How to Walk Away: A Novel

I’m obviously in the minority here but I found this novel to be too unrealistic. It reads like a Hallmark movie. Having known someone who fell off his roof and was paralyzed probably has a lot to do with why I can’t relate to this book.

Margaret has a great prospective job and a charming boyfriend when a terrible accident changes everything and her perspectives on life.

Spoiler alert:
Her boyfriend, a pilot, proposes while taking her on an airplane ride. There's a rough landing and a crash. Chip escapes, but Margaret's legs are trapped. While Chip leaves her dangling while he goes for help, a fire breaks out. A a result, she is burned and paralyzed. Eventually Chip leaves her and she has to cope with the loss of her abilities, the end of her career, and months of physical therapy. The best part of the book is the relationship between the two sisters and their interaction with their manipulative mother. Her sister has an explosive secret that once revealed causes a family rift. How she copes with her therapy, her therapist, and her life is a great story.

I was provided an advance copy of this novel from the publisher, St. Martin's Press, through a giveaway on Goodreads and an e-galley through Netgalley.

I am a sucker for romance. Especially romance that overcomes tragic circumstances. So this charming and inspiring little novel was right up my alley. It might have also had something to do with the fact that it's set in Texas (that's where I live!) and that the main character, Maggie, has a terrible fear of flying (me too!). And while the plot was fairly predictable--there were a few surprises--I still enjoyed every word, which is why this one gets five glowing stars from me.

#popsugarreadingchallenge (prompt #22)

Haven't I read this book before? Or maybe I saw the movie? Or maybe it's just so predictable I can't tell. A good story (which is why I think it's been done over and over) but I wanted something more new. I did love the characters so that made it a fun read.

With the book jacket description, I was expecting something a little more deep and more inspiring. When I threw my hands up and said "I give up. It's a romance novel," well, then it became a better book to me. It meant that the predictability of the novel became an asset rather than a liability. Once I saw the book as a midnight fantasy on a night when you can't fall asleep, it improved greatly. 3 starts as a novel, 5 as a romance, so I was going to give it 4 stars, but I relented while writing the last sentence of this review and changed it to 5.

Everything about Chip is perfect. His country club/fraternity name is derived from "Charles Phillip," a name fit for British monarchy. He's perfect, and perfectly narcissistic. I don't think Margaret even knows him. She's so stunned by him, and he's so dreamy that she doesn't tell him that she's going to earn $50,000 more at her job than he will working for a friend of his dad's after they both get their MBAs. He bullies her into a plane ride she doesn't want, and he fails at everything - the purpose of the plane ride isn't there, the engagement ring is all wrong, and, big surprise, he crashes the plane and runs away. Everything she saw in him was what she wanted to see - all veneer, no substance. The first 20 pages do not bode well for Margaret.

Actually, the first half of the book is truly good. There are quotes I want to put on my next Shutterfly calendar. Interactions between the characters, whether predictable or not, are written skillfully and make reading the book a true pleasure. There's a lot I could say... but I don't want to give away the intricacies of the novel. Somewhere around page 200 was where I started to roll my eyes. But just for a little while. Then I told myself to lighten up and enjoy the fantasy, and I did. I'll probably fall asleep tonight dreaming about the perfect kiss from the man who is perfect for me.