The Gravity of Us by Brittainy C. Cherry

Graham Russell and I weren’t made for one another.

I was driven by emotion; he was apathetic. I dreamed while he lived in nightmares. I cried when he had no tears to shed.

Despite his frozen heart and my readiness to run, we sometimes shared seconds. Seconds when our eyes locked and we saw each other’s secrets. Seconds when his lips tasted my fears, and I breathed in his pains. Seconds when we both imagined what it would be like to love one another.

Those seconds left us floating, but when reality knocked us sideways, gravity forced us to descend.

Graham Russell wasn’t a man who knew how to love, and I wasn’t a woman who knew how to either. Yet if I had the chance to fall again, I’d fall with him forever.

Even if we were destined to crash against solid ground.

**MAKTUB – “all is written, everything happens for a reason” I adoredI swear that Ms. Cherry writes the most beautiful, heart-wrenching, romantic stories and each time I read one, it is better than the last. In this one, Graham and Lucy totally captured my heart early on and tugged and tugged thru the entire novel.

An early quote that really sets the stage for the novel is this one from a flashback of Graham's childhood:

In the shadows, heartbreak poisoned the love, twisting it into something darker, heavier, uglier. Heartbreak took love and mutilated it, humiliated it, scarred it. Heartbreak slowly began to freeze heartbeats that had once been so welcoming to love.

The “relationship” for Graham and Lucy was unusual since Graham was married to Lucy's sister, but Lucy was helping him care for her niece/his daughter. They slowly found a way to interact that was unique and heartwarming to watch while also frustrating to sit back from.

Other characters in this book were just as fun and lovable as well. One of my favorites was Professor Oliver, or Ollie to everyone but Graham who refused to shorten people's names. Not only was he some great comic relief at times when it was needed, he also was full of amazing advice like this when he was trying to convince Graham that Lucy was worth fighting for:

“This life is short, and you never know how many chapters you have left in your novel, Graham. Live each day as if it's the final page. Breathe each moment as if it's the final word. Be brave, my son. Be brave.”

This author NEVER ceases to amaze me and I feel absolutely honored to have read this book before release, but as soon as pre-order was available, I purchased it as well. I own the entire collection and can't wait till the day I can meet her at a signing and add autographed copies to my bookshelf! I just can't imagine anyone not loving this story!!!