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nadine_booklover's review
5.0
4.5 stars
"This world will try to take things away from you, but it can never take your mind or what you put in it."
Even though I had some days to recover from this emotional read, I think I probably won't be able to find all the right words to describe this book. In Harmony shook me to the bone and I couldn't take my eyes of the pages.
"I burn. I pine. I perish."
If this isn't your first book by Emma Scott, you already know she's the queen of giving us all the feels. It's like she pours her heart into every single page, between every single line. With In Harmony she delivers once more a great and soul-touching read.
"Isaac was a grenade thrown through the ice and numbness, shattering it in a messy explosion."
The main topic covered in In Harmony is a pretty sensitive one. It's a topic that today's society is more than aware of and more and more people find the courage to speak up even though it's still kind of taboo. Emma took on this topic with the full sensitivity it deserves and I really hope it helps someone in the same or similar situation finding the strength to speak up.
But that's only one side. In Harmony also covers another topic that society rather puts aside than confront and resolving it. It's a simple fact, that life and society don't give things for free. If you are born on the so called wrong side of the tracks you need to work double or triple as hard as others getting out of it. And most likely only those who are strong enough to endure the fight will make it. Some people don't even get the chance to fight.
Emma found a great way to entangle those two sensitive and touching topics in an even more touching love story of two broken humans finding their whole world in each other.
"Doubt thou the stars are fire, Doubt that the sun doth move, Doubt truth to be a liar, But never doubt I love."
Willow is one hell of a perfect heroine. She was hurting and her pain was obvious in every single line of the book. And I love the fact, that even though she seemed to be broken beyond repair, she never gave up on herself. Willow found a way back into live and allowing love as a healing power inviting Isaac right into her heart.
"Love was there first."
Isaac is beyond perfect. He's got everything I'd be looking for in a guy in my real world. The way he embraces Willow and her pain, the way he's there for her without pushing or any expectations is just not from this world. At the same time he never forgot about his own dreams and found a way to bind all things back together.
"I thought I was lost, but he brought me back. He allowed me to find my way back to myself."
I love the way how Emma gave those two characters the possibility to express themselves. A way how they were able to speak the words they wouldn't have spoken any other way.
Well, with that said I could go on and on and on on how much I loved In Harmony and how much it touched my soul and heart. And I'm sure I would tell you all the great things you might have read in other fantastic reviews which loved this book equally.
"I hear it, Isaac. I hear it in every look, every touch. I hear you. The words of your heart."
"This world will try to take things away from you, but it can never take your mind or what you put in it."
Even though I had some days to recover from this emotional read, I think I probably won't be able to find all the right words to describe this book. In Harmony shook me to the bone and I couldn't take my eyes of the pages.
"I burn. I pine. I perish."
If this isn't your first book by Emma Scott, you already know she's the queen of giving us all the feels. It's like she pours her heart into every single page, between every single line. With In Harmony she delivers once more a great and soul-touching read.
"Isaac was a grenade thrown through the ice and numbness, shattering it in a messy explosion."
The main topic covered in In Harmony is a pretty sensitive one. It's a topic that today's society is more than aware of and more and more people find the courage to speak up even though it's still kind of taboo. Emma took on this topic with the full sensitivity it deserves and I really hope it helps someone in the same or similar situation finding the strength to speak up.
But that's only one side. In Harmony also covers another topic that society rather puts aside than confront and resolving it. It's a simple fact, that life and society don't give things for free. If you are born on the so called wrong side of the tracks you need to work double or triple as hard as others getting out of it. And most likely only those who are strong enough to endure the fight will make it. Some people don't even get the chance to fight.
Emma found a great way to entangle those two sensitive and touching topics in an even more touching love story of two broken humans finding their whole world in each other.
"Doubt thou the stars are fire, Doubt that the sun doth move, Doubt truth to be a liar, But never doubt I love."
