Center of Gravity

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Laura McNeill is now a favorite author of mine. She had me sitting at the edge of my seat, reading this book everywhere…I hated putting it down. This is a truly gripping story from beginning to end.
Laura McNeill tells this story from the view of each character involved, which made each of them more real. Ava is a woman fighting for her life and two children. Ava met Mitchell at the school where she worked and his son, Jack attended. Mitchell had lost his wife to a devastating death, and seems to be the perfect man…good looking, hard worker, charming. He seemed to be the perfect mate for any woman. Ava also fell in love with Jack, his 8 year old son…so, after they were married, Ava adopted him. Then, she got pregnant with their son, Sam, who is now 1. They seem to have it all, a beautiful home and a great family life. Until things are no longer great and beautiful!
Mitchell becomes increasingly angry, jealous and mean towards Ava for any reason he feels deemed fit. He does not pay any attention to his children. Ava wants to give Mitchell the benefit of the doubt, and believe it is because he lost his last wife, stressed at work, or stressed with the new staircase going in to the house. She wants to believe that this is just a phase.
Until he moves out and takes the children with him! Now, she knows this is not a phase.
This is where the book takes off because you absolutely cannot look away!
I promise that you will be so enthralled in this story, that the outcome cannot come fast enough! Can Ava save herself and her children from this monster of a man? She has to fight to get her children back, as she does this, she learns more about his past….and, it is all rather disturbing. She is finally seeing the real Mitchell.
Ava states “I will wear their love like armor”…and, she does just that. But, will it be enough?

This had been a really gripping tale about a mad kind of love, the kind of madness that will bring you to the edge of your insanity. Mitchell and his twisted lies, his sick sense of love, his superior regards to himself and abominable attitude towards others.

I feel so bad for Ava, for feeling so much pain. She thought she found the man for her. Only to realize in the end that everything about Mitchell was a lie. She endured a lot of pain, she lost her own self-respect and even almost lost her sons. Ava deserved to rise from hell, but how could she even survive when almost everyone in town believed her ex-husband was the decent and truthful one?

I've experienced a chock-full of negative emotions while reading this book. I felt anger, fear, contempt, madness and rage, all towards one person - Mitchell Carson. I've never been so disgruntled in a character before, he's so despicable.

As for Ava, I felt desperation, agony, distress, misery and a cry for justice. Such a messy life to take! Imagine being accused of being incompetent, drunk and unmanageable.

Perhaps, the most painful emotion I felt was whenever I read little Jack's point of view. Eight-year old Jack who thought he was his own superhero, that everything he did was what Daredevil, Thor, Spiderman and even Wolverine would have done. The kids, Jack and baby Sam, were the ones affected greatly in this dysfunctional family and I couldn't help but shed a few tears for them.

Laura McNeill was able to deliver a story that will really tear you to pieces. She slowly drew me in to Jack's world, pulled me right into Ava's consciousness and delivered me away from Mitchell. Center of Gravity is a powerful story that will leave you hanging by a thread of hope and hoping for a sliver of truth. Truly an intense read!

In this intense, fast paced psychological thriller told by three of the characters, we watch Eva's "perfect marriage" quickly degrade into a nightmare as her husband Mitchell totally loses it and tries to frame her as the insane one. Their 8 year old son, Jack, also tells his side of the story. Mitchell is overly controlling and manipulative and it is a bit surprising that Ava, who was a school counselor until her husband made her quit working, did not see how abusive he was any earlier. The psychological and other abuse is realistic and chilling and I have known people who were in similar relationships and it rings quite true. I found the book to be well-written and hard to put down. I received this book free to review from Netgalley and I highly recommend it.

"Center of Gravity" is the poignant and suspenseful tale from Laura McNeill.

The novel starts with very emotional scene as a distraught mother, Ava, is trying to get to her children who have been taken away from her. The narration is particularly strong as it is told in the first person, from Ava's point of view, in the present tense.

The novel then shifts one month earlier in time, and this time our narrator is Jack, Ava's adopted son (see our teaser excerpt). Laura McNeill unfolds Ava's story for us from the points of view of the characters who are involved (Ava, her husband Mitchell, their son Jack, attorney Graham and social worker Lucy ...). All in the first person, present tense narration. The timeline of the narrative picks up from where the last character left off and there do not seem to be any overlaps or sudden time lapses.

Center of Gravity is a compelling and gripping read, with a sense of anticipation and unravelling that builds to a crescendo, as truths come to light and the story reaches its climax. Laura McNeill's writing is flawless, her characters are beautifully and powerfully developed, and the events described are painfully realistic, with all of the emotions associated with them, and we experience them first hand from the point of view of each protagonist. My only criticism is that I felt that Graham was not explored as fully as I would have liked, and at one point he just seemed to disappear.

Mitchell is the pivotal character in this story, as his behaviour and manipulative actions have a deep effect on everyone around him. Is Mitchell just a monster or is there more to it? You will have to find out for yourselves - the answers are there, and again the author excelled in her presentation of this character and his motivations. I just feel that she described perfectly something a little bit different to what is referred to in the book, but I am truly splitting hairs.

I really cannot say any more without giving spoilers away. Before you pick up this book be aware that it is a very strong and emotionally draining read, you will feel what the characters feel. This is a fast read, but not a light one. Make sure you have a few hours on your hands as you will not want to put this down.

