Falling for Maria

Falling #2

by Heather B. Moore

From USA Today bestselling author Heather B. Moore:

FALLING FOR MARIA

At twenty-six, Maria is holding out for the perfect man to share the rest of her life with. Josh seems to be that man, but after months of dating, their relationship is at a stand-still. Maria plans to nudge Josh forward, but when the company she works for is bought out, her new boss Walker seems determined to change Maria’s idea of the perfect man.

Other books in the FALLING SERIES:
Falling for Sydney
Falling for Maria
Falling for June (coming Summer 2017)

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Novella, Fiction, Workplace Romance, Contemporary Romance, Chick Lit

89 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 7, 2017

About the author

Heather B. Moore is a USA Today bestselling author of more than ninety publications. Heather writes primarily historical and #herstory fiction about the humanity and heroism of the everyday person. Publishing in a breadth of genres, Heather dives into the hearts and souls of her characters, meshing her love of research with her love of storytelling.

Her ancient era historicals and thrillers are written under pen name H.B. Moore. She writes historical women's fiction, romance and inspirational non-fiction under Heather B. Moore, and . . . speculative fiction under Jane Redd. This can all be confusing, so her kids just call her Mom. Heather attended Cairo American College in Egypt and the Anglican School of Jerusalem in Israel. Despite failing her high school AP English exam, Heather persevered and earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Brigham Young University in something other than English.

Please join Heather's email list at: HBMoore.com/contact/
Website: HBMoore.com
Twitter: @heatherbmoore
Instagram: @authorhbmoore
Facebook: Fans of Heather B. Moore
And yes, the Blog still lives: MyWritersLair.blogspot.com

Literary honors: 2020 Goodreads Choice Award Semi-Finalist, Foreword 2020 INDIES Finalist, ALA Best New Books - September 2020, 6-time Best of State Recipient for Best in Literary Arts, 2019 Maggie Award Winner, 4-time Whitney Award Winner, and 2-time Golden Quill Award Winner.

Heather is represented by Dystel, Goderich, and Bourret.

Reviews

[Julie Carpenter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maria has a good thing going for her...great job, fun flirty and colorful wardrobe, great best friends who support her, and a great boyfriend whom she has to keep secret. Josh and Maria work together and have kept their relationship secret for a while but Maria is ready for Josh to start stepping up and introducing her to his family and friends, even if they can't quite announce it at work yet.

Yet her world is rocked pretty substantially when a company buys and takes over the one she works for. All new policies and changes are coming, and they are NOT what Maria signed up for. She loves her job and her clients and has always enjoyed her work. What do you mean she has to change her wardrobe, her office decor and not only are interoffice relationships frowned upon, they're pretty much FORBIDDEN!

Oh no, Maria is not going to let this slide, uh uh, no way! So she rallies the troops to back her up as they meet their new "boss".

Enter the new boss...Walker Harris. He's young, very orderly, impeccably dressed(and to a T to the dress code) and we shouldn't even get started with his looks. But never fear, Maria is on the job and has her friends and coworkers to back her up and support her in discussing the new to them policies.

Let's just say, for the sake of keeping this spoiler free, that Maria doesn't handle the situation the best. I was grinning reading about it though. So Maria has some difficult choices ahead. Conform to the new mould, keep dating Josh in secret, oust their relationship forcing her or him to quit, continue to step up to the new company owners to battle policies, or just outright quit!

All of these choices lead us on a tale spin witty and fun week for Maria. She's a spitfire for sure. She loves life and feels that she should be able to enjoy it with joy and things that make her happy. With many calls to her dear friends Sydney and June she might just be able to figure out life and the right decision to make to put her spinning world of chaos back in order.

