Falling into Place by Allison Ashley | Book Review

Falling into Place by Allison Ashley
Published by Montlake Romance on August 19, 2025
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 319
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher (Mail)
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Finding a date for a reclusive bachelor is her job. It’s also a risk when she becomes the perfect match in an emotional and hopeful romance by the author of If Tomorrow Never Comes.

Accountant and freelance personal stylist Carly Porter, daughter of a compulsive gambler, knows the personal cost of a bad bet. But when she partners with her best friend, Sasha—publisher of a floundering fashion magazine—Carly can’t resist. The highly publicized makeover of an Oklahoma City bachelor could boost sales and be Carly’s ticket to her dream profession. The bachelor in question is none other than Sasha’s older brother, Brooks.

Hardly the party boy Carly remembers from high school, Brooks is now an antisocial, work-obsessed physician still struggling with a devastating loss. But if it means helping his sister, he’s in. It’s Carly’s job to get him out of those lived-in scrubs, style him to the nines, and bring Brooks back to life. But so far, the only real connection is between Brooks and Carly—and falling for a client could cost Carly the career she’s worked so hard for.

To move forward, they’ll both have to overcome their painful pasts. And whatever the risk, maybe even take a chance on love.

I’m an Allison Ashley fan, so when I was given the opportunity to review her latest release, Falling into Place, I jumped at the chance. Especially when it was pitched as “Bachelor-style matchmaking” with the best friend’s brother trope. Both are like candy to me! And this story was so, so sweet. I loved Carly and Brooks together. Their chemistry is out of this world, and the entire premise of the story is so charming and wholesome. Carly is working two jobs, but her real passion is the side hustle, aka personal shopper and fashion stylist, that she wants to turn into a full-time career. Her best friend, Sasha, wants to breathe new life into her struggling fashion magazine and reaches out to Carly with an opportunity that will help them both further their careers. Sasha wants Carly to give her brother, Brooks, a makeover so the magazine can do a little matchmaking and find him the love of his life. Brooks is a lonely doctor who loves his cat and his garden. He’s not really interested in finding love, but the magazine’s success is just as important to him as it is to his sister. Their mother built it from the ground up, and now that she has passed on Brooks and Sasha want to further her legacy. So this antisocial workaholic says yes to a highly publicized journey of dating to find his person. He and Carly begin working together to get him looking snazzy for all these dates. I’m sure you know where this is going, because this is a romance novel after all!

Like I said, this was such a sweet story. I loved watching Carly and Brooks become friends and confidants. They knew of each other in high school, but weren’t in the same social circles. Carly had a crush on him, but he didn’t really notice her. He was super popular and sounded like a player, but he’s changed and now he’s noticing Carly for who she is. So you’ve got a little bit of a friends to lovers thing going on with some history, and they have such fun flirtatious banter that I really enjoyed. Neither of them is looking for love, especially Carly who is fresh out of a relationship that ended due to proximity issues and not a falling out of love, so they’re reluctant to let those sparks fly. Their romance is also sort of forbidden. Carly isn’t allowed to get involved with a client and Brooks has to keep dating other women for the magazine, so this adds a very interesting layer of complication to the mix. There’s some heavier issues that come up, which they share with one another, and I love how Allison Ashley is able to juxtapose the heavy with the light. I was never depressed or sad, just hopeful right along with these two cinnamon rolls. I loved their slow burn romance. Some people complain about a slow burn, but I just love it. It feels so realistic to me because I am a very slow burner myself. It also made so much sense for Carly and Brooks for various reasons. I also really appreciated the fade-to-black romance because sometimes I’m not really in the mood to read the spice and want to focus more on the emotional connection.  It was all just so much fun!

I really liked that this book focused on platonic relationships as well. I loved Brooks’s sisters and their relationship with Brooks. What a sweet family trio. Brooks’s relationship with his high school coach was also really nice. But, of course, Brooks and Carly stole the show for me. And that epilogue. Everything was tied up into a swoony little package that I adored. It was lovely watching these two work through their personal issues together and fall for one another in such a deep and meaningful way. I loved how everything shook out, and I’m definitely an Allison Ashley fangirl now. I can’t believe I haven’t read If Tomorrow Never Comes (I’ve seen the cover and heard the title, but for some reason never realized who the author is!), which is set in the same world as this book, so I need to go back and do that! Bottom line, Falling into Place was adorable and wholesome and very, very sweet. Highly recommended.

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