The Fall Up by Aly Martinez

Never judge a book by its cover and always remember that appearances can be deceptive. This is a contemporary romance that gives a wide platform to that premise.

The author addresses as her initial focus, an emotionally painful subject, and one that many give barely a thought to and she shows a turmoil that at times refuses to be curtailed.

The pain that the perception of loneliness can infiltrate, the fact that as popular and astute as you are, there is nothing to keep your demons at bay when the fingers of desolation take hold.

Strangers, Levee and Sam meet one night as they both seek their own form of solace on a bridge. They both appreciate the isolation that this lonely bridge can give them but they never expected that their search for solitude would result in a meeting of minds.

Levee has the world at her feet, her voice is the talk of the town and she is the darling of the music industry but that doesn’t mean that she is happy or even fulfilled. She is constantly at odds with how she feels and how the plethora of so called friends around her tell her she should feel – compounding her internal feelings of inadequacies.

Contemplating a definitive way out, Levee’s walk onto that bridge could have very well been her last, had she not met Sam.

And so to Sam, such a sweet, loveable guy – while he has his own demons to deal with, he was a caring and empathetic man. He had everything that you could possibly want in a man but could he be the support that Levee needed? Would she let him?

With his gentle nudge, his soft approach and tenacity helps to show her that taking a leap from that bridge is not the answer, his persistence and kind words makes the opportunity of living seem more appealing than it has been for a long time, so it is a win win situation when they agree to meet the next night.

There journey is sensitive and slow, it was never going to be able to be anything else.

Sam carries a torch for Levee that burns so bright, he has a feeling of responsibility that he cherishes and will fight to fulfil to the best of his ability. Levee on the other hand, knows that her heart belongs to Sam, he is her saviour.

The relationship that they build is beautiful. But their story was one that illuminated the need that we have as a society for greater understanding within the realm of mental health. Levee and Sam were luckier than most in as much as they were able to reach out for help in a way that many others cannot but the path they trod was one that was one that was littered with hurdles and pitfalls.

If I have to sum the book up I would say that it was beautifully emotional, it wasn’t faultless- I initially found Levee hard to warm too but there were aspects that left me completely speechless. Please don’t think that because of the subject this is harsh or hard book, yes it tackles a hard and harsh subject but it is all about love both giving and receiving love unconditionally.