The Falling in Love Montage

Written by Ciara Smyth

Narrated by Alana Kerr Collins

Two girls embark on a summer of montage-worthy dates (with a few strings attached) in this hilarious and heartfelt lesbian rom-com that’s perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli and Jenny Han.

Seventeen-year-old cynic Saoirse Clarke isn’t looking for a relationship. But when she meets mischievous Ruby, that rule goes right out the window. Sort of.

Because Ruby has a loophole in mind: a summer of all the best cliché movie montage dates, with a definite ending come fall—no broken hearts, no messy breakup. It would be the perfect plan, if they weren’t forgetting one thing about the Falling in Love Montage: when it’s over, the characters have fallen in love...for real.

Ciara Smyth’s debut is a delightful, multilayered YA rom-com that will make you laugh, cry, and absolutely fall in love. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Jun 9, 2020
• ISBN: 9780063012554

Ciara Smyth

Ciara Smyth studied drama, teaching, and then social work at university. She thought she didn’t know what she wanted to be when she grew up. She became a writer so she wouldn’t have to grow up. She enjoys jigging (verb: to complete a jigsaw puzzle), playing the violin badly, and having serious conversations with her pets. Ciara has lived in Belfast for over ten years and still doesn’t really know her way around. Visit her online at www.ciarasmyth.com.

Reviews for The Falling in Love Montage

[Line Mrn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Cute but not cheesy, funny as hell with compelling characters. I recommend 100%!

[K Benn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was very sweet and surprisingly poignant. The narrator did a fantastic job and captured the humor of the main character in a way that had me genuinely laughing out loud at moments. This was a funny, heartfelt, lovely little listen.

[Lisa · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really loved this book. It's the first one in a long while that made me laugh as much as want to cry. The struggles the MC goes through are deep and complex, and the way it progresses, though messy at times, is very realistic and never falls into trope-y territory.

The writing is bubbly and fun most of the time, but knows when to shift into a more serious tone for the more dramatic sections. The ending of the book didn't go in the direction I was expecting, but it still remains a good, solid, and realistic ending nonetheless. Overall, it left me happy and content and warm.

Would definitely recommend this book.

[hollyhil13 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The narrator of this book is to die for. She has a perfect Irish accent and she's a joy to listen to. Seriously. Listen to this just for the narrator. Other than that it's a lovely sapphic summer romance with a dash of existential crisis and nihilism, it made me laugh, made me cry, and made we want a girlfriend. Highly recommend.

[Jarm · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

walang masyadong chemistry yung 2. di masayang magbasa pag seld-destructing yung mc nainis ako for the most part sa kaniya haha

[zetariemann · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Overall, this book was cute and although I found the main character often frustrating, I did get where she was coming from. The story was mostly about her journey dealing with her mom's early-onset dementia and her dad's new relationship. There was romance sure, but her and Ruby don't actually even end up together because they have to break up at the end of the summer when Ruby goes back home. You could say that's kind of a spoiler, but they also technically both agree to that at the very beginning. I kind of liked that about it too. Maybe they get together one day, but they both want to be close to their families, so it makes more sense that it probably won't work out long-term...

I just didn't feel particularly invested in their love story anyways because Saoirse was so obviously not ready for a relationship and she didn't always treat Ruby very well. I mean I liked Saoirse as a character, but... Ruby could probably do better. Not because Saoirse is a bad person, but she just had too much going on and definitely needs therapy I don't know. A part of me wishes we got to hear more from Ruby's perspective, but that might not have worked and I don't usually love dual-POVs anyways.

I also felt a little bit weird about Saoirse becoming friends with her ex again at the end. I guess if she really can move past it, that could be good but since she spent 95% of the book super upset about their breakup, it felt weird that in the last 30 pages they were all good again.

My only other nitpicks are I found it annoying that Saoirse kept telling me (the reader) to "Shut up" all the time. I get that it was supposed to be tongue-in-cheek but I sometimes found her narration a bit too juvenile for me. Maybe I'm just too old for YA, but sometimes the writing was... not for me.

I also understand that the premise lends itself to constant movie references, but I really don't love that. I like romcoms, but I actually hate Four Weddings and a Funeral and 10 Things I Hate About You and some of the other ones that are the love interest's favorites. I was glad Saorise kind of roasted 10 Things I Hate About You becuase I could list probably 100 things I hate about that movie. Haha. She's right, it only BARELY even works at all because the two leads are super hot. ANYWAYS, I would recommend this if you're looking for a good YA book about lesbians, but I would say it's more contemporary fiction than it is romance.

[dominiquedavis · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I actually liked the family relationships more than the actual relationship, and I liked the romantic relationship. The family relationship was just so strong I wouldn’t have minded an entire book focused on that.

[cumbresdelibros · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A romantic comedy about lesbians.

A teenager who refuses to fall in love again and another teenager who loves romantic comedies. With this, we already know they are going to be somewhat connected.

I liked the character of Saoirse as well as Ruby's; the story reads quickly and is very entertaining.

The book also addresses family issues and how Saoirse deals with her mother's illness, the failure of first love, the teenage feeling of being a failure, and the fear of trusting others again.

I loved the audiobook because the narrator had an accent that I think is Scottish.

The three stars are because there were things in the book that I didn't like, and despite being a bit short, I found it hard to get hooked; Saoirse is a very stubborn character and falls into the theme of lack of communication. (Translated from Spanish)

[edgoldberg · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Saoirse ( pronounced seer-sha) met Ruby at a party and it was instant attraction. But, having broken up with her girlfriend, Hannah, months before, Saoirse was hesitant to start a new relationship. Also, her mother has early onset dementia, which has some hereditary aspects, so why do something when the chances are you won't remember it? Added to that, her father is remarrying a year after her mom was put in a nursing home devoted to people with her ailment.

Yet, as you can guess, Saoirse's resolve falls apart.

There's a lot going on in this book...a family dealing with early onset dementia and the strain it puts on them, a young girl dealing with a step mother when her own mother is incapable of recognizing her, a girl's fear of contracting the same disease and fear of commitment. Yet through it all, The Falling in Love Montage is an easy and enjoyable read, although I wasn't totally happy with the ending. It was realistic but who wants realism, huh?

I heartily recommend The Falling in Love Montage.