What do you think?
Rate this book
Belhaven #2
How Not to Let Go
From the author of How Not to Fall comes an electrifying, powerful new story about love, trust, and emotional surrender.
Once upon a time, med student Annie Coffey set out to have a purely physical fling with Charles Douglas, a gorgeous British doctor in her lab. It didn’t quite work out that way. Instead, secrets—and desires—were bared, hearts were broken, and Annie knew she had to leave this complicated, compelling man who remains convinced he can never give her what she needs.
Walking away is one thing. Staying away is another. Annie and Charles reunite at a London conference, rekindling a friendship they struggle to protect from their intense physical connection. Little by little, Annie gets a glimpse into Charles’s dark past and his wealthy, dysfunctional family. Soon, she’s discovering what it means to have someone claim her, body and soul. And she’s learning that once in a lifetime you find a love that can make you do anything…except let go.
Once upon a time, med student Annie Coffey set out to have a purely physical fling with Charles Douglas, a gorgeous British doctor in her lab. It didn’t quite work out that way. Instead, secrets—and desires—were bared, hearts were broken, and Annie knew she had to leave this complicated, compelling man who remains convinced he can never give her what she needs.
Walking away is one thing. Staying away is another. Annie and Charles reunite at a London conference, rekindling a friendship they struggle to protect from their intense physical connection. Little by little, Annie gets a glimpse into Charles’s dark past and his wealthy, dysfunctional family. Soon, she’s discovering what it means to have someone claim her, body and soul. And she’s learning that once in a lifetime you find a love that can make you do anything…except let go.
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 27, 2016
127 people are currently reading
1472 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 200 reviews
December 28, 2016
I loved the first of these two books, How Not to Fall and, with it ending on a cliffhanger, I couldn't wait to dive in and see how Charles and Annie would find their way back to one another. Whilst the first one was somewhat of a sex-fest, this one was aimed at an emotional level with both Annie and Charles coming to terms with how things ended between them, whilst reacquainting themselves and reaffirming their friendship. And this time we've crossed the pond to Charles' home, London.
I didn't highlight a single quote, never a good sign.
In comparison to the first book this didn't even come close. It simply failed to grab and I went from loving the characters to not having any feeling towards them. I guess after how book one was left I expected their reacquaintance to be harder and it didn't seem so. There were some little glimmers along the way but not enough to hold my interest which is a real shame as I was excited to read this.
Copy received courtesy of Kensington via NetGalley for an honest and unbiased opinion.
I didn't highlight a single quote, never a good sign.
In comparison to the first book this didn't even come close. It simply failed to grab and I went from loving the characters to not having any feeling towards them. I guess after how book one was left I expected their reacquaintance to be harder and it didn't seem so. There were some little glimmers along the way but not enough to hold my interest which is a real shame as I was excited to read this.
Copy received courtesy of Kensington via NetGalley for an honest and unbiased opinion.
November 12, 2016
***3 STARS
Review to come closer to release date of 12/27....
Review to come closer to release date of 12/27....
April 4, 2017
*** Spoilers below, this book follows on from How Not To Fall and this review spoils all over both of them ***
Oh, Ms Foster, this did not go well. This did not go well at all.
Where to begin? What Foster has done here is doubled down on all the worst bits from the first book. All the fun of the opening two thirds of that book doesn’t make a reappearance. Instead, we get endless introspective dialogue and psychological discussions. Gosh, it was tedious.
The Monster from the first book rears it’s ugly head over and over (and over and over) again. Except sometimes it’s A Dragon, and it’s in A Pit or on top of A Wall and it gets in the way of The Thing, even though Charles finally realises the Thing is a Love Thing.
The story is baffling. Annie spends the first third of the book moping about Charles and trying to get to a place where she can see him. But she thinks about him all the time and talks about him all the time and makes (in my view) no proper attempt to get over him. It makes me dislike her character and I really liked her character at first so that seems a real shame. Then they meet and seemingly she has moved on to the right place, except that she hasn’t moved on at all. And neither has he. And all the while I’m thinking: why aren’t you just a couple?
The Monster. The Bloody Monster, when, actually, Charles is a great, perfect guy and there seems to be no basis for this preventing him from just being with Annie. He kept saying how terrible he’d been to her. Multiple orgasms and a first edition of The Origin of Species, yeh, it was really dreadful. I didn’t get it and, what’s worse, I didn’t care.
Events transpire in an extremely contrived way to keep Annie and Charles together in London and we meet Charles’s quirky younger brother (probably the high point of this book).
And then, we meet the cause of The Monster. Daddy Dearest. They all have dinner together. Why this family hasn’t cut the wife beating asshat out of their lives was a mystery to me. Having him over for a roast chicken seemed like a bad idea. And so it proved. A selection of the dinner conversation:
He asks of Annie: “Who is this bitch?… Got no tits on her."
“Showing off for the flat chested feminist, eh? She must be more horizontal than she is vertical.”
“I become aware that he’s telling the Pansy story. Apparently, he’s been reminded of it because, like Annie, she has no tits, either. Pansy has a hard time keeping track of things, he’s telling Annie, possibly because she wasn’t very bright, and possibly because she was high pretty much all the time. And one of the things she couldn’t keep track of was her tampons. Sitting at the dinner table with his wife, his two sons, and a stranger, he explains to us how he found a month-old tampon in Pansy’s vagina one night.”
“This little girl of yours [again, referring to Annie – the woman he has never met until this poorly conceived dinner], though, I’m surprised you can get it in her! All the Douglas men are as thick as that bloody tree of yours.” (there’s this whole thing with a tree in the garden planted for Charles as the first born son, which makes me roll my eyes as I think about it again).
I’ll say this for the characterisation of Charles’s father. He did seem like a terrible, awful, gross, disgusting waste of human flesh. But, equally: it was so ludicrously overblown that it was almost perversely comic. In my experience wife beaters tend to be charming and manipulative. Posh boys with extreme entitlement personalities tend to be more subtly terrible than this. Of course, there’s no mandated way for an awful person to be awful, but this was silly. And not in a good Eloisa James or Arrested Development way. It’s so difficult to accept that Charles would still have this man in his life, much less that he would leave New York and the woman he loves to nurse him through cancer. And even with the awfulness of his father laid bare, I still didn’t understand Charles’s character and his motivations for the endless roadblocks and angst prohibiting his relationship with Annie.
