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Center of Gravity
(Nook Island #1)
by
When life comes apart at the seams, love is the only thread that can mend it
Accountant Rob Macomb has a stable job that he’s good at and… that’s about it. A year of nothing but heartache leaves him seeking refuge from loneliness and grief behind spreadsheets, punishing daily runs, and the occasional anonymous tryst. He wants only to bury the past and focus on his career,
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Showing 1-30
Start your review of Center of Gravity (Nook Island, #1)
This was a pleasant surprise. Not a book without faults, but I enjoyed it a lot regardless.
The pacing felt off at times, the MCs were assholes sometimes, and a couple scenes were somewhat weird (view spoiler) but it had so much heart! The grief was palpable and a constant thing but despite the fact it was portrayed very realistically, it was never overwhelming. It was obvious this was a subject matter very close to ...more
The pacing felt off at times, the MCs were assholes sometimes, and a couple scenes were somewhat weird (view spoiler) but it had so much heart! The grief was palpable and a constant thing but despite the fact it was portrayed very realistically, it was never overwhelming. It was obvious this was a subject matter very close to ...more
After having year in which his father and mother both died, and finding out his boyfriend was not quite as broken up with his wife as previously stated, the last thing that Rob Macomb wants to be doing is packing up his parent’s house for sale. But with his sister living across the country, he is the only one around to do it. Hopefully he can do it quickly, if not painlessly. A few days and surely he can go back to his boring, if predictable, life.
Imagine his surprise when the moving company he ...more
Imagine his surprise when the moving company he ...more
I'm digging this author's writing style.
Highlights:
-Age gap
-Grief. It was palpable throughout the story but never felt like a kick in the gut. I loved the way she handled it.
-Push and pull was delicious AND frustrating! Lol
-The conflict never felt OTT. It made sense.
-The romance and chemistry.
-Winslow! I don't think what happened to him needed to happen, but at least he survived.
-The epilogue.
Neve Wilder is an author to look out for. I'm looking forward to what else she has in store for ...more
Highlights:
-Age gap
-Grief. It was palpable throughout the story but never felt like a kick in the gut. I loved the way she handled it.
-Push and pull was delicious AND frustrating! Lol
-The conflict never felt OTT. It made sense.
-The romance and chemistry.
-Winslow! I don't think what happened to him needed to happen, but at least he survived.
-The epilogue.
Neve Wilder is an author to look out for. I'm looking forward to what else she has in store for ...more
This author can do romance just as well as erotica. The first thing I read by this author was her Want Me series, which was primarily erotica but with romance as well. This book was the opposite, but just like with her erotica series and how the romance was done well and well written, the sex scenes in this were just as well written as the romance, which was front and center in this.
Rob is a 37 year old accountant who has been trying to make his way up in his corporate financial company for the ...more
Rob is a 37 year old accountant who has been trying to make his way up in his corporate financial company for the ...more
What a book! Truly one of only two books to crush me completely. Center of Gravity is a somewhat quiet study on illness, grief and healing. Don’t worry it is also a romantic book but not one where the main characters tear up the sheets every five minutes. There are no quick fixes or magic dicks present. In fact it is honest, painful and doesn’t pull its punches. That being said it does have its moments. Passion and connection between the MC’s is portrayed with realism within the context of the ...more
After reading her short stories with Nate & Eric that are full of banter - and the author is really good at that, lemme tell ya - I wasn't sure what to expect from this story.
The last few chapters were indeed very sad, and hard to read, I was choking on my tears, while trying to hold them back. I maaay have skimmed over the most brutal chapter, when the grief was so overwhelming I couldn't take it.
Otherwise this book was very flirtatious, though I'm used to way more banter from Neve Wilder, ...more
The last few chapters were indeed very sad, and hard to read, I was choking on my tears, while trying to hold them back. I maaay have skimmed over the most brutal chapter, when the grief was so overwhelming I couldn't take it.
Otherwise this book was very flirtatious, though I'm used to way more banter from Neve Wilder, ...more
This was my first book of Wilder's ... and I thought it was good
Sure, it got a bit heavy near the end -- and I was in tears -- but the whole book was a good combination of cuteness and tenderness and angst. I was very much entertained with the how determined Alex was to wear Rob down, telling the older man that there was nothing wrong to have some fun.
The part with Alex's sick father, and Rob reminiscing about his own deceased father wasn't easy to read -- and I felt that this was very ...more
Sure, it got a bit heavy near the end -- and I was in tears -- but the whole book was a good combination of cuteness and tenderness and angst. I was very much entertained with the how determined Alex was to wear Rob down, telling the older man that there was nothing wrong to have some fun.
The part with Alex's sick father, and Rob reminiscing about his own deceased father wasn't easy to read -- and I felt that this was very ...more
So I kinda fell in love with this book.
