I’m not much of a young adult thriller reader – I’m not much of a thriller reader at all, if you ask me. Yet here I am, reviewing a very intense and quite interesting young adult thriller…So I guess blogging kind of made me broaden my horizons a bit more, and for that, I am glad. Feel Me Fall was an intriguing, fast-paced, quite creepy yet very interesting young adult book. Definitely one book I’ll classify as a good surprise.
A SURVIVAL STORY BETWEEN PAST AND PRESENT
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Feel Me Fall starts off as the story of teenagers, stranded in the Amazon after their plane crashed. Classmates, some of them friends, some others strangers, they are all going to have to make the best of it to survive. Yet, Feel Me Fall also starts off as a book with Emily, the main protagonist or our story, stranded in a hospital bed, dealing with the memories of a traumatic experience, as the unique survivor of a plane crash.
You got it – or maybe you did not: Feel Me Fall is a story told between past and present, between the moments Emily spent with her classmates in the forest, trying to survive; the actual moment where she is back home, broken inside by all she lived back there in the Amazon; and the actual moments before the trip happened. Maybe you don’t know this, but I am a huge fan of stories mixing up past, present, leaving us to put together the pieces of the puzzle of what happened, and the pieces of each character as you get to figure out who they are. That being said, I know it is such a dangerous way to narrate a story: if this isn’t done right, we can get lost, get bored, or have nothing making actual sense in the end. Thankfully, Feel Me Fall was done in such a great way that I was into the story right from the beginning and completely satisfied by the ending, knowing I had made the puzzle of this story complete again. The different timelines kept everything interesting thorough the book and, most importantly, helped me in having a bigger, fuller picture of all of the characters, making them more three dimensional and interesting to follow.
INTERESTING, COMPLEX CHARACTERS
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Told from Emily’s perspective, Feel Me Fall managed to make me care and feel for a character I wasn’t too fond of anyway. I knew I kind of had a hard time with Emily, what she thought and how she acted, yet I felt like I could understand the way she was and why she was this way, which made me continue on with the story and overall really enjoyed it. The side characters weren’t as two-dimensional as I expected them to be: if, it’s true, we don’t really get to know them too much, each of them felt real enough, with their own struggles, internal battles and feelings while facing such an awful situation in which you are forced to change who you are to survive. I’m not going to spoil anything here but one of the main characters was particularly complex in the story, growing as their adventure stranded in the tropical forest grew longer and longer. It was an evolution I appreciated even if it had me mad so many times as well.
LIES, SECRETS AND BETRAYALS AT THE HEART OF THE INTRIGUE
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With teenagers as the main characters, Feel Me Fall is bound to have some drama within, however it was all put into perspective given the particular situation they all were in. Seeing their relationships evolve, play out, the dramas unfold and their own dramas and secrets from back home catching up to them as they try to survive was gripping and certainly gave this adventure a bit more of complexity as all of the characters felt like they had their own demons to face, added to trying to survive. However, that book wouldn’t be called a thriller if there wasn’t some horror moments, some moments that had me gasping and wondering just what the heck. Lies, secrets, betrayals and intensity are full parts of this story, which made this a thrilling read overall.
OVERALL
If you’re enjoying YA thrillers – or if you’re not into the genre too much like I am, but the synopsis caught your eye, I’d definitely recommend and try Feel Me Fall. It’s a quick, fast-paced read that makes it feel like you’re trying to solve a puzzle – only to gasp at the end when the final page and final piece is in your hands, making you wonder just, once again, what the heck.
Final rating: 4 drops!
Thank you so much to the author for the free review copy of this book. This did not, in any way, affect my opinion on it.
Trigger warnings: death/murder, violence.
Do you want to read Feel Me Fall? Are you into YA thrilers or not at all ? Share your thoughts in comments!
James Morris, Feel Me Fall, Published by Inkspot imaginarium, May 2nd 2017.
Secrets and survival in the Amazon
Emily Duran is the sole survivor of a plane crash that left her and her teenage friends stranded and alone in the jungles of the Amazon. Lost and losing hope, they struggle against the elements, and each other. With their familiar pecking order no longer in place, a new order emerges, filled with power struggles, betrayals, secrets and lies. Emily must explain why she’s the last left alive.
But can she carry the burden of the past?
Discover the gripping new adventure novel that explores who we are when no one is watching, and how far we’ll go in order to survive.
I love stories that mix the past and present. One of my first reads of this year (Swimming Lessons) mixes the timelines and I adored it. It was a full five star read for me
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Ohhh really? Well, you make me want to read that book now, thank you for the recommendation! 😀
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Great review, Marie! You did a great job of capturing the book’s essence. I did a review of this same book last night, what a coincidence! I loved everything about this book, especially the ending. It made you question everything you had just read. Mind = Blown 😀
Jo-Ann
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Ohh thank you so much, Jo-Ann! ❤ ❤ Also, I should go and read your review as soon as I can then. I'm so glad you liked the book just as well, it definitely makes us question SO many things about the story. Thank you! ❤ ❤
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I feel like your review said a whole bunch of things I was trying to say, but didn’t quite get there lol You did a great job 🙂
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Ohh that’s so sweet – but I’m sure you wrote a great review as well 😀 ❤
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Gosh, I’m such a fan of books that mix up the past and present as well! (I was going to say future but I have yet to read a book like that…) It’s just so intriguing and mysterious and GAH I love it. That’s also why I’m a fan of flashbacks in books haha!