Daddy Dearest at least has the effect of forcing Annie and Charles back together and then they’re sort of dating and then they’re in love. There’s no real explanation about why this couldn’t have happened earlier and saved me the trouble of reading this stupid book. Almost immediately though Daddy Dearest is sick and our couple have to split up. Again: why. But then it doesn’t matter anyway because he at least has the decency to die quickly, but that does render all the angst Charles and Annie went through before he left New York completely pointless.
Other annoyances:
- Gratuitous use of 9/11 as a device for emotion without proper groundwork.
- Lots of contrived drama at exactly the right moments – suspected terrorist attack! Dying father! Sister’s arrival!
- Characters conversing whilst under the influence of cannabis (they were confusing enough when not high).
- An assisted suicide discussion which was incongruous. In fact, the whole cancer bit for Daddy Dearest was just totally out of place.
Look, I rarely say a book is not worth reading (although it’s often implicit in my reviews) but I am just going to do everyone a favour: this isn’t worth it. I will probably check out Foster’s next foray into romance, because she has a shot: her writing is good at times and the sex isn’t bad (and if she writes about Charles’s brother, all the better). But this was a total miss for me.
Oh, Ms Foster, this did not go well. This did not go well at all.
Where to begin? What Foster has done here is doubled down on all the worst bits from the first book. All the fun of the opening two thirds of that book doesn’t make a reappearance. Instead, we get endless introspective dialogue and psychological discussions. Gosh, it was tedious.
The Monster from the first book rears it’s ugly head over and over (and over and over) again. Except sometimes it’s A Dragon, and it’s in A Pit or on top of A Wall and it gets in the way of The Thing, even though Charles finally realises the Thing is a Love Thing.
The story is baffling. Annie spends the first third of the book moping about Charles and trying to get to a place where she can see him. But she thinks about him all the time and talks about him all the time and makes (in my view) no proper attempt to get over him. It makes me dislike her character and I really liked her character at first so that seems a real shame. Then they meet and seemingly she has moved on to the right place, except that she hasn’t moved on at all. And neither has he. And all the while I’m thinking: why aren’t you just a couple?
The Monster. The Bloody Monster, when, actually, Charles is a great, perfect guy and there seems to be no basis for this preventing him from just being with Annie. He kept saying how terrible he’d been to her. Multiple orgasms and a first edition of The Origin of Species, yeh, it was really dreadful. I didn’t get it and, what’s worse, I didn’t care.
Events transpire in an extremely contrived way to keep Annie and Charles together in London and we meet Charles’s quirky younger brother (probably the high point of this book).
And then, we meet the cause of The Monster. Daddy Dearest. They all have dinner together. Why this family hasn’t cut the wife beating asshat out of their lives was a mystery to me. Having him over for a roast chicken seemed like a bad idea. And so it proved. A selection of the dinner conversation:
He asks of Annie: “Who is this bitch?… Got no tits on her."
“Showing off for the flat chested feminist, eh? She must be more horizontal than she is vertical.”
“I become aware that he’s telling the Pansy story. Apparently, he’s been reminded of it because, like Annie, she has no tits, either. Pansy has a hard time keeping track of things, he’s telling Annie, possibly because she wasn’t very bright, and possibly because she was high pretty much all the time. And one of the things she couldn’t keep track of was her tampons. Sitting at the dinner table with his wife, his two sons, and a stranger, he explains to us how he found a month-old tampon in Pansy’s vagina one night.”
“This little girl of yours [again, referring to Annie – the woman he has never met until this poorly conceived dinner], though, I’m surprised you can get it in her! All the Douglas men are as thick as that bloody tree of yours.” (there’s this whole thing with a tree in the garden planted for Charles as the first born son, which makes me roll my eyes as I think about it again).
I’ll say this for the characterisation of Charles’s father. He did seem like a terrible, awful, gross, disgusting waste of human flesh. But, equally: it was so ludicrously overblown that it was almost perversely comic. In my experience wife beaters tend to be charming and manipulative. Posh boys with extreme entitlement personalities tend to be more subtly terrible than this. Of course, there’s no mandated way for an awful person to be awful, but this was silly. And not in a good Eloisa James or Arrested Development way. It’s so difficult to accept that Charles would still have this man in his life, much less that he would leave New York and the woman he loves to nurse him through cancer. And even with the awfulness of his father laid bare, I still didn’t understand Charles’s character and his motivations for the endless roadblocks and angst prohibiting his relationship with Annie.
Daddy Dearest at least has the effect of forcing Annie and Charles back together and then they’re sort of dating and then they’re in love. There’s no real explanation about why this couldn’t have happened earlier and saved me the trouble of reading this stupid book. Almost immediately though Daddy Dearest is sick and our couple have to split up. Again: why. But then it doesn’t matter anyway because he at least has the decency to die quickly, but that does render all the angst Charles and Annie went through before he left New York completely pointless.
Other annoyances:
- Gratuitous use of 9/11 as a device for emotion without proper groundwork.
- Lots of contrived drama at exactly the right moments – suspected terrorist attack! Dying father! Sister’s arrival!
- Characters conversing whilst under the influence of cannabis (they were confusing enough when not high).
- An assisted suicide discussion which was incongruous. In fact, the whole cancer bit for Daddy Dearest was just totally out of place.
Look, I rarely say a book is not worth reading (although it’s often implicit in my reviews) but I am just going to do everyone a favour: this isn’t worth it. I will probably check out Foster’s next foray into romance, because she has a shot: her writing is good at times and the sex isn’t bad (and if she writes about Charles’s brother, all the better). But this was a total miss for me.
Read
February 10, 2017This was a DNF around 35%. I'm not assigning a rating because I don't think it'd be fair. Not only did I not finish this, but I was unaware it was a sequel and have never read the first book. I received an ARC of this via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, so this is my attempt at that review:
- I only actually read the first 35% of this, and then skimmed the rest.
