Falling from the Sky (Gravity #2) [Callie Anders & Hank “Hazardous” Lazarus] by Sarina Bowen

Beautiful. SO SO beautiful. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting in the best way possible :) There's a certain expectation I think most of us have towards "happily ever after", how one achieve that and who is the person they utterly fall in love with, it's the second book by Sarina that I encounter a totally different, let's say "approach" to finding your happiness even if it "could have been better" (?) I"m not sure how to phrase that (without spoilering this one and the other one I'm talking about..). 

While this is the second installment in the Gravity series, it can totally be read as a standalone. The couple from the first installment DO appear as they are good friends with both the main characters. So if you are obsessed with reading by order (like me!) you would HAVE to start with the first one (not that it's a chore! it was also AMAZING!). But if you are a bit more "loose" with your reading you'll have no problem picking this up and enjoying it as it is. 


In the previous installment we met Callie Anders - Willow's best friend (Willow being the MC in "Coming in from the Cold"). She is smart (no wonder as she is a doctor) and pretty yet she has been alone for quite a while now and not only because her ex cheated on her with a younger nurse.. Callie has been working her ass off all her life, for her medical degree and later to pay off the loans she took while studying, leaving her very little time (mentally and technically) to look for a man, someone she truly wants and desires. Her ex, wasn't a bad guy (Well, up until he cheated on her!!) yet there wasn't enough "heat" in the relationship so mourning over THAT relationship is kind of silly.. 

Hank "Hazardous" Lazarus is a whole different kettle of fish. Up until the beginning of the novel he was all about fun and games and nothing about getting serious and thinking ahead. He is a freestyle snowboarder and his nick name should hint at how he enjoys life - to the fullest. Yet not an hour after Hank and Callie meet for the first time his whole world changes as he crashes BADLY while preforming. Callie is there to enjoy the ski performers and her best friend's company not expecting to see the most terrifying and life altering experience of Hank's life. 

When he wakes up in the hospital he is horrified to find out he might FEEL his legs but he can't actually MOVE them and it's anybody's guess if he would ever walk (or ski..) again... When an option to a new and promising treatment offers itself Hank's parents arrange for an experiment team to be formed at the hospital and Hank specifically asks Callie to be in charge of it after meeting her a few times and being somewhat interested in her. 

As Hank and Callie keeps brushing against each other heat boils but also friendship forms. Yet Callie has several reasons to be wary of any connection with Hank, not because at the moment he is in a wheel chair, no, because Hank has always been a player and she wants more, much more. She wants a solid relationship, to have kids (sooner rather than later..) and someone like Hank doesn't fit the bill..Not to mention that even if he DID want more -right now, as he is trying to recover from his accident ISN'T the time for pressure of the relationship kind.. and maybe it's not even HER he wants, it's her being a doctor the real appeal.. in short, Callie won't put ANY money on having something serious with Hank and she won't give him her heart only for him to destroy it when he had enough. 
Hank wants Callie, he truly does and as he gets to know her he only wants her more. He isn't as concerned as she is about them being a "match" or not, he is more worried that being a cripple doesn't really make him the greatest "prize".. 

It was heart breaking reading of Hank's struggles with his condition. But it was truly warming to see a woman like Callie who isn't afraid to look him in the eye and also literally drool over him.. She sees Hank the man, Hank the HOT man, even if he sits on a wheel chair. I think most people will see a chair wayyy before they would actually see a man. If they COULD see a man and not ONLY the chair. I loved how this book dealt with the subject. 

This book was truly "something else", it had so much more than the romance between the wealthy successful "player" and the common, (quite) poor woman who gets to "tame" the man. No, there wasn't any taming. It was about finding love and happiness even after experiencing so much loss and heart ache. Hank is highly annoyed in the beginning of the book as people refer to him as "lucky". Yet it takes him a while to appreciate how lucky he actually is. I think it's a lesson to life really, thinking about what you have and appreciating it. Things could always "get better" yet I think that being content with what we have NOW is somewhat part of the way to getting to the "better".  

HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! 

Additional Details: Kindle Ebook, 207 pages, 2 February 2015 / On GoodReads

 

 

ABOUT THIS SERIES 

 

Gravity is a Contemporary Romance Series by Sarina Bowen. Each book in the series is a standalone novel telling us of an Olympic Ski Athlete finding his (or her) Happily Ever After. 

At the moment there are three novels out and I can't rave enough about them! All three are beautifully written, deals with illness and life altering injuries in the most sensitive and heart warming (and crushing!) ways. In my opinion it's so NOT your typical romance novel (even when it could be considered as such).

I'm not sure at the moment if there are going to be more books in the series.. I hope there will, but if not, I'm sure going to enjoy everything from Sarina. I LOVE her Ivy Years New Adult Series.  

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! 

Books: 
1. Coming In From The Cold [Willow Reade & Dane "Danger" Hollister] (Published 1 May 2014) ★★★★★
2. Falling From The Sky [Callie Anders & Hank “Hazardous” Lazarus] (Published 1 February 2015) ★★★★★
3. Shooting For The Stars [Stella Lazarus & Bryan "Bear" Barry] (Published 16 March 2015) ★★★★★