Maria's story is fun and witty and very swoony! I loved it! I read it as fast as I could without too many breaks(ok life calls so there were breaks but my interest was piqued that I kept thinking about what would happen next when I couldn't read). It's a shorter novella but well worth it! Even though the length isn't super long it was fun and really feels like a longer story with how well it's written. I'll admit it, I'm kind of a fangirl(ok not kind of...I AM A FANGIRL) when it comes to books by Heather B. Moore. Seriously love her writing. If you haven't picked up any of her books, GO READ ONE NOW!!!!! There's always plenty of great clean romance and fun, sometimes suspenseful plots, always great characters, her historical novels are awesome too, ok really any genre she writes is awesome!

Maria and her friends, Sydney and June, each get their own stories in this trilogy. Falling for Sydney is available(read my review here), Maria's is available February 7, 2017 and Falling for June comes out July 1, 2017. I have to say that out of Sydney's story(which I loved by the way) and Maria's, Maria is my favorite!

Plenty of great moments for Maria in this story and lots of great sweet romance and some kisses once she finally makes some decisions! Honestly loved the "ties", as in neckties, in this book! And that's about all the hint you'll get on that one. Hee Hee!

Content: Clean

I received a copy from the author which in no way influenced my review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Happy Reading!!!

[Aimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a fun series! These are shorter books- novella size- which means that they are over before I know what hit me and leave me longing for more. :) The author does a great job of creating characters that I feel like I know and like in a very short amount of time.

Maria is a girl that loves life and pushes just outside the box of "normal". Her clothes are an extension of her view on life and are full of color and vibrancy. She doesn't want to be pushed inside a box where everyone and everything should be the same. (not her clothes or her work space) I liked that about Maria and I really liked how she was willing to stand up for herself and the people around her who weren't brave enough to do it.

Since this is a short book, we just get the very first glimpse of Maria and Walker. The first bits of attraction and interest that dance around until they finally work out initial kinks to date. There is no deep love yet- just the promise of good things to come. It was perfect for the amount of time I had with this book.

I can't wait for the next book coming out this summer!

Content: clean, kissing

- I received a copy of this book for free. I was under no obligation to review and all opinions expressed are my own.

[Kathy * Bookworm Nation · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute!

I really thought this was a fun novella. Time wise it worked out well since I didn't have a whole lot of time to read today and was looking for something quick. I liked the characters and thought it had a fun plot. It moved along quickly, and normally I'm not a big fan of "insta-love" type stories, but it worked well here. Maria and Walker had fun chemistry and enjoyed seeing them butt heads and fall in love. Definitely one I'd recommend.

Content: Clean

[Heidi Robbins (Heidi Reads...) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maria has quite the flamboyant personality with her colorful fashion and brazen confidence. I would definitely be out of my element in the corporate setting but Maria fit right in, challenging the changes Walker was in charge of implementing. In spite of the new company policy Walker pursues her and makes it easy to get over Josh. I admired that she stayed strong and proactive in the midst of uncertainty and transition. I definitely liked Walker better than Josh and the way he respected Maria.

(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions in this review are my own)

[Katie (hiding in the pages) · Rating 5 out of 5]

After months of a secret relationship with Josh, Maria's ready to move on, especially when her job gives her the nudge to do so. Enter in her handsome new boss, Walker. Hello! I nearly swooned right along with Maria because of that semi-uptight man, who is a total hunky gentleman.

This book is short and sweet, but really packs a romantic punch--straight to the heart! I fell in love with these characters. They are opposite, but they're like magnets and that attraction is powerful and leaps off the pages. The plot is believable and moves at the perfect pace. If you're in the mood for a little something sweet one evening, be sure to check this one out!

Content: swoony romance (mild kissing); mild violence.

*I received a copy from the author, which didn't influence my opinion in any way.*

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a tougher critic when it comes to novellas. This one hit the mark each time. I was fully satisfied and engaged the whole time. A novella doesn't give an author much time to set the scene, have some action, and some resolution. Often I think something is missing. This story really worked. It did not cover a large period of time. As the title suggests, it is about falling in love. It doesn't try to deal with everything that happens after that. I felt like the main characters were prepared to fall in love when they met. The dialog was witty and fun. Maria can be slightly outrageous at times, but that make reading her story entertaining. I would love to follow these characters a bit further. Hopefully we can get a peek into their lives when the third book in this series comes out. These books can be read in any order and can stand alone without the other books in the series. Still, it is fun to see the friendship that the three girls share. Looking forward to more!

