"She knew. That’s why Mom hadn’t opened the door. She knew he was dead."
Twenty years as an army brat and Ember Howard knew, too. The soldiers at the door meant her dad was never coming home. What she didn’t know was how she would find the strength to singlehandedly care for her crumbling family when her mom falls apart.
Then Josh Walker enters her life. Hockey star, her new next-door neighbor, and not to mention the most delicious hands that insist on saving her over and over again. He has a way of erasing the pain with a single look, a single touch. As much as she wants to turn off her feelings and endure the heartache on her own, she can’t deny their intense attraction.
Until Josh’s secret shatters their world. And Ember must decide if he’s worth the risk that comes with loving a man who could strip her bare.
5 Fantastic Stars
Review by Allison East
Can I give this book more stars? I feel like five just isn't enough to capture the essence of this story. This story has SO many of my favorite book criteria. It was heart-warming, and endearing- but it also broke my heart in a bunch of different ways. It was witty, and charming- and funny.
There were definitely angsty moments, as well as super steamy moments. It also had a little bit of love lost and found again.
It’s a story about fierce love and then loss- a loss so bad and devastating, it ruins others. But its also a story of surviving that loss. Making it through with the help of people in your life, and the journey it takes to get there.
Ember Howard is a twenty year old woman with the world at her feet. She goes to college, she has loving siblings- April and Gus (side note- their names are all months and I love it. December, August, April, and the mother's name is June!) She has the perfect boyfriend, Riley, with whom she has her life mapped out to the very T. But she never expected that knock on her door that set a series of events into motion that would change her life forever, she would never be the same. Three little knocks and her world blows apart.
I was so emotionally drawn to December- she is such a strong character. Strong for her mother, and her siblings when they needed her the most.
Josh Walker- hubba hubba. That’s my description for him. He is Captain of the Swoony Book Boyfriends for me right now. Everything about him exudes charisma and deliciousness. He is a few years older than Ember and has always been her secret crush. Especially in high school when he was captain of the hockey team. Now he coaches her little brother's hockey team and she can’t help but run into him all the time.
“Everything else melted away. Seeing him brought to mind all those horrible analogies in romance novels, like water in a drought, sunshine in winter, color in a world of gray. Yes, yes, yes. He was all of that and more.”
When the worst happens, Josh vows to be Ember’s whatever.
“The fire you have within you is impossible to kill. The first breath you take when you’re free of all this, it will come roaring back. That’s what is so impossibly beautiful about you.”
I felt a strong connection for and between these characters immediately. But after your heart is broken the last thing you want to think about is a relationship.
“Trust me, I want you. I want you more than oxygen at this point.”
So many well written pieces in this book. Each character had so much depth it was ridiculous; especially Ember taking care of her family during the aftermath of tragedy.
“You’re so busy taking care of everyone else, you can’t see that someone needs to take care of you. So tell me what you need, and I’ll be that for you. “
I mean, where did Josh come from and where can I find one? He is like salve for a wound- he makes everything better. And the fire between them both- was constant!
“We’re taking it slow until you say so, because I can’t bear to hear a ‘no’ from you. But here's your only warning; I'm going to chase the f*** out of you.” The promise dripping from his voice was enough to set my thighs on fire.”
And the problems with her sister April; were very real and palpable. In some scenes I felt like I was there and experiencing it with them for the first time.
“Our eyes met, and something intangible passed between us, something that felt dangerously like hope.”
This book is a must read. I couldn't put it down, and it has ended my book slump- and will make it onto my five star list. I am obsessed with this book and I love the writing. Rebecca Yarros better never stop writing and I would love for the story to continue, maybe a few years down the line with April- so we can still see Ember and Josh, and maybe Gus. Also Josh’s friend Jagger could have a good story. I would even like a prequel to the story of the mother and father, June and Justin! Snatch this book up, and devour it like I did. You won’t regret it!
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