- The main character has recently stopped a pseudo-FWB situation she had with a her former TA, and apparently she fell in love with him. He told her he didn’t return those feelings (though MC doesn't believe him for some reason)
- Said main character then spends the next year (literally) crying, giving up sugar, losing weight, having heart-to-hearts with her mother and just being generally heartbroken. She had no personality otherwise, and did nothing else.
- Well, I mean Main Character starts Med-school, apparently. But though she has worked for this arguably all her life, and it’s a huge step towards her dream career—she’s not excited. She talks very little about med school except to say it's "hard." She doesn't seem to care at all and only passively mentions her new roommate (to say they are Jamaican).
- Main character then begins masturbating to the thought of talking to former FWB.
- Apparently main character and former FWB would participate in a sex act that involved FWB making main character orgasm so frequently she would be unable to move, at which point he would have his way with her. My thoughts about this are summed up by main character's best friend:
- Best friend’s opinion is then dismissed as she is a lesbian and obviously doesn’t understand how sex works when a penis is involved.
- (Slight spoiler? I mean it’s obvious from the first page) Eventually main character andformer FWB figure their angst-filled relationship out, and begin having sex again. At which point they continue to participate in the same sex act. At this point main character decides FWB boyfriend enjoys this sex act so much, because it means she’s not capable of leaving him. At least in that moment while she’s immobilized (from the pleasure ) she cannot get up and leave him and that relaxes him enough that he can get his jollies off.
Again, I’m not rating this, as it doesn’t feel fair. This is not my usual genre (though it did look very interesting to me!) and I haven’t read the previous installment. I wish there had been something to indicate this was a sequel, and I’m really confused as to why the back of this book contains a “sneak peak” of the first book?
Perhaps others who have read the first book will enjoy this one, as I don’t feel the writing itself was bad. But I personally do not enjoy romance when there is little to no plot outside of the romance. And I personally didn’t enjoy the dynamic between these characters.
- I only actually read the first 35% of this, and then skimmed the rest.
- The main character has recently stopped a pseudo-FWB situation she had with a her former TA, and apparently she fell in love with him. He told her he didn’t return those feelings (though MC doesn't believe him for some reason)
- Said main character then spends the next year (literally) crying, giving up sugar, losing weight, having heart-to-hearts with her mother and just being generally heartbroken. She had no personality otherwise, and did nothing else.
- Well, I mean Main Character starts Med-school, apparently. But though she has worked for this arguably all her life, and it’s a huge step towards her dream career—she’s not excited. She talks very little about med school except to say it's "hard." She doesn't seem to care at all and only passively mentions her new roommate (to say they are Jamaican).
- Main character then begins masturbating to the thought of talking to former FWB.
- Apparently main character and former FWB would participate in a sex act that involved FWB making main character orgasm so frequently she would be unable to move, at which point he would have his way with her. My thoughts about this are summed up by main character's best friend:
“…it just sounds like he was, like, using you. I mean it’s kind of creepy, him having sex with you when you can’t move.”
- Best friend’s opinion is then dismissed as she is a lesbian and obviously doesn’t understand how sex works when a penis is involved.
- (Slight spoiler? I mean it’s obvious from the first page) Eventually main character and
Again, I’m not rating this, as it doesn’t feel fair. This is not my usual genre (though it did look very interesting to me!) and I haven’t read the previous installment. I wish there had been something to indicate this was a sequel, and I’m really confused as to why the back of this book contains a “sneak peak” of the first book?
Perhaps others who have read the first book will enjoy this one, as I don’t feel the writing itself was bad. But I personally do not enjoy romance when there is little to no plot outside of the romance. And I personally didn’t enjoy the dynamic between these characters.
March 19, 2017
I LOVED IT SOOO MUCH
May 22, 2022
Very good. Slightly less earth shattering than the first one - this book was a bit like a long session with a therapist. But Annie and Charles are an amazing couple and I’m just sad it’s over!
March 16, 2017
I decided to read the second book of this series for 2 reasons :
1) because it had Charles POV
2) therefore I wanted to know what the stuff with his dad was all about so I could finally understand all the drama and the "I can't love you because of my family's story stuff"
So. From what I've read, there is no valuable reason to explain all this excessive drama around the characters' feelings. The book is just full of useless and corny metaphors of psychology to illustrate the battle that the characters, essentially Charles, goes through.
BUT at the end I was just wondering WHY?! Why Charles and his mother and siblings didn't break off all contact with the father ??? Idk, when you live with someone who is an abusive asshole, you just go away for you own sake, even if it's your father/husband.
The book didn't give ANY reason on why Charles' family was still living and having contact with the "asshole father", even when all the children became adult, like WHY?? Was it about money ? Were they afraid of what Charles' father could do to them if they went away (this was actually mentioned at some point in the book, very unrealistically, because even when the father was in his DEATHBED they were staying beside him)
So this all "situation" was NEVER explained.
It just made the story and the relationship between Charles and Annie and the "difficulties" they faced all unrealistic and excessively dramatic. Everything involved around Charles' father and how he was such an asshole and it was so simple to just tell him to f*ck off.
Even Christian Grey psychological problems were more justified and understandable.
1) because it had Charles POV
2) therefore I wanted to know what the stuff with his dad was all about so I could finally understand all the drama and the "I can't love you because of my family's story stuff"
So. From what I've read, there is no valuable reason to explain all this excessive drama around the characters' feelings. The book is just full of useless and corny metaphors of psychology to illustrate the battle that the characters, essentially Charles, goes through.
BUT at the end I was just wondering WHY?! Why Charles and his mother and siblings didn't break off all contact with the father ??? Idk, when you live with someone who is an abusive asshole, you just go away for you own sake, even if it's your father/husband.
The book didn't give ANY reason on why Charles' family was still living and having contact with the "asshole father", even when all the children became adult, like WHY?? Was it about money ? Were they afraid of what Charles' father could do to them if they went away (this was actually mentioned at some point in the book, very unrealistically, because even when the father was in his DEATHBED they were staying beside him)
So this all "situation" was NEVER explained.