[Jessie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novella was short and sweet. Maria is working a office job in a cubicle every day. She's a bit of a free spirit who expresses herself through colorful clothes and a collection of bird houses in her cubicle. Everything is going well, until her company comes under new ownership. One that demands that the employees agree to their new policies of professional clothing, no personal items in cubicles, and no employee dating. Oh yeah, Maria is in a secret relationship with the head of HR. Maria decides to take up her complaints about the new policies with the new boss, Walker.
When confronted with passionate, beautiful Maria, will Walker fight for the policies or find himself falling for Maria?

I loved this book! The relationship developed quickly, but I loved the characters. Maria had spunk. She was the type of girl that you want for your best friend or co-worker. She is not afraid to stand for what she believes in, and she knows what she wants.
Just thinking about this book makes me want to read it again.

Content: clean (some kissing)
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

[Pascale’s*ARC,Unwind,Read,Review · Rating 5 out of 5]

Falling For Maria

Office Romance and Politics

Maria is feisty, stubborn, impulsive, beautiful ... The new boss is hot, conservative, and completely attracted to her. With the new boss comes new rules and they're driving Maria crazy. She's decided she's not going to be restricted in her creativity and in her individuality at work so she secretly decides she's going to quit. Will the new boss manage to convince her to say? Or will she decide she's better off making a new start elsewhere?
This is a great novella that can be read in about an hour and a half. It's a light, clean romance. Some characters from the other stories are mentioned in here but it stands alone and the books can be read in any order. I had fun reading it and I highly recommend it for a quick, light read.

[Shash · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a cute book! Maria is full of life and completely herself. She would be a fun person to know! I loved the way she stood up to Walker and questioned things. The contrast between Walker and Josh was stark. There was just no contest between the two! Walker was definitely the better man.

This is a novella, and a very quick read. I thoroughly enjoyed it! This has been a fun series to read!!

I received a copy of the book. I have given my honest opinion.

[Brooke -Brooke's Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maria is a spitfire. She knows what she wants and she's willing to stand up for it.

Walker seems like a stuffed shirt. I love that he has an unexpected side to him.

Put these 2 together and you get a fun short story.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun novella, I'm really loving this series by Heather B Moore! I love to be able to read these novellas in an afternoon. There's a lot of good to this one.

Maria is an amazing character. She loves her job. Has a secret boyfriend (she'd rather he not be secret). And she loves her colorful clothes that make her happy. She's a bit nervous about the new owners of the company she works for though. They have all kinds of new rules about dress standards, what you can put in your work space, and co-worker romances. Oops, there goes that secret boyfriend of hers, which is just fine, he was completely unwilling to stand up for her in there meeting.

Then she meets Mr. Harris, he's the son of the owner of the new company, Baker Corp. And while she finds a lot of the new policies irritating, there's just something about him that seems to draw Maria, especially after he stands up for her.

This is a cute novella, I didn't want to put it down!

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This sweet novella is the story of Maria. She has been dating Josh, the head of HR at her work for a year but Josh has insisted they keep it a secret from everyone, even his parents and friends. When her company is bought out by a new corporation, the corporate policies are totally unacceptable to Maria. I loved the way Maria stuck up for her beliefs in a firm but kind way. I love the way she handles her new boss. Well written with likable characters.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Falling for Maria is the second installment from the Falling series. I enjoyed this quick read. I loved Maria and thought she was fun and strong.
Looking forward to the next of the series.
Great read.
5 plus stars.

