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Fall Into You
A sweet and totally addictive enemies-to-lovers m/m romantic comedy!
Twenty years ago, Will Robertson ran out on his destiny, leaving his family farm and everything he was supposed to become behind. So when he's forced back to small-town Glenriver, Ohio and finds the farm's irritatingly handsome manager Casey Reeves living more happily in his childhood home than he ever did, it's only natural that they hate each other immediately.
Will's plan is sell his late father's apple farm and get back to his carefully constructed life in Chicago. But when a collapsed bridge strands him in Glenriver with Casey, "simple" goes right out the window—along with Will's determination to keep his distance from both his past and the man right in front of him.
Between corporate vultures circling, long-buried family secrets coming to light, and the undeniable spark growing between them, Will and Casey will have to decide if some things really are worth fighting for… and if two people who seem totally wrong for each other might actually be exactly right.
Twenty years ago, Will Robertson ran out on his destiny, leaving his family farm and everything he was supposed to become behind. So when he's forced back to small-town Glenriver, Ohio and finds the farm's irritatingly handsome manager Casey Reeves living more happily in his childhood home than he ever did, it's only natural that they hate each other immediately.
Will's plan is sell his late father's apple farm and get back to his carefully constructed life in Chicago. But when a collapsed bridge strands him in Glenriver with Casey, "simple" goes right out the window—along with Will's determination to keep his distance from both his past and the man right in front of him.
Between corporate vultures circling, long-buried family secrets coming to light, and the undeniable spark growing between them, Will and Casey will have to decide if some things really are worth fighting for… and if two people who seem totally wrong for each other might actually be exactly right.
322 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 18, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 149 reviews
January 25, 2026
After reading and enjoying another book by Dylan Morrison, I looked at their backlog and picked Fall Into You as my next read. While the story was good, I didn't love it as much. All the elements were present: crisp autumn weather, terrifying storm/weather phenomenon, likable main characters, and tension. But for some reason, I found it overly wordy detailed to the point I'd get lost in a couple of pages of narrative to stay invested in the scenes. Not terrible but noticeable, so while I'd usually give it a 4, I felt this compared to the previous work wasn't as strong. Won't stop me from reading the new release when it comes out as I love the way the characters are built and the depth of their personalities and histories.
August 27, 2025
I hated this so, so much 😬😬😬😬I don't even know where to start!
Writing Style: What on earth was it?? I think this was supposed to be 3rd person limited POV, but the narrator came across more as omniscient, but then the main character didn't seem to ever have any emotions.... We get to know the absolute bare minimum about the second MC and we never hear how he feels about anything. It was so weird and I just could not immerse myself in this story at all.
Lack of Dialogue / Communication: Other than a couple of arguments at the beginning, these two MC's don't even have a single conversation on page until after the 60% point of the book! There is endless inner thoughts from Will, who is the most wishy washy wet lettuce character that I've ever read. He doesn't want to deal with ANYTHING in his life, even the things he supposedly enjoys. He's as emotional as an android and behaves like an ostrich. He managed to bore me so much that I couldn't care less if he sold the farm or kept it. He overthought every single thing in the world, he avoided people like he was trying to get an Olympic gold for it, and there were endless anecdotes and recalling past events that had the very loosest thread to what was happening in the book.
The 'Romance': I cannot even express how aggravating this book was with the romance. I literally said that there was no conversation between them until the 60% point and that I was going to scream if the next chapter had the MC declaring he had feelings for the other.... Guess when he decided he had feelings?!?!!? They know NOTHING about each other, they've just been existing in the same location due to circumstances beyond their control. I can't even say this was forced proximity as I've ever seen it before. We don't get to see anything that they're doing or talking about during this time, because NONE of it is on page. We get vague recaps of what's been happening, but at no point did I expect these two to become friends, let alone actually get together. I genuinely thought I had wrongly assumed this was a romance book.
I don't even know what to say about the main plot of the big bad corporation that's trying to take over the town, or why not one single person could just tell Will what was happening, or at least point him in the right direction. The most infuriating part was that Will's best friend is a lawyer who sweeps in pretty much in the very last chapter, resolves the issue with the pushy consultant without even having a real conversation, and effectively tells the other MC that Will is staying because Will can't seem to use his own vocal chords ever....
I love enemies to lovers, small town, and opposites attract but this missed the mark on every single trope and microtrope that was 'promised'...
Writing Style: What on earth was it?? I think this was supposed to be 3rd person limited POV, but the narrator came across more as omniscient, but then the main character didn't seem to ever have any emotions.... We get to know the absolute bare minimum about the second MC and we never hear how he feels about anything. It was so weird and I just could not immerse myself in this story at all.
Lack of Dialogue / Communication: Other than a couple of arguments at the beginning, these two MC's don't even have a single conversation on page until after the 60% point of the book! There is endless inner thoughts from Will, who is the most wishy washy wet lettuce character that I've ever read. He doesn't want to deal with ANYTHING in his life, even the things he supposedly enjoys. He's as emotional as an android and behaves like an ostrich. He managed to bore me so much that I couldn't care less if he sold the farm or kept it. He overthought every single thing in the world, he avoided people like he was trying to get an Olympic gold for it, and there were endless anecdotes and recalling past events that had the very loosest thread to what was happening in the book.
The 'Romance': I cannot even express how aggravating this book was with the romance. I literally said that there was no conversation between them until the 60% point and that I was going to scream if the next chapter had the MC declaring he had feelings for the other.... Guess when he decided he had feelings?!?!!? They know NOTHING about each other, they've just been existing in the same location due to circumstances beyond their control. I can't even say this was forced proximity as I've ever seen it before. We don't get to see anything that they're doing or talking about during this time, because NONE of it is on page. We get vague recaps of what's been happening, but at no point did I expect these two to become friends, let alone actually get together. I genuinely thought I had wrongly assumed this was a romance book.
