The Year We Fell Down: 1 (Ivy Years) Paperback – 21 Mar. 2014

The Year We Fell Down is the first book in Sarina Bowen's The Ivy Years college hockey series.It is a truly sweet story about overcoming difficulties and learning again how to live.Corey is disabled due to a life altering injury. She has to sit in a wheelchair and say goodbye to her life in hockey. The bright side of going to college is that she leaves her overbearing parents behind.She moves into a handicapped accessible room and the last thing she suspects is to find is a true friend across the hall...Hartley broke his leg and now he's off the hockey season. He struggles with his injury but the freshman girl who moved into the next room seems to ease his pain of missing out.They find friendship and peace with each other and do anything to help the other cope with the situation.The story brings an aspect to the genre of romance with a disabled heroine that is no conventional and I loved how this was incorporated in the story.What I found lacking was depth and seriousness. I think the storytelling was too bright and positive. I could've seen more of the struggles of a life changing injury. I wanted to know more about the stress and pressure Hartley was under because his father left him. The more heavy topics were a little faded and handled with gloved hands.I think the ending would have been more appriciated if we knew more in depth of their hardships.Nontheless, the book had its wonderful moments. How Corey finds herself and her strength again, how she manages to change Hartley's view on life. How the whole disability concept is described.I could have used more hockey but I can't complain. It was lovely as it was.😊

I love books that are a little different. Where the characters face life challenges that showcase their strength in the face of adversity. I also love books where the guy and girl are friends first then it blossoms into something more. So this book was everything I would look for and I read it in 2-3 hours in the wee hours when I couldn't sleep, and then found I couldn't put it down.Corey Callahan and Adam Hartley are both struggling with bad injuries - her from a hockey accident that left her with permanent partial paralysis in her legs, and him from breaking his leg in 2 places after a drunken mishap involving a climbing wall. Their rooms are opposite one another in college, she's a freshman and he's a junior, and at the beginning he's going out with an aristocratic but extremely gorgeous snob.The storyline is semi-predictable, but the characters are resilient and charming, so the plot moves along quickly and you fast find yourself immersed. This is my first foray into the world of Sarina Bowen but it won't be my last. Love it, 5* all the way.

I've had this on my Kindle for months but I only picked it up after I read another book by this author (Coming in from the Cold) and I loved her writing style so much that I couldn't wait to get stuck into another one of her stories.Corey is an amazingly strong MC. She's been through the wringer and back but she doesn't let it beat her down. Determined to forge a new path in life, she enrolls at Harkness and meets Adam Hartley on the first day. Adam is hot but he has a really really really (yes it deserved three reallys) annoying cow of a girlfriend. The only bright spark was the fact that she was going on a sabbatical to Paris for a semester so we didn't have to put up with her too much. Yay.Corey and Hartley hit it off and become firm friends, though her lingering crush is developing into something much deeper. They bond over their disabilities (hers permanent, his temp) and their love of hockey.There are some great side characters in this novel too - Dana, Bridger, Daniel in particular.The plot wasn't overly original and there weren't any major shockers - I was pretty much expecting the reveleations that come out in the second half of the book. I knew there was some reason why Hartley was putting up with that idiot Sasia, and there were enough hints on the family drama to give it away. The beauty is in the exemplary execution of the story and the flowing, fluid writing style.I really connected emotionally with both mains and I felt Corey's pain and heartache and Hartley's fear of rejection.Hartley lost some bonus points from me after Sasia returned from her Paris trip. He knew she was screwing around with some other dude but was prepared to overlook that? ( I know they had a 'deal' but still) Also, he just spent the night with Corey and then allows Sasia to kiss the face off him in front of her? So not cool. I was hopping mad with him, but he redeemed himself in spectacular fashion so I forgave him.The disability storyline was sensitively handled and Corey had a very pragmatic approach to her limitations. I'm not sure how realistic that was though, but I can't comment as I don't have a disability or know anyone that does. I would have expected it to take her longer to come to terms with her changed circumstances and at least experience some prejudice, but neither was the case here. I thought for sure that Sasia would throw that at her when Hartley dumped her, but that didn't materialize.All in all though this was a fanstastic read. If the two books I've just read by Ms. Bowen are any indication, she is fast becoming a new favorite author. I love character driven books that aren't afraid to tackle sensitive moral or emotional topics and ones that delve deep into the psyche of the characters. Ms. Bowen has shown clear talent for snuggling deep under her characters skin and we gain well developed, complex characters as a result. I will definitely be checking out more of her work.Actual Rating: 4.5 stars