Andrea Louviere is seven years old the first time he appears. While she’s alone in her bedroom, practicing her beloved cello, the light shivers and a crack forms in the wall. Through the crack, she sees a candle, a window, a desk—and a boy. Though no sound travels through the wall, the boy clearly sees Andrea, too. And then, just as quickly as it opened, the crack closes, and he vanishes.

Over the years, summoning the bright, magnetic boy becomes something of an obsession for Andrea. Then, on her seventeenth birthday, she receives a three-hundred-year-old love letter from Isaac Newton. Andrea knows that Isaac will change the world with his groundbreaking discoveries; the letter tells Andrea that she will change him.

As Isaac’s letters intensify in passion and intimacy, Andrea grows determined to follow his clues to their shared destiny—despite a burgeoning romance in the present. Only when she discovers the way into Isaac’s time does Andrea realize that she faces a heartbreaking decision: between what was . . . and what might be.

I had hoped that this book would enthrall me as much as The Time Traveler's Wife did, unfortunately, I just couldn't find the book to be as good. I don't read much romance, but this time-travel romance between a modern girl and Isaac Newton caught my attention and as I just love time-travel stories did I feel the need to read this book. Also, the cover is absolutely stunning!

As for the story, it has its ups and downs, it started off interesting, but somewhere around halfway through did I find myself losing interest in the story. The story started to drag on with the main characters Andrea and Isaac just pining after each other. I just wanted them to meet (not really a spoiler) since it's apparently clear when reading the first chapter, what would happen. And, it was sometimes just so saccharine that I felt like I was getting an overdose of sweetness. I wanted more passion, more drama, more surprises and stronger characters. It was a promising book that just failed to live up to my expectations. There is also a triangle drama in the story as Andrea from that she was young had a guy friend called Nate that she also loved. Yes, sir, she loved them both and could not decide which one to choose. Thankfully, I quite liked Nate, he was a nice solid guy that steadfastly stood by her side.

Love and Gravity were a book that in the end felt too much like a young adult novel that tries to be deep, but in the end, fails. The story could have been better if Andrea and Isaac's love-story had not been so predictable, saccharine and to be honest boring. I would have loved to have read more about Isaac Newton, the man, the scientist. But, all one gets is his pining after Andrea. It gets too much in the end. Also, the happily ever after ending was almost too much for me. So, no this was not a book for me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Andrea Louviere is seven years old the first time he appears. While she’s alone in her bedroom, practicing her beloved cello, the light shivers and a crack forms in the wall. Through the crack, she sees a candle, a window, a desk—and a boy. Though no sound travels through the wall, the boy clearly sees Andrea, too. And then, just as quickly as it opened, the crack closes, and he vanishes.
 
Over the years, summoning the bright, magnetic boy becomes something of an obsession for Andrea. Then, on her seventeenth birthday, she receives a three-hundred-year-old love letter from Isaac Newton. Andrea knows that Isaac will change the world with his groundbreaking discoveries; the letter tells Andrea that she will change him.
 
As Isaac’s letters intensify in passion and intimacy, Andrea grows determined to follow his clues to their shared destiny—despite a burgeoning romance in the present. Only when she discovers the way into Isaac’s time does Andrea realize that she faces a heartbreaking decision: between what was . . . and what might be.

 

 

 

 

I enjoyed Love and Gravity but there felt like there was a lack of focus and maturity in this book. The author created several points that didn't feel finished or resolved which left me feeling as if the author may have been distracted or simply forgot about it as she moved on to other parts of the story.

I know that Andrea is a dreamer and a talent latent inspiration but her mind just felt a little too young. Even though we meet her while shes young I think I was expecting a more "worldly" feel to her.

Andrea was a little too up in the clouds and emotionally dead-ended because she got caught up in the day dreamer stage but doesn't really feel like she pulls herself out of it.

I wasn't sure if this was done on purpose or not but it was distracting for me because it felt as if she wasn't fully developed or well rounded as a personality.