I don't even know what to say about the main plot of the big bad corporation that's trying to take over the town, or why not one single person could just tell Will what was happening, or at least point him in the right direction. The most infuriating part was that Will's best friend is a lawyer who sweeps in pretty much in the very last chapter, resolves the issue with the pushy consultant without even having a real conversation, and effectively tells the other MC that Will is staying because Will can't seem to use his own vocal chords ever....
I love enemies to lovers, small town, and opposites attract but this missed the mark on every single trope and microtrope that was 'promised'...
August 11, 2025
Ah, the good old "queer person who fled small town returns and finds true love" trope: not one I usually have much patience for, especially if the small town is in a red state. Suspension of disbelief gets to be a problem, especially in this great year of 1933 2025. Having loved Dylan Morrison's fanfic, though, I was willing to go along with it this time.
MC1, Will Robertson, is a botanist, which scores the book some points with me right away: there are so few scientists in romance novels. He's engaged in developing a strain of apple rich in vitamin D. MC2, Casey, has been living on the Robertson family farm, which Will left nearly two decades ago under inauspicious circumstances and has now inherited. The conflict between them is a lot more genuine than in most enemies-to-lovers romances: not only is Will possibly about to sell Casey's home out from under him, and to an entertainment conglomerate at that, but also the two men have radically different experiences of Will's father. Casey, knowing nothing of how abusive the elder Robertson was, assumes that Will is basically a jerk who dumped his old dad.
When the only bridge into town is washed out by a huge storm, we enter the forced-proximity portion of the narrative, during which Casey and Will's assumptions about each other fall apart.
So, fine, I was enjoying myself, despite a niggling concern about Will's friend Selma, who's a lawyer in Chicago, being neither a real estate attorney nor licensed to practice in Ohio. Then I developed another niggling concern about Will's certainty that he's going to develop dementia, because his father and grandfather did. In general, although dementias have a heritable component, having relatives with the disease doesn't make getting it yourself a done deal. (For a discussion of Alzheimer dementia, see this page.)
Then I got to a financial plot point that was minor in itself but that got me poking at the narrative and watching it deflate. I've left a long rant about that point -- the cost of a year-long nursing home stay -- after the body of this review. Then I hit a logistical snag. The bridge into the town of Glenriver has washed out, and some of the townspeople are stranded on the other side, plus it seems that no food can come in. This makes no sense unless either Glenriver is on an island, or the river is infinitely long and there are no other bridges across it.
Then, too, the replacement bridge is built in two weeks, even though this storm was so fierce that multiple old trees have been knocked down, which implies a lot of damage regionally, and even under the best conditions building a bridge isn't a two-week project. (Yes, okay, a pontoon bridge in wartime. This is not that.)
And then I hit a realization about the central emotional conflict. This is a small town and Casey has been living there for six years. He's friendly with everybody. How likely is it that in all that time no one has said anything to him somewhere in the realm of "It's great that you're taking care of old Bill's place. And what a shame that he didn't treat his son as well as he treats you"?
And yep, Selma does save the day, in spite of not being a real estate attorney or licensed to practice in Ohio. (Or at least, if she is either of those things, we aren't told about it. Property law is state law, as is the law of wills and estates.)
I really liked Will and Casey. I liked the town of Glenriver. I would happily pick apples at Robertson Family Farms. The trouble is that the story's exoskeleton fell apart around it. I hope that with their next novel, Dylan Morrison gets stronger editorial and copyeditorial support. I also hope that their next ARC isn't an atrociously formatted PDF.
Thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley; this is my unbiased review.
----
The nursing-home-cost rant I posted before the above full review:
This is not the review yet! This is me losing my mind over authors and copy editors not doing their fucking jobs!
*deep breath*
As the copyediting manual used by one of my longtime clients notes, it's part of a copy editor's job to check basic information, and also a good copy editor has a wee early-warning system in the back of their head that tells them when something is off, so when Character B tells Character A that he "helped pay for" someone's approximately year-long stay in a nursing home, and when Character B, who is 28 and has spent much of his life as more or less a nomad, says he could afford this because he's "more or less allergic to rent" and has "a lot more saved up than most people do," the klaxons should have been blaring. That is:
Medicare will pay for 20 days of nursing home care, after which there's a copay, as of 2025, of about $200/day for 80 days, then nothing. Alternatively, there's Medicaid, but for complicated reasons it's not an option in this book.*
We are in Ohio. The nearest city is Canton.
And now for some numbers. Let's say the nursing home stay lasted 300 days, much less than a full year. Per this site, the approximate daily cost of a nursing home in Canton, with a shared room, is $290.
So we have 20 days @ $0 + 80 days @ $200 + 200 days @ $290, for a grand total of $74,000.
Definitely a sum of money this until-recently-nomadic 28-year-old has just lying around.
----------
*The complicated reasons may have something to do with the fantastically convoluted legal requirements for Medicaid, specifically those to do with how much property the person on Medicaid is allowed to retain. There's a reason why anybody who owns anything at all, not just rich people, would do well to consult a lawyer specializing in these issues well before any possibility of life in a nursing home crops up. (Yes, inherited wealth is grossly unfair. On the other hand, we might be talking about a small coop apartment or a family farm, not a gold-plated hotel. And besides, the really rich people aren't going to be troubled by any of this.)
MC1, Will Robertson, is a botanist, which scores the book some points with me right away: there are so few scientists in romance novels. He's engaged in developing a strain of apple rich in vitamin D. MC2, Casey, has been living on the Robertson family farm, which Will left nearly two decades ago under inauspicious circumstances and has now inherited. The conflict between them is a lot more genuine than in most enemies-to-lovers romances: not only is Will possibly about to sell Casey's home out from under him, and to an entertainment conglomerate at that, but also the two men have radically different experiences of Will's father. Casey, knowing nothing of how abusive the elder Robertson was, assumes that Will is basically a jerk who dumped his old dad.
When the only bridge into town is washed out by a huge storm, we enter the forced-proximity portion of the narrative, during which Casey and Will's assumptions about each other fall apart.
