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weelasswithabook's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
CW Previous weight control and abuse, internalised homophobia/misogyny, emotionally abusive parent, gaslighting, panic attacks, racial microaggressions (from a parent), homophobic language, manipulation, grief, dubious consent, graphic sexual content
Tropes
⭐ Friends to lovers
⭐ Enemies to lovers
⭐ Forced proximity
⭐ Age gap
⭐ Billionaire
Spice
🌶️ Voyeurism
🌶️ Double the fun
🌶️ Group activities
🌶️ BDSM elements
Representation
🌈 Bisexual MMCs
🌈 Biracial heroine
🌈 Polyamorous
The follow-up to Gravity, Free Fall follows Nash post-breakup, moving on from his experiences with his Dad and Zara. We already saw how broken Nash was in the first book in the series due to grief from his brother's passing, and then Zara choosing his dad over him, and the spiral from these two events just continues. The main issue chasing him through the second book appears to be the sense of inability to be loved, and I believe a huge part of this is due to the situation with Zara and his Dad on the island. We have flashbacks between the present and the period post-Gravity, where he's in Amsterdam with his Dad's friend/colleague, where they become close friends and then that progresses into a romantic relationship. Here we get to see a very intense sense of internalised shame and homophobia/biphobia, and a period of conflicting emotions. He's in love, but can't reconcile his vision of himself and how he "should" be, and the real version of himself who is attracted to both men and women.
Ellis, the friend of Nash's dad comes in as the love interest and then subsequently on the island as he's brought in by Alistair to help Nash work on a project. One of the finest examples of a great romance novel hero, Alistair is all about protecting other people, while still taking care of his own heart.
Hanna, our heroine, ends up on the island at Zara's request to escape from her mother. An ex-ballet dancer, her mother keeps pushing her to continue dancing, and is extremely emotionally abusive. Unlike Nash, where he has led himself to believe he's unworthy of love, Hanna's mum has actively put that in her head repeatedly and has gaslit her into believing that dance and her mum is what she needs in her life. That's she's incapable of being loved, sex is the only thing men want from her, and that she's unable to look after herself. In the midst of this, there is discussion around weight control from previous dance instructors, financial abuse from the mother. So while her and Nash are both singing from the same hymn sheet with regards to how they feel about themselves, the catalysts for them are very different so we have two VERY different broken characters who manifest their issues similarly but with very different causes.
Jealousy, internalised biphobia, sense of self image and self worth, trust, and toxic coping mechanisms are explored really productively throughout the book, and we see real growth in both Hanna and Nash. While Ellis has had his heartbroken and is really struggling with trusting Nash again, he acts as the glue that seems to hold the three of them together. I felt a lot of the time that Ellis really deserved better than being stuck between Nash and Hanna, as all he really wanted was for both of them to be happy, but they just consistently (especially on Nash's part) self-sabotaged the whole way through the book.
I love well written character development, and I really appreciated Nash's vulnerabilities trickling through throughout the course of the book. We got to see short snippets of the man he truly is, compared with this angry facade that he's putting out there while pushing everyone who cares about him, and everyone he cares about, away. It was wonderfully done, and I liked the inclusion of the final push through his walls was the act of submission, as control is the only thing he's had at his disposal while trying to just exist and cope with life, whether it be grief, heartbreak, or self image. I felt it was very symbolic and I loved it.
Tropes
⭐ Friends to lovers
⭐ Enemies to lovers
⭐ Forced proximity
⭐ Age gap
⭐ Billionaire
Spice
🌶️ Voyeurism
🌶️ Double the fun
🌶️ Group activities
🌶️ BDSM elements
Representation
🌈 Bisexual MMCs
🌈 Biracial heroine
🌈 Polyamorous
The follow-up to Gravity, Free Fall follows Nash post-breakup, moving on from his experiences with his Dad and Zara. We already saw how broken Nash was in the first book in the series due to grief from his brother's passing, and then Zara choosing his dad over him, and the spiral from these two events just continues. The main issue chasing him through the second book appears to be the sense of inability to be loved, and I believe a huge part of this is due to the situation with Zara and his Dad on the island. We have flashbacks between the present and the period post-Gravity, where he's in Amsterdam with his Dad's friend/colleague, where they become close friends and then that progresses into a romantic relationship. Here we get to see a very intense sense of internalised shame and homophobia/biphobia, and a period of conflicting emotions. He's in love, but can't reconcile his vision of himself and how he "should" be, and the real version of himself who is attracted to both men and women.
Ellis, the friend of Nash's dad comes in as the love interest and then subsequently on the island as he's brought in by Alistair to help Nash work on a project. One of the finest examples of a great romance novel hero, Alistair is all about protecting other people, while still taking care of his own heart.
Hanna, our heroine, ends up on the island at Zara's request to escape from her mother. An ex-ballet dancer, her mother keeps pushing her to continue dancing, and is extremely emotionally abusive. Unlike Nash, where he has led himself to believe he's unworthy of love, Hanna's mum has actively put that in her head repeatedly and has gaslit her into believing that dance and her mum is what she needs in her life. That's she's incapable of being loved, sex is the only thing men want from her, and that she's unable to look after herself. In the midst of this, there is discussion around weight control from previous dance instructors, financial abuse from the mother. So while her and Nash are both singing from the same hymn sheet with regards to how they feel about themselves, the catalysts for them are very different so we have two VERY different broken characters who manifest their issues similarly but with very different causes.
Jealousy, internalised biphobia, sense of self image and self worth, trust, and toxic coping mechanisms are explored really productively throughout the book, and we see real growth in both Hanna and Nash. While Ellis has had his heartbroken and is really struggling with trusting Nash again, he acts as the glue that seems to hold the three of them together. I felt a lot of the time that Ellis really deserved better than being stuck between Nash and Hanna, as all he really wanted was for both of them to be happy, but they just consistently (especially on Nash's part) self-sabotaged the whole way through the book.
I love well written character development, and I really appreciated Nash's vulnerabilities trickling through throughout the course of the book. We got to see short snippets of the man he truly is, compared with this angry facade that he's putting out there while pushing everyone who cares about him, and everyone he cares about, away. It was wonderfully done, and I liked the inclusion of the final push through his walls was the act of submission, as control is the only thing he's had at his disposal while trying to just exist and cope with life, whether it be grief, heartbreak, or self image. I felt it was very symbolic and I loved it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Cursing
Moderate: Gaslighting, Biphobia, Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Racism, Alcohol, and Death
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