Contemporary Romance published by Entangled: Amara 25 Feb 20
Rebecca Yarros is fast becoming a favorite author of mine. This is my fourth book of hers (two of which were in collaboration), and Great and Precious Things is one you don’t want to pass on. Emotionally charged with a broken family trying to do what’s best for their patriarch, a love that will last forever despite all that works against it, and a betrayal that wrenches the heart dry, you won’t put this book down until the very last page is turned.
Camden Daniels is the black sheep of not only his family but the town of Alba, Colorado where he grew up. All because he brought his youngest brother home from war to be buried alongside their mother. His father has never forgiven him for that, and despite Cam being gone for ten years, a desperate message from his father has him finally coming home. But not only does he have to weave and bob to avoid judgmental townsfolk, his heart has to learn he’ll never have the happiness he’d like to have with Willow – the one woman who makes him feel alive and complete.
Willow is a strong heroine who is trying to move on from tragedy, all the while staying close to her family. To say the differences between Willow and her clan and Cam and his are vast is an understatement to the nth degree. Willow welcomes Cam home with open arms and the rest of the town won’t forget his reckless teenage years, not giving him the benefit of the doubt he’s changed to become the man he is. It doesn’t take long for Willow to see this, and she stands by him no matter what.
Cam hopes to make up lost time with this older brother Alexander, but they end up at cross purposes when it comes to their father’s well-being. You so want to like Xander because you love Cam so, but that man is much too stubborn for his own good, let alone anyone else’s, and then both he and the reader take a gut punch later in the story and you can’t help but feel sadness instead of anger. There are a few other secondary characters who still call Cam friend and they are a relief during all the callousness Cam receives from the town. I especially enjoyed Dorothy, the police department dispatcher.
I love the slow but steady way Cam and Willow finally come together, after realizing they each thought a relationship between them would be taboo is not the case at all. It’s an emotional roller coaster for them, even after they acknowledge their feelings. As secrets begin to be revealed, it’s refreshing to see these two work together instead of allowing themselves to be torn apart by everything around them. I so enjoyed the turnaround Willow and Cam level at the town council, putting those who need it in their place.
With this sight overview of the story, you definitely need to read it yourself to experience those choices that change everything and all the emotions Ms. Yarros puts these characters through. Once you do, I guarantee you will be another fan of hers just like me.
Grade: A
Summary:
How do you define yourself when others have already decided who you are?
Six years ago, when Camden Daniels came back from war without his younger brother, no one in the small town of Alba, Colorado, would forgive him—especially his father. He left, swearing never to return.
But a desperate message from his father brings it all back. The betrayal. The pain. And the need to go home again.
But home is where the one person he still loves is waiting. Willow. The one woman he can never have. Because there are secrets buried in Alba that are best left in the dark.
If only he could tell his heart to stay locked away when she whispers she’s always loved him, and always will…
Great and Precious Things is a heart-wrenching story about family, betrayal, and ultimately how far we’re willing to go on behalf of those who need us most.
No excerpt available.
