ghetto" of McHerrin Hall. Over tequila, perilously balanced dining hall trays, and video games, the two cope with disappointments that nobody else understands.
They're just friends, of course, until one night when things fall apart. Or fall together. All Corey knows is that she's falling. Hard.
But will Hartley set aside his trophy girl to love someone as broken as Corey? If he won't, she will need to find the courage to make a life for herself at Harkness—one which does not revolve around the sport she can no longer play, or the brown-eyed boy who's afraid to love her back.
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I didn’t know what to expect when I read The Year We Fell Down by Sarina Bowen. To say that I was surprised is putting it mildly. The Year We Fell Down is everything I want in a romance and more. I wasn’t expecting to love this book as much as I did.
The Year We Fell Down is really a book of courage, how to overcome the things real life has handed to you. I love Corey and Adam. But really, what made this book a must-read for me was Corey’s drive in the second half of the book. She showed determination and courage even though she couldn’t play in her favorite sport again. This book is also about standing on your own and not letting love and romance bring her down.
The Year We Fell Down felt real to me. I love that the romance between Corey and Adam snuck up on me. As someone who is not a fan of slow-burn romances, I was enchanted. I think the friendship between Corey and Adam was perfect and it actually showed how sweet and awesome Adam is.
I did feel that the real reasons behind Adam’s reasons for staying with his girlfriend felt out of character for him.
While this book wasn’t as steamy as I normally like, the chemistry between Corey and Adam jumped off the page. And again, I will say that the romance snuck up on me.
But this book isn’t all about the romance! I love that the heroine, Corey is in a wheelchair due to a spinal injury from playing hockey. Adam also broke his leg and met Corey while moving into his new dorm room. Another thing I love about The Year We Fell Down is the perfect balance between Corey’s injury and romance, and Corey’s character development.
Ultimately, what drew me to The Year We Fell Down was Corey and her strength and determination to carve out a life for herself post-accident. Sure, there was romance and yes, she deserved it, but what touched my heart was her character.
And yes, I have to admit, driving while listening to the audiobook version while crying because of all the feels, is not a great idea.
The Audiobook
The Year We Fell Down is written in dual POV and is narrated by Saskia Maarleveld and Nick Podehl and they were amazing. The pacing was good, voices not annoying and I didn’t have to speed up the audiobook at all!
I will definitely check out the other books in this series!
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| Overall: | 5 |
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About Sarina Bowen
Sarina Bowen is the RITA® Award-winning author of over two dozen contemporary and LGTB romance novels. She most recently hit the USA Today bestseller’s list in February, with Brooklynaire. Formerly a derivatives trader on Wall Street, Sarina holds a BA in economics from Yale University.
Sarina Bowen is a New Englander whose Vermont ancestors cut timber and farmed the north country since the 1760s. Sarina is grateful for the invention of indoor plumbing and wi-fi during the intervening 250 years. On a few wooded acres, she lives with her husband, two boys, and an ungodly amount of ski and hockey gear.
Sarina’s books are published in a dozen languages on four continents. In 2016, The Romance Writers of America honored HIM by Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy with a RITA award for Best Contemporary Romance, Mid-Length.
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