When The Leaves Fall by Chelsea Jean

I’m very grateful to have been given another ARC opportunity! I was so excited to begin reading When The Leaves Fall by Chelsea Jane. Unfortunately, I did not particularly like this novel. It felt rushed, surface-level, and insensitive.

Drew’s mom has multiple heart attacks for no apparent reason. She’s rushed to the ICU where Drew waits for test results, panicked. That’s where she and Luca, a night-shift nurse, meet. They experience a whirlwind romance, with two possible endings–one where Drew has a surprise pregnancy, and one where she doesn’t. 

I want to preface my critiques by saying that I have read and enjoyed novels with a similar premise. I also recognize that Chelsea Jane said she wrote this book to help her cope with illness in her family. However, I don’t think this story works as a well-developed piece of writing. 

Drew goes from worried sick about her mom, not sleeping or eating, to shopping for date night clothes and sleeping with Luca in approximately two weeks. On the first night Luca meets Drew, he has to resist kissing her forehead while she sleeps. She’s sleeping on a couch in the hospital room where her mom is in a coma! Drew is actually upset when her mom is moved out of the ICU because she won’t get to see Luca while he works. Also, Luca abuses his position and his access to patient information. He finds Drew’s phone number and address from her mom’s patient records.

The whole romance reads as rushed, and I was angry at Drew especially. Her character comes across as shallow and inconsistent. I don’t understand her motivations–one page she is crying over her mother, and the next she’s making out with Luca in the hospital elevator.

I would have DNF’d this book if it wasn’t an ARC. I couldn’t relate to or sympathize with either main character because I was so frustrated with their nonsensical actions. When The Leaves Fall was unrealistic, paced poorly, and disrespectful to the painful experience of having a relative in intensive care.