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A review by cozycritiques
Gravity by Tal Bauer
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
5.0
”It's like I can't escape him. Et non, I do not want to. He can trap me in his gravity pour toujours.”
- Gravity
Tropes: Sports Romance (Hockey), Workplace Romance, Teammates, Sexual Awakening, Hurt/Comfort, Not Third Act Breakup
Representation: LGBTQ+ (Gay
Spice Scale: 🌶🌶🌶
CW: Graphic Injury Detail, Hospitalization, Medical Content, Blood
When I picked up Gravity, I expected it to be a lot like most other sports romances I’ve read: fun, flirty, and a little bit sexy. I did not expect a heart-wrenchingly soft love story that left me with an emotional hangover.
Tal Bauer’s writing was poetic—which is not something I usually like because it’s too hard for my neurodivergent brain to read between the lines and parse out what’s actually happening. But somehow, Bauer strikes the perfect balance between beautiful sweeping prose and an easy-to-follow plot.
I loved the juxtaposition of insta-love and slow-burn between Bryce and Hunter. Their friendship and chemistry developed so easily and quickly, yet the build to their romantic relationship was filled with heart-aching pining. It worked beautifully.
There’s no third-act breakup, which I also loved. However, there is still a major conflict in the third act that I did not see coming and kept me on edge until the very last page. I don’t want to give too much away other than to say to check out my content warnings above, but I will say that it was absolutely heartbreaking in the best way. The hurt/comfort between Bryce, Hunter, and the entire team stitched my heart back together.
This is probably one of the most unique books I’ve read in a long time, and I absolutely loved it.
Also, just a quick note: This book has a lot of on-page French. However, if you’re reading on Kindle, the in-app/device translation feature works great, and if you’re reading in print, Bauer includes translation footnotes at the end of each chapter.
- Gravity
Tropes: Sports Romance (Hockey), Workplace Romance, Teammates, Sexual Awakening, Hurt/Comfort, Not Third Act Breakup
Representation: LGBTQ+ (Gay
Spice Scale: 🌶🌶🌶
CW: Graphic Injury Detail, Hospitalization, Medical Content, Blood
When I picked up Gravity, I expected it to be a lot like most other sports romances I’ve read: fun, flirty, and a little bit sexy. I did not expect a heart-wrenchingly soft love story that left me with an emotional hangover.
Tal Bauer’s writing was poetic—which is not something I usually like because it’s too hard for my neurodivergent brain to read between the lines and parse out what’s actually happening. But somehow, Bauer strikes the perfect balance between beautiful sweeping prose and an easy-to-follow plot.
I loved the juxtaposition of insta-love and slow-burn between Bryce and Hunter. Their friendship and chemistry developed so easily and quickly, yet the build to their romantic relationship was filled with heart-aching pining. It worked beautifully.
There’s no third-act breakup, which I also loved. However, there is still a major conflict in the third act that I did not see coming and kept me on edge until the very last page. I don’t want to give too much away other than to say to check out my content warnings above, but I will say that it was absolutely heartbreaking in the best way. The hurt/comfort between Bryce, Hunter, and the entire team stitched my heart back together.
This is probably one of the most unique books I’ve read in a long time, and I absolutely loved it.
Also, just a quick note: This book has a lot of on-page French. However, if you’re reading on Kindle, the in-app/device translation feature works great, and if you’re reading in print, Bauer includes translation footnotes at the end of each chapter.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Blood