Which in all actuality I probably should have stayed very far away from because (view spoiler)
But there was actually just this quiet sense of melancholy that drew me right in.
I love books where the 2 MCs challenge the relationship. I hate insta love.
I need deep. I need to feel an ache in my chest that I rub and rub and rub while I'm reading.
I love sexual chemistry. I love the ...more
Which in all actuality I probably should have stayed very far away from because (view spoiler)
But there was actually just this quiet sense of melancholy that drew me right in.
I love books where the 2 MCs challenge the relationship. I hate insta love.
I need deep. I need to feel an ache in my chest that I rub and rub and rub while I'm reading.
I love sexual chemistry. I love the ...more
This was a wonderful start to my new reading year 2019! Funny and sad with a wonderful happy ending.
Now off to the short story 'Sightlines', which is not on GR yet. Hopefully someone will add it soon.
Now off to the short story 'Sightlines', which is not on GR yet. Hopefully someone will add it soon.
Rob and Alex will stay with me... a beautiful and heartbreaking read, that ends happy. Strong character development, lots of layers with a ton warmth (and steam.) Highly recommend.
This was a story I really got immersed in; there was no insta-love here, it was a relationship that evolved in its own time, and during the journey we got to see and feel the emotional connection building exponentially between these two men. I could understand Rob’s insistence on keeping up his walls up, being where he was in his life and the losses he’d suffered, and Alex; going through one of the most horrific experiences that a person can and trying to hold it together for himself and his
...more
4.5 stars from me. Another well-written story from Neve Wilder, this one full of feels but at the same time, there was an underlying sense of sadness because you knew that the story would probably end with a death and all the melancholy and misery that goes along with it.
Rob, the elder of the MC's, needed a few kicks up the backside as far as I was concerned. He hurt Alex on several occasions with his attitude which was both reserved and aloof even though it was fairly obvious that he had ...more
Rob, the elder of the MC's, needed a few kicks up the backside as far as I was concerned. He hurt Alex on several occasions with his attitude which was both reserved and aloof even though it was fairly obvious that he had ...more
4.5 Stars
This tender jerker with its slow burn to love and relationship and the stops and starts of two heroes who find their way to a perfect match.
Rob is shut down when they meet and Alex is reeling with his father's illness.
All the details of this story make it truly special from the inherited dog, discovered truths about Rob's fathers, the intensity of Alex's job clearing out houses, the wonderful art and Cracker Jacks.
The secondary characters are fully drawn and compelling. Wilder creates ...more
This tender jerker with its slow burn to love and relationship and the stops and starts of two heroes who find their way to a perfect match.
Rob is shut down when they meet and Alex is reeling with his father's illness.
All the details of this story make it truly special from the inherited dog, discovered truths about Rob's fathers, the intensity of Alex's job clearing out houses, the wonderful art and Cracker Jacks.
The secondary characters are fully drawn and compelling. Wilder creates ...more
4.5 stars
There's much to like about this story. Good writing...really good writing, actually. The characters are well fleshed out, the dialogue is good and the MCs have wonderful chemistry. Both characters are dealing with death (or imminent death) of a parent. This was beautifully.. and painfully accurately portrayed. The book was generally well balanced with enough snark and charm to lighten things up but I felt that the last quarter could have been tightened up a bit. I skimmed the gratuitous ...more
There's much to like about this story. Good writing...really good writing, actually. The characters are well fleshed out, the dialogue is good and the MCs have wonderful chemistry. Both characters are dealing with death (or imminent death) of a parent. This was beautifully.. and painfully accurately portrayed. The book was generally well balanced with enough snark and charm to lighten things up but I felt that the last quarter could have been tightened up a bit. I skimmed the gratuitous ...more
I tried, I really did but I had to DNF at 48%. It bored me to tears. I mean there was some background story of the one guy who's closed off, but the other guy kept pursuing and very little actually happened. I feel bad because I really loved Want Me by the same author, but this just wasn't my jam.
To me Neve‘s note at the end sums this beautiful book up wonderfully. It is...„Hopeful and alive, messy and imperfect, sexy and tender—sometimes in the strangest of moments. Just as life can be.“
Couldn’t say it better than that. Very different from Want Me, which I absolutely loved as well.
Couldn’t say it better than that. Very different from Want Me, which I absolutely loved as well.
Really love this one.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Sep 13, 2019
Debra
marked it as to-read
3.5 stars
The first half of the book was super slow-going that I thought I might have a DNF on my hands. Happily, it did pick up in the second half.
The first half of the book was super slow-going that I thought I might have a DNF on my hands. Happily, it did pick up in the second half.
