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, but he has one last task … career, but he has one last task to complete: pack up his parent’s quaint beachside house and put it on the market.
Alex Andrews is a budding artist with a penchant for Converse, Cracker Jack, and piercings. Family turmoil sidelines his dreams of finishing art school and building a career in three-dimensional design, and now he’s doing whatever he can to keep everyone afloat.
When Alex shows up as a part of the moving crew hired to help Rob clean out the house, what should be a simple move becomes far more complex. Because it’s not the first time they’ve met, and their last encounter was memorable for all the wrong reasons.
The attraction between them is undeniable and intense, but Rob’s hell-bent on pushing everyone away, and Alex is on the verge of spinning out of control.
Can a grumpy accountant and a bootstrapping artist find their center of gravity together, or are they on a collision course to heartbreak?
An emotionally-charged, slow burn m/m romance featuring an age gap, hurt/comfort themes, and a hard-won happily ever after. This is the standalone first in the Nook Island, Georgia series.
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Center of Gravity’s characters are beautifully flawed and lovable. The story line is simple. Two men at different points in the grieving process meet, connect, spark into flames, separate, and get back together. The story itself is layered with complex emotion, though, and the reader immediately knows the author has more than a passing familiarity with grief.
I connected with both Rob and Alex on a deep level, familiar with the terrain they traveled from the beginning of the book to the end. Neve Wilder’s deftly written prose elevates this book above most others in its class, and it could easily be made into a movie like “The Notebook.”
Be sure you have tissues handy before starting this journey. You’ll almost certainly need them. But don’t let that keep you from reading Center of Gravity. It’s worth every tear. Center of Gravity sits high on my TBRR list (To Be Re-Read.)
Center of Gravity is one of those books I’ll read again and again. The reason why? I’d read the phone book if author Neve Wilder wrote it. There are some authors out there who just get it. They know how to write a story that if you close your eyes, you could swear you’ve been transported to their fictional place.
This book is about two characters, Alex and Rob, who are complete polar opposites as far as age, finance, and status. But what they do have in common is grief.
Alex is young but has an old soul. He’s snarky, talented, a great friend, and a loyal son. But he really hasn’t had it easy. It seems the things he loves most in his life keep getting taken away from him. Alex’s time spent with his dying dad just ripped my heart open. I kept thinking how much more can this poor guy take after the inevitable happens.
He also has it bad for Rob. The two have met before but in, uh, quite a different environment.
Rob seems to be at some kind of crossroads in his life. He’s grouchy and closed up—possibly a result of being a victim of routine and redundancy. He also pushes everyone away. He has also suffered painful loss in his life as well and that could be why he is the way he is.
Out of the two, I have to say how much I love Alex. I kept rooting for Rob “to see” him. It frustrated me knowing how good they could be together but were too stuck in their own heads (mainly Rob) to see who was right in front of them.
This story is definitely a slow burn. I suppose everyone has their own way of working through life’s obstacles, but it sure helps when there’s that special someone to guide us and give support. Of course, Center of Gravity comes with a HEA, but boy oh boy, do those two have to work for it.
This book is a treasure. Neve Wilder is an automatic one-click author for me. The storyline is well-thought-out, the characters are real, flaws and all, and the colorful and painstaking attention to detail and description placed me smack in the middle of Nook Island. I can’t wait to go back! I highly recommend this one. Five stars for me.
Centre of Gravity is a slow burn May/December book that I really loved and enjoyed. And when I say slow burn, I mean slow burn. These two characters had me feeling an array of emotions. I must admit, I grabbed a few tissues at one point because it hit really hard. Besides that I got frustrated at them, smiled a little, some tears were shed and at one point I wanted to hit them with their own book! Though when they finally gave in to thsir feelings, holy crap, talk about burning the pages!
The writing was brilliant and captivating, so much that putting the book down was a no go. For a debut novel, this was truly a beautiful story. Now the wait begins for the next book in this series. Well done NW.
This book is really well written. It is a slow burn romance and and it made me tear up in quite a lot scenes. Rob and Alex are a perfect match. Their chemistry is incredible. It goes from no strings attached to love really really slow.I loved the secondary characters. Alex’s dad is an amazing character. Also there is a lot of grief in this book. I’m looking forward to Tom and Reese’s book. Reese seems to be an interesting character.Overall one of the best stories I’ve read and highly recommend.
