Falling Blindly by Abigail Taylor is a contemporary romance about gaining confidence in who you are and trusting that you are enough to be loved.
Shay is a socially awkward tomboy who has little self-confidence and believes she is only worth what others are willing to give her. She works from home as a statistical analyst and dislikes meeting new people. Shay is a superfan of Buffy and in her spare time runs a fan page and writes fanfiction. She loves that this allows her to stay anonymous and be the geek that she is at heart.
She has 3 friends that she met in college who neither know her nor seem to want to. Shay fulfills her obligation to them by meeting up once a month for food, drinks, and a catch-up. But they are not good to her, or for her, and after she strikes up an online friendship with a fan of her writing, she starts to realize that the friendships she works hard to maintain are not worthy of her time.
Charlotte has a beautiful outlook on life, she follows her heart and only does what feels right. She is not afraid to put herself out there and stay true to herself. She goes for it when she gets a chance to strike up a friendship with a writer she admires and shares interests with. However, Charlotte also has insecurities and although she tries to keep them at bay, sometimes they creep up on her and get in the way.
As some friendships develop and others faze out, it becomes apparent that to be happy, you must be brave enough to make changes, and believe in yourself enough to know that some people are worthy of your love, and others need to be let go.
Pros And My Favourite Parts
One of the things I love most about Falling Blindly is that the main characters have no idea how the other looks. They fall for each other because of who they are, not how they look.
Shay and Charlotte have issues with not being entirely confident with aspects of their personalities/interests, and it’s wonderful to watch them fall in love because of these traits and not in spite of them.
Shay’s self-worth is low and she struggles with who she is. She has no idea that others find her attractive and is hung up on the fact that she is geeky and socially awkward. Others take advantage of this fact, and it has caused Shay to settle for less than what she wants.
Shay is sweet, loyal, and incredibly loveable. I was waiting for her to believe in herself and to realize just how awesome she is. Shay’s journey of self-discovery is wonderful, and it pulls at my heartstrings.
Charlotte is a breath of fresh air. She’s confident, fun, and not afraid to do what makes her happy. Charlotte is perfect for Shay; she sees her before they even meet and helps Shay see herself for the interesting gentle soul she is. I love Charlotte, her bravery and belief in life are contagious, and when she has those rare moments of self-doubt, she doesn’t let it get her down for very long.
Cons And Heads Up
Talk of past bullying, you see the effects it still has on the character.
The Conclusion
Shay’s story to find love and happiness is filled with obstacles both mental and physical. She needs to overcome her demons to enable her to reach her full potential.
When she strikes up an online friendship that allows her to be true to herself, it terrifies her but also leaves her feeling elated. As the friendship develops into more she is torn between still hiding or being brave and following her heart. When Shay decides to let Charlotte see and get to know the real her before they’ve even met, it results in a revelation that will lead her to realize that before you can be truly happy, you have to learn to love yourself.
Falling Blindly is an incredibly sweet romance. It takes you on a journey of self-discovery that gets you thinking about how others’ opinions can shape the person you are. It helps you understand that how you look isn’t as important as you think. Taylor shows you that friendship obligations are not always healthy and that it’s important to look after yourself. Sometimes taking a step back and distancing yourself from the people you believe are all you have, is the only way to discover that you are worthy, and that happiness can be found outside of the world you have settled for.
Excerpt from Falling Blindly by Abigail Taylor
Let me ask you something. Do you ever go out? Do you see anyone? I mean, you work from home, you don’t date, you don’t like bars or clubs. What do you do? I know we aren’t that close, but we’ve lived together for a year now, and I don’t know much about you besides the fact that you appear to be a loner.”
Well, she wasn’t wrong. My social awkwardness made me want to limit my interactions with others. But I spent a lot of time talking to people online, not just for work but also personally. I ran a secret fanfiction page for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and it was amazing how easy it was to connect with like-minded people through it. If I went to clubs to meet people, the chances of me finding someone who wanted to discuss Willow’s and Tara’s lives twenty years later were slim to none.
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Series
Series name The Under Dog Series
Falling Blindly
Chasing Life (coming soon)
Bits and Bobs
ISBN number: 9798842160143
Publisher: Indie Author
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