This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.

Book Evaluation:
Plot: 🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️
World Building:🌎🌎🌎🌎
Cover:📔📔📔📔
Hero: 🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻
Heroine:🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️
Intimacy Level: 🔥🔥🔥
Relationship Building: 💒💒💒💒
Heart & Feels:💞💞💞💞
Witty/Banter/Reaction of Laughter: 😂😂😂😂
Page Turner Level:📖📖📖📖
Ending:🧧🧧🧧🧧
Overall View: ✨✨✨✨


First Impressions
The Year We Fell Down is the first book in the "Ivy Years" and this has been a series I have been wanting to read for many years now. Its probably been on my TBR for the longest time. And its about time I buckled down and read this book and I definitely had a fun time with this one. Now is it a book that is worthy of being on the top book lists, and it's debatable to be honest. While I had a fun time with this book, it didn't exactly blow me out of the water as I expected it to.

First Line
"This Looks Promising," my mother said, eyeing the dormitory's ivy-covered facade.

Summary
Corey has come for her first year at college, she is handicapped from a hockey injury that damaged her spine. Her neighbor across the hall is the dreamboat hockey player who is injured with a broken leg. Corey and Hartley find common ground in their injuries and develop a quick deep friendship with each other. They both have a quick connection to each other. The issue....Hartley is already in a relationship with someone else. Corey feels torn being attracted to a man who is not available to her, but as their friendship draws closer together, Hartley will have to make a decision on what woman truly matters most and he can see being with long term...

What I Loved
There are many elements to this book that I really loved. I was immediately drawn into this book so its definitely an easy quick read. Very quickly I became invested with Corey and Hartley. I really adored these two together. The story builds quickly with a solid friendship being the foundation to their relationship. We see their bond with hockey and both suffering injuries that have caused them being handicapped in different ways but they relate well with each other and how they are both limited in some ways to what they can do. We see how well they get along with each other. There is such a easy relationship that they have together and its quite charming to see. We also see how there is a building chemistry that is growing between them. This is definitely more of a slow burn. So keep that in mind, don't expect a super spicy read here as due to the circumstances of their relationship. There is plenty of humor, endearing characters and atmospheric college setting.

What I Struggled With
There is one aspect to this story I had an issue with and that is the cheating aspect. The hero does cheat on his girlfriend and I didn't understand why he took so long ending things with her. And we also don't see this scene, its only referred to so I would have liked to have seen the scene. So I was a bit disappointed as I wasn't expecting this author to go this route.

Overall View
The Year We Fell Down is a solid new adult romance that really delivers on many fronts. Its a story of strong friendship, connecting through adversity and finding love in the most vulnerable moments of life.

Favorite Quote(s)
"The thing is, we're all fragile. It's just that most of our friends are lucky enough not to know it yet."

Book Details (also in my shelves)
Sub Genre: Contemporary Romance, New Adult
Character Types: Athlete, Disability
Themes: Slow Burn, Hockey, Cheating
Tropes: Friends to Lovers, Forbidden Love, Love Triangle

Book Perspective
Duo POV

Relationship Conflict vs Plot Conflict
Relationship Conflict

Song This Book Inspires
Young Hearts by Embody

Recommendation For Reading Order
Yes

Steam/Spice Explanations

Warmin' by the fire- a medium level of sexual tension, a balance of sexual and emotional intimacy, lighter on the details in the sexual moments.