Book Review

Wow! What a riveting story! I couldn’t put this one down!

Feel Me Fall (Release Date: May 2017)

Secrets and survival in the Amazon

Emily Duran is the sole survivor of a plane crash that left her and her teenage friends stranded and alone in the jungles of the Amazon. Lost and losing hope, they struggle against the elements, and each other. With their familiar pecking order no longer in place, a new order emerges, filled with power struggles, betrayals, secrets and lies. Emily must explain why she’s the last left alive.

But can she carry the burden of the past?

Discover the gripping new adventure novel that explores who we are when no one is watching, and how far we’ll go in order to survive.

Add to Goodreads

My Thoughts…

First of all, I’d like to say it was such a pleasure to read an actual book, complete with “new book smell.” So thank you James, for sending me this gorgeous book!

Now down to business. This book was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! I’m a sucker for disaster and survival stories (probably why I love dystopian stuff so much), and this story ticked all the boxes for me. At first, this book sort of made me think “Lord of the Flies” meets “Lost.” Then I realized it was closer to Lord of the Flies. Another hard-hitting tale of how fast human beings can devolve when stripped of civilization. Of course, it is its own tale and it is really good.

“Feel Me Fall” is told by the protagonist and only survivor of a plane crash and subsequent entrapment in the jungle. The plane was filled with senior students and teachers on their way to adventure. Unfortunately, it plummeted into the Amazon and only a handful of students survive the actual crash. They have to forge together despite their differences and try to survive the wilds of the jungle, and each other.

The writing is excellent and the plot and sub-plots are enthralling. I really enjoyed this book with its thrills, danger, and twists. I really can’t recommend this enough!

Regardless of having preferred genres, I think everyone should give this one a try.

I’ve attached the first chapter, compliments of the author and I dare you to read it and not want more 😉

Rating… A

Excerpt

Chapter One

I have tried so hard to forget, but memory is a stubborn thing. Memories linger no matter what I do. They’re there all the time—and worse. Even my dreams aren’t safe. I have vicious nightmares, and they’re real—too real—and suddenly I’m back there. I can’t will them away, I can’t squeeze them away, and the more I try, the more they burrow in my head. I want to cut open my skull and dig my fingers into my brain and just pull them out.

I press the Call Nurse button.

 This place, this room; it’s no better than a white coffin. Sometimes I feel like the walls are closing in on me and I have to remind myself nothing’s moving. Nothing at all.

            Breathe, I tell myself. Just breathe.

            A nurse enters. She’s got skin the color of rich walnut. She says, “It’s late, you should be asleep.”

            “I can’t.” She tilts her head, knowing it’s a lie. The truth is I don’t want to. “Can I have some coffee?”

            “You’ve got to sleep sometime, honey.” She walks over and gently grasps my bandaged hand. “Do you want me to stay with you a while?”

            Usually my mom is with me, but she must’ve had to run home. Reduced to a little girl, I nod.

            I close my eyes, but my mind runs and runs. Tubes and fluids enter my body, but there’s nothing to stop the anxiety. My heart pounds and sometimes I fear I’m on the cusp of crossing into whatever lies on the other side of sane. Being in the hospital makes it harder. The white walls and sick people only remind me that I am so far from normal. My mom’s apartment in Los Angeles is less than five miles away, but it might as well be a million.

The nurse, staff, doctors, everyone; they all know me for one thing. The thing that will define me for the rest of my life. I am a survivor. The only survivor of Air Brazil, the plane that crashed in the Amazon jungle carrying 134 passengers; 37 of them students, teachers, and chaperones from Riverdale Academy High. I used to hear about plane crashes and wondered how the victims felt in the seconds before impact, wondered what it was like to know you were about to die.

Now I know. And I’d give anything not to.

            I knew those people from school. Every. Single. One.

They aren’t faceless names. They are people and they are dead.

The counselor didn’t help, either. She told me not to feel guilty. Survivor’s guilt, she called it. She warned I could expect to be angry and sad. I could expect to be confused. I wanted to tell her I was angry and sad and confused long before I got onto that plane.

            My counselor told me to write my story down. By writing I could make sense of all that happened. I keep thinking if I remember everything the way I need to that the memories will fade away. That I can accept what happened. I can accept that I survived and everyone else died.

The laptop on my nightstand is waiting for me. I’m scared to touch it.

 

About the Author

James Morris is a former television writer who now works in digital media. When not writing, you can find him scoping out the latest sushi spot, watching ‘House Hunters Renovation’, or trying new recipes in the kitchen. He lives with his wife and dog in Los Angeles.

James Morris | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter