About the Book

Book: Why They Call It Falling

Author: Christina Sinisi

Genre: Contemporary Christian Romance

Release date: June 7, 2022

Formerly the wild child of three sisters, Emma Marano grew up to be a single mom working two jobs, estranged from her mother, and lying to her friends. She’d told everyone that her daughter’s father wanted nothing to do with his child, but in reality, her own inability to deal with her mistakes and shame led to the biggest lie of her life. But her daughter, Haley, is all Emma has in the world, so how can she regret keeping Haley to herself? Emma’s struggling, though, and her life is slowly imploding.

Right after high school, Justin Lee broke up with Emma Marano and joined the Army, leaving her and all her drama behind. Years later, he stumbles upon her and what turns out to be a daughter he never knew he had. Angry and confused, he insists on having a relationship with his daughter, but to do so, he’ll need to rebuild some sort of relationship with Emma, too. As he gets to know his daughter—and Emma again—he soon realizes that his biggest mistake was leaving her all those years ago. What he dismissed as drama turns out to be a serious mental health issue, and Emma needs help. Now, Justin has to decide if he can see past her flaws and forgive her lies, and together, they’ll have to work to reclaim their love and a faith in each other and in God, or they risk losing something precious in the process.

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My Thoughts:

What happens when you find out something that upsets your whole life? Are you angry, mad, sad, or happy, or maybe all of them. That is precisely what happens to Justin Lee when he finds out quite by accident that he has a four-year-old little girl with his ex-girlfriend who never told him or his family he was going to be a father. Not only that, but she let her family believe he didn't want anything to do with his baby.

I understood why Justin would be so angry with Emma Marano, but as we delve deeper into her story, there are some things that she is dealing with. The book opens up with the death of her beloved father which rocks her family's world. On top of that she blames herself which does some serious damage to her mentally and emotionally. The only one she could really talk to was Justin, who was just a teenager and when he could, he hightailed it out of their town, breaking up with her, and not looking back. Add abandonment issues on top of already escalating problems and Emma has an uphill battle to fight.

Now four years later a reckoning has come. Emma understands she must let Justin in on their little girl's life including his family. And tell her family the truth. But all is not so easy and these two must learn to forgive, become friends, and eventually love again for the sake of all involved. Their journey was both emotional and uplifting.

I was provided a copy of this novel from the author. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.

About the Author

A member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Christina Sinisi writes stories about families, both the broken and blessed. Her works include a semi-finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest and the American Title IV Contest where she appeared in the top ten in the Romantic Times magazine. Her published books include Christmas Confusion, Sweet Summer, and Christmas on Ocracoke. By day, she is a psychology professor and lives in the LowCountry of South Carolina with her husband, two children and her crazy cat Chessie Mae.

More from Christina

In Why They Call It Falling, the hero discovers he has a daughter he didn’t know existed when he sees his ex-girlfriend in a strawberry patch at Boone Hall Plantation (here in Charleston, South Carolina). In the book, the name of the plantation had to be changed to protect the innocent, but the recipe below doesn’t.

This recipe comes from a cookbook titled, Charleston Receipts Repeats. This book has modern recipes, as well as old-fashioned ones dating back through generations. It’s a perfect accompaniment to my Charleston-based romance.

Strawberry Pie I

1 9-inch pie shell, baked and cooled

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 cup water

Dash salt

1 3-ounce strawberry jello (delete 1 tablespoon)

1 pint strawberries

Whipped cream

In a saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, water, and salt.

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick and clear.

Add strawberry jello.