Book Review: Class Collision: Fall from Grace - Annette Mackey

Author: Annette Mackey

Genre: New Adult: Fiction, New Adult

Synopsis (from Goodreads.com):  What if you didn't know your boyfriend was worth millions 

Born into wealth and privilege, David spends his days rattling the servants and torturing the maid until he is kidnapped for ransom and left for dead. Grueling years follow until he meets Linda. She's sassy, pigheaded, beautiful and way more than he can possibly handle. Hate, love and passion combine as he tries to win her heart. She sees him as a drifter. Little does she know he's a prince in disguise. Set during the Great Depression, Class Collision will transport you to a simpler time filled with heartache and unexpected love.

Review:  Class Collision: Fall from Grace was an impulsive buy from Amazon.com recently.  Between liking the cover, and the award it had recieved for Reader's Favorite in 2011, I figured I'd give it a shot.  $.99 is not a huge risk, you know?

What really drew me to the book was the story of rich man falling into the normal class - or in this case, below.  I don't know why, but something about being humbled like that seemed like it would make a good story.  Heartwrenching is more like it.  David goes through so much in just this one book, it's hard to imagine another full book after this one.  At the open of this book you really, really want to hate David.  He is arrogant to a fault, and he's just a boy.  But as he and his brothers are kidnapped and the events there after, it becomes harder and harder to read.  It feels like no matter what, David cannot catch a break. 

What I Loved:  David finds humility.  While it is found in the worst, most horrible ways in some cases, it's still nice for him to be knocked off of his pedistool.  Unfortunately, he ends up surrounded by really bad people for many years, but this experience does not make him a worse person.  He ends up growing into an honorable, hard working, young adult.  He despises violence, and stands up for wrongs if he can.  No matter how many blows he takes, he seems to get back up and carry on with life.  In the end, the reader really loves David.  So when he starts falling for Linda, the sweetness, and innocense of his emotions is very appealing.  

Not So Much:  The first half of the book was kind of long.  There were moments, mostly the orphanage, that seemed like could have been shortened a chapter or two.  I had a point where I almost felt done with the book.

In the end, this book was very clean, and honorable. While the book is written for the New Adult era, this book would be just fine to read as a teenager, though I'm not sure the characters would be quite as appealing as something that was written for that age group.