Sandy M’s review of Variation by Rebecca Yarros
Contemporary Romance published by Montlake 19 Nov 24
Thank goodness for authors who do their research so meticulously that you don’t have to doubt you’re getting everything they have to give for a story that will leave you wanting more. This is a romance that spans time and throws us deep into the worlds of ballet and the Coast Guard rescue swimmers. We also get different looks at family and competition. Not all of it warm and fuzzy.
Hudson and Allie meet when they are just sixteen, spending an entire summer together. As the young do, they think the future is happy and bright. Unfortunately, as life is wont to do, tragedy strikes and a decade goes by before they see one another again. While they live fulfilling lives and are basically happy, they both recall those carefree days and now realize after more tumultuous living closer together that their love never really died. But that doesn’t mean they finally get their warm and fuzzy just because they’re back home.
Hudson’s niece is adopted and she’s determined to find her biological family. She’s a cunningly cute little charmer. Unbeknownst to everyone, especially her mother, who doesn’t want Juniper anywhere near a ballet studio or the Rousseau family, she’s done her own research – think DNA – and has discovered, in fact, the Rousseaus are her blood. Despite Allie wanting to stay as far from Hudson as she can get – trust is a fragile thing after so many years – she agrees to a fake relationship with him to encourage Mom to allow Juniper to take ballet lessons. Of course, you can imagine how everything gets out of control lie after lie, until everyone has to take a deep breath before regrets are flung everywhere.
You have to love Hudson and his romantic heart when it comes to Allie. A touch, a look, a softly spoken word and so much more always get to her, and before she knows it, she’s so deep into him again she can’t deny her feelings any longer. Which is a good thing, because my poor heart couldn’t take Hudson being shot down time and time again, disappointment flaring every time. But his heart is the strong one. Not only when it comes to Allie, but also throughout all the twists and turns thrown at us around so many corners.
Another heartfelt and heartwarming story from Rebecca Yarros. My only wish is that Allie would have capitulated a bit earlier – I get a little irritated when a character throws me hither and yon a few times too often, even if I understand why. But in the end, she knows she’s the lucky one with Hudson in her life finally for that forever after.
Grade: B+
Summary:
Elite ballerina Allie Rousseau is no stranger to pressure. With her mother’s eyes always watching, perfection was expected, no matter the cost. But when an injury jeopardizes all she’s sacrificed for, Allie returns to her summer home to heal and recover. But the memories she’s tried to forget rush in and threaten to take her under.
As a Coast Guard rescue swimmer, Hudson Ellis knows that hesitation can mean the difference between life and death. He’s always prided himself on being in the right place at the right time, especially when it came to Allie Rousseau…until the night he left for basic. After the biggest regret of his life, the secrets he keeps mean he can never be with the one woman he wants more than his next breath.
When Hudson’s niece shows up on Allie’s doorstep, desperate to find her birth mother, Allie finds herself in an unimaginable position. Allie and Hudson’s past and present might be endlessly complicated. The thread that tied them to each other all those years ago may have unraveled, but the truth could pull them back together, or drive them apart forever.
