Summary
Trigger Warning: Mentions of Eating Disorders
Britta Colby is a writer who works for a lifestyle website part-time. She is assigned to write about her perspective and experience regarding a new fitness app called “FitMi” which includes personal coaching. Seeing this as a huge opportunity to prove her worth at work and get on board for a full-time position, she takes on the challenge.
Wes Lawson, CEO of the FitMi Fitness app, finds himself dealing with a lot of personal problems which leave him feeling alone and dissatisfied with where he is at. Deciding to focus on what he enjoys most, he gets back to coaching.
Surprise, surprise: Britta is his first new client and they hit it off immediately. Messaging through the app professionally becomes personal quickly when they start working out in-person together. And if you thought the sparks flying were hard to control online, just wait until you see how things get hot offline.
Despite the fact that Wes is really not supposed to meet with his clients in person and Britta’s writer credibility will be totally trashed if the lifestyle site she works for finds out she’s pretty much dating the CEO of the app she’s supposed to be reviewing––neither can keep away from the other.
Spoilers for “The Fastest Way to Fall” ahead. Watch out and take care.
My Thoughts
What I Loved
I absolutely adored the take on body positivity in this book. As people set their new year resolutions and work towards a healthier version of themselves this year, this book reminds readers to focus on loving themselves first and foremost. So often we find flaws with our bodies in the mirror when we’re getting ready for the day, and we forget that the body we see in the mirror is the very body that allows us to breathe, get up, get moving and accomplish everything we set our minds to.
I felt like Williams made such a bold move with her willingness to tackle tough issues like dealing with someone’s rejection of how we look and venturing into eating disorder territory. She did not shy away from the hardships those struggling to get a healthy lifestyle face, and I really appreciated the honesty and the rawness of it.
I also loved the support between both Britta and Wes that went both ways. Britta was able to be there for Wes during his family problems and Wes was encouraging Britta during her moments of rejection and self doubt. I always like to see an ebb and flow––give and take between the romantic leads. It’s way more realistic that way if they are both able to contribute to the relationship rather than one person fulfilling their every need and never needing anything in return.
What I Didn’t Love
This is definitely more on me than anything else, but I did not enjoy the lack of professionalism in both Wes and Britta. They both risked (and eventually lost or gave up) their steady paying jobs just to be with one another. Despite neither job actually fulfilling their needs, I felt like it was a huge sign of immaturity for both of them to be entangled in such a messy love. I understand that the story called for the tension of forbidden love, but messy workplace romances have always made me extremely uncomfortable as a reader.
I also really disliked Britta’s judgement of her coworkers at the lifestyle website she worked for. There’s a scene in the beginning of the book where Britta brings in donuts to work and starts criticizing everyone in her head for not taking part in eating the donuts when the head boss arrives. It’s moments like these where I feel that Britta is too harsh of a judge of other people and she’s also too hard on herself at times. It is so important that we practice kindness towards one another and towards ourselves and try not to judge others for whether they do or do not eat the donut during an office meeting.
I definitely did not love that Britta eventually lost her job for a man. It was a choice she made to be in a relationship with the CEO of FitMi (the app she was reviewing), and as an adult she had to face the consequences. I just really hated the lack of professionalism displayed by the characters to the point where she was fired from her job. I’m glad it all worked out in the end (Wes offered her a job as a writer for FitMi), but it left me feeling a bit dissatisfied with the ending.
In Conclusion
I loved this book! It was such a fun read and reminds readers to enjoy both health and love. Strongly recommend reading if you yourself are on a health journey, enjoy running (there’s a 10K in the end!), or just are looking for a cute romantic read. It does bring up eating disordered behavior and tackles other tough issues like addiction, so readers beware if you’re triggered by those kinds of books.
Overall, I give it a 7/10. I enjoyed the read and you should definitely pick up a copy.
Elizabeth Yuen 