I really enjoyed this book, I thought the story line was well written and I loved the concept, I just wished the main characters realised their feelings earlier, it seemed so clear reading it and they just didn’t get it. Overall an enjoyable read!

I didn’t go into this with the highest expectations, but this still managed to be worse than I expected. Zero chemistry between the characters, awful communication, and so many weird choices that made me want them to NOT end up together in the end. Mitch is truly one of the worst love interests I’ve ever read with zero redeemable qualities, and Rosie was so, so bland. I honestly thought this was going to end with her deciding to be on her own because I couldn’t fathom how or why she would decide to be with him by the end of this.

This very easily could have been a 1 star read for me, but *every so often* there was a glimmer of some Beth O’Leary-esque British charm that made me decide to finish this. And by “finish this” I mean “skimmed a big chunk of this because I just wanted to know what happened”. So maybe let’s call this 1.5 stars rounded up.

I always feel a little bad when I don’t get to review Netgalley ARC’s until after their pub date, but I can’t say I feel bad about waiting to get to this.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. The Fallback was cute, but I had a bit of a hard time really diving into it. The idea of a "fallback" is a bit funny to me and I think it lended itself really well to the story. I didn't find either Rosie or Mitch wildly likable, I felt like I didn't get quite enough depth from them. The miscommunication did also drive me a bit crazy. Super fun idea and cute read!

I think it’s time for me to hang up my friends to lovers coat because every time i try to read one of these it never end well for me
Rosie annoyed the hell out pf me she acted irrational and immature every time she talked

And don’t get me started on mitch i hate him

Thank you netgalley and one more chaper for the arc 🫶🏻🫶🏻

DNF at 49%

I didn't really want to dive into the complexities of life's plan B's

Arc received from the publisher; all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I feel so bad that I did not get to this before it was archived. I thought I downloaded it, so that I could get to it! I will be on the lookout for reasonably priced physical copies when the book comes out!

I really wanted to like this one but every chapter has been a struggle. In theory it should work - we're all familiar with the trope - but I have zero connection to the characters and the pacing is a little too slow for my liking.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

This book gave me mixed emotions. After a couple chapters I figured out the plot. Nothing bad about the book but it triggered DNF for me. I just skipped to the last few chapters and it turned out just how I thought. It was just an okay read for me.

A back up plan between friends..... i think we've all seen rom-com's between friends that are 'if we're both still single in our 30's we'll date each other" and they end up in love.
That was what I was expecting and it fell a bit short for me.
Rosie was very monotone to me. She didn't have much to her and I wish there was more expression with her.
Mitch was not it for me. He seems self centered and their connection/chemistry was just dull to me. I think there was too much information not needed and there should have been more character development.

I loved the idea of this story. Girl moves to a different country, has a sweet little meet cute with a boy, falls in love with him on accident, boy propositions girl in an unconventional fallback plan and then they ride off into the sunset living happily ever after. There was a lot of filler in this book and I liked the idea that Rosie has thoughts and depth but I felt like the writing was missing… something. I did enjoy The Fallback but it took me longer than I expected to finish.

As someone who grew up on a steady diet of rom-coms and chick-lit, I’m no stranger to the if we’re not married by a certain age trope. It’s usually done so cutely, and I was happy to find a new book that could give me that. Unfortunately, this one didn’t work for me in the way that a lot of them do. It wasn’t necessarily a bad book, but it wasn’t what I was hoping for.

The summary we’re given is that Rosie is in love with her best friend Mitch, so when he suggests they make a deal where if they haven’t found someone by Christmas, they’ll be together. Rosie agrees against her better judgement, knowing that this way she’ll either meet her perfect guy or she’ll get with the guy she’s been in love with for years. What she didn’t expect was for him to fall for someone else.

Now, this summary misses out on a few key points. One of which is that this story is set over just a few months and, also, that the bargain wasn’t that they’d get together. It was that they’d have a kid together.

So, really, Rosie wouldn’t have been getting what she wanted. Not really. Actually, just trying for a kid together with no other relationship could have made things worse in the long run. It was never said that they wouldn’t date anyone else after that. So he could still have found someone else, and Rosie would have just had to be happy knowing she had some of Mitch with her always through his kid? Yeahhhh. That doesn’t sound healthy.