So, fine, I was enjoying myself, despite a niggling concern about Will's friend Selma, who's a lawyer in Chicago, being neither a real estate attorney nor licensed to practice in Ohio. Then I developed another niggling concern about Will's certainty that he's going to develop dementia, because his father and grandfather did. In general, although dementias have a heritable component, having relatives with the disease doesn't make getting it yourself a done deal. (For a discussion of Alzheimer dementia, see this page.)
Then I got to a financial plot point that was minor in itself but that got me poking at the narrative and watching it deflate. I've left a long rant about that point -- the cost of a year-long nursing home stay -- after the body of this review. Then I hit a logistical snag. The bridge into the town of Glenriver has washed out, and some of the townspeople are stranded on the other side, plus it seems that no food can come in. This makes no sense unless either Glenriver is on an island, or the river is infinitely long and there are no other bridges across it.
Then, too, the replacement bridge is built in two weeks, even though this storm was so fierce that multiple old trees have been knocked down, which implies a lot of damage regionally, and even under the best conditions building a bridge isn't a two-week project. (Yes, okay, a pontoon bridge in wartime. This is not that.)
And then I hit a realization about the central emotional conflict. This is a small town and Casey has been living there for six years. He's friendly with everybody. How likely is it that in all that time no one has said anything to him somewhere in the realm of "It's great that you're taking care of old Bill's place. And what a shame that he didn't treat his son as well as he treats you"?
And yep, Selma does save the day, in spite of not being a real estate attorney or licensed to practice in Ohio. (Or at least, if she is either of those things, we aren't told about it. Property law is state law, as is the law of wills and estates.)
I really liked Will and Casey. I liked the town of Glenriver. I would happily pick apples at Robertson Family Farms. The trouble is that the story's exoskeleton fell apart around it. I hope that with their next novel, Dylan Morrison gets stronger editorial and copyeditorial support. I also hope that their next ARC isn't an atrociously formatted PDF.
Thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley; this is my unbiased review.
----
The nursing-home-cost rant I posted before the above full review:
This is not the review yet! This is me losing my mind over authors and copy editors not doing their fucking jobs!
*deep breath*
As the copyediting manual used by one of my longtime clients notes, it's part of a copy editor's job to check basic information, and also a good copy editor has a wee early-warning system in the back of their head that tells them when something is off, so when Character B tells Character A that he "helped pay for" someone's approximately year-long stay in a nursing home, and when Character B, who is 28 and has spent much of his life as more or less a nomad, says he could afford this because he's "more or less allergic to rent" and has "a lot more saved up than most people do," the klaxons should have been blaring. That is:
Medicare will pay for 20 days of nursing home care, after which there's a copay, as of 2025, of about $200/day for 80 days, then nothing. Alternatively, there's Medicaid, but for complicated reasons it's not an option in this book.*
We are in Ohio. The nearest city is Canton.
And now for some numbers. Let's say the nursing home stay lasted 300 days, much less than a full year. Per this site, the approximate daily cost of a nursing home in Canton, with a shared room, is $290.
So we have 20 days @ $0 + 80 days @ $200 + 200 days @ $290, for a grand total of $74,000.
Definitely a sum of money this until-recently-nomadic 28-year-old has just lying around.
----------
*The complicated reasons may have something to do with the fantastically convoluted legal requirements for Medicaid, specifically those to do with how much property the person on Medicaid is allowed to retain. There's a reason why anybody who owns anything at all, not just rich people, would do well to consult a lawyer specializing in these issues well before any possibility of life in a nursing home crops up. (Yes, inherited wealth is grossly unfair. On the other hand, we might be talking about a small coop apartment or a family farm, not a gold-plated hotel. And besides, the really rich people aren't going to be troubled by any of this.)
June 24, 2025
What? Enemies-to-lovers that's actually enemies-to-lovers? In this economy????
I've ranted elsewhere about the watering down of the enemies-to-lovers trope, so it's great to see an author really leaning into the arsehole potential of both MCs from the jump. (Although Will isn't really trying to be an arsehole, or at least his actions are more understandable to the reader; but his inability to relate to the situation he's in can justifiably be read by Casey as a hostile move.) This is a really well-written slow-burn with two likable, relatable MCs whose initial mutual antipathy feels authentically grounded in the circumstances they find themselves in, and whose gradual armistice-to-friendship-to-loverdom is equally rooted in how their understandings of those circumstances change as they get to know each other better. Will is a frustrating character, at times, especially in how he ices out Selma, although his self-awareness of the unhelpfulness of his coping mechanism goes a long way, even as he is unable to change it. Casey, the non-POV character, is genuinely unsympathetic at first, but also takes responsibility for his antagonistic behavior once he gets the full story; he's also in a difficult situation, which explains his reactions but is not used to excuse them.
ymmv on the whole "going back to the small town you justifiably fled" trope, which is not typically my jam; it has a conservative Hallmark-ian tone that puts my back up, quite frankly, and was definitely the part of this book that I resisted the longest. Although in Will's case, it was really his family he fled; his recollection of the town itself is mostly neutral, and part of the story here is Will untangling from that mess of memories what he actually was running from. Points for Morrison not making the townspeople a collection of quirky stereotypes, though, which seems to be the norm in these cases and is invariably cringe. They are, for the most part, just normal people, which is much more interesting to read than a self-consciously cutesy collection of weirdos.
The epilogue was a bit sugary for my taste, but, hey: no secret baby! No kids of any kind! Huzzah!
I really loved this author's fic (not an unmasking; they mention their fic writing in the acknowledgements, but since they don't give their pseud, I won't either) and am delighted to see them making the leap to tradpub. So good that I almost didn't notice it's fade-to-black. Excited to see what this author comes up with next!