It just made the story and the relationship between Charles and Annie and the "difficulties" they faced all unrealistic and excessively dramatic. Everything involved around Charles' father and how he was such an asshole and it was so simple to just tell him to f*ck off.
Even Christian Grey psychological problems were more justified and understandable.
March 21, 2017
Bound to take a step down for me after the first book.
How Not To Fall
was brainy and sexy, this was angsty and emotional. And that’s good, I’m glad Foster takes the love/crush/attraction and puts it through the paces. Done right, that’s one of my favorite things to read. But where Annie and Charles were mature and intriguing in the first book, often beyond their years, here it’s all feelings and tears and Charles’ internal loathing in a way that’s more suited to adolescents, not adults.
And again, I get it. It’s Foster’s intent. You fall for someone and discover something else beneath, and you either learn to love that person too or break the deal off. It’s just that I never thought Charles was all that broken, so the huge efforts to fix him rang false to me. (How to do the same thing and yet not ring false to me: the fantastic show You’re The Worst.)
Even though this was a near-miss, I applaud what Foster’s writing. She does it with thought and passion, and I hope she writes a lot more.
And again, I get it. It’s Foster’s intent. You fall for someone and discover something else beneath, and you either learn to love that person too or break the deal off. It’s just that I never thought Charles was all that broken, so the huge efforts to fix him rang false to me. (How to do the same thing and yet not ring false to me: the fantastic show You’re The Worst.)
Even though this was a near-miss, I applaud what Foster’s writing. She does it with thought and passion, and I hope she writes a lot more.
November 27, 2021
Huge disappointment after the first book. There were too many dumb metaphors for psychological melodrama that kept Annie and Charles apart. Pretty much the whole story was cringey and tedious to read. Also, the timeline and events in the book felt very random and jumped around a lot. A good few extra rounds of editing would have been in order.
December 31, 2016
4.5 stars
Spoiler warning! This is a direct continuation of part one of The Belhaven series, How Not To Fall, and while the reader is given enough context to understand what happened in the previous book, it will not make as much sense or have the emotional resonance for the reader unless you have read the first one. Seriously, these books are two halves of a whole story. Also, you will probably get spoilers for the first book in the series in this review. So maybe skip it until you've read part one. It's a really great start to a romance, and I promise you that the second part gives the story a satisfactory ending.
At the end of an extremely steamy month of physical intimacy, medical student Annabelle "Annie" Coffey can't help but fall in love with her intense lover, Dr. Charles Douglas, only to be told that due to the horrible abuse he watched his family go through at the hands of his father, and the extreme emotional strain this has had on him, Charles isn't capable of returning her feelings. Their arrangement was always meant to be one month of no strings attached sex, before they went their separate ways, remaining friends. Utterly heartbroken, Annie is in no fit state to maintain any sort of friendship. She leaves Charles without even saying goodbye and goes home to her parents, hurt and devastated, to slowly put herself back together. The couple meet briefly a month later, at Annie's best friend's wedding, and Charles is mortified at how much he has hurt her.
They don't have any contact or see each other for nearly a year. Having worked closely together for years before they started their sexual relationship, both deeply miss the company and professional input of the other. Annie keeps writing long e-mails to Charles, but never sends them. She knows he will be at a big conference in London, where she will be presenting, however, and having spent their time apart trying to come to grips with her feelings for him, and recalibrating them, so they might have a chance at a friendship, she reaches out and asks to meet Charles when they are both in England.
Back in London for the first time in four years, Charles also has to face his family again. His genius computer programmer brother and his long-suffering, abused mother. When the airport is closed down suddenly as Annie is due to fly back to the US, she ends up staying over at Charles' brother and gets to meet and see for herself just how monstrous his father actually is. She begins to see the challenges Charles struggles against and what is he fighting so desperately not to become.
While at least the first two thirds of How Not To Fall is all laughter, intimacy, getting to know each other better, the flutterings of infatuation and a LOT of smexy times, the last third shows that in the face of severe psychological damage, the love of a good woman and an amazing physical connection isn't enough to magically heal.
In How Not to Let Go both Annie and Charles have to change and redefine their relationship. Annie has to get over her initial heartbreak and figure out if her heart has lied to her, or if Charles is worth loving and keeping in her life, even if she can never be his partner. It takes her a year of processing and soul-searching before she's ready to consider a friendship with him, despite their continued physical attraction. Charles, on the other hand, is gutted that he ever caused Annie a moment of pain and has spent a year just trying to be worthy of her respect. Through a lot of gruelling therapy, he's started mapping out exactly how messed up his psyche is and how many protective layers there are, keeping him from being able to allow himself to get close to or trust anyone.
There is a LOT of pain in this book and several rounds of gruelling emotional exploration. It's quite clear that both Annie and Charles are better together than apart, but Charles has such a long way to go before he can return Annie's love and his family situation really is so very messed up. While the first book was told entirely from Annie's point of view, this one has more or less alternating chapters from Annie and Charles, so the reader gets to fully see inside Charles as he works his way up from the pit of despair, through the swamp and wasteland, up rage mountain to battle the metaphorical dragon, before he can begin to break down the walls surrounding his inner self.
With How Not To Fall, I had trouble putting the book down, and kept reading long after it was entirely sensible. I find Annie and Charles such incredibly compelling characters and kept wanting to read more about them. In this book, I occasionally had to take a break, though, as their emotional journey was absolutely exhausting to me. While the first book focuses mostly on Annie, the second book is probably more Charles'. We get to meet Charles' family, his anorexic little sister, who has no end of imagination games to parse out people's inner psyche; his extremely brilliant and sensitive younger brother, who seems to express himself best through piano playing; his lovely mother and see the joy they can share when Charles senior, Lord Belhaven is nowhere near them. We also get to see the contrast in Annie's home life with her incredibly loving and supportive parents.
