Fall Through Spring

These men get to see some of the worst in each other and yet there are willing to continue to work through things. Clay is supportive of Dane but also knowing that it needs to wait for Dane to get things together. I love how the friendship and support system comes first. I think this book does a great job of dealing with a tough subject like mental health in a wonderful and hopeful way.

Fall Through Spring ticked off several boxes for me. I love a good friends to lovers but I love flawed people even more. So when I saw that Dane had Bi-Polar and anxiety issues and Clay had weight and self-confidence issues I was on board. Both are topics I can seriously relate to and Amy Lane handled them well.
Clay and Dane are great characters but we also have Skip and Mason. Skip is Clay's best friend and Mason Is Dane's brother. This is how the two meet, through mason and Skip.
The topics are good as we watch both men battle their problems and fall in love. They become great friends then more. It is a slow burn but when we do get to the sex it is hot.
This is book three. Skips book is 1 and Mason is 2 but this stands alone quite well. I loved the book. My only issue was I felt it could have been just a little shorter.
If you like friends to lovers, flawed men, coming out, slow burn and a good ole romance this is for you.

I never dreamed that Amy Lane would write Dane and Clay’s story. I hoped. Oh yes. But I didn’t believe she would mainly because their story coincided, on a timeline anyway, with Mason and Terry’s in ‘Summer Lessons’. There is more than one reason why I’m so happy and grateful that she did write their story. Dane isn’t the first of Ms. Lane’s characters to struggle with mental health issues, but he is the first that I truly grasped the full extent of his battle.

“Dane was the friend and companion Carpenter had always dreamed about… And Dane was fragile. Carpenter had to make sure Dane didn’t death spiral in his own head. But he had to do that while he made sure he didn’t eat a dozen donuts a day because he was stressing about Dane’s internal death spiral, and dammit, he wasn’t strong enough to do this and he really wanted some fucking donuts!” ~ Clay

Clay Carpenter has been around since the first book, ‘Winter Ball’, as he works in the IT department with Skipper and he, somehow against his will, ended up playing on their rec league soccer team. Or as he always refers to it, the church of holy soccer. Clay wasn’t exactly thrilled in the beginning, but anything he can do to try and exercise while watching what he eats can only be a good thing. Because while Dane fights his body chemistry, Clay has his own war he deals with: the one against using food as a way to feel better about himself and eating all of his negative emotions. I wanted to hate his parents and his sister but I just couldn’t. They’re not horrible people. They didn’t abuse him. They just didn’t listen… but he never really spoke up. Clay views his family as perfect and himself as far less than. A viewpoint I could intimately relate to.

“So you’re a slave to your body chemistry. What happens if you don’t take the meds?”
Dane closed his eyes. “Well, when it was really bad, I did a demolition job on my dorm room, and then my boyfriend’s house.”

It was impossible not to empathize with Dane. I have my own meds I take every day and even though I’m not bipolar, I still despise being regulated to having to take them. When Dane is on his meds he can be rational and understand his feelings, his insecurities, and his responsibilities. Unfortunately, when he misses dosages everything skyrockets and there’s a part of him that likes the intense highs. It’s why his schedule and routine are an absolute must. It’s why he’s thirty and lives with his older brother because when he’s stressed he forgets, and going to college to be a veterinarian is highly stressful.

“Because you are special to me, and I think I’m special to you. And I don’t want you to disappear because we hook up and suddenly you’re terrified you did or said something wrong. If I’m your friend, you know anything is forgivable. Being lovers is harder. Let’s get our shit sorted first.” ~ Clay

Before Clay and Dane became friends, I fell in love with Clay. How could I not? So many of his difficulties are ones I deal with as well. Watching him with Dane had me falling even harder for this gentle man with a sweet disposition and a soul so bright. It’s not that everything he said or did was always perfect, but maybe because of what he dealt with growing up, he tried really hard to always listen to Dane even when he was in a downward spiral.

‘Fall Through Spring’ completely exceeded my expectations and believe me, they can be pretty high. Now, if only I can convince the author to write Thomas and Cooper’s story. It could be done. Truly. Not much is known about them. Imagine where you could take me. Thank you, Amy, for this gorgeous love story. It’s definitely one-of-a-kind!

I have been waiting for Dane and Carpenter's story forever! And I was so excited it was finally here. I love this series and I have re-read Winter Ball and Summer Lessons multiple times. That said, I was so gutted and emotionally all over the place as I read this fabulous story. I am Carpenter in multiple ways and I did not like seeing myself open and vulnerable for everyone to see me. As for Dane, I have a loved one with mental health issues and the journey that Carpenter and Mason were on as they lived, loved and exhausted themselves with and for Dane. So, another truly fabulous heartwarming, heartbreaking, emotionally gutted and then put back together story. I would recommend you read the other books first as this is not a standalone and be prepared to have a box of kleenex on hand.

I waited for Dane and Carpenter for a while, and I was not disappointed. Dane's mental illness and Carpenter's body image issues are so real life. I was really able to connect with these characters more than usual because they are just down to earth, everyday guys. You do need to read this in order within the series for the best experience. I was sad to see these guys go. I hope to get a glimpse of them in future books.