I got an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I've ranted elsewhere about the watering down of the enemies-to-lovers trope, so it's great to see an author really leaning into the arsehole potential of both MCs from the jump. (Although Will isn't really trying to be an arsehole, or at least his actions are more understandable to the reader; but his inability to relate to the situation he's in can justifiably be read by Casey as a hostile move.) This is a really well-written slow-burn with two likable, relatable MCs whose initial mutual antipathy feels authentically grounded in the circumstances they find themselves in, and whose gradual armistice-to-friendship-to-loverdom is equally rooted in how their understandings of those circumstances change as they get to know each other better. Will is a frustrating character, at times, especially in how he ices out Selma, although his self-awareness of the unhelpfulness of his coping mechanism goes a long way, even as he is unable to change it. Casey, the non-POV character, is genuinely unsympathetic at first, but also takes responsibility for his antagonistic behavior once he gets the full story; he's also in a difficult situation, which explains his reactions but is not used to excuse them.
ymmv on the whole "going back to the small town you justifiably fled" trope, which is not typically my jam; it has a conservative Hallmark-ian tone that puts my back up, quite frankly, and was definitely the part of this book that I resisted the longest. Although in Will's case, it was really his family he fled; his recollection of the town itself is mostly neutral, and part of the story here is Will untangling from that mess of memories what he actually was running from. Points for Morrison not making the townspeople a collection of quirky stereotypes, though, which seems to be the norm in these cases and is invariably cringe. They are, for the most part, just normal people, which is much more interesting to read than a self-consciously cutesy collection of weirdos.
The epilogue was a bit sugary for my taste, but, hey: no secret baby! No kids of any kind! Huzzah!
I really loved this author's fic (not an unmasking; they mention their fic writing in the acknowledgements, but since they don't give their pseud, I won't either) and am delighted to see them making the leap to tradpub. So good that I almost didn't notice it's fade-to-black. Excited to see what this author comes up with next!
I got an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
July 3, 2025
I loved this book so much.
Not only is this book beautifully well written that I need to get my hands on a physical copy so I can highlight beautiful passages, it made me laugh, it made me cry and it made me laugh some more.
I wholeheartedly recommend this book.
Not only is this book beautifully well written that I need to get my hands on a physical copy so I can highlight beautiful passages, it made me laugh, it made me cry and it made me laugh some more.
I wholeheartedly recommend this book.
July 3, 2025
Real review later, if I have time. But FYI, this is fantastic, and I will be looking forward to the author's future books.
The only nit I can pick is I noticed a handful of what I'll call continuity type errors, where something minor didn't make sense in light of something stated a few pages earlier, but they're of no real consequence.
Really glad I took a shot on this. I borrowed it from KU but will have to buy a copy now.
The only nit I can pick is I noticed a handful of what I'll call continuity type errors, where something minor didn't make sense in light of something stated a few pages earlier, but they're of no real consequence.
Really glad I took a shot on this. I borrowed it from KU but will have to buy a copy now.
July 15, 2025
This book is just dense unrelenting paragraphs of what goes on inside Will's head. Every memory, every thought, every opportunity, every fear, everything. And he has reasons, but JFC he's an asshole. He kicks the can down the road until he's circumnavigated the globe; hiding from any decision or communication to anyone near or far. There is so much panic and anxiety in his thoughts that it's too much. I cannot be trapped in his brain anymore! I skimmed after 60% because I do not care what happens to Will. At all.
Read
July 9, 2025Paused at 41%
This feels unnecessarily long! Maybe I’ll return when in a different mood.
This feels unnecessarily long! Maybe I’ll return when in a different mood.
June 18, 2025
Thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read this through Netgalley. It’s the first of this authors works for me.
Will returns to his hometown after the death of his father, having left years ago, and never having returned. Upon doing so he’s planning to sign his fathers house and orchards over to a developer. During some stilted negotiations Will meets Casey, his father’s orchard-hand and is promptly smitten, though this feeling is briefly disguised as outrage. Casey in truth is similarly outraged after having only Will’s deceased fathers version of events for the past 6 years.
What follows is a particularly slow-burn, closed romance set against the backdrop of Will’s former home. There’s a lot of introspection from Will, with most of the story from his perspective, so much so that Casey sometimes feels like a side character instead of the love interest. Will is quite immature, for having made it in the big city in his own, as a scientist.
I’m not sure whether it was the closed door aspect or not but these two didn’t seem to have chemistry. Sure there was understanding and empathy but it seemed like there was insta-love without the ardour, and as the relationship progressed, there was no proximity or intimacy, which didn’t make the pining during a period of separation very realistic.
What worked for me was the small town setting and feel which was translated well, as were some of the side characters.
An interesting read, importantly during Pride month (read queer all year). Definitely sweet but not effortless by any means.
Will returns to his hometown after the death of his father, having left years ago, and never having returned. Upon doing so he’s planning to sign his fathers house and orchards over to a developer. During some stilted negotiations Will meets Casey, his father’s orchard-hand and is promptly smitten, though this feeling is briefly disguised as outrage. Casey in truth is similarly outraged after having only Will’s deceased fathers version of events for the past 6 years.
What follows is a particularly slow-burn, closed romance set against the backdrop of Will’s former home. There’s a lot of introspection from Will, with most of the story from his perspective, so much so that Casey sometimes feels like a side character instead of the love interest. Will is quite immature, for having made it in the big city in his own, as a scientist.
I’m not sure whether it was the closed door aspect or not but these two didn’t seem to have chemistry. Sure there was understanding and empathy but it seemed like there was insta-love without the ardour, and as the relationship progressed, there was no proximity or intimacy, which didn’t make the pining during a period of separation very realistic.
What worked for me was the small town setting and feel which was translated well, as were some of the side characters.
An interesting read, importantly during Pride month (read queer all year). Definitely sweet but not effortless by any means.
September 22, 2025
B / 4 stars
Dylan Morrison’s Fall Into You is billed as a romantic comedy, but I think the best description I’ve seen of it (genre-wise) is along the lines of ‘Emily Henry but gay’. There is a romance here, but the focus is more on the emotional journey of the narrator/protagonist, so I’d say it fits more into the space currently occupied by those ‘romance hybrids’ that are so common now.