The first book ends on a cliffhanger, when Annie leaves Charles. The second book begins at the same place. Neither book will be entirely satisfying without the other, they are really two halves of a whole story. While some romances get the couple together quickly and spend very little time actually having them get to know each other, the opposite has to be said for Emily Foster. By the end of the book, Annie and Charles have known each other for about four years, and have had their "Thing" for the best end of two. The course of their true love certainly doesn't run smooth, and there is a lot of pain to work through and a whole lot of metaphorical dragon slaying to do before they can have a chance at their HEA.
I have no idea if Foster intends to write any more about the younger Charles siblings, but based on their appearances in this book, I would absolutely love to see a book starring Charles' younger brother Simon as a hero, or his wounded but snarky younger sister Elizabeth as a heroine. Preferably both. I know that she primarily writes scientific non-fiction, but based on these two books, it would be a terrible shame if she didn't continue writing realistic and very satisfying romance as well.
Judging a book by its cover: How Not To Fall had a couple embracing and kissing in the rain, here the weather is a lot more sunny (possibly indicative of the brighter times faced by the couple towards the very end of the book). It may just be me, but the male cover model reminds me a lot of Ryan Gosling. Charles does not. I forget exactly how Annie is described in the book, but I'm pretty sure the female cover isn't a very good match for her. Nonetheless, it's a sweet and romantic book cover. Doesn't quite match the emotional turmoil of the contents, but there IS a happy ending, so maybe I'm just being overly critical.
Spoiler warning! This is a direct continuation of part one of The Belhaven series, How Not To Fall, and while the reader is given enough context to understand what happened in the previous book, it will not make as much sense or have the emotional resonance for the reader unless you have read the first one. Seriously, these books are two halves of a whole story. Also, you will probably get spoilers for the first book in the series in this review. So maybe skip it until you've read part one. It's a really great start to a romance, and I promise you that the second part gives the story a satisfactory ending.
At the end of an extremely steamy month of physical intimacy, medical student Annabelle "Annie" Coffey can't help but fall in love with her intense lover, Dr. Charles Douglas, only to be told that due to the horrible abuse he watched his family go through at the hands of his father, and the extreme emotional strain this has had on him, Charles isn't capable of returning her feelings. Their arrangement was always meant to be one month of no strings attached sex, before they went their separate ways, remaining friends. Utterly heartbroken, Annie is in no fit state to maintain any sort of friendship. She leaves Charles without even saying goodbye and goes home to her parents, hurt and devastated, to slowly put herself back together. The couple meet briefly a month later, at Annie's best friend's wedding, and Charles is mortified at how much he has hurt her.
They don't have any contact or see each other for nearly a year. Having worked closely together for years before they started their sexual relationship, both deeply miss the company and professional input of the other. Annie keeps writing long e-mails to Charles, but never sends them. She knows he will be at a big conference in London, where she will be presenting, however, and having spent their time apart trying to come to grips with her feelings for him, and recalibrating them, so they might have a chance at a friendship, she reaches out and asks to meet Charles when they are both in England.
Back in London for the first time in four years, Charles also has to face his family again. His genius computer programmer brother and his long-suffering, abused mother. When the airport is closed down suddenly as Annie is due to fly back to the US, she ends up staying over at Charles' brother and gets to meet and see for herself just how monstrous his father actually is. She begins to see the challenges Charles struggles against and what is he fighting so desperately not to become.
While at least the first two thirds of How Not To Fall is all laughter, intimacy, getting to know each other better, the flutterings of infatuation and a LOT of smexy times, the last third shows that in the face of severe psychological damage, the love of a good woman and an amazing physical connection isn't enough to magically heal.
In How Not to Let Go both Annie and Charles have to change and redefine their relationship. Annie has to get over her initial heartbreak and figure out if her heart has lied to her, or if Charles is worth loving and keeping in her life, even if she can never be his partner. It takes her a year of processing and soul-searching before she's ready to consider a friendship with him, despite their continued physical attraction. Charles, on the other hand, is gutted that he ever caused Annie a moment of pain and has spent a year just trying to be worthy of her respect. Through a lot of gruelling therapy, he's started mapping out exactly how messed up his psyche is and how many protective layers there are, keeping him from being able to allow himself to get close to or trust anyone.
There is a LOT of pain in this book and several rounds of gruelling emotional exploration. It's quite clear that both Annie and Charles are better together than apart, but Charles has such a long way to go before he can return Annie's love and his family situation really is so very messed up. While the first book was told entirely from Annie's point of view, this one has more or less alternating chapters from Annie and Charles, so the reader gets to fully see inside Charles as he works his way up from the pit of despair, through the swamp and wasteland, up rage mountain to battle the metaphorical dragon, before he can begin to break down the walls surrounding his inner self.
With How Not To Fall, I had trouble putting the book down, and kept reading long after it was entirely sensible. I find Annie and Charles such incredibly compelling characters and kept wanting to read more about them. In this book, I occasionally had to take a break, though, as their emotional journey was absolutely exhausting to me. While the first book focuses mostly on Annie, the second book is probably more Charles'. We get to meet Charles' family, his anorexic little sister, who has no end of imagination games to parse out people's inner psyche; his extremely brilliant and sensitive younger brother, who seems to express himself best through piano playing; his lovely mother and see the joy they can share when Charles senior, Lord Belhaven is nowhere near them. We also get to see the contrast in Annie's home life with her incredibly loving and supportive parents.
The first book ends on a cliffhanger, when Annie leaves Charles. The second book begins at the same place. Neither book will be entirely satisfying without the other, they are really two halves of a whole story. While some romances get the couple together quickly and spend very little time actually having them get to know each other, the opposite has to be said for Emily Foster. By the end of the book, Annie and Charles have known each other for about four years, and have had their "Thing" for the best end of two. The course of their true love certainly doesn't run smooth, and there is a lot of pain to work through and a whole lot of metaphorical dragon slaying to do before they can have a chance at their HEA.
I have no idea if Foster intends to write any more about the younger Charles siblings, but based on their appearances in this book, I would absolutely love to see a book starring Charles' younger brother Simon as a hero, or his wounded but snarky younger sister Elizabeth as a heroine. Preferably both. I know that she primarily writes scientific non-fiction, but based on these two books, it would be a terrible shame if she didn't continue writing realistic and very satisfying romance as well.
