Review: Falling by Willow Aster (Landmark Mountain #4)

Note: An advance reader copy (ARC) was provided by the author.

I have enjoyed each stay I've had in Willow Aster's enchanting town of Landmark in Colorado, but I confess that Callum Henry Landmark's story may have just nudged those of his three other siblings--not including Sutton's because that is still yet to come--and is my favorite in the Landmark Mountain series (so far). This grumpy/sunshine, runaway bride, age gap, small town romance features thirty-two-year-old Callum, who owns and runs an organic dairy farm and is the second oldest Landmark sibling, and Ruby Sunshine Jones, a twenty-three-year-old social media influencer and llama mama. After hearing what her groom-to-be's true intentions and opinions were, Ruby decides to head to Landmark Mountain and reassess her future at her beloved uncle's house. Circumstances, however, have her accepting help from and shelter with Callum. The longer Ruby stays with Callum, the more she glimpses a side of him that only those closest to him were privy to and the deeper the bond they share grows. But even as they fall harder for one another, Callum is all too aware that Ruby may choose to not stay forever.

Last year, the grumpy/sunshine romance trope quickly became one of my favorite go-tos, and Willow Aster has sprinkled her bit of writing magic to it, creating a story that held me captive for about two and a half hours. From the moment Callum and Ruby meet, there's an awareness that hinted at the possibility of something more. With every turn of the page and one chapter leading into the next, my emotional investment in these two and their love story grew. I needed them to have their happily-ever-after, which sounds weird since romance books almost always guarantee an HEA, but good authors make you forget that because you're living in the present--the present being whatever page you're on--and taking that journey alongside the main characters. From Callum and Ruby to the entire Landmark clan plus the cows, goats, and llamas, I was hooked. Falling may be the penultimate book in the Landmark Mountain series, but it has set the bar high. Five stars.

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Read my reviews for the Landmark Mountain series:

Unforgettable (book one) - five stars - My Review

Someday (book two) - five stars - My Review

Irresistible (book three) - five stars - My Review

Falling (book four) - five stars - My Review (posted above)

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Release Date: 04 January 2024

Date Read: 26 December 2023

Learn more about Willow Aster.

Purchase Falling on Amazon.