A review by amandas_books
Gravity by Tal Bauer

5.0

I've just finished reading this book for the 4th time this year, so I decided it's finally time for me to write a review.

A full 5 Stars from me!

Gosh, I just love Tal Bauer's writing. This book is not super spicy, and I always want my books to be super spicy; so considering that, the fact that I give it 5 stars means that this book is special. It is full of beautiful imagery and emotion (as one comes to expect from TB - but this one is even more so because Bryce's character is so introspective and feels things so deeply).

Some Specifics:
POV: 1st Person dual
Tense: Present
HEA?:
SpoilerYes

3rd Act Breakup?:
SpoilerNo

Strict Top/Bottom?: Yes
Top or Bottom bigger: Top is bigger
Angst: 2.5/5
Spice Frequency: 1.75/5
Spice Level: 2.75/5 (includes description of penetrative sex, but not as descriptive as it could be)

Tropes:
Sports
Gay Awakening
Found Family

Triggers:
Graphic Medical Situation

Other notable things:
Music
Athletes
Supportive families

From this point on, expect spoilers.

Some of my thoughts while reading:
- I love Bryce's confident move, straddling Hunter, for their first kiss. (granted, it didn't work out great for him, but I loved the confidence)
- It's so funny to me that after they get together again, they just kinda move in together. Like "oh you're in a hotel? you can stay with me" and then he never leaves, lol. Love it.
- It's never explicitly stated that Hunter is gay, but I'm going to call this a gay awakening for the following reasons:
1. Hunter said he never really had much inclination to get together with women.
2. Hunter said that him falling for Bryce should explain why he never fell for a woman. And he never knew to question this in the past so he never considered not being straight.
- I'm only labeling it for the purpose of searching terms later; not trying to assume H's identity.
- The narration for Bryce and, especially, Hunter feels a little too old for them. They're supposed to be 26 and 22, and Bryce is definitely an old soul so he gets a pass on that, but Hunter's POV is a little inconsistent. One minute he's like "I still haven't figured out which cereal is my favorite!" and a few chapters later he's talking giving some eloquent description of ocean beds shifting and hockey in villages in Canada. It doesn't feel like something H would know unless B told him, so it just seemed out of place in H's chapter.
- Valery is a sweet teddy bear and I love how he comforts Hunter by murmuring in Russian and cleaning H's face and all that. We love Valery.

Milestones:
First Kiss:
Spoiler23% : Chapter 7 / Page 66


Reunited in Person:
Spoiler28% : Chapter 10 / Page 82


Second First Kiss:
Spoiler44% : Chapter 13 / Page 123


First Sex:
Spoiler45% : Chapter 13 / Page 126


First Penetration:
Spoiler68% : Chapter 17 / Page 186


The Incident:
Spoiler73% : Chapter 18 / Page 200


First L Word - H to B:
Spoiler74% : Chapter 18 / Page 204


First L Word - B to H:
Spoiler89% : Chapter 21 / Page 245


Publicly Out:
Spoiler96% : Chapter 21 / Page 263


SpoilerProposal:
98% : Epilogue / Page 269