William Josiah Robertson IV was expected to follow in the footsteps of William Josiah Robertsons I, II and III and continue the stewardship of the Robertson Family Farms, founded over a hundred years ago by the first William - Bill. Bill Robertsons are supposed to be rugged and charismatic and smart, with a head for business, numbers and the bottom line – but it quickly became apparent that the fourth William a ‘Will’ and not a ‘Bill’. Quiet, sensitive, easily injured and often ill, Will was certainly smart - “too smart” according to his father whenever Will made a suggestion he didn’t like – but he was smart in a way nobody knew what to do with. After eighteen years of trying hard to be what his family wanted him to be, and exhausted by his father’s constant disappointment and criticism, Will turned his back on Glenriver and the farm, fully intending never to return.
Fast forward sixteen years, and Will, now a research botanist based in Chicago, is on his way to Glenriver having inherited the farm and orchards after his father’s recent death. He’s only going back in order to tie up some loose ends and to finalise the sale of the property to an entertainment company that plans to expand a local festival. As he takes a walk around the farm and the orchards, he notices the place is obvously being well cared for and that a lot of changes and improvements have been made he’s sure his father would not have been capable of in his final illness. This impression continues when he enters the market building, which is bright, airy and well-organised rather than the dimly lit slightly shambolic place he recalls. Then his eyes come to rest on the seriously attractive guy behind the counter, tall, blond, broad-chested and square-jawed; in short, everything a Bill Roberston is supposed to be and who is clearly content living the life Will never wanted. They chat amiably for a while, until the guy – farm manager Casey Reeves - realises who Will is and the friendly atmosphere changes abruptly as both men jump to unfortunate conclusions.
The enemies-to-lovers vibe is done well here (it so rarely is, these days it seems!) with the author unafraid to paint his characters in a poor light. Will is the sole narrator so we only get his perspective, but the reasons behind their conflict feel genuine; Casey believes Will is about to sell the home he’s lived in for the past six years out from under him, and because has no idea how Robertson III treated his son, he thinks that Will simply ran off and left his dad in the lurch. And Will, whose feelings towards his dad are a complicated mess he’s not even begun to unravel yet, and who is already on edge at simply being back home and expected to make big decisions, can’t help feeling perhaps just a little bit aggrieved at having been so easily replaced – even though he didn’t want to be there. Still, Casey had no right to say the things he did and Will is determined to dislike him.
Fall Into You is, then, one of those protagonist-who-fled-their-home-town-returns-and-finds-love stories, although honestly, the romance takes a bit of a back seat to Will’s emotional journey as he faces his past trauma and comes to see his father and their relationship through a more mature lens. So I suspect the degree to which you enjoy (or not) the book will depend on how far you relate to Will, who is sweet and kind and nerdy; a loner with a tendency to over-think everything and who is uncomfortable in social situations.
I enjoyed it for the most part, and the author does a very good job of showing Will starting to unpack all the complex emotions being back home has stirred up, and starting to come to terms with them and what they mean for him going forward. I liked Will coming to realise that his memories of the town and its people aren’t particularly accurate and coming to see that the place isn’t so bad after all... and starting to understand what he actually ran away from. Extra points to Morrison for not making the townsfolk the quirky collection of misfits so often found in this type of novel; instead they’re a bunch of regular people living their regular lives and doing their best, like the rest of us.
The romance is, as I’ve said, not the main focus of the story, but Will and Casey have good chemistry and I enjoyed watching their initial antagonism transform into something sweet and genuine. Casey is a good guy – he’s not very sympathetic at first, but he does own his poor behaviour when he gets the full story, and his being in a tricky situation as regards the farm does make it easier to understand why he acts as he does. But because the book is really about Will’s personal journey, Casey can sometimes feel like a secondary character rather than a love interest.
There are a couple of things that require a rather large suspension of disbelief. The first is Will’s statement that after he left home at eighteen, he “found an apartment, and then a job, and then I applied to college, and got in.” I don’t know how things work in the US, but Will being able to rent an apartment on his own at eighteen without having to provide proof he could afford it/proof of income couldn’t happen in the UK. Then later, there’s Casey’s offhand comment that he’d been able to pay for Will’s father to be in a nursing home for the year before he died because he’s “more or less allergic to rent” and has “a lot more saved up than most people do.” That would have to have been a LOT of money (I’d say well over 50K in my neck of the woods), so how on earth could someone of Casey’s age (twenty-eight) who had lived a fairly nomadic life (so wouldn’t have been making big bucks) have afforded that?
As the book went on, I admit that I struggled a bit with Will’s tendency to drift off into long internal monologues, because they disrupt the momentum of the story. That wasn’t too much of an issue in the first part of the novel, but by the final third, it was happening too often and I was starting to zone out a bit.
All in all, however, Fall Into You is an enjoyable – if predictable and slightly syrupy - story featuring likeable characters and a sweet slow-burn romance in which the explorations of grief, expectations and identity are nicely done. I enjoyed it enough to want to keep an eye out for whatever Dylan Morrison comes up with next.
Dylan Morrison’s Fall Into You is billed as a romantic comedy, but I think the best description I’ve seen of it (genre-wise) is along the lines of ‘Emily Henry but gay’. There is a romance here, but the focus is more on the emotional journey of the narrator/protagonist, so I’d say it fits more into the space currently occupied by those ‘romance hybrids’ that are so common now.
William Josiah Robertson IV was expected to follow in the footsteps of William Josiah Robertsons I, II and III and continue the stewardship of the Robertson Family Farms, founded over a hundred years ago by the first William - Bill. Bill Robertsons are supposed to be rugged and charismatic and smart, with a head for business, numbers and the bottom line – but it quickly became apparent that the fourth William a ‘Will’ and not a ‘Bill’. Quiet, sensitive, easily injured and often ill, Will was certainly smart - “too smart” according to his father whenever Will made a suggestion he didn’t like – but he was smart in a way nobody knew what to do with. After eighteen years of trying hard to be what his family wanted him to be, and exhausted by his father’s constant disappointment and criticism, Will turned his back on Glenriver and the farm, fully intending never to return.