Honestly, though, Rosie probably would have gone with it and then just got steadily more jealous of any other relationship he had. I didn’t like Rosie much as a character. She either felt like a pushover, selfish or, in one scene, a complete jealous bitch. Like, I get being jealous. I’m a very jealous person myself. But to tell the woman he’s dating, oh by the way, he said he’d have a kid with me in the future when they’re still in the early stages as you knew it would mess things up for him? Yeah, I wouldn’t have wanted to be with her if she was gonna do that.

But Rosie got her wish in the end. Mitch actually was in love with her. And to be fair, when we see the flashback scenes? They were mostly pretty cute together. In other circumstances, I could have been okay with reading about their relationship and the way it built up. But the way it was handled in the book? Yeah, not for me.

Especially considering it led to Rosie consistently messing up at work during an important period and ignoring her friends as she didn’t want them to judge her. Yeah, that wasn’t great.

The thing this book had going for it was that it was an easy read. I got through it fairly quickly, even if I was rolling my eyes a lot. It’s definitely not one I’d reread, but I see how other people might enjoy it.

So, if you’re looking for a dramatic friends-to-lovers book with a bargain that could make or break them, this could be the pick for you.

DNF. Really struggled to get into this book. Extremely slow with too much description. I didn't like either of the characters and found them hard to connect with.

These two gave me a mix of feelings, 'cause I could see the connection between them, but I'm still really unsure if they should be together.

I guess it just wasn't my cup of tea, unfortunately.

Thank you so much. NetGalley, and the publisher for sending me this ARC.

I found myself intrigued by the notion of a "fallback" and enjoyed exploring it within the story. However, I felt that the characters could have been more robust 💪 and perhaps a bit more communication between them wouldn't have hurt! 🗣️

Overall, I'd give it a solid three stars ⭐. While it was relatable and had its romantic moments, I couldn't help but wish for a bit more depth. It was good, but with a bit of polishing, it could have been truly great! 🌟"

This one was a struggle. The plot moved very slowly, and there was too much miscommunication for me. The characters didn't seem to have much chemistry despite knowing each other for ages, and I didn't think the MMC was all that great of a guy.

This was such a fun story and I loved the idea of the fallback and really hoped the best for them throughout the story, A lovely romantic book!

I really tried to love this and I did try, but did not succeed. Did I love the premise? absolutely. The opening did get me for a bit, but I couldn't really get into the book like I could for other books I've read this year. Maybe one day I can come back, but for the moment, this wasn't a good read for me!

This was such a cute friends to lovers!!! I'm a sucker for a good friends to lovers book and this one was perfect.
I truly loved their story and I found it so unique. This is a cute easy romance for reading on a spring day. Totally a cute rom-com book.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollin UK for the ARC for this book.

Mitch and Rosie have known each other for years and for one reason or another have been unlucky in love. After another failed relationship, Mitch decides to make extreme measures: either find their soulmates and fall in love by Christmas, or be each other’s fallback (because nothing says love story like having a deadline). There’s just a slight problem… Rosie is already in love. With Mitch. Will she finally get to have the man of her dreams, or will he be the one who got away?

The Fallback really frustrated me the more I read as the pacing was excruciatingly slow and to be honest the MMC wasn’t a very likable character. I wasn’t a fan of his grand plan -
If you’re invested or interested enough to be the persons fallback, then why not pursue something with them in the first place? I’m also working hard to be in my Meredith Grey “Pick me, Choose me, Love me”
era and the idea of Rosie accepting being Mitch’s second choice gave me the ick.

Eleanor Goymer's "The Fallback “ is a charming friends-to-lovers romcom. While I'm not a fan of the miscommunication trope, the undeniable bound between Rosie and Mitch was there at all times. Rosie's tendency to avoid confrontations and Mitch's flawed plans add depth to their characters.I love when we get to see so many more female characters that are in STEM nowadays and I’m actually excited to learn a few things about it myself. That being said, the story is a very slow burn, and their eventual connection is worth the wait.
“The Fallback" delivers a heartwarming romance, perfect for fans of Mhairi McFarlane and Sophie Kinsella.

Very grateful to the publisher for this copy, opinions are my own.