At the beginning of the novel, Ava and Malcolm have a perfect marriage. She is a stay at home mom with 2 kids - 8 year old Jack (from Malcom's first marriage who she has just adopted) and baby Sam. Her husband was a widower when she first met him and he was her dream man. He is a successful college executive and treats her like gold. She loves her life, her children and her husband. And then the cracks start to appear. Malcolm becomes very controlling and manipulative and is often angry with the children. Ava explains to Jack and truly believes that it's due to his pressure at work. She thinks that her marriage can be saved until the day that Malcolm moves out and gets custody of the two children. He doesn't really want them but he knows what will hurt her the most is the loss of the children.
The novel is about her quest to get her children back against overwhelming odds.

I absolutely loved this book. It's told in alternating chapters by Ava, Malcolm, Jack and Ava's attorney. That sounds like it might be confusing to have so many voices telling the story but what the reader gets is a well told story from different angles that create a total view of what's going on. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a story that you can't put down until the end - and even after that, the characters stay in your mind.

Captivating! Attention grabbing and holding! Makes you want to shake your head while you read. I credit Ava for her actions during some trying times. I don't think I could have done the same if I was in that situation. This book made me mad at life as it kept interrupting my reading time! It was a little heavier than the books I have been reading recently but I truly enjoyed this one; it had just enough suspense in it that I didn't get frustrated with the characters to the point I wanted to stop reading.

The book is not your typical feel good , perfect life kind of book. What it is though, is a story of a husband and wife and their unraveling marriage. It starts out with Ava , Mitchell, Sam and Jack. They seem to be a normal family with a nice house. The husband works hard and the wife who utterly adores her family. But lurking, deep in the dark hole of Mitchell, the husband , is a man who craves control. He is eerily chilling in his diabolical ways and explosive in his need to have the upper hand . As the story begins to explore their life, we find Mitchell start to become this meanicing , scary person who thrives on power.

The story is told from several characters perspectives . It was a great way to envision what each person perceived as the author wrote the story through their eyes. As I began to get further into the story, I felt a sense of tension and chills run through my body. The book has many layers to it, but as you peel away the layers sheer terror abounds. Mitchell is a devious , unstable person who seems to believe that no woman can be trusted. Out of nowhere one day, he decides to take the children , leave Ava and file for divorce.

As Ava starts to fight for custody of her sons, Mitchell begins his plan of complete destruction of Ava . The author gives us chilling glimpses into an evil, heartless man who will do anything to keep his kids. It's like a cat and mouse game, where only the strong survive. It's a thriller at the top of its game, with graphic almost unthinkable acts of terror aimed at those who get in Mitchell's way.

There are a couple of really great words spoken by characters in the book. . The first was from Dr.Bennett , who is trying to determine who is best suited to have the children. As she is talking to Ava she says, " Everyone has a center of gravity. Every family too. It's the tangible things that make us feel grounded and whole. " All of us want a stable life, to feel secure and not to have to walk on egg shells around your spouse. We want the hero to come in and save the day. As Jack say, " Some heroes are made, not born. They don't wear costumes or special amulets. They are mothers , men, kids, and regular people. They might get bruised , broken , or beaten down. But they don't give up." I received a copy of this book from Chicklit Plus and Netgalley for an honest review

This is a debut novel, believe it or not. If this author writes her first book like this, so captivating, so powerful, so heart grippingly awesome, I just hope she lives up to this in her subsequent books as I will be following her around. I kid you not!

This is a Mothers nightmare.

There are five main characters in this read. Yes five. And each one tells a tale.

A picture perfect family is all that Ava ever wanted. She failed her mother. She could never live up to her expectations, so surely, she can this right, can't she?

This is one heck of a psychological thriller that will get you biting your nails, tapping your feet with frustration and pulling your hair out........

If this was made into a Movie, I would buy it, I would go and watch it. I would be sending my friends tickets to go see it or buying the DVD for presents. Yes, I loved it that much.

WOW wow WOW just WOW.

A family A picture perfect family Children A home

All TORN apart.

Thank you to ** Thomas Nelson--FICTION via Net Galley ** for my copy. I am SO happy I read this book. It will stay with me for many times to come.

Told through many points of view, Center of Gravity is an interesting look into what could seemingly be the perfect new American family, but once inside their home the perfection wears off. Ava has been married to Mitchell for a few years and has recently officially adopted his son from a previous relationship and they also now have an infant son who is around the age of one. After a great courtship and early marriage, things start to change.

This book was definitely hard to read at times and I had to put it down a few moments, but there was something that really set this book apart for me. As I mentioned above, the book is told through a few points of view and the two that are in this book that really matter are the adopted son who is eight years old and Mitchell himself. From the beginning the reader is able to get into his mind as he wreaks havoc on his wife and kids, but keeps a face at his job. Although again hard to read at times, I was intrigued to read the parts that came from his point of view just to see "his side" of things.

An interesting read that I would definitely warn if you are sensitive to this matter, this book may not be for you. Its weird to say I enjoyed it, but I did. I enjoyed reading this families saga and this mother's fight to get what is her right despite what the court believes to be true and with a husband who can manipulate anyone.