Book Review – The Gravity of Us by Brittainy C. Cherry

The Gravity of Us
This was another one of those “perfect” books for me. Wonderfully written, smooth flowing story with realistic dialogue and it had just enough of everything, and not too much of anything. I LOVED it.

Jean: I basically read it in one day! IT WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!!

Ela: Maryse! YOU MUST READ THE GRAVITY OF US STAT!

Jean: Maryse, I second Ela’s comment….YOU MUST READ THE GRAVITY OF US ASAP!!!!!! IN FACT, EVERYONE HERE MUST READ IT!!!!!!!

Melinda: Ohh Maryse, I just finished “The Gravity of Us”. I loooved it. Def 5 stars. thanks Jean. Great Rec.

Lauren: Just finished The Gravity of Us and wanted to come on and tell everyone it’s a must read. Gave me all the feels…so good!

D.G.: Outstanding. Just outstanding. I absolutely LOVED The Gravity of Us! More than a handful of moments that made my eyes watery…but the best books always give me all kind of feels. Loved the slow burn of it. Good gravy but I absolutely LOVE the cover!!! I mean it is Stu…my all time favorite cover model. Swooning here…. …Stu Reardon ….he was the cover model for The Gravity of Us!!! Retired Rugby player, fitness guru…there is some swag floating around with him on it…why oh why do I have to work…

Janet: I did like The Gravity of Us cover and the story was fantastic!!

Cheryl: Finished The Gravity of Us. Good, but damn that was a slow-burn.

Maryse: Yep!!!!! I LOVED Gravity of Us. That was fantastic and not too crazy in any direction but I sure did find myself sayin’ “THAT B*TCH!!!!!” a few times. Er… and for a few characters too (not just one).

See? THAT IS SOME INTENSE BOOK DEVOTION!!! I loved it, but of course, I knew I would. I’ve loved past books by this author, and considering her HUGE fan following, and constant recommendations for it, I knew this was one of “those”. Yep. You guys were right. It’s funny, infuriating and everything in between. Now I’ve got to backtrack through this series and indulge, since each book seems to be equally loved!

So what’s it about?

Lucy is a free spirit, loving and giving and overall happy with life. Not so grounded, but she’s just one of those types, ya know? She always seems to land on her feet no matter what she chooses to do, even if everything’s kind of up in the air. So very different from her sisters, one being completely driven, with no time for anything and completely unapologetic about it. She disapproves of Lucy’s bohemian lifestyle, and makes it known (to the point of being hateful). And then there’s the middle sister. Centered, married and steady, and Lucy’s absolute best friend in the world.

Lucy stands by her through the worst time in her life (TWO very bad things at once), and comes out of it stronger, more grounded and eventually, part owner of a whimsical flower shop. Ahhhhh I loved it.

So, it’s when her flower shop is commissioned to handle the flower arrangements for a celebrity funeral (a much-loved famous author that died), that Lucy meets his extremely jaded, bitter, unhappy son (who’s also a famous author and unhappily married).

At times my wife was the person I hated the most. While we agreed on many things, sometimes the words that left her mouth made me rethink every flow chart we’d ever made.

How could someone so beautiful be so ugly at times?

He hates his father, his wife, and his life. And he’s now forced to give a eulogy for “appearances” sake since nobody knows the true story.

I tried my best to think of what type of eulogy I’d deliver for the man who was a hero to many but a devil to myself. I tried to dig up memories of love, moments of care, seconds of pride he’d delivered me, but I came up blank. Nothing. No real feelings could be found. The heart inside my chest— the one he’d helped harden— remained completely numb.

He’s kind of rude to Lucy, who has accidentally locked herself outside of the event…

I heard the door behind me open. I twisted myself around and gasped lightly.

It’s you.

Graham Russell.

Standing right behind me.

“Don’t do that,” he snapped, noting my stare glued to him. “Stop noticing me.”

LOL!!!!! 😀 I can just see her awe and his utter annoyance with it.

She doesn’t balk.

Oh sure, she’s his BIGGEST fan, and he’s eye-rolling over her enthusiasm, but she’s who she is, and can’t help her goofy self. And secretly, he’s sort of getting a kick out of her, while he tries to give her “advice” on how to adult better. 😉

“Lucy is a name for a child. If you ever truly want to make it in the world, you should go by Lucille.”

“Noted. If you ever want to be the life of the party, you should consider the nickname Graham Cracker.”

“Are you always this ridiculous?”

But when a certain unknown fact about him is revealed to Lucy, along with a devastating scene that shocks her to tears, right in front of this angry stranger… the story really gets rolling. It had my jaw dropping.

“A bit of advice.”

“Yes?” She wrapped her arms around her body and when she looked at me, her smile was gone, replaced by a heavy frown.

“Feel less.” I breathed out. “Don’t allow others to drive your emotions in such a way. Shut it off.”

“Shut off my feelings?”

I nodded.

“I can’t,” she argued, still crying. Her hands fell over her heart, and she shook her head back and forth. “This is who I am. I am the girl who feels everything.”

I could tell that was true. She was the girl who felt everything, and I was the man who felt nothing at all.

“Then the world will do its best to make you nothing,” I told her. “The more feelings you give, the more they’ll take from you. Trust me. Pull yourself together.”

OH. EM. GEE. TWIST!! Right off the bat! YAY US!

And she becomes his… assistant, of sorts. SO FUN.

I’m stopping there. There is a TON of story to discover and indulge in, and it will have you reacting the whole way through.

“Don’t forget to drink the coffee I brought you that’s sitting on the counter!” I hollered, banging on his door. “It’s black— ya know, like your soul.”

*snort* Gah! I LOVED her!!! With all the over-feels this girl has, she’s also so strong. Nothing phased her. Or at least… not for long. 😉

My ONLY hiccup would be a couple of characters that were not only huge hateful jerk-faces, but just obnoxiously so, and a situation that had me appalled and infuriated. And really freaking disappointed at one point (but not at the book… at some characters. THAT is how realistic this was for me for the most part, and how attached I was to their plight). And then… I was all…. WHAT???  WHAT!!!!!!!????

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE to feel that kind of emotion while reading, but it was a bit over the top considering the circumstances and some of the reactions (and decisions) had me shaking my head and thinking… reaaaaally?  REALLY?!!!

THAT B*TCH!!!!!!! And while I’m at it, THAT J*RK!!!!!!!!!  *phew* I feel better now. I was so mad. The “rockiness” only gave us that much more reason to love it, because we certainly had to work for it, in this one.

“There are moments when I see you, you know— when I see how hurt you are, when I see your pain and worry, but then you go ahead and cancel it out with your rudeness.”

“Stop acting like you know me,” I told her.

“Stop acting like you’re heartless,” she replied.

But I’m back to say that the story as a whole is well rounded, and reads quite seamlessly. Even the occasional back and forth, from the past to the present served to slowly reveal the “why” of certain character flaws, and boy does it go deep.

My heart ached, my eyes welled up in tears for so many reasons (good and bad), but mostly, my heart brimmed to the top with happiness and basked in the glow of this very touching and healing love story.

4.5 stars! <— Thanks guys!! I’m so glad I one-clicked it. :D!!!