Ignoring Gravity

Author: Sandra Danby
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Type: Kindle e-book
Source: NetGalley
Publisher: Beulah Press
First Published: November 21, 2014
First Line: "There was a sharp slap followed by a cry."

Book Description from GoodReads:  Rose Haldane is confident about her identity. She pulls the same face as her grandfather when she has to do something she doesn’t want to, she knows her DNA is the same as his. Except it isn’t: because Rose is adopted and doesn’t know it. Ignoring Gravity connects two pairs of sisters separated by a generation of secrets. Finding her mother’s lost diaries, Rose begins to understand why she has always seemed the outsider in her family, why she feels so different from her sister Lily. Then just when she thinks there can’t be any more secrets…

Disclaimer:  My sincere thanks to Beulah Press and NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary e-book copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. 

My Review: This debut novel is about family and the secrets they hide with a healthy dose of romance.  It focuses on a young woman who, after reading her recently deceased mother's diaries, finds out that the family she grew up with may not be her family after all.  It's this sudden revelation that spurs Rose to use her investigative skills as a reporter to unearth the truth.

The mystery surrounding Rose's search was what kept me going.  Rose's need to find out more about her adoption starts to affect all aspects of her life including her work as a journalist and her relationships with her father and sister, Lily.  I wanted to find out who her birth parents were ... and I did.  Fairly early on, in fact, because I guessed correctly.   Even so it was a good read and I enjoyed seeing my prediction come true.

That said, there were a few things that I wasn't overly fond of, namely the romance aspect.  The romance genre isn't my 'thang' and while I do have a heart and like a little bit of romance in a book (and life) it has to feel authentic and believable.  That wasn't the case with Rose and her man whose connection seemed to come out of nowhere and, truth be told, felt a little cheesy.  It felt like it was thrown into the plot as an after thought to add another layer to Rose but unfortunately took away from the pace of the mystery surrounding her parentage.

Rose and Lily were characters that you could get behind and they both had a frailty to them too which I think helped to endear them to me.  Whether it was Lily's fervent desire to have a baby with her obnoxious husband or Rose's need to find out where she came from they were both believable characters and I was rooting for them and their connection to each other.

This book deals with a lot of issues: adoption, family bonds, infertility but I wouldn't say it was an overly heavy or complex read either.  I could see it being an enjoyable, easy weekend read. 

My Rating: 3/5 stars