There is a special place in my heart for stories that have a Connecticut setting. Jane Green, Marissa D’Angelo’s Charles Island, and more have been books that I know and loved. So when I found the book, Falling for Fairfield by Olivia Berry, I knew that this would be something that I wanted to pick up.
Falling for Fairfield is a short little novel that tells the story of Emma, who at the start of the novel has fallen out of love with her big NYC ad exec lifestyle. Fed up, she quits her job and has her sights set on small town Fairfield. Emma opens her own business, in which she begins to accumulate local small businesses to promote.
This book is the type that you can devour in one setting. It is also the type of book that if you’re from Fairfield or know Fairfield, you can actually picture the locations in the book. Berry is a Fairfield native, and mentions several real life places such as the Fairfield Theater Company, Merritt Parkway, Fairfield University, and Sakura Garden. There were many places throughout the course of the book that were unnamed, but were one of those if you know, you know type of places.
I thought that this was a fun read, and honestly enjoyed reading this one. I loved the transformation of Emma, and the journey that our protagonist goes through from start to finish. While there is a romance in the novel, I believe that it takes a back seat to the love letter that novel is to the Town of Fairfield.
That said, if I’m going to be honest, this book is reminiscent of a Hallmark Channel movie. There were a ton of cliche, cheesy moments, and had the same formula as those movies — girl moves from the big city to a small town; falls in love with a local guy; and becomes a huge fixture in the small town that she recently moved to. That said, while it was cheesy and wholesome, it doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy this book. I had so much fun reading it, and it’s something that I am happy to get to.
While I enjoyed this book for the most part, I will say that there was not a lot of conflict with this one. The tiny amount of conflict was there was an issue throughout the story when Emma tried to get a roommate, but it didn’t work out. That potential roommate kept on appearing throughout the book, which I liked, because it’s something that does happen in a small town. That said, I felt that this was forced conflict that was sprinkled in, and didn’t really enjoy that.
And like all Hallmark movies, everything was super happy and tied with a neat bow. Some people are not fans of that, but for me, that is something that you just need in either a book or movie format. I feel like when you’re picking up a book like this, it’s part of the expectation of it to be that way.
Overall, I give this one 3 stars. Falling for Fairfield is a self-published book, but is available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
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