Review: Waterfall by Lisa T. Bergren

What do you do when your knight in shining armor lives, literally, in a different world?

Most American teenagers want a vacation in Italy, but the Betarrini sisters have spent every summer of their lives among the romantic hills with their archaelogist parents. Stuck among the rubble of the medieval castles in rural Tuscany, on yet another hot, dusty archaeological site, Gabi and Lia are bored out of their minds...until Gabi places her hand atop a handprint in an ancient tomb and finds herself in fourteenth-century Italy. And worse yet, in the middle of a fierce battle between knights of two opposing forces.

Suddenly Gabi's summer in Italy is much, much more interesting.

I cannot believe how long I've put off reading this book. It feels as if it has been on my TBR pile since the beginning of time. Okay, maybe not that long but almost as long as I've had an actual TBR pile. (Three or four years if we're going from the time that I first added it to my Goodreads shelf). But every time I've gone to pick it up I just haven't been sucked in; I've skimmed the first page then moved on to something else. But recently while looking through my unread books my best friend pointed it out and said it sounded amazing thereby putting it back on my radar and on a whim I found myself picking it up one night before bed.

I got sucked into the world as fast as Gabi found herself sucked into fourteenth-century Italy. I read that night until my eyes blurred and promptly picked it back up the next morning. Before I knew it I was halfway through and already working out the logistics of missing my class later that night so that I could finish it.

The writing makes for a fast-paced read where you're constantly flipping pages to see what insanity Gabi finds herself in next. Gabi herself is a great lead character that feels so easy to relate to; she muddles through the cultural contexts of the past, being slightly knowledgeable because of her parent's lessons but for the most part remembering just enough that she ends up getting herself into some kind of trouble. And that's half the fun! And the secondary characters are just as enjoyable. It's filled with interesting characters, and some steamy knights, that would make any girl have a swoon-worthy summer.

I think Waterfall would make for an amazing spring break or summer break read; it comes off, at least to me, just like those fun, easy, and super flirty movies that I love spending those long lazy days watching. And I'm definitely looking forward to seeing where the next few books go.

4/5