For What It's Worth


Friday, August 3, 2018

review: free fall (fly me to the moon #5) by emma barry, Genevieve turner


40122056
Free Fall (Fly Me to the Moon #5)
by Emma Barry, Genevieve Turner


Source: e-arc provided by the author in exchange for an honest review

Houston, Texas, 1965

When an accident rocks the American Space Department, threatening the race to the moon, the agency is determined to eliminate distractions, including those in the bedroom.


Astronaut Dean Garland, on track to become the first man to walk in space, is fine with putting a temporary hold on his love life. Except the directive comes too late to prevent the biggest distraction of all: Vivian Muller… Garland. But now that he’s married, Dean is determined to follow the rules until he makes history with his spacewalk.


Vivy never expected to find herself pregnant or in a shotgun marriage, much less a sexless one. While her new husband might pretend to be perfectly happy sleeping alone, Vivy’s never believed in pretending or holding back. She’s determined to make her husband fall for her, even if it means bending—or breaking—the rules.


Dean’s resolve to keep marriage and work separate hits another serious snag: the suit he’s supposed to wear in the killer vacuum of space isn’t reliable, and his new father-in-law manufactured it. As Dean unravels the technical problem and Vivy tries to win her husband’s love, their hearts and his life hang in the balance.
 ~ 
Goodreads

My thoughts: I love this series. It has a vibe. When you finish reading you just want to start mixing retro drinks and make jello molds and tuna casserole. I was born in 1965 (when this race to space romance series takes place) and it brings back such fond memories of my mom and childhood. It’s like the series Mad Men but without the assholes. Well, there are assholes but our intrepid protagonists always win. 😜

In Free Fall, 19 year old socialite Vivian Muller, and Dean Garland, a 29 year old astronaut, make an instant connection at a party and hook up for one night. Vivy gets pregnant and her parents arrange for them to get married.

While Vivy has always had a bit of a thing for Dean, she has no idea how to be an astronauts wife and is pregnant by a man she barely knows. Add to that - her father owns the company that is making the space suit Dean needs to wear for his walk on the moon. It isn’t working properly, putting the astronauts in danger and forcing Vivy learn some hard truths about her “daddy” and choose between the men in her life.

Don’t get me wrong – I enjoyed Free Fall but there’s a lot going on. Vivy and Dean’s polar opposite personalities, the unplanned pregnancy and sudden wedding, the fact that Vivy has to start questioning her father’s integrity – all enough to add plenty of tension to a new marriage. Instead – the authors added tension in another way.

Dean and the other astronauts aren’t allowed to have sex until his moon landing is completed so they don’t get distracted. So for most of the book Dean avoids Vivy so that he won't give in to his desires. I don't care whether they have sex or not - but the avoidance made it difficult to build any connection between the two and then when they did connect it felt more lust driven than like a blossoming love. It felt like an artificial obstacle that wasn't necessary and kept me from seeing their relationship grow.

Not my favorite of the series but as always the space stuff is fascinating and Vivy is AWESOME. It was also great to catch glimpses of the former couples.

The first book, Star Dust, is currently free on Amazon (affiliate link) and the boxed set of the first 3 books is available for .99 until August 15th.

I highly recommend this smart, quirky series!

19 comments:

  1. I can see your issue w/ the romance, but it sounds like an interesting book with all the space stuff and tension!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I never thought I would but I LOVE the space stuff! This book is a little more fictionalized than the others but still very good and makes you want to learn more.

      Delete
  2. I think I remember earlier books..like 1

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've been squeeing about them for awhile so you probably have lol

      Delete
  3. When I first read the Goodreads review I wondered if perhaps here was too much going on, but the plotline is thick with intrigue and I am interested to see if they can make it through this dry spell and what the hell happened there with Viv’s father and the space suit. Intentional sabotage? A harmless mistake? I’m interested :) thanks for a kickass book review!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It does seem that way but there really isn't. They tie it together well.

      As for the space suit...

      Delete
  4. Not sure I would like this one but the premise sounds interesting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It wasn't anything I thought I would enjoy but it's a fun series.

      Delete
  5. I haven't heard of this series! I tend to stay away from books with a Texas setting... I'm not sure why, lol. I was in Houston just the other day! I'll look into this one and maybe add it for future consideration. I love that you said it has a vibe! <3

    -- Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think you would like this series Lindsi! It does take place in TX but it's also sort of insular - in that it's more about the space setting than the state so I don't think it would matter. Plus it's in the 60's so it's not like current TX.

      Delete
  6. The romance seems a bit off, but this definitely sounds like very atmospheric read, the space stuff has me interested.

    Tori @ In Tori Lex

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There was just a certain detachment for this one - even though they were great characters and it was a cool storyline.

      Delete
  7. Yeah, avoiding each other for so long would make it hard to root for them as a couple. The series as a whole sounds really fun though!

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There seemed like there were so many problems they could be working through - even if they were fighting but avoidance was their (mostly his) thing and it seemed like it was for a forced reason that din't make a whole lot of sense to me.

      Delete
  8. I haven't heard of this series, but I'm glad you enjoyed it so much! The no sex thing seems like it would have the opposite effect, but okay! XD

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. IT felt a little contrived but I'm still a big fan of the series as a whole.

      Delete
  9. Wow, it does sound like they cram a lot into a single book! But I am glad you still loved it and that it managed to bring back such wonderful memories for you. What a great sounding series <3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It really doesn't read as cluttered with conflict as it sounds. lol

      Delete
  10. Just because you can't have sex, doesn't mean you can't connect with her in other ways... seems a little odd to me.

    Naomi @ Naomi’s Reading Palace

    ReplyDelete