Judging a book by its cover: How Not To Fall had a couple embracing and kissing in the rain, here the weather is a lot more sunny (possibly indicative of the brighter times faced by the couple towards the very end of the book). It may just be me, but the male cover model reminds me a lot of Ryan Gosling. Charles does not. I forget exactly how Annie is described in the book, but I'm pretty sure the female cover isn't a very good match for her. Nonetheless, it's a sweet and romantic book cover. Doesn't quite match the emotional turmoil of the contents, but there IS a happy ending, so maybe I'm just being overly critical.
July 9, 2017
DNF at 48%
I thought the first book of this dual set was pretty good until the horrible sad, depressing, cliff-hanger. I wasn't going to read this one, but it showed up in my overdrive suggests feed and I clicked because...well....I guess I just don't like to leave things unfinished. Unfortunately, this is so bad I'm left with no choice. I'm not going to go full book rant as it doesn't seem worth the effort. I will just say that when an author breaks up their characters for any reason, in this case a significantly good reason, then they have to have an even better reason for them to get together again and a realistic way in which it happens. Not even close...
I thought the first book of this dual set was pretty good until the horrible sad, depressing, cliff-hanger. I wasn't going to read this one, but it showed up in my overdrive suggests feed and I clicked because...well....I guess I just don't like to leave things unfinished. Unfortunately, this is so bad I'm left with no choice. I'm not going to go full book rant as it doesn't seem worth the effort. I will just say that when an author breaks up their characters for any reason, in this case a significantly good reason, then they have to have an even better reason for them to get together again and a realistic way in which it happens. Not even close...
July 31, 2017
That star rating might change. I'm leaning towards keeping the 4 because my issues are mine, and not the book's.
The second book in the series grows the story of the first, and while it shares characters it is a wholly different beast. I struggled my way through it, perhaps because the mental state of the male protagonist echoed my own.
Full review https://faintingviolet.wordpress.com/...
The second book in the series grows the story of the first, and while it shares characters it is a wholly different beast. I struggled my way through it, perhaps because the mental state of the male protagonist echoed my own.
Full review https://faintingviolet.wordpress.com/...
May 17, 2018
Devo dizer que gostei muito mais deste segundo livro da autora do que do primeiro! Com muito mais história que o outro e uma história muito mais bonita!
June 14, 2019
4 Stars
December 28, 2017
I can see why reviews of this book are less glowing than the first, but I enjoyed the journey all the same. The basic difference is the first book was their sexual journey, this is their emotional journey.
Charles had some deep shit to deal with. I'm glad he gave himself the opportunity to work through it. Annie has matured and is less naive. Though she doesn't carry the epic baggage like Charles, she does face some challenges which for the first time in her life, are not automatically insurmountable.
I like that none of these challenges were resolved overnight. These characters needed time and space to get to where they need to be.
Charles had some deep shit to deal with. I'm glad he gave himself the opportunity to work through it. Annie has matured and is less naive. Though she doesn't carry the epic baggage like Charles, she does face some challenges which for the first time in her life, are not automatically insurmountable.
I like that none of these challenges were resolved overnight. These characters needed time and space to get to where they need to be.
February 13, 2017
Loved the first book. This one, too contrived, too romancy, too much crappy drama. I liked the first one, How Not to Fall, because basically they got together and formed a good relationship with a lot of hot and inventive (without getting freaky) erotica...although I didn't care for the end. I like lust that encourages love, and love that encourages lust. This one still had the good erotic scenes but frankly I got sick of this "ohhhh I love her but I can't hurt her because I am a dragon" bullshit and "oooohhhhh I love him but I must give him space." Oh for crying out loud, jump in bed and work it out. Written for people with far more time ahead of them than I have. When you are pushing 68, you have little patience for intelligent adults acting like they are in middle school.
I got involved in this series, romance really not being my thing, because the author is Emily Nagoski, a sex educator, who wrote Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science that Will Transform Your Sex Life. Nagoski provides an excellent explanation of the mechanism of female arousal and desire.
I got involved in this series, romance really not being my thing, because the author is Emily Nagoski, a sex educator, who wrote Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science that Will Transform Your Sex Life. Nagoski provides an excellent explanation of the mechanism of female arousal and desire.
April 17, 2017
My review for How Not To Fall- the first book is here. I link it because my views on the first book are directly related to my views on the second book.
I read both books consecutively. And I enjoyed the first one even with all of the things I didn't like about it.
But when two of the three things I listed as my main problems with the first book were exacerbated here, then I was done. They were The FSoG condescending comparisons. And the crying.
While still very well written the story here gets lost in over the top language to sound smart and- again- the crying.
This was a total "meh".
I read both books consecutively. And I enjoyed the first one even with all of the things I didn't like about it.
But when two of the three things I listed as my main problems with the first book were exacerbated here, then I was done. They were The FSoG condescending comparisons. And the crying.
While still very well written the story here gets lost in over the top language to sound smart and- again- the crying.
This was a total "meh".
January 8, 2018
3.5 stars!!! While not as riveting as the first, this was still a strong read from Emily Foster. I love this authors style of writing, even if I do have to look up words as I go. Annie and Charles's love story is far from over and it seems that fate is destined not to keep these two apart. With their two paths crossing once again, it is not long before that ever present connection that these two share combusts once again and these two set the pages on fire.
Charles's past is what is constantly holding him back and I am glad that Emily Foster takes time to delve into this adorable man's history. It is dark, it is dysfunctional, but this man has something that his father never had...a heart.
Charles's past is what is constantly holding him back and I am glad that Emily Foster takes time to delve into this adorable man's history. It is dark, it is dysfunctional, but this man has something that his father never had...a heart.
"Not everything that feels good is right and healthy. And not everything that hurts is wrong and dangerous."
December 5, 2016
I was provided an ARC by Netgalley for an honest review.
