Ryder Colburn is busy running his family business and taking care of his ailing father- a different man than the heavy-handed father from his youth. He doesn’t have time for women, but when one is in the path of a fast moving car in jumps in for the rescue. Penny has scars inside and out. Back in California living with her grandma and brother in their aging house, she’s too busy cooking for her catering job and caring for her family to spend another moment on a man she probably can’t trust. Ryder, however, keeps proving his trustworthiness, and seeping into all the cracks in her defenses.

First- I love series that are based on brothers! Especially since we get to know the quirks of those men in each book that leads up to their own novel. Second- dual POV’s can sometimes be confusing but in this novel it allows the reader to see into each character in a way that brings insight into their interactions and really, really worked. Third- I love it when the hero has patience, is gentle, and eases into the heroine’s life rather than breaks down barriers. He Falls First was exactly that- Ryder was intrigued, attracted to, and patient with the very skittish Penny. When we learn her back story we can certainly see why she was all prickly and he worked for that happily ever after and I was all in for their story- 100%.

As with all of Jill Shalvis’ novels, the surrounding characters added a ton of heart to the main storyline. Ryder’s dynamic with a father who, due to his health, is no longer the man from his youth, Penny’s interfering grandmother, her fatherless brother Wyatt who years for a male figure to her worship, and of course Ryder’s brothers. I can’t wait to read the next novel in this series to see where the author takes all of these characters. This was a good one folks! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest!

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