I can't remember a book that was so touching but had such a gut wrenching portrayal of grief and mourning. The author made me feel I was in the midst of the heartbreaking end of life of the MC dad. It was so utterly beautiful. The MCs always seemed to just miss each other. The writing is suppurb; fluid and filled with beautiful moments. I will read more from this author.
I really enjoyed this.
A very gentle slow romance with a bit of sadness. 3.5* rounded up.
While it is not front and center there is an element of sadness for both main characters. Rob is a 37 year old successful CPA who has lost both parents in the last year. He is taking some time off work to deal with his parents house. Alex and Tom are the two college age movers he has hired to help. Much to Rob's horror he has had a meetup with Alex a club already. One that ended poorly. Alex is 23 and planning on not finishing his ...more
While it is not front and center there is an element of sadness for both main characters. Rob is a 37 year old successful CPA who has lost both parents in the last year. He is taking some time off work to deal with his parents house. Alex and Tom are the two college age movers he has hired to help. Much to Rob's horror he has had a meetup with Alex a club already. One that ended poorly. Alex is 23 and planning on not finishing his ...more
4.5 stars
I usually avoid books with high angst but this one sucked me in. The relationship between these two men felt very real, and as far from a perfect romance as you can get really, maybe that's why it appealed.
This book spans a year and was slow and measured, with way more lows in the lives of these two than highs. But through it all you just know they are it for each other. If only both of them would/could acknowledge it, accept it, and move forward. Not such a spoiler alert: they don't ...more
I usually avoid books with high angst but this one sucked me in. The relationship between these two men felt very real, and as far from a perfect romance as you can get really, maybe that's why it appealed.
This book spans a year and was slow and measured, with way more lows in the lives of these two than highs. But through it all you just know they are it for each other. If only both of them would/could acknowledge it, accept it, and move forward. Not such a spoiler alert: they don't ...more
1.5 Stars
This was a great story but I really wanted to scream at Rob. I know he was suffering from great loss and was trying to find his way back to the land of the living, but he was so self absorbed and selfish.
I wanted to hug Alex and tell him to find someone who would appreciate him the way he deserves! At the end though, I grew to like Rob. Can't wait the read the next book in this series.
I wanted to hug Alex and tell him to find someone who would appreciate him the way he deserves! At the end though, I grew to like Rob. Can't wait the read the next book in this series.
4.25 Stars!
Jul 17, 2019
Denise
rated it
liked it
Shelves:
mm,
series-standalone,
pgs-301-400,
all-the-feels,
may-december,
push-pull,
x-pub-2018,
ex-drama,
sc-oral,
sc-rimming
3.5 Stars
I'm very conflicted on how to rate this. I love Neve Wilder and the writing here was great, per usual, but Rob annoyed the living shit out of me. I understand that him keeping Alex at arm's length was due to his past and the fear of being hurt again, but there comes a point when enough is enough. I wanted to shake him until he woke up and realized what was right in front of his eyes if he would only take his blinders off and see.
The push/pull was too much IMO but I think the theme of ...more
I'm very conflicted on how to rate this. I love Neve Wilder and the writing here was great, per usual, but Rob annoyed the living shit out of me. I understand that him keeping Alex at arm's length was due to his past and the fear of being hurt again, but there comes a point when enough is enough. I wanted to shake him until he woke up and realized what was right in front of his eyes if he would only take his blinders off and see.
The push/pull was too much IMO but I think the theme of ...more
What a beautiful book
Apr 29, 2019
Don Bradshaw
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
family-drama,
artists
Could have been shorter as it tender to lag in the middle.
Alex is struggling with his fathers cancer. He left school to help support the family and hasn’t been able to find a good job.
Rob is an accountant, immersed in his work, trying to cope with a breakup and emptying and selling his parents home. Rob hires a company to help him and come face to face with a one night stand, Alex.
Both men try to work around the fact that they have been intimate. Not being very successful. They are very attracted to each other. Alex pushing Rob for more than he is ...more
Rob is an accountant, immersed in his work, trying to cope with a breakup and emptying and selling his parents home. Rob hires a company to help him and come face to face with a one night stand, Alex.
Both men try to work around the fact that they have been intimate. Not being very successful. They are very attracted to each other. Alex pushing Rob for more than he is ...more
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Readers also enjoyed
Neve Wilder lives in the southern U.S., where the summers are hot and the winters are...sometimes cold. She is a mom to three rambunctious weebeasts who have joined forces in a mission to carpet the family home with toys and small items that really suck to step on at six in the morning.
She reads promiscuously, across multiple genres, but her favorite stories always contain an element of romance. ...more
She reads promiscuously, across multiple genres, but her favorite stories always contain an element of romance. ...more
Other books in the series
Nook Island
(2 books)
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