Fast forward sixteen years, and Will, now a research botanist based in Chicago, is on his way to Glenriver having inherited the farm and orchards after his father’s recent death. He’s only going back in order to tie up some loose ends and to finalise the sale of the property to an entertainment company that plans to expand a local festival. As he takes a walk around the farm and the orchards, he notices the place is obvously being well cared for and that a lot of changes and improvements have been made he’s sure his father would not have been capable of in his final illness. This impression continues when he enters the market building, which is bright, airy and well-organised rather than the dimly lit slightly shambolic place he recalls. Then his eyes come to rest on the seriously attractive guy behind the counter, tall, blond, broad-chested and square-jawed; in short, everything a Bill Roberston is supposed to be and who is clearly content living the life Will never wanted. They chat amiably for a while, until the guy – farm manager Casey Reeves - realises who Will is and the friendly atmosphere changes abruptly as both men jump to unfortunate conclusions.
The enemies-to-lovers vibe is done well here (it so rarely is, these days it seems!) with the author unafraid to paint his characters in a poor light. Will is the sole narrator so we only get his perspective, but the reasons behind their conflict feel genuine; Casey believes Will is about to sell the home he’s lived in for the past six years out from under him, and because has no idea how Robertson III treated his son, he thinks that Will simply ran off and left his dad in the lurch. And Will, whose feelings towards his dad are a complicated mess he’s not even begun to unravel yet, and who is already on edge at simply being back home and expected to make big decisions, can’t help feeling perhaps just a little bit aggrieved at having been so easily replaced – even though he didn’t want to be there. Still, Casey had no right to say the things he did and Will is determined to dislike him.
Fall Into You is, then, one of those protagonist-who-fled-their-home-town-returns-and-finds-love stories, although honestly, the romance takes a bit of a back seat to Will’s emotional journey as he faces his past trauma and comes to see his father and their relationship through a more mature lens. So I suspect the degree to which you enjoy (or not) the book will depend on how far you relate to Will, who is sweet and kind and nerdy; a loner with a tendency to over-think everything and who is uncomfortable in social situations.
I enjoyed it for the most part, and the author does a very good job of showing Will starting to unpack all the complex emotions being back home has stirred up, and starting to come to terms with them and what they mean for him going forward. I liked Will coming to realise that his memories of the town and its people aren’t particularly accurate and coming to see that the place isn’t so bad after all... and starting to understand what he actually ran away from. Extra points to Morrison for not making the townsfolk the quirky collection of misfits so often found in this type of novel; instead they’re a bunch of regular people living their regular lives and doing their best, like the rest of us.
The romance is, as I’ve said, not the main focus of the story, but Will and Casey have good chemistry and I enjoyed watching their initial antagonism transform into something sweet and genuine. Casey is a good guy – he’s not very sympathetic at first, but he does own his poor behaviour when he gets the full story, and his being in a tricky situation as regards the farm does make it easier to understand why he acts as he does. But because the book is really about Will’s personal journey, Casey can sometimes feel like a secondary character rather than a love interest.
There are a couple of things that require a rather large suspension of disbelief. The first is Will’s statement that after he left home at eighteen, he “found an apartment, and then a job, and then I applied to college, and got in.” I don’t know how things work in the US, but Will being able to rent an apartment on his own at eighteen without having to provide proof he could afford it/proof of income couldn’t happen in the UK. Then later, there’s Casey’s offhand comment that he’d been able to pay for Will’s father to be in a nursing home for the year before he died because he’s “more or less allergic to rent” and has “a lot more saved up than most people do.” That would have to have been a LOT of money (I’d say well over 50K in my neck of the woods), so how on earth could someone of Casey’s age (twenty-eight) who had lived a fairly nomadic life (so wouldn’t have been making big bucks) have afforded that?
As the book went on, I admit that I struggled a bit with Will’s tendency to drift off into long internal monologues, because they disrupt the momentum of the story. That wasn’t too much of an issue in the first part of the novel, but by the final third, it was happening too often and I was starting to zone out a bit.
All in all, however, Fall Into You is an enjoyable – if predictable and slightly syrupy - story featuring likeable characters and a sweet slow-burn romance in which the explorations of grief, expectations and identity are nicely done. I enjoyed it enough to want to keep an eye out for whatever Dylan Morrison comes up with next.
August 30, 2025
Not for me
I wish I liked it but I didn’t. I tried to read this completely but to be honest I had to skip through most of it because I wanted the story to move. I found the pacing to be very slow and felt that the descriptions were long and meandering at times. There’s a really good story in here - I love the characters and the whole concept — I just think the story is hidden in all this extra detail that distracts from the overall plot.
Keep writing though. You completed a book and published it. That’s more than most people do in a lifetime so that’s great.
I wish I liked it but I didn’t. I tried to read this completely but to be honest I had to skip through most of it because I wanted the story to move. I found the pacing to be very slow and felt that the descriptions were long and meandering at times. There’s a really good story in here - I love the characters and the whole concept — I just think the story is hidden in all this extra detail that distracts from the overall plot.
Keep writing though. You completed a book and published it. That’s more than most people do in a lifetime so that’s great.
Read
August 8, 2025Wasn’t really into this, but most importantly: this is not a Romcom. I don’t think it’s even a Romance Novel. The focus of 90% of the novel is Will’s emotional reckoning with his abusive father after his father’s death. The main couple kiss maybe twice and have a closed door sex scene. The plot, when not focused on Will’s father, is extremely Hallmark Christmas movie. Idk, not for me.
February 13, 2026
ok, I know that this book has as many plot holes as the proverbial wedge of Swiss cheese. But I just really like Dylan Morrison's writing, and the way the author absolutely nails the Will character's anxiety and inner turmoil.
June 27, 2025
(This review is based on an advanced reader’s copy provided by NetGalley.)
A cotton candy book: fun, silly, moderately twee, and comfortingly ridiculous. Requires a robust suspension of disbelief. Recommended as a beach read (especially if the beach is a Midwestern lake).