Neve Wilder is easily one of the top five authors I’ve read in 2018. She has an inherent ability to build a world that is remarkably vivid, develop characters who are deep and damaged and achingly real, and to spin a tale that you won’t want to put down.
Center of Gravity is everything you want in a contemporary romance. Rob and Alex’s journey starts in a horribly awkward way, travels through plenty of sassy and funny moments, settles into some sobering and heavy realities, and provides plenty of heartwarming and poignant scenes to make these characters feel extremely real. Even if they can’t seem to get on the same page relationship-wise for much of the book, their chemistry is nothing short of explosive. But, you never stop rooting for them to find their way. When their stars finally align, the rocky road they travelled makes their HEA very, very satisfying.
This was a wonderful debut! It had a good balance of plot, romance, and steamy scenes, which were well written and smoking hot. The relationship building was solid, almost a little bit too much, but it gave us a chance to really get to know Rob and Alex and to become invested in them and in Alex’s family. I’m excited about Tom’s story coming up – I felt he dropped off a little bit in the story and wondered what had happened with him.
Beautiful.
We all wear masks. For some it’s being the life of the party to mask the pain or struggles inside. For others it’s a mask of indifference or pomposity covering the same things. So it’s prudent not to judge solely on those masks. But also not to judge what we do to cope. Rob and Alex are at odds in so many ways but they just might be exactly who the other person needs to break through their pain and to shed the masks.
Slow burn…much, much emphasis on the slow. Well, maybe only in terms of romance. When it comes down to attraction and sexual situations they’ve got an awkward club bathroom moment as their foundation and weekend hookups precariously stacked on top of that once they surrender to their chemistry.
I have mixed feelings about their evolution. On the one hand it’s wise to make them resolve so much of their individual angst before they create a life together based on hope, love, and a future rather than grief, fear, and frustration. On the other, it takes so freaking long for them to wise up, admit who and what they want, and to go for it. I would have loved something more in the way of getting together earlier to forge something deep based on sharing burdens and complete honesty as well as some grief counseling as individuals to work through the myriad of things felt during the grieving process. I could definitely have done without the mentions of other partners. Yes, in reality they weren’t truly together when they were with others. I’m just more the type to enjoy romantic ideals rather than reality most of the time.
So. Much. Angst. But when they finally get to their “lay it on the table” moment…man, there’s so much heart packed into what they say that I’m blown away. All their heartache, miscommunications, failings, frustrations, vulnerabilities, fears, hopes, yearnings, and tenderness coalesce into two freaking fantastic confessions. This was a story fraught with reality, sadness, and love. Despite my mixed feelings about what I typically look for in a romance novel and what I got, there’s no denying that this was a moving story about love, loss, and picking up the pieces after it all.
Wow what an amazing debut read. Rob and Alex showed us that love isn’t always perfect and flowers and timing is everything. It took them time to get it right but in the end happiness and love prevails. I cant wait to read more by this budding new talent.
This M/M romance has all kinds of emotions. Rob is a thirty-something accountant getting over a break-up and still grieving his parents death. He is also having some kind of internal crisis but he isn’t quite sure the what’s or why’s. Alex is a young college student (on a sabbatical) who is more of a free spirit and trying to find his place in the world, while dealing with a family . Neither are interested in a long-term relationship, but Rob has even more reservations about starting anything with the young kid. Though the attraction is there, and the pull almost impossible to resist. This story isn’t just about the romance between the two though, it’s also about death. Preparing for loss and the aftermath. While a devastation, death is what initially brought them together and ultimately what keeps them together. (It’s also where most of the emotion comes in.) You will probably want to keep the tissues nearby. Robs character is a bit of a loner and an introvert, but isn’t afraid to speak up. He is serious and carries a heavy heart (and it shows.) Alex is an extrovert. He isn’t flamboyant, but he has quite the personality. He is witty and charming and flirty. He also brings in come comedic relief. This is a well told story and yes, it has some steamier scenes (so if M/M isn’t your thing, you may want to skip it.) The characters are both lovable, including the side characters, and you feel all the compassion for them. Due to the sexual content, this is suitable for mature readers.