Still it was sweet and interesting as a longing type of love story.

 

 

Samantha Sotto

 

 

 

 

 

Krissy's Bookshelf Reviews received a digital copy. All thoughts, comments and ratings are my own.

 

If any of Krissy's Bookshelf Reviews has been helpful please stop by to like my post or leave a comment to let me know what you think. I love hearing from followers!

 

Shelley is a young widow who has been in mourning for her dead husband Max for three years. On one particular day, Shelley gets a knock on the door. On the other side is a man named Paolo, who informs her that Max is his grandfather... 32 year old Max. Wait, what? Is this a hoax or is something extraordinary going on? And that's not even the whole deal: Max is alive. Needless to say, Shelley loses consciousness for a few minutes. I mean, wouldn't you?

This meeting with Paolo sets her off on a trip to the other side of the world. On her way, she recounts to Paolo how she met Max five years ago on a tour of the continent, in which he was the tour guide. As the story progresses, a mystery is uncovered and love is tested.

This was such a wonderfully beautiful, unique story: part historical; part contemporary; part fantasy. I couldn't stop reading enough to just savor it. I was so swept up in the writing and the story – there was never a dull moment! Guh, I can't even take it. It's amazing I even got to sleep after I finished, the story was still buzzing around in my head. What an imagination this author has! I can't wait to read any of her future work.

I loved the historical fiction. The transition of timelines is amusing. I didn't focus much on Max & Shelley's love story. I didn't like Shelley but I loved the other characters. What captured me most is the different identities of Max Gallus. I always loved the story behind the history. Oh, and the baked eggs got me curious. What's the recipe? What could be that secret ingredient? A pinch of ----. Tsk!

The premise of this book snagged me as much as the cover (I know not to judge a book by it's cover. Shut up about it already). A woman's husband dies in an accident and she's miserable until she finds out he didn't really die...that he is actually still alive somewhere and, even weirder, his grandson who looks just like him is the one to tell the wife? How could this be? I SO wanted to read the book based on that.
Unfortunately, I think the book was a bit confused. The story could have been told in a serious fashion, like The Time Traveler's Wife or it could have been told in fairy tale fashion. It could have been lighthearted and whimsical or it could have had serious underpinnings of depth and mixed emotions. It tried to do both and I think that's where it mainly failed. It's not light, cute chick-lit and it's not sci-fi/fantasy and it's not serious. There's just nothing to hold onto.
I had a problem with the language, as well, in general. Bits like, "He wiped the sweat from his brow. A cloud drifted overhead. The air cooled enough for a breath of hope." This describes a guy who is going home, not sweating in the hot afternoon sun. It's unnecessary to build up to the part where he feels estranged from his family...because the big build-up comes right after the little build up: "He had left as a husband and a father but on each return he felt more and more like a stranger. Maybe this reunion with his family would be different. The sun broke through. Salt dripped into his eyes. MORE WELLED IN THEM." Really? It's just too much for me, too high school, too trying-too-hard.
Another problem I had was that there were too many short stories. A story within a story is fine...it's fairly common so we're used to it. But a story within a story during another story? Shelley's present + Shelley and Max's past + All of Max's pasts throughout the ages is too much.
I didn't like Shelley. She does nothing to distinguish herself. She's flaky and pouty and childish (not in an endearing way) I do not believe she'd have caught Max's eye. Max is rather flat, as well. He's flippant and cute and charming...which probably wouldn't be the case for a guy who'd been around for umpteen hundred years. Their conversations are often stilted and contrived. His set-ups to historical information sound as if they were copied-and-pasted from Lonely Planet guides.
I think I should have been glad that Shelley, at very long last, finally did something for herself (she never had to do anything for herself throughout the book; all decisions were made for her) and took a stance. I would rather have had her kidnapped and tortured by the other immortal guy, but I was ok with her finally doing something with her life, even if it was melodramatically romantic.

However, it was a quick read (despite my taking a month to get through it) and as I said before, the premise was so fascinating to me, so it wasn't a total bust.