[Nari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maria is fun, colorful and spunky. Her new boss is handsome with beautiful green eyes but she feels like he acts like a corporate robot. Then she runs into him outside of work and meets a whole new man. This is a quick romance where there is not as much build up. There is plenty of attraction between the two so if that is what you like you will love this story.

[Angelina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Truthfully, I just expect more from a Heather Moore novel--she's so talented, I found it disappointing to have only one character that was more than a cardboard cutout.

[Tressa (Wishful Endings)]

Reread for review.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining shorter book, just like the one about Sydney in this series. Maria is quite a vibrant character and very willing to stand up for herself. I enjoyed the interactions with her and Walker, as well as the descriptions of her vibrant outfits. A very fast, enjoyable read. These books can be read in any order because while the 3 best friends are the same in each book, their stories don't cross over and spoil anything. I look forward to reading the third book in the series, about June, when it comes out later this summer.

***I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.***

[Donna Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Maria and how colorful she was, both in wardrobe and personality. This was a fun story with great sparks between the two main characters. A great tasteful romance.

[Mss Sunrise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.7/5

.

This book follows Maria, who works in a company that prevents employees from wearing certain kinds of clothing and has a strict rule of not establishing a workplace relationship. Maria is breaking both rules as she wears whatever she wants and is dating Josh, who is the director of the company. But, things take a different turn when she realizes that Josh is keeping her a secret and the company is too strict with its rules. Walker, the company's owner son, seems to have an instant attraction to the heroine, an attraction that is hard to resist or ignore.

.

Thoughts and feelings:

🍁I'm tackling this series one after the other because it's really that fun and enjoyable to read. It's also suppppper short and easy to digest, which is fantastic considering that we're only 4 days away from starting 2024.

🍁What I like about this author apparently is the writing style. It feels cosy and heart felt for some reason. It makes me care about the characters even though the book is short and it has an insta-love plotline, which I tend to dislike in books. Because of the latter, I definitely have my questions about why the hero was head over heels over establishing a relationship with the heroine the moment he laid eyes on her 🫣 I don't believe in love from the first sight in general, but it still amazes me how two could fall in love that fast? Attraction? Sure. But, love?

🍁Anyway, both protagonists are kind and respectful here, which I love seeing in books. They are going through their day to day life while navigating their feelings towards each other and the people they meet in their life. There is also no trauma or drama here, at least not a major one that could have driven the characters away from each other. The parents are cool and the friends are cool. Maybe the plot was a bit too perfect even though there was Josh in the picture as well. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed this read.

[Anoush · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quick and easy read, accomplished in all of an hour.

Maria works in social media marketing. When her company is bought by another the subsequent office policies rankle, including the strict ban on inter-office relationships and strict dress code. As her boyfriend Josh is the head of HR, this is going to be a problem.

Josh has always been secretive about their relationship and for Maria, this new policy and Josh's inability to stand up for their relationship is the end of their relationship as far as Maria is concerned.

She does stand up to corporate--on all counts--and ends up dating the corporate lead. Again...breaking the rules.

It's a cute story and it's a short story, so there's not a ton of time for resolution or development, but Maria's relationship with her new boss seemed to go immediately from 0 to 60 and he seemed to have zero qualms in breaking the rules (because he's the big boss's son? who knows) and was easily convinced to get the board to change all the rules Maria didn't like. It just seemed too fast and too unbelievable. And their level of physical intimacy (just passionate kissing) seemed WAY accelerated. They hadn't even gone on a date yet...

[Patty · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is something to be said about novellas that are well written and make you swoon. I am loving this series, Falling, but Heather B Moore. These books are just long enough to suck me in, find the motive for love and fall! Maria is a great character, but she has a mind and style of her own. When the new boss comes in and tells her how she can dress, things become heated. She is involved with the head of Human Relations, and finds herself so fed up that it's time for change. Walker is taking over now, but his attraction to Maria is evident. Will she see him for who he is? Will he instill changes or will Maria find the new office normal? And what happens to Jason? This is a fun, flirty listen, hitting all my bells and whistles. Well worth the listen!