Willow is one hell of a perfect heroine. She was hurting and her pain was obvious in every single line of the book. And I love the fact, that even though she seemed to be broken beyond repair, she never gave up on herself. Willow found a way back into live and allowing love as a healing power inviting Isaac right into her heart.
"Love was there first."
Isaac is beyond perfect. He's got everything I'd be looking for in a guy in my real world. The way he embraces Willow and her pain, the way he's there for her without pushing or any expectations is just not from this world. At the same time he never forgot about his own dreams and found a way to bind all things back together.
"I thought I was lost, but he brought me back. He allowed me to find my way back to myself."
I love the way how Emma gave those two characters the possibility to express themselves. A way how they were able to speak the words they wouldn't have spoken any other way.
Well, with that said I could go on and on and on on how much I loved In Harmony and how much it touched my soul and heart. And I'm sure I would tell you all the great things you might have read in other fantastic reviews which loved this book equally.
"I hear it, Isaac. I hear it in every look, every touch. I hear you. The words of your heart."
sarah_meyr's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
suzysuzy34's review
5.0
This was a fantastic story but told around traumatic circumstances, author deals with date-rape, which in my opinion she handled very well. I’m also not a fan of Shakespeare at all, no sir - not my cuppa at all - but I loved the Shakespeare told in this story, told through Issac’s and Willows acting/plays on stage.
beckyrendon's review
5.0
This book is intense. I was in tears and just shy of trembling. The raw emotion and unfiltered feelings that erupt from the characters are palpable and tangible as if you could hold them in your hand. It's an ache, a longing, and a love that 'never doubt'.
In Harmony is not your typical story of boy meets girl. It's not even the dream fairytale. It's a realistic portrayal of life at its highs and lows. in Harmony is it's own beautiful tragedy rewritten by actors in need of more...Doesn't make sense?! Okay, how about this:
In Harmony is it's own version of Romeo and Juliet rewritten for all those poor souls who need more than just a hopeless ending. It's a cathartic release and a badge of courage. In Harmony is what you make of it.
In Harmony is not your typical story of boy meets girl. It's not even the dream fairytale. It's a realistic portrayal of life at its highs and lows. in Harmony is it's own beautiful tragedy rewritten by actors in need of more...Doesn't make sense?! Okay, how about this:
In Harmony is it's own version of Romeo and Juliet rewritten for all those poor souls who need more than just a hopeless ending. It's a cathartic release and a badge of courage. In Harmony is what you make of it.
readfrenzy's review
4.0
4.5 stars
With In Harmony, Emma Scott delivers a captivating romance that pays tribute to the power the human spirit. The story is quite timely in an age when victims of sexual and domestic abuse are very much front and center in the nation’s consciousness.
Willow and Isaac are polar opposites, but both are victims of unimaginable tragedy. Bad boy Isaac is a 19-year-old gifted actor who is determined to use his talent to claw his way out of an impoverished, volatile environment. Willow is 17 and privileged, but already resigned to a life numbed to all emotion except fear.
I’ve always been amazed by the ability of theatre to touch lives in transformative ways. In this book, the play Hamlet is the perfect vehicle for healing. Lost in the roles of Hamlet and Ophelia, Isaac and Willow are able to use Shakespeare’s words to give voice to the painful truths they cannot otherwise express.
I think the synopsis is a little misleading because it suggests that this is an enemies to lovers story. There really isn’t any fighting between them. It’s more like an evolution of their relationship from hesitant admiration to trust and then to love. They are perfection together.
The book is chock full of characters you can’t help but fall in love with. Martin, the wise and talented artistic director, and Angie, Willow’s quirky and compassionate classmate, are two of my favorites. Isaac’s and Willow’s parents, however, are every child’s worst nightmare. They help flesh out the plot nicely.
I have a feeling this profound story will resonate with many readers.
Recommended for fans of:
Shakespeare
Theatre
Small towns
With In Harmony, Emma Scott delivers a captivating romance that pays tribute to the power the human spirit. The story is quite timely in an age when victims of sexual and domestic abuse are very much front and center in the nation’s consciousness.