The publisher’s comps to Casey McQuiston and Alexis Hall are accurate, though this book is less skillfully written. The prose is kind of awkward, the dialogue unconvincing (“Gee, thanks, mister!”). Honestly, I think the author’s fanfiction is better written. (That’s not an insult, I really like his fanfiction!)
A lot of things in this book get handwaved, in a way that strains my credulity. The main character is an academic, but the portrayal of academia is glaringly unrealistic, both in the small details and in the major plot points. (If it were that easy to set up a lab wherever you want, everyone would be doing it!) Similarly, he left home abruptly at 18 and had no contact with his family after that, but he somehow “found an apartment, and then a job, and then I applied to college, and got in.” But how did he get an apartment with no job, no rental history, and no co-signer? (There’s no mention of him knowing anyone in the city he moved to.) How did he go to college with no FAFSA and no family support?
The major characters don’t quite feel like real people. The love interest is a little too perfect; it feels like the main character is allowed to have flaws but the love interest isn’t. And the main villain is wildly cartoonish. The author might as well have drawn a big red circle around the villain’s face with a big red arrow and a label reading “WE DON’T LIKE HER! YOU CAN TELL SHE’S EVIL BECAUSE SHE’S ANNOYING!” which made me feel patronized as a reader. That said, the other villain—Will’s deceased father—feels more real and nuanced. And the love interest’s backstory is fleshed out well and really makes sense for the character and the plot.
While the major characters are somewhat unconvincing, the side characters unexpectedly shine. It was the side characters, the townspeople who haven’t seen Will in 20 years, who made me cry. In fact, I was more invested in Will’s personal arc of becoming reacquainted with his hometown and finding community there than I was in the romance.
In spite of the shortcomings, this was never a chore to read, and I generally enjoyed it. It’s the candy you buy at a gas station on a road trip: it’s not a hot meal made with fresh ingredients, but sometimes gas station candy is exactly what you want.
Rep: Main character is a cis white gay man. Love interest is a cis white man who describes himself as pansexual and queer. Nonbinary side character with a male love interest.
Content notes: Emotionally abusive parent. Parental homophobia. Family estrangement. Death of an estranged parent. Child endangerment (detailed, on page) . Most of the bad stuff happening is backstory; it’s mostly only the child endangerment that happens in the present.
A cotton candy book: fun, silly, moderately twee, and comfortingly ridiculous. Requires a robust suspension of disbelief. Recommended as a beach read (especially if the beach is a Midwestern lake).
The publisher’s comps to Casey McQuiston and Alexis Hall are accurate, though this book is less skillfully written. The prose is kind of awkward, the dialogue unconvincing (“Gee, thanks, mister!”). Honestly, I think the author’s fanfiction is better written. (That’s not an insult, I really like his fanfiction!)
A lot of things in this book get handwaved, in a way that strains my credulity. The main character is an academic, but the portrayal of academia is glaringly unrealistic, both in the small details and in the major plot points. (If it were that easy to set up a lab wherever you want, everyone would be doing it!) Similarly, he left home abruptly at 18 and had no contact with his family after that, but he somehow “found an apartment, and then a job, and then I applied to college, and got in.” But how did he get an apartment with no job, no rental history, and no co-signer? (There’s no mention of him knowing anyone in the city he moved to.) How did he go to college with no FAFSA and no family support?
The major characters don’t quite feel like real people. The love interest is a little too perfect; it feels like the main character is allowed to have flaws but the love interest isn’t. And the main villain is wildly cartoonish. The author might as well have drawn a big red circle around the villain’s face with a big red arrow and a label reading “WE DON’T LIKE HER! YOU CAN TELL SHE’S EVIL BECAUSE SHE’S ANNOYING!” which made me feel patronized as a reader. That said, the other villain—Will’s deceased father—feels more real and nuanced. And the love interest’s backstory is fleshed out well and really makes sense for the character and the plot.
While the major characters are somewhat unconvincing, the side characters unexpectedly shine. It was the side characters, the townspeople who haven’t seen Will in 20 years, who made me cry. In fact, I was more invested in Will’s personal arc of becoming reacquainted with his hometown and finding community there than I was in the romance.
In spite of the shortcomings, this was never a chore to read, and I generally enjoyed it. It’s the candy you buy at a gas station on a road trip: it’s not a hot meal made with fresh ingredients, but sometimes gas station candy is exactly what you want.
Rep: Main character is a cis white gay man. Love interest is a cis white man who describes himself as pansexual and queer. Nonbinary side character with a male love interest.
Content notes: Emotionally abusive parent. Parental homophobia. Family estrangement. Death of an estranged parent. Child endangerment (detailed, on page) . Most of the bad stuff happening is backstory; it’s mostly only the child endangerment that happens in the present.
October 16, 2025
I wanted this to be the perfect cozy fall read — the kind of story that makes you want to curl up with a blanket, a warm drink, and get lost in small-town charm. Unfortunately, “Fall Into You” just wasn’t it for me. The premise had potential: a big city guy returns home to his family’s apple farm, clashes with the current manager, and slowly rekindles a sense of belonging. It should have been full of warmth and heart, but the execution fell flat. The pacing dragged, and the emotional beats that should’ve tugged at my heartstrings never quite landed.
The writing style felt awkward and disjointed, making it hard to connect with the story or the characters. Will came off as distant and frustrating, while Casey didn’t have enough depth to make me care about his side either. The romance — which should’ve been the cozy centerpiece — felt forced and unnatural, like it was just ticking boxes instead of building real chemistry. By the time I reached the end, I was more relieved than satisfied. It wrapped up in a way that felt… ehh, nothing exciting or memorable. I wanted comfort and connection, but I got a slog that left me checking how many pages were left. It definitely did not have the fall vibe I had been hoping for. -2 Stars
The writing style felt awkward and disjointed, making it hard to connect with the story or the characters. Will came off as distant and frustrating, while Casey didn’t have enough depth to make me care about his side either. The romance — which should’ve been the cozy centerpiece — felt forced and unnatural, like it was just ticking boxes instead of building real chemistry. By the time I reached the end, I was more relieved than satisfied. It wrapped up in a way that felt… ehh, nothing exciting or memorable. I wanted comfort and connection, but I got a slog that left me checking how many pages were left. It definitely did not have the fall vibe I had been hoping for. -2 Stars
June 19, 2025
DNF! Boring and hated the writing style.
