Fall for him A novel

Enemies become lovers thanks to an unusual living situation in this entertaining contemporary from Burke (Fly with Me). ER nurse Derek Chang hated his upstairs neighbor, Dylan Gallagher, before he even moved in, believing Dylan dated and dumped his recently deceased friend and long-time crush, Jake. When Dylan's floor collapses and he literally falls into Derek's bed, it's unlikely to make the situation any better. Both hoping to stay off the homeowners' association's radar, they decide to keep the incident quiet. Dylan will crash with Derek while doing the repairs himself. Dylan, who has ADHD, is "intensely attracted" to Derek but thinks of himself as broken and believes the self-professed "himbo gym rat" will never return his feelings. As these reluctant roommates find common ground, however, desire grows on both sides. Giving in leads to "stupid, lovesick, radiant joy"--but their relationship is tested by trust issues, misunderstandings, and their complicated families. Burke fills both men's lives with enjoyable and quirky supporting characters who help keep the somewhat thin plot moving. This is a delight. Agent: Mariah Nichols, D4EO Literary. (Sept.)

Derek already vehemently dislikes his upstairs neighbor Dylan, so when Dylan falls through the ceiling onto Derek's bed due to a renovation error, Derek is incensed. Now there's a hole in the ceiling that is prohibitively expensive to fix, and even worse, it will be a major headache to handle with the building HOA. But Dylan, skilled in carpentry, promises to keep the hole a secret from management and lower the costs by taking care of the repairs himself. The only catch is that he and Derek have to share quarters while he works on it. Their animosity soon melts away into mutual lust and love, but mistaken assumptions, childhood traumas, workplace stress, and painful secrets threaten to derail their relationship before it even begins. VERDICT With strong friendships, a full cast of delightful characters, and a story told from alternating points of view, this enemies-to-lovers and forced-proximity romance from Burke (Fly with Me) explores serious issues such as neurodivergence, alcohol-use disorder, toxic family expectations, forgiveness, and grief, while still being a steamy, humorous, and hopeful read.--Migdalia Jimenez