Willow and Isaac are polar opposites, but both are victims of unimaginable tragedy. Bad boy Isaac is a 19-year-old gifted actor who is determined to use his talent to claw his way out of an impoverished, volatile environment. Willow is 17 and privileged, but already resigned to a life numbed to all emotion except fear.
I’ve always been amazed by the ability of theatre to touch lives in transformative ways. In this book, the play Hamlet is the perfect vehicle for healing. Lost in the roles of Hamlet and Ophelia, Isaac and Willow are able to use Shakespeare’s words to give voice to the painful truths they cannot otherwise express.
I think the synopsis is a little misleading because it suggests that this is an enemies to lovers story. There really isn’t any fighting between them. It’s more like an evolution of their relationship from hesitant admiration to trust and then to love. They are perfection together.
The book is chock full of characters you can’t help but fall in love with. Martin, the wise and talented artistic director, and Angie, Willow’s quirky and compassionate classmate, are two of my favorites. Isaac’s and Willow’s parents, however, are every child’s worst nightmare. They help flesh out the plot nicely.
I have a feeling this profound story will resonate with many readers.
Recommended for fans of:
Shakespeare
Theatre
Small towns
* I received an early copy of this book. It did not affect my honest opinion. *
kate_and_books's review
4.0
Be still my beating heart what a combination of a book. A beautiful read from an outstanding author who can write emotion that jumps off the page and right into your face giving you no chance but to take notice of the message that the author is trying to convey.
Willow Holloway was just a normal girl like any normal girl until. There are always untils in life but this one is something a woman/girl should never have to experience. Picking up the pieces is the hardest part. Telling someone without feeling ashamed and dirty nearly impossible. Feeling as if you will be judged because you apparently asked for it. Who would voluntarily ask for something like that, who wants to be so vulnerable? No one.
Her saving grace was moving to Harmony, Indiana. Her turning point a man with stormy grey eyes and a play that is one of the most well known in the world. Where she could tell her story without really telling her story.
There were times where I wanted to scream at Willow, I wanted to hug her at the same time, but she was on a journey, a journey she had to take by herself. To find herself again, to bask in the light but to live with the shadows. But thankfully she didn’t keep her silence forever.
Isaac Pearce born of the wrong side of the tracks has experienced so much pain and loss that he is sparse with his words where he be where he can also tell his story is on the stage and he truly is magnificent. With this medium he can leave it all behind a drunk for a father, being beaten on, no money only relying on the kindness of others. Truly only existing.
He is counting the days that he can leave Harmony in his rear-view mirror, but he didn’t factor Willow into turning up. He sees her, sees her sadness, her beauty and her delicateness. But he never dates younger women, but he is about to break his own rule.
Isaac and Willow both have share a deep loss that cannot be put into words although their loss isn’t the same it has changed them in ways that they will both never be the same. They share the desolation, the emptiness, of the light nearly being snuffed out. In a way Isaac is untouchable and that is what appeals to Willow.
All that is gold does not glitter. I know I’d rather have the tarnished armour when it comes to the Hero such a great Hero but blind to what he should have seen at the end.
I felt for them every step of the way and when they couldn’t avoid their feelings for one another they decide to keep it all a secret. It was a tragedy in the making.
In some way or another we all live in a Shakespearian play. Be it a tragedy, a comedy or history repeating itself. I feel as if the author put more than her all into this book. It is poignant, there is beauty in the cruelty of the world. We all deal with things in different ways and that there is no such thing as too late. Who wants to kill hope?
For the most part of the book it was in the YA realm now YA isn’t really my genre. I wasn’t convinced that the author could pull it off, but I was proven wrong. I love it when that happens.
No o/w drama, angst, rape scene explained but not truly experienced more like snippets.
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leojole's review
5.0
I have yet to read an Emma Scott book that I didn’t rate 5 star and this was no exception. An amazing read!