review: free fall (fly me to the moon #5) by emma barry, Genevieve turner

Free Fall (Fly Me to the Moon #5)
by Emma Barry, Genevieve Turner

Source: e-arc provided by the author in exchange for an honest review

Houston, Texas, 1965

When an accident rocks the American Space Department, threatening the race to the moon, the agency is determined to eliminate distractions, including those in the bedroom.

Astronaut Dean Garland, on track to become the first man to walk in space, is fine with putting a temporary hold on his love life. Except the directive comes too late to prevent the biggest distraction of all: Vivian Muller… Garland. But now that he’s married, Dean is determined to follow the rules until he makes history with his spacewalk.

Vivy never expected to find herself pregnant or in a shotgun marriage, much less a sexless one. While her new husband might pretend to be perfectly happy sleeping alone, Vivy’s never believed in pretending or holding back. She’s determined to make her husband fall for her, even if it means bending—or breaking—the rules.

Dean’s resolve to keep marriage and work separate hits another serious snag: the suit he’s supposed to wear in the killer vacuum of space isn’t reliable, and his new father-in-law manufactured it. As Dean unravels the technical problem and Vivy tries to win her husband’s love, their hearts and his life hang in the balance. ~ Goodreads

My thoughts: I love this series. It has a vibe. When you finish reading you just want to start mixing retro drinks and make jello molds and tuna casserole. I was born in 1965 (when this race to space romance series takes place) and it brings back such fond memories of my mom and childhood. It’s like the series Mad Men but without the assholes. Well, there are assholes but our intrepid protagonists always win. 😜

In Free Fall, 19 year old socialite Vivian Muller, and Dean Garland, a 29 year old astronaut, make an instant connection at a party and hook up for one night. Vivy gets pregnant and her parents arrange for them to get married.

While Vivy has always had a bit of a thing for Dean, she has no idea how to be an astronauts wife and is pregnant by a man she barely knows. Add to that - her father owns the company that is making the space suit Dean needs to wear for his walk on the moon. It isn’t working properly, putting the astronauts in danger and forcing Vivy learn some hard truths about her “daddy” and choose between the men in her life.

Don’t get me wrong – I enjoyed Free Fall but there’s a lot going on. Vivy and Dean’s polar opposite personalities, the unplanned pregnancy and sudden wedding, the fact that Vivy has to start questioning her father’s integrity – all enough to add plenty of tension to a new marriage. Instead – the authors added tension in another way.

Dean and the other astronauts aren’t allowed to have sex until his moon landing is completed so they don’t get distracted. So for most of the book Dean avoids Vivy so that he won't give in to his desires. I don't care whether they have sex or not - but the avoidance made it difficult to build any connection between the two and then when they did connect it felt more lust driven than like a blossoming love. It felt like an artificial obstacle that wasn't necessary and kept me from seeing their relationship grow.

Not my favorite of the series but as always the space stuff is fascinating and Vivy is AWESOME. It was also great to catch glimpses of the former couples.

The first book, Star Dust, is currently free on Amazon (affiliate link) and the boxed set of the first 3 books is available for .99 until August 15th.

I highly recommend this smart, quirky series!