REVIEW: "Lessons in Gravity" by Megan Westfield (New Adult Romance)

Lessons in Gravity by Megan Westfield
	Publisher: Entangled - Embrace Genre: New Adult Romance Publication Date: October 24th 2016 (Affiliate links)
Description from Publisher:
All eyes are on Josh Knox… Fearless. Guarded. Cut-to-perfection. Daredevil rock climber. The best in the world. This time he’s poised to scale Yosemite’s notoriously treacherous Sorcerer Spire, with Walkabout Media & Productions filming every move. April Stephens’s dream to be a documentary filmmaker rests on her acing her internship with Walkabout, and that means getting the abrasive Josh to give her more than one-word answers in his interviews. The problem is, with every step forward professionally, she and Josh are also taking a step forward personally, and after watching her stunt pilot father die in a fiery crash, a guy who risks his life for a living is the last person she should be falling for. Especially because in one month her internship will have them dangling three thousand feet in the air from the side of the Sorcerer. She’ll be filming. He’ll be climbing without a rope.
My Rating:	Heat Rating:
My Musings:
How gorgeous is this cover?! From the first page, I got sucked into this wonderful world of rock climbing, documentary filmmaking, and the beauty of Yosemite National Park. I liked both April and Josh immediately, though I definitely wondered exactly what Josh's deal was. He didn't hide that adorable vulnerability very well, so I just knew that I would love him. April is a just-about-graduated filmmaker who wants to make documentaries for a living and was given the opportunity to intern with a renowned documentary filmmaker in Yosemite National Park. She is pushing herself outside of her comfort zone, especially after a tragic stunt plane accident changed her life forever (and left her with some baggage) a few years before. Josh is the Muhammad Ali of rock climbing and notoriously difficult and terse during interviews... and is the center of the documentary. It's basically April's job to get him to open up... And I'd say that she does. ;) This was a really sweet romance, though not lacking in sizzle. It's New Adult, but the heat level is pretty tame, just above a Young Adult romance level (lots of hot kisses and embraces!). I think that this worked really well with this story and absolutely adored the way that their relationship was built up. It all felt very genuine (which is pretty big for me, personally). As much as I loved this (and I did!), I do have to say that I felt that it dragged a bit at about 75% in. The part in particular I'm referring to is definitely necessary and significant, but I feel like it was maybe thrice as long as it needed to be (or maybe I was just impatient?). You can definitely tell that Megan Westfield did her research for this one, too, making the passions of her characters come to life for those of us who may not be as familiar with them. I don't climb, nor have I visited Yosemite (yet!), but had no problem following along and picturing everything as it was happening. Megan's writing style is immersive and everything flows really well! I would be remiss if I didn't also mention the supporting characters here - Madigan and Theo, in particular, were just awesome! I can't say that I would mind reading their stories. ;)
My Source: I received a digital ARC from the publisher to voluntarily review. This in no way influenced my review. My opinion is unbiased and my 100% own.

About the Author: Megan Westfield
Megan Westfield has dabbled in many hobbies and pastimes over the years, ranging from playing the cello to cake decorating (i.e., icing-eating) to a dozen different outdoor adventure sports. Eventually, she discovered the only way to do it all was though writing—her first and strongest passion. She writes new adult fiction because she loves exploring the powerful and formative years between high school and the quarter-life crisis. As a reader, her favorite books are those with a truly unique, real-world setting, and, of course, a love story. Megan grew up in Washington state, attended college in Oregon, and lived in Virginia, California, and Rhode Island during her five years as a navy officer. She is now a permanent resident of San Diego where she and her husband count family beach time with their two young kids as an adventure sport. Megan was formerly the editor of a small weekly newspaper in Southern California and is represented by Melissa Edwards of Stonesong Priest Literary Agency.