I did not realize this was Book 2 in a series. So, I was dropped into the story with the characters already having a history. But, honestly, that turned out just fine. There was enough there for me to be able to pick right up and understand (although I really do want to go back and read the first one). I really enjoyed this book. The depth of the characters, the style of writing, the author's ability to let you see into what made these people tick. It's a story of two people learning how to love each other - truly love, without condition. There is a great compassion, acceptance and beautiful words. Both characters expressed themselves, not always easily, but there was communication and honesty.
I did not realize this was Book 2 in a series. So, I was dropped into the story with the characters already having a history. But, honestly, that turned out just fine. There was enough there for me to be able to pick right up and understand (although I really do want to go back and read the first one). I really enjoyed this book. The depth of the characters, the style of writing, the author's ability to let you see into what made these people tick. It's a story of two people learning how to love each other - truly love, without condition. There is a great compassion, acceptance and beautiful words. Both characters expressed themselves, not always easily, but there was communication and honesty.
December 27, 2016
HOW NOT TO FALL, book 1, is in my top favorite reads of 2016. It is extremely intelligent, witty, nerdy, and oh-my-god over-the-top sexy. I gobbled it up and panted for seconds. HOW NOT TO LET GO, book 2, is similarly brilliant and nerdy. Foster totally delivers in HOW NOT TO FALL, with a heart-wrenching split in soulmates that is overcome by perseverance and the belief in the healing power of love. What a fantastic message for all of us!
See my full review at Fresh Fiction: http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id...
I submitted this review to Fresh Fiction on 11/13/16. It was published on the Fresh Fiction site 12/27/16
See my full review at Fresh Fiction: http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id...
I submitted this review to Fresh Fiction on 11/13/16. It was published on the Fresh Fiction site 12/27/16
February 5, 2017
This book made me think I needed to study my vocabulary words because I found myself becoming quite friendly with the dictionary function on my Kindle as I read this.
Charles and Annie had a relationship that often times left me scratching my head. The complexity of the relationship and Charles' inability to grasp that he needs Annie with him rather than pushing her away left me wondering if these two together was actually a good thing. It took awhile, but once Charles accepted his feelings and what he can and cannot change, he figured out he couldn't let his demons rule his life.
Charles and Annie had a relationship that often times left me scratching my head. The complexity of the relationship and Charles' inability to grasp that he needs Annie with him rather than pushing her away left me wondering if these two together was actually a good thing. It took awhile, but once Charles accepted his feelings and what he can and cannot change, he figured out he couldn't let his demons rule his life.
December 30, 2016
Ugh, I always regret reading a cliffhanger series. This is a continuation of How Not to Fall and basically just more of the same, Charles thinks he is terrible and Annie is idealized. I don't find Annie to be a particularly compelling character, she hasn't experienced any adversity in her life and is a bit boring. I liked her more in the first book.
With some solid editing this could have been one really good book instead of one good and one ho-hum.
With some solid editing this could have been one really good book instead of one good and one ho-hum.
January 28, 2018
How Not To Let Go is the second and concluding book of this series. Book one focused on the physical side of a new relationship where book two covers the emotional connection. It was about creating and maintaining a healthy relationship when one party is emotionally damaged. Like the first book, book two was an intelligent, contemporary romance that was beautifully written. I found it difficult to put this book down. Highly recommended.
October 19, 2020
Overall: 2.5 disappointed stars. A contemporary erotica that was nowhere near as good as its prequel.
I wrote what, for me, counts as a big ole whopper of a review for this book’s prequel, How Not to Fall, but now I’m having trouble finding what to say about How Not to Let Go. It’s not that this book was bad, per se; it simply didn’t live up to the prequel. I think there’s a handful of reasons why I didn’t enjoy this as much:
1. I think the main problem here is that the first book left off in a dramatic relationship cliffhanger - not even a HFN - and while the first part of How Not to Let Go follows immediately after that dramatic ending, it then fastforwards through a lot of the characters’ heartache and glosses over their depression/sadness since they’re now apart. That’s definitely not going to pack the same narrative punch as seeing every little loving moment and tearful argument as in the first book.
2. After glossing over a year of Annie and Charles’ lives, they’re thrown back in together but instead of really working on what their relationships means now that they’ve both matured (we assume/are told: it’s not really show thanks to the fast-forward), we get to witness Charles’ family drama. Some people may be into that, I admit, but I can’t do family drama plots. They’re miserable and sad and awful in real life and I don’t want to read about them in fiction either. So that made a good portion of the book a slog for me. I want Charles and Annie, not Charles’ wretchedly evil family being horrible!
3. This book has dual POV, whereas the first was entirely from Annie’s perspective. Switching POVs between books is not my favorite thing in general, but here, it comes off as rather jarring. Part of the emotional turmoil of the first book comes from us as readers not knowing (along with Annie) the truth depths of Charles’ soul, as it were. The heartache and suspense of wanting them to overcome their challenges and “just say you love her, damnit!” is kind of erased when we get spoiler-vision into his thoughts.
Charles and Annie do get their HEA in this book, but for me, I was just tired by the time we got there and kind of missed the first book as I was reading this one.
I wrote what, for me, counts as a big ole whopper of a review for this book’s prequel, How Not to Fall, but now I’m having trouble finding what to say about How Not to Let Go. It’s not that this book was bad, per se; it simply didn’t live up to the prequel. I think there’s a handful of reasons why I didn’t enjoy this as much:
1. I think the main problem here is that the first book left off in a dramatic relationship cliffhanger - not even a HFN - and while the first part of How Not to Let Go follows immediately after that dramatic ending, it then fastforwards through a lot of the characters’ heartache and glosses over their depression/sadness since they’re now apart. That’s definitely not going to pack the same narrative punch as seeing every little loving moment and tearful argument as in the first book.
2. After glossing over a year of Annie and Charles’ lives, they’re thrown back in together but instead of really working on what their relationships means now that they’ve both matured (we assume/are told: it’s not really show thanks to the fast-forward), we get to witness Charles’ family drama. Some people may be into that, I admit, but I can’t do family drama plots. They’re miserable and sad and awful in real life and I don’t want to read about them in fiction either. So that made a good portion of the book a slog for me. I want Charles and Annie, not Charles’ wretchedly evil family being horrible!