Did Not Finish
August 27, 2025Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC.
Unfortunately, I ended up DNFing this story about 1/4 through. I just couldn’t get on with the narration style - it was very descriptive, often went pages and pages without any dialogue, and the dialogue often didn’t start on a new line, so I felt like it was just one big block of text.
I found the story vaguely interesting, but unfortunately not enough to make me push through the style of this author.
I think a person who enjoys detailed, descriptive writing would enjoy this book more than I did.
It’s written in third person present tense, which some readers might want to know before picking this book up.
Unfortunately, I ended up DNFing this story about 1/4 through. I just couldn’t get on with the narration style - it was very descriptive, often went pages and pages without any dialogue, and the dialogue often didn’t start on a new line, so I felt like it was just one big block of text.
I found the story vaguely interesting, but unfortunately not enough to make me push through the style of this author.
I think a person who enjoys detailed, descriptive writing would enjoy this book more than I did.
It’s written in third person present tense, which some readers might want to know before picking this book up.
September 23, 2025
Fall Into You was a great book. It had that small town charm and a cute story, but also dealt with some difficult themes, like processing grief and child abuse. It was the perfect book to read on the first day of Fall! It had all the quintessential elements for a Hallmark-esque story, but queer. The main character, Will, has lost his father and inherited the family farm. And now he has to decide whether or not to sell. But the current farmhand/manager, Casey, makes that decision a lot more difficult. Will and Casey were both interesting characters and their stories were well written. And despite some of the heavier moments, this story was cozy and made me want some apple cider or maybe an apple fritter.
June 5, 2025
[3.75 ⭐️] [ARC] Thanks to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Looking for a cute and funny small-town romance with some heavy topics added in? Look no further than Fall Into You by Dylan Morrison. This story was fast-paced, heartwarming, and deeply engaging. It follows Will, who left his hometown as a teenager to escape a toxic relationship with his father. Years later, he returns to sell the old family farm, something he never imagined doing. Along the way, he meets Casey, and though their first interactions are filled with tension and bickering, their relationship slowly evolves into something sweet and genuine. The emotional depth of the characters is beautifully portrayed through their dialogue, actions, and inner thoughts. The writing style is absolutely chef’s kiss—fluid, expressive, and emotionally resonant. Themes of grief, parental loss, and anxiety are woven in thoughtfully, with representation that feels authentic and respectful. I could easily see this being adapted into a film, and I’d be first in line to watch it. I’m also incredibly excited for the next two books the author has planned, I’ll be reading them as soon as they’re released!
Looking for a cute and funny small-town romance with some heavy topics added in? Look no further than Fall Into You by Dylan Morrison. This story was fast-paced, heartwarming, and deeply engaging. It follows Will, who left his hometown as a teenager to escape a toxic relationship with his father. Years later, he returns to sell the old family farm, something he never imagined doing. Along the way, he meets Casey, and though their first interactions are filled with tension and bickering, their relationship slowly evolves into something sweet and genuine. The emotional depth of the characters is beautifully portrayed through their dialogue, actions, and inner thoughts. The writing style is absolutely chef’s kiss—fluid, expressive, and emotionally resonant. Themes of grief, parental loss, and anxiety are woven in thoughtfully, with representation that feels authentic and respectful. I could easily see this being adapted into a film, and I’d be first in line to watch it. I’m also incredibly excited for the next two books the author has planned, I’ll be reading them as soon as they’re released!
August 27, 2025
kind of a masterclass in a) how to make romance tropes work by grounding them in real, lived-in people and relationships and jobs and places, and b) how to achieve what people love about fanfiction in original fiction by, that’s right, grounding those aspects in real, lived-in people and relationships and jobs and places
as a bonus, i very much see the bones of my favorite of the author’s fics, my favorite fic of all time, in this story, so this was always gonna work for me
as a bonus, i very much see the bones of my favorite of the author’s fics, my favorite fic of all time, in this story, so this was always gonna work for me
June 9, 2026
This was fun! I should have read it right away when I received the ARC, it was such a nice, cozy read. Nothing earth-shattering, but well-executed and I really enjoyed Will as a main character. Just the right side of caught up in his own head, without it veering into overdone or overwritten. Very small town charm, with the (in)famous allure of abandoning the Big City to go back Home.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.
June 5, 2025
Will + Casey
-mm romance
-enemies to lovers
-forced proximity
-romcom
-third person
i have a really hard time connecting with third person narratives & for the romance/spice to be such a low level it makes it even worse for me personally. but the story was super cute!
-mm romance
-enemies to lovers
-forced proximity
-romcom
-third person
i have a really hard time connecting with third person narratives & for the romance/spice to be such a low level it makes it even worse for me personally. but the story was super cute!
June 23, 2025
I’m not gonna lie this was a slow burn for me in the beginning but it sank its teeth into me about halfway through and I devoured the back half in one sitting. Plus the epilogue about happiness made me weep.
Read
July 17, 2025This is the third book in a row that unexpectedly has childhood trauma as a theme. And very strangely, I just don't seem to be interested in that anymore. So much of this book was spent relating or processing the past.
July 19, 2025
5⭐️ This was just great. Essentially an Emily Henry novel but make it gay. Really sweet and believable version of a lifetime movie with a bit more heart. Lovable characters and great tension throughout!! Would highly recommend
August 14, 2025
This book might be enjoyable to a early teenager. The story is good but the drag and over load of detail and with nonstop mind dialogue inside character. Just made the book long, drawn out, and boring.
June 22, 2025
4* for old times’ sake ❤️
October 29, 2025
3.5 stars: Sweet.
December 7, 2025
not super standout but generally good: good prose, good characters, silly, lots of stuff about apples. really tho, this is a story about intergenerational trauma and i thought that was done well!
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