Love, Laughter, and New Beginnings: A Review of BJ Hill’s “Victoria Falls”

• Author: B.J. Hill
• Release Date: October 10, 2025
• Genre: Academia Romance
• My Rating:
• ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
• 🌶️🌶️/5

💋I laughed, I cried, and everything in between. If you love good punny jokes about math, this one is for you. Oh and amazing side characters you are going to love! 

Spoilers Ahead

📐We meet Victoria – Tori- who is trying to find herself after being in an emotionally draining marriage, but there is only so much one can put up with until they snap or until they get the courage to leave and start anew.

The woman looking back at me is unrecognizable-exhausted, defeated, broken.

All I ever wanted was to be enough.

Enough for him. Enough for this.

But I’ll never be enough

Same girl, same. Who hasn’t felt like they are enough? I know I have and it took it’s toll on me – still does at times. There is one guy-boy-child I was seeing when I was also a teen-child. And wow did that fuck me up. He would tell me how he didn’t like that I smoked and other things that were un lady like, but I found out that it was me who he didn’t like as a couple of weeks later he started dating a girl worse than me and smoked like a chimney. I may have thrown something or at someone. It hurt so much, caused a bit of trauma. Any who we moved on and couldn’t be happier but needed the new start.

New beginnings, new city, new job and a new coworker who seems to always be in her space and not just at the office. 

“You just be yourself, dear, If they don’t appreciate your first impression, that’s their problem.”

Then she leaves.

That’s their problem.

Okay, so, I like her a lot

It’s always good to have someone at work to help you out on your first day. And this was probably exactly what Tori needed for starting a new job, as this was not part of the plan. Especially the manslut of a coworker

🧑‍🔬Brooding, hurt and acting like a frat boy without a heart, enter the coworker- Leo. But that couldn’t be further from the truth and we get a beautiful glimpse into his life outside of the office.  Unfortunately though Leo doesn’t let people see that side of him. He keeps letting the hurt of his past dictate his future

🩵While I loved our main characters in this book, I also became obsessed with the side characters. Tori has an amazing group of friends who rally behind her during her divorce even when her parents disapprove. And outspoken old lady who I need as a neighbor 🤣

Now I may be a little biased as I love the author. I don’t know if it’s me or because I know the author but I could find/see parts of her in some of the characters and I absolutely loved it! Made me smile. 

 But I highly recommend this book to anyone, anyone wanting to find love after trauma, healing and being surrounded by friends in hard times, anyone who needs that push to fight for themselves. Don’t make yourself small for someone, shine bright 😘

Favorite Scenes 

“You did the best you could with what you knew,” I say gently. “I see that not. And I forgive you for not seeing it then.”

Tears threatening to spill over, Mom reaches over and wraps me in a hug. “I love you, you know that, don’t you?”

“I do, and I love you, too.” 

“And I’m proud of you.”

Now that was unexpected.

“Today, you are not homeless. You’re not a divorcee. You are hot, but you are not a hot mess. You’re not anything except a woman in a purple sweater who’s going to take a walk in the woods with a man. Deal? 

Her mouth quirks sideways, almost a smile. “Deal.”

“Did that sound as weirdly creepy as I think it did?”

“I’m totally texting Skye so she knows where to find my body.” 

Favorite Quotes

Glimpses of happiness.

Nuggets of Hope

Specks of love.

I hate feeling overwhelmed because when I’m overwhelmed, I act like a bitch.

Wait, are you telling me some people don’t turn into a bitch when they are overwhelmed? If so, tell me your secrets. I also notice I turn bitchy if I haven’t had enough food or coffee 🤣

It’s the first time I’m choosing my own wellbeing over his. My first step toward choosing myself, even if it means leaving him behind. 

I could not imagine living with someone, yet alone married to making me feel small. Making me have to choose myself and losing the one person who is supposed to be there for you

Are you there, God? It’s me, Victoria. Do you care, God? About anyone other than yourself and your fucking rules? Is this what your will is for my life? Suffering and oppression in a marriage to a man who is too selfish and broken to see anything beyond his own pain?

Fuck that. And fuck you. And fuck your rules. And fuck your holiness. And fuck my mother. And fuck Chase. And fuck infertility.

Fuck it all

I’m not a religious person, I was. I grew up Catholic but we didn’t go to church every Sunday. We would go every once in a while but around the age of 10 is when I stopped having faith. After my aunt died at the age of 40 died from breast cancer and I was angry. Why did she have to go? Doesn’t make sense. If there was a God, why did he make my grandmother suffer her whole life, and pass that pain suffering to me… It’s the reason I lean more into science and evidence.

“Rather than the one post of GBF, I’ve been told of promotions-elevating both your status and mine. The G simply transfers to you, making me your BF, and then you become my GF.”

Natural Wonders Series

• Northern Lights
• Victoria Falls

What’s New