Worth The Fall - Book Review

By Claudia Connor

Synopsis

They meet on a beach. . . . Abby Davis isn’t wearing a skimpy bikini or sipping umbrella drinks, not when she’s busy chasing around four little ones. And Matt McKinney isn’t looking for fun—he’s a Navy SEAL, a grown man with a long list of missions . . . and fallen brothers.

They only have a week. . . . Abby has brought her children to this beach to start over, to give them the enjoyable memories they deserve. Matt’s been sidelined by a combat injury, and haunted by the best friend he lost and the promise he made: to remain a SEAL—focused and dedicated. This leaves no time for what he’s always wanted: a family.

But a week is all it takes. . . . Matt opens her heart while Abby soothes his soul. And though they plan to say good-bye when the week is over, something magical happens on that beach, something neither can forget. Something utterly, completely worth falling for.

Review

Matt is a Navy SEAL who is grieving the death of his best friend. On a forced beach getaway with a cousin, he stumbles across Abby and her children playing in the sand. The kids are in desperate need of a father figure and really cling to Matt after they meet. Matt’s not in a very good place, but he enjoys spending time with Abby and her family, so he inserts himself into their lives for the week they’re away. But one week is not enough and they start a long-distance relationship while Matt decides if his future is with his SEAL team, or with Abby.

I loved everyone in this book⎯Matt, Abby and her kids. Abby has always dreamed of having a large family, one that would never leave her. But her husband travelled overseas for work and was never there for her or their kids, so when he died, it wasn’t much of a loss for her. I liked that she didn’t cling to Matt in the beginning, despite her attraction to him. She took her time, she was cautious and she made sure he was serious before starting anything with him. What can I say about Matt? He’s sweet. He’s hot. He’s a wonderful man to Abby and a wonderful father to her kids. You just know that he would do absolutely anything to keep them safe and happy.

“I can’t breathe when you look at me like that.”
“Like what? Like I love you? Because I do. More than I ever thought possible.”

I’ll be honest, when WORTH THE FALL came out in September 2014, I wasn’t interested in reading it. A book about a man falling in love with (and presumably having sex with) a pregnant woman who already has four kids? Yeah, that didn’t sound like something I’d be into. But as time went on, I kept seeing the book and the series pop up in my FB newsfeed, so I finally decided to give it a try, and I’m so glad I did because it truly was a beautiful story. WORTH THE FALL is told in dual POVs, is the first book in the McKinney Brothers series and I believe it is also the debut novel from Claudia Connor. The only fault I had with the story is that there were times where a conversation or a thought didn’t make sense, only because said conversation or thought seemed to come out of nowhere. Other than that, I really enjoyed this book and I’m looking forward to reading book two, WORTH THE RISK, real soon.