The Weight Within by Gwen Martin

Book Review

5 stars 🍩

This book hits differently from the previous collective works. Yes, we still have the mental issues aspect of the main characters and how they need help to move forward. What I wasn't prepared for was the raw vulnerability of Tristan and how he handles life and needs the sunshine of Kurt to see the world different. Kurt has been through so much yet holds a sunshine disposition that just shines on all around him. He makes you rethink how you look at things. Together, they learn to move forward and be better people for themselves and those around them. So yes, this has less angst yet isn't in a new, beautiful, and enlightening way.

We get to see Chance & Duncan and so happy to say they are thriving. Chance is keeping up with his therapy and moving forward, which is all you can ask for. I'm so happy to see Gwen showing that therapy is good and needed. Even in the darkness their is light at the end if you sometimes step outside your comfort zone. Cannot wait to see whose next.

Book Overview

They must learn to accept that carrying the weight within doesn't have to be done alone.

Tristan Edwards is clean cut, determined, and organized on the outside, but on the inside he’s falling apart. After years of nonstop travel for work, he’s assigned to open a new branch that could keep him close to home with more job security. But when he learns this coveted position is also up for grabs by another eligible candidate and if Tristan can’t prove his executive position, his dream job may fall into the hands of his dream man.

Kurt Holden is newly divorced, without a home, and in need of a change. When a new position springs up, Kurt jumps at the chance to start over in a new city as a new person. What he isn’t interested in is falling into another relationship, but the more time he spends with Tristan, it becomes impossible to ignore his attraction.

As both men face the decision to choose professional gain or personal desire, Tristan and Kurt must learn to accept that carrying the weight within doesn’t have to be done alone. The only question is if they’re willing to take the risk or stay alone.

Trigger Warning: While the event is not on screen, this book contains conversations about late-term miscarriage and the dissolution of a marriage. There is also on screen panic attacks, and talks about past characters who’ve dealt with suicidal ideation and drug abuse. Please proceed with caution.

The Weight Within is the second novel in The Collective Series. It is an enemies-to-lovers bisexual office romance, that is full of hurt and leans hard on the comfort. This slow burn, opposites attract story can be read as a standalone.

The Weight Within (The Collective) https://a.co/d/dBCV9j2