The Year We Fell Down (The Ivy Years, #1) by Sarina Bowen Series: The Ivy Years #1
Published by Rennie Road Books on March 20th 2014
Pages: 270
Amazon
The sport she loves is out of reach. The boy she loves has someone else. What now?
She expected to start Harkness College as a varsity ice hockey player. But a serious accident means that Corey Callahan will start school in a wheelchair instead.
Across the hall, in the other handicapped-accessible dorm room, lives the too-delicious-to-be real Adam Hartley, another would-be hockey star with his leg broken in two places. He's way out of Corey's league.
Also, he's taken.
Nevertheless, an unlikely alliance blooms between Corey and Hartley in the "gimp ghetto" of McHerrin Hall. Over tequila, perilously balanced dining hall trays, and video games, the two cope with disappointments that nobody else understands.
They're just friends, of course, until one night when things fall apart. Or fall together. All Corey knows is that she's falling. Hard.
But will Hartley set aside his trophy girl to love someone as broken as Corey? If he won't, she will need to find the courage to make a life for herself at Harkness -- one which does not revolve around the sport she can no longer play, or the brown-eyed boy who's afraid to love her back.
This is such a sweet story. It’s a different type of sports romance where the sport of hockey is integral to the plot, and yet not a single game is played.
Corey has some insecurities as a result of being bound to a wheelchair, but she doesn’t let her disability stop her from living a full life. Her dry sense of humor and spunkiness make her quite endearing. I wish I could say the same about Hartley. He’s a dreamy book boyfriend, and I admire a man who’s faithful; however, he’s loyal to a fault. He’s so attached to his truly awful, superficial girlfriend that he friend zones Corey despite the fact that she’s clearly perfect for him. I grew so frustrated waiting for him to see the light that I began to feel he didn’t deserve Corey.
Strong heroines eventually realize their self-worth though, and there’s nothing more satisfying than seeing a hero attempt to redeem himself. Corey and Hartley’s amusing antics as a pair of “gimps,” and the addition of their fabulous best friends make the story very entertaining.
The Year We Fell Down is an exceedingly well-written book featuring characters of real depth. It’s an engaging story that I quite enjoyed.
About Sarina Bowen
Sarina Bowen is the award-winning author of more than thirty contemporary novels. She has hit the USA Today bestseller’s list nineteen times and counting. Formerly a derivatives trader on Wall Street, Sarina holds a BA in economics from Yale University.
Sarina is a New Englander whose Vermont ancestors cut timber and farmed the north country since the 1760s. Sarina is grateful for the invention of indoor plumbing and wi-fi during the intervening 250 years. She lives with her family on a few wooded acres in New Hampshire.
Sarina’s books are published in over a dozen languages on five continents.
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