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Take the Fall follows Rowan and Seth as they reunite after seven years apart. At just seventeen years old, Seth helped to shoulder the blame for a crime he had nothing to do with.  Because of his clean record, he was sentenced to a short stint in prison, followed by several years of service in the Marines.  Feeling that his life was ruined, and bitter that he chose to take the fall for his best friend, Rowan’s brother Jase, Seth shut Rowan out of his life.  The two grew up apart, but never stopped thinking about what might have been.

The biggest problem I had with Take the Fall was the backstory.  I’m sorry, but what exactly happened?  I felt like I was watching a blurry, choppy montage as I read the flashbacks.  A flash of a gun.  Someone screams.  Did anybody get hurt?  Suddenly Seth and Jase are in prison.  Surely there had to have been a trial. I thought they were at a crowded racetrack – did nobody call Seth out and say that he wasn’t involved?

Why exactly did Seth shut Rowan out?  He made the stupid decision to take the blame so that Jase would get a lighter sentence – which doesn’t make sense at all.  Because if two people are found guilty of the same crime, obviously they split the sentence, right?  I’m not sure if Valentine knows anything about the legal system, because that made zero sense.

I didn’t feel the love between Seth and Rowan.  In fact, I mostly felt hatred and a weird kind of obsession.  Seth was creepily forceful, which inexplicably turned Rowan on.  Every time.

His free hand wraps around the base of my neck, pulling me closer.
“You can’t just show up and bully me into—”
“Shut up, Rowan.” Then he kisses me. 

If I had to deal with the business then that meant I had to deal with Rowan.  She would be forced to be in my presence.

Overall, I just didn’t find anything that happened – not one single line – believable.  Highly disappointing, but not the worst book I’ve read in recent memory.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free copy.

Final rating: