Defying Gravity

After reading the prequel to this book, Falling From Gravity, this book was everything I hoped it would be. The heart, angst, heat, and love was all still there only multiplied by 1000. I received an ARC of Defying Gravity from the author, and it releases TOMORROW July 25th!! 

"Our greatest risk was the one we never took …

It was an accidental spring fling three years ago—one week spent in the mountains of Big Sur and no one was the wiser. Ignore the fact that Tobias James was my neighbor and my best friend’s older brother. Or that upon our return his hoop dreams were waiting for him, robbing us of any potential future we could have shared.

Now, I’m fulfilling my own dreams in L.A. and my biggest dream of all is about to come true. The last thing I expected was for my past and my present to collide.

Not now. Not here. Not him.

But he struts back into my life like he never even left. Unfortunately, I’ll never forget what happened after he did.

The ball is in my court, but Tobias isn’t below stealing—my power, my resolve, my heart… When he wants a second chance to reignite our connection, my answer is simple. We can’t.

Not unless we defy the rules our dreams were built on and risk everything."

"He kissed me with saltwater lips, drinking me in like a starved man lost at sea. I wanted to be his life raft, to save him from his suffering and bring him safely ashore. But the tide was coming. The winds were unpredictable. And the eye of the storm was quickly approaching."

I loved Amelia even more in the book than I did in the prequel. There were some times that I was worried about her health, both mentally and physically, but she did some growing up and really surprised me. I was glad things didn't happen to her that very well could have, and I was pretty pleased with most of the decisions she made. When she left Tobias that first time, even though it was absolutely heartbreaking, I understood where she was coming from. She had lost herself, and she needed distance from everything to find herself again. She grew as a person and it was beautiful. Her story was not easy, but she pushed through everything that was thrown her way, and eventually found out what her real wishes and dreams were. 

Tobias loved Amelia more than anything in the world. He loved her fiercely, and he would have given up anything to have her. She helped him achieve his dreams, and she pushed him towards them. She always had his best interest at heart even when he didn't understand her decisions. It was so satisfying to see someone that deserved everything in the world finally find what they were looking for. Toby was a good man, and he wanted nothing more than to just pay basketball and have Amelia by his side. 

"Once upon a time, I'd looked into those same eyes and saw my past, my present, and my future. I was certain every sacred dream would come to fruition when the time was right, but we were young...and life had other plans."

Amelia and Tobias did not have an easy love story. Their story was long, painful, but beautiful. They were trying to defy the odds, while at the same time having everything stacked against them. At times, it seemed like it was them against the world, and they tried everything they could to overcome the odds. Their story broke my heart, but then pieced it back together. 

"What happens when two people ignore all the rules and all the obstacles the world throws at them and finally end up together?"

Amelia smiled. 

"I believe they call that defying gravity."

This was more than just a love story to me. This story was about two people, not only finding themselves, but finding each other. They were obviously meant to be, but the world would not make it easy on them. Sometimes it's nice to read a story that isn't perfect, that isn't all sunshine and roses, and that is heartbreaking, yet satisfying at the same time. I loved these two characters, and I loved their story. K.K. did an excellent job of drawing you in and weaving you into their life. I was rooting for them the whole way, not just for them to find themselves back together, but for them to also find the pieces of themselves that they were missing. 

Overall, I'm giving this story 5 STARS. I was drawn in almost immediately, and finished feeling satisfied. I liked that their love story wasn't easy, but the pain was worth it in the end. These were some fantastic characters, and the storytelling was great.