3. This book has dual POV, whereas the first was entirely from Annie’s perspective. Switching POVs between books is not my favorite thing in general, but here, it comes off as rather jarring. Part of the emotional turmoil of the first book comes from us as readers not knowing (along with Annie) the truth depths of Charles’ soul, as it were. The heartache and suspense of wanting them to overcome their challenges and “just say you love her, damnit!” is kind of erased when we get spoiler-vision into his thoughts.
Charles and Annie do get their HEA in this book, but for me, I was just tired by the time we got there and kind of missed the first book as I was reading this one.
January 17, 2018
Firstly, before I say anything else. If you happened to come across this book, and haven't already read the first book How not to Fall, put this one down and go find the first book. You will have missed everything that has happened to this couple before the start of this book, and there is A LOT in the first book.
Now, if you are reading this review having read the first book, cool. Now I have no idea why, but I came across quite a few bad reviews for this book before I read it. Not entirely sure why, I absolutely loved it, couldn't put it down. How Not to let Go continues straight on from the cliff hanger in How Not to Fall, and it follows how Annie and Charles are handling the fall out from her leaving. This time it's actually in dual POV, which is perfect as we finally get to see what goes through that genius mind of Charles.
Yes, it is a long fight ahead for both Annie and Charles, but lets be honest if you have read the first book, you know they are fated and destined and all that, to be together forever. So it's just a case of following their fight/journey to get there. And it's one of hell of a hard one. Lots thrown in the mix for them, but all of it is done perfectly. Gripping and heart wrenching, but also seriously hot and ultimately heart warming.
This book has ultimately completed an epic love story. I absolutely loved every, single thing about this story. The characters, the hardship, emotion, even the really brainy stuff that kinda makes my head hurt. It's all perfection, and I loved it hard! Hugely recommended.
Now, if you are reading this review having read the first book, cool. Now I have no idea why, but I came across quite a few bad reviews for this book before I read it. Not entirely sure why, I absolutely loved it, couldn't put it down. How Not to let Go continues straight on from the cliff hanger in How Not to Fall, and it follows how Annie and Charles are handling the fall out from her leaving. This time it's actually in dual POV, which is perfect as we finally get to see what goes through that genius mind of Charles.
Yes, it is a long fight ahead for both Annie and Charles, but lets be honest if you have read the first book, you know they are fated and destined and all that, to be together forever. So it's just a case of following their fight/journey to get there. And it's one of hell of a hard one. Lots thrown in the mix for them, but all of it is done perfectly. Gripping and heart wrenching, but also seriously hot and ultimately heart warming.
This book has ultimately completed an epic love story. I absolutely loved every, single thing about this story. The characters, the hardship, emotion, even the really brainy stuff that kinda makes my head hurt. It's all perfection, and I loved it hard! Hugely recommended.
June 10, 2018
Just unbelievably amazing. I loved Annie and Charles in How Not to Fall and seeing them part at the end was hard, so I was really looking forward to How Not to Let Go. I had no idea how they'd be able to go from two different emotional states, let alone physical locations to one, but Emily Foster did it with panache and flair while also remaining true to her characters. Annie and Charles are not just smart, they're brilliant. I loved how they had to reconcile what they wanted with what the other was able to give. My heart broke for both of them. Happiness was so fleeting for them.
This duet is really cerebral and as thought provoking as it is hot and steamy. As much as I loved the story and the ending of this book, I can't help but want more. I'd love a book with Simon, Charles's younger brother or a story with Biz, their youngest sibling. I loved both of them and they too have their own stories to tell. Not to mention I'd love to see how/where Charles and Annie decide to settle. Most of all, I sincerely hope Emily Foster is still writing romances. I know she's got a totally different day job, but she's writing smart smut, the great kind, and I feel like there's a need for smart romance and smut.
This duet is really cerebral and as thought provoking as it is hot and steamy. As much as I loved the story and the ending of this book, I can't help but want more. I'd love a book with Simon, Charles's younger brother or a story with Biz, their youngest sibling. I loved both of them and they too have their own stories to tell. Not to mention I'd love to see how/where Charles and Annie decide to settle. Most of all, I sincerely hope Emily Foster is still writing romances. I know she's got a totally different day job, but she's writing smart smut, the great kind, and I feel like there's a need for smart romance and smut.
August 18, 2017
The way this sequel ended was a complete surprise to me! It was a welcome surprise but a surprise just the same!
I just love Charles and how endearing he his no matter how broken and how bad he sees himself. My hear just goes out to him and just want to hug him! I love how compassionate and sensitive he is! I love how unselfish and brave he is even when it is so difficult! I just wish for him to find healing and make himself whole again. I just love his character!
Annie on the otherhand is so refreshing! Her innocence and honesty are breathtaking! Her patience and her capacity to forgive is admirable.
I hope there's another book on Simon! He is quite an interesting fellow and I would love to see him fall in love!
I just love Charles and how endearing he his no matter how broken and how bad he sees himself. My hear just goes out to him and just want to hug him! I love how compassionate and sensitive he is! I love how unselfish and brave he is even when it is so difficult! I just wish for him to find healing and make himself whole again. I just love his character!
Annie on the otherhand is so refreshing! Her innocence and honesty are breathtaking! Her patience and her capacity to forgive is admirable.
I hope there's another book on Simon! He is quite an interesting fellow and I would love to see him fall in love!
November 30, 2018
I adored the first in this series so I was eager to revisit this world and these characters. And I liked this one but not quite as much as the first novel. It definitely had a lot of the same things I loved about the first - a feminist, sex positive romance! YES, please. But, I didn't connect with this one quite as much as the first. However, that said, it's a good read and a solid follow up. This is one that you really need to read the first to get all of the depth of the 2nd. Do I recommend it? Definitely!
June 28, 2018
A continuação de Química do Amor, onde se entende que Charles tem de afastar os seus fantasmas internos para conseguir viver um grande amor... Uma luta interna onde vence... A ler
April 25, 2019
Aiya. Not my favorite. The first one pulled me in, and I couldn't get into caring about the characters in the second one. I'm kinda stumped on this one.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 200 reviews