Xe Sands is just so good at narrating, and this is no exception. Even with such a short book, she is able to extract the personalities and make these characters our friends. I love her voices, her timing and her ability to tell a great story! Another plus for this book!

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clean - no sex, no language. On the violence scale I give it .5 ;)

Sometimes I really struggle with novella’s due to the fact that a relationship has to happen quickly. Sometimes it’s not super realistic or believable. But Falling for Maria was Marvelous! The main character Maria is fun and has real strength of character. In the first chapter alone we learn so much about her through her thoughts and actions. She is a deep person and Heather did a great job of bringing her to life. I enjoyed that she could be feminine and kind even when she needed to stand alone. The one thing she needed to learn was that she could be that same person in a relationship.

Enter Walker - a man’s man who knows how to cherish a woman. That's all I’m saying.

This was a perfect quick read. I like this story the best of the series so far and am looking forward to the third installment Falling for June which is scheduled to come out in the summer.

I received a free copy for my honest review.

[Lexee Toste · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable read. It was a quick listen and we get to see Maria get to know Walker, her new boss as they have just bought her small company and are changing policies. She isn't afraid to stand up and say something when the rest of the employees don't. It causes her to see things more clearly with her current relationship with Josh and end things and then surprisingly things start taking a flirty, romantic turn with Walker. We get to see them start their relationship and work through a few hurdles and show that things are different from her last relationship and he is the type of man that could be just right for her. We get to see them in their happy for now, with things looking very good for a happy forever. Things felt still early in their relationship and so still had that beginning feeling to it though the story is complete. It's a clean and enjoyable read.

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute!
Hum with me now - how do you solve a problem . . . I actually really liked Maria. She was fun, hard-working, fashionista, and dating a dweeb.
The big dilemma is that the new work rules are cramping her fashionista and decorating style. It's not like she was standing for suffrage, but she did feel passionately.
Walker is the company owner's son and trying to appease the old and the new. He is instantly smitten with Maria, although she doesn't realize it.
There are some funny things along the way and a happy ending. It's short, sweet and fun.

Content: Kissing
Source: ARC - my opinion is an honest review

[Bree · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another fun, fast-paced novella. Maria is a business woman with spunk and wants to be who she wants to be. Her work was bought out and a lot more rules were put into place that she didn't like. The new boss, Walker, comes to train and discuss the new policies with the company. Maria stands up for what she wants and thinks, and of course that catches the eye of the new boss. I quite liked this short and sweet novella. The characters were developed well, they had great chemistry and I didn't want to put it down.

[Jade Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the way the heroine handled herself and remained true to the person she is despite pressure, especially economic, not to do so. Maria was dating Josh who she met at the office. He didn’t want anyone to know, not even his family. Along comes Walker Harris, son of the owner, to implement and enforce the policies that had worked so well for years for the parent company. Only they didn’t work well for Maria. Eventually, she has to make a choice about what she really wants.

[Stephanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not impressed with this novella. Girl trades one jerk of a boyfriend for another jerk of a boyfriend and it's supposed to be okay because they have better chemistry, and he isn't afraid to tell people they are dating. In fact he isn't afraid to tell people they are dating before they go on a date. Like all her reasons for thinking he was a jerk and not wanting to date him get 100% ignored after they kiss, even though like nothing else changes.

[Tenille · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another short, sweet story. I can't wait to read June's story. Maria doesn't like the new policy changes at work and plans to bring them up with her new boss. She doesn't expect her boss to be so young, and good looking.

[Nati · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maria is a figther. She disagreesbwith the new policy at her work and she stand by herself in the first meeting with her new boos. Can charming Walker change her mind? The audiobook is great, Xe is an excellent narrator

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun! This is the second novella of a trio, I enjoy hearing the story of each of the three friends. Maria is a little spicy and I like how she stands up for herself. Fun, quick read.