I finally finished reading this book after a few previous attempts. It had moments where I really thought I had understood the writing and was enjoying it, but a lot of the time I was bored.

At first I didn't enjoy this book and stopped reading within the first 30% of the book. But recently I came back to it and I'm glad I did! I'll seek out more from this author.

An engaging story with two interesting main characters. I enjoyed reading it very much. The different perspectives and changing timelines kept me engaged and I was sorry when I reached the end of the story. I could happily have read more about these people

This was one of those books in which I wanted more pages to turn at the end. Not in a 'I love this so much, I don't want it to end' way, but in a 'wait, that's it? What about….' way.

Not that I didn't enjoy it…I did. It's witty, engaging, funny, poignant, sad…but the most crucial question of the whole plot just wasn't answered.

Both main characters' stories dart from past to present throughout, trying to explain why Frances is 39 and still, reluctantly, single. Jackson is nearer 60 and newly single. Both are teachers in the same school, both with baggage. They have a fairly special relationship: a bit love/hate/will they/won't they.

The staff-room interactions are great fun…the dialogue is humorous, catchy and snappy. Actually, all the dialogue is good. It's a well-written novel, well observed, with some robust and relatable characters. It takes a moment to settle into the flashbacks…with the book being written in the present tense (which is my number one aversion!), the only thing singling out the flashback is the use of the past tense, and it takes a moment to decipher whose flashback it is and when it took place. Perhaps the chapter titles could have given an indication.

Nevertheless, and despite the answers to questions, one in particular, being wanting, this is a book you find yourself wanting to pick up at any opportunity.

Falling Short by Lex Coulton is about the struggles and personal lives of two teachers and the relationship between the two of them.

I am in charge of the senior library and work with a group of Reading Ambassadors from 16-18 to ensure that our boarding school library is modernised and meets the need of both our senior students and staff. It has been great to have the chance to talk about these books with our seniors and discuss what they want and need on their shelves. I was drawn to his book because I thought it would be something different from the usual school library fare and draw the students in with a tempting storyline and lots to discuss.
This book was a really enjoyable read with strong characters and a real sense of time and place. I enjoyed the ways that it maintained a cracking pace that kept me turning its pages and ensured that I had much to discuss with them after finishing. It was not only a lively and enjoyable novel but had lots of contemporary themes for our book group to pick up and spend hours discussing too.
I think it's important to choose books that interest as well as challenge our students and I can see this book being very popular with students and staff alike; this will be an excellent purchase as it has everything that we look for in a great read - a tempting premise, fantastic characters and a plot that keeps you gripped until you close its final page.

A good story about a missing father, a mother with dementia and the life of the daughter who is a teacher. I enjoyed it but not one of the greats but a pleasant read

I tried to read this book at least 15 times, picking it up and putting it down soon after to try again later.
I think maybe this authors writing isn’t for me. This one will have to go on the DNF shelf for me unfortunately

What a beautifully emotive tale. The exquisite plot, combined with beautiful writing make this one stunner of a book. To put it simply; I loved it and added the hardback to my collection.

I'm afraid this book was just average for me. It took me a couple of attempts to read it as I just wasn't connecting with either the characters or the plot. Unfortunately I found myself wishing the end would come so I could move on to another book.

I didn't love this book yet at the same time I didn't hate it. I was one of those books where I guess it just wasn't for me. Frances as a character I liked but I just can't put my finger on what it was about this book that I didn't particularly enjoy.

Frances has to be one of my favourite female characters in a novel so far this year. She’s funny, intelligent, self-sufficient to an extent, but also flawed and vulnerable. Her past and her strained relationship with her mother make coping with her mother’s illness all the more difficult. She begins to realise that the stories she’d held on to all these years aren’t what they seem, and her history and sense of who she is begins to crumble.
Jackson, on the other hand, I found very hard to like. He seems selfish and lacks real self-awareness, and I couldn’t feel any sympathy for him at all. I also felt that his back story was a little glossed over and glamorised – he behaved appallingly but it felt as though the reader was supposed to feel sorry for him. This made it difficult to appreciate his story and to root for him at all.
So this was a mixed bag for me – I loved Frances and her story, but loathed Jackson.
The writing is strong though and the author is a skilful storyteller. There is an honesty in this novel that is refreshing.
And there’s a lovely dog!
But Jackson is too problematic for me to really recommend this novel.

This was a solid debut novel by an author that might still take us places. Recommended for anyone who likes a nice sweet read.

I hate when I am ambivalent about a book, but sometimes it happens. I just couldn't come to grips with it. I didn't hate it, I didn't love it, but it didn't gel. Sorry. However I'm giving it 3 stars because, well, thats just me and others may well think differently.

I found Frances a little bit annoying she's flaky, doesn't communicate with those who care about her, but then as you find out more about what's going on with her mum and what happened in her past, you start to understand and empathise with her more and more. An interesting read.

I enjoyed this book, but didn't really see where it was going. and wasn't a massive fan of the characters. It just didn't work for me.

DNF at 21%.

Not my cup of tea. Dry, boring and hard to tell when the plot changes from the present to the past. Doesn’t feel like the book is actually going anywhere, and it feels incredibly jumbled.

I hate it when I have to review a book that I have managed to finish, but really didn’t enjoy. In fact, not only did I not enjoy this book – I actually hated it.
I just couldn’t figure it out.
It was as though I was literally just reading someone’s thoughts with no rhyme or reason. To be honest, that’s probably what it’s like inside my head , but that’s different. I haven’t written my thoughts down and asked people to read it. . . (something that just doesn’t bear thinking about. )
This could have been such a good book but I honestly didn’t give a toss about any of the characters. The backstory just seemed to go on and on and on and on . . . do you get where I’m going with this?
If you are feeling a tiny bit sad please, for the love of Jeff, do not read this book because it’s really just miserable.

The story is told from the point of view of two of the main characters, Frances a sixth form teacher and Jackson a Sixth form teacher. Frances is struggling with her mothers progressing dementia while still dealing with the loss of her father in childhood. Jackson is dealing with a previous event and a recent family tragedy.

I wasn't completely taken by this book,on a personal level. I suppose it is a love story in a way but I found Jackson to be really creepy which I don't think was the authors intention! I t was well written and had believable characters, and was written with empathy for their situations.

Thanks to NetGalley and to John Murray Press for an advance copy of Falling Short, the debut novel by Lex Coulton.
Unfortunately, I didn't like it. At all. And it certainly wasn't funny - in my opinion. Instead it was like a bitter stream of consciousness - or unconsciousness - as it drifted from place to place and jumped from one character's head to another. I found the names of the schoolchildren completely pretentious and almost impossible to remember. I wasn't sure which was the main plot and which was the sub-plot. I couldn't empathise with any of the characters. There was far, far too much backstory and introspection. And I wondered if the book was trying to be something it wasn't - literary.
I'd almost about given up when one of the main characters, Jackson, suddenly admitted to thinking about cooking Maria Callas - a prime example of bad editing/proofreading.
I struggled on for a few pages more, but then there was such a big anti-climax and the book just dragged on and on that I scan-read the last few pages as it spluttered to an unsatisfying end.
I suppose it felt unpolished, which is a shame as Coulton can clearly write and, underneath all of this, there's the basis for a very good storyline. It just got lost somewhere.