I’m usually not one for thrillers? But fortunately the thrillers I read were actually thrilling so yay for that. 😛 I’m glad you enjoyed this one, and agh I haven’t said this before but I LOVE the way you format your reviews! ❤
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OH YES that’s actually such a cool idea, mixing up with the future? This makes me want to write now ahah 😛
Also, I am SO HAPPY you’re a fan of flashbacks just as much as I am, they are just SO cool. My WIP is full of past and present and stuff haha.
Oh thank you, May, this makes me so happy ❤ ❤
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WRITE WRTE WRITE!
Omg I need to know more of your WIP! I bet I’d love it, especially for that past and present stuff. 😉
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Aww you’re too sweet May – I might talk a little more about it someday 🙂 ❤ ❤ Your support means everything ❤
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I’ll be looking forward to that day, then! Absolutely no pressure at all. ❤
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You are so sweet – and making me feel less insecure about sharing my writing a bit, so that’s already huge ❤
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Aw, I’m glad! As much as we’d like to hear about your writing, never feel pressured about it. ❤
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I like Ya thrillers! I’m glad you enjoyed this book. It sounds very intriguing! I might give this a shot. Great review! 🙂
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Oh thank you, Raven! I hope you’ll want to give that one a shot and love it 🙂
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Haha I tend to avoid anything that’s not fantasy like the PLAGUE. With the occasional exception of SciFi *cough* ILLUMINAE *cough*. But I’m glad you liked this book!! I don’t think I’ll be picking it up anytime soon though, thrillers are waaaaay out there for me!
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Haha, Illuminae was SO good. But…if you need contemporary recs, I’m here…you know, in case you want to try it out 😀
Thank you so much for your comment! 🙂
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Ohhhh yes please!! I need something that is MIND BLOWING because I am scared I won’t be captivated otherwise. I’ve had the Lara Jean books recommended to me the most so far! And Fangirl! I won’t be buying it anytime soon though probably but I might ask for some contemporaries for Christmas!
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Ohh the Lara Jean books are quite great, well, they are all character-driven and about life’s little things. I have SO many contemporaries I loved! I’d definitely recommend these, they are among my favorites: I’ll Meet You There (Heather Demetrios), The Serpent King (Jeff Zentner), Radio Silence (Alice Oseman), Before I Fall (Lauren Oliver), Lies We Tell Ourselves (Robin Talley), Amy & Roger (Morgan Matson),… Erm, I could go on and on forever hahaha 😛
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Ooh yeah I’ve heard amazing things about The Serpent King! Maybe I’ll start with that one hahahaha can’t go in cold turkey!
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I really hope you’ll enjoy it – and if you ever need more recommendations…well, you know where to find me ahah 🙂 ❤
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I always say I’m not a fan of thrillers, or many genres other than fantasy/contemporary, but it also seems like every book I pick up from outside of those two genres is a favourite of mine. Either way this sounds like a great read Marie, I love the idea of story going back between the ‘then’ and ‘now’, I agree it’s definitely a hard writing style to get right but after reading your review I know it was done right in this book.
I am definitely interested in this book, the blurb and your review have me hooked, even though I don’t normally read thrillers either! 😀
Great review Marie! 🙂 ❤
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Thank you so much, Beth! ❤ It really is hard to pull off the past/ present mix without getting lost or having the reader get lost. I'm glad that wasn't the case here 🙂
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I can’t remember the last time I read a thriller, YA or otherwise, but this actually sounds super interesting! I like books that start at the end and go back and forth in time, as well as books with really complex characters. I’ll have to remember to read this.
Great review!!
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Ohh thank you so much, Lenna! If you enjoy the past and present mix, you should really like that one! 🙂 Thank you! ❤
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Seems like an actually very interesting read 😱😱 Mixing the past and present is a hard puzzle task but I always appreciate it when the author does it right ahah 😍
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It really was interesting, Trang! I hope you’ll want to give it a try. Mixing past, present, and making it all have some kind of sense it so hard to pull off but I was really happy that here, it was done right 😀
Thank you so much ❤ ❤
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So happy you liked a thriller! 🙂 I’ve seen this one around and I’m a bit curious but I tend to prefer adult ones to the YA stories 🙂 This being said, there’s something very interesting with the dual narration, I love this too! Great review, my Sweechie!
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Right?? I was surprised ahah, but it was a pretty good read – the dual narration had me hooked from the beginning 🙂 thank you! ❤ ❤
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This sounds really excellent, Like you, I’m not really into thrillers, but the Amazon is cool, and it sounds like this story worked really well. nice review!
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Thank you SO much, Shanti! I hope you’ll want to give this one a try someday 🙂
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Happy blogging and reading.
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Thank you, happy blogging to you too 🙂
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Thanks. I enjoy blogging.
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well this sounds a little like lord of the flies meets lost- I quite like that! I really like the sound of the shifting between past and present and the complexity of the characters. Definitely has me intrigued and I *want to find out what these secrets and lies are so badly*!! Great review!! I definitely want to check this one out 😀
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OH YES that’s it – you should have written this review haha, this is the way I should have described this, Lord of the Flies meets Lost! 🙂
I hope you’ll read that one and love it, and thank you! 😀 ❤
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Hahaha don’t be silly, you’re review was awesome! But I’m glad my educated guess was right!😉 You’re welcome 😊❤
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