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sarawildoosen's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Child death, War, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Gun violence, Torture, and Kidnapping
katelynndzindzio's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
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
5.0
"Ha. Because from the moment I saw your face and heard you speak, you were the only one I wanted." -Beckett
This book depicts grief in such a way that will leave you with tears rolling down your face but continuing to read the pages and having the need to read more. There is love and loss and hope and despair in almost every chapter.
Ella and Beckett were the perfect pair and Ryan just knew they were what each other needed. I couldn't get enough of their love for each other and their need to keep each other. Love this little family and I am thankful that Colt and Maisie finally got to have a dad.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Cancer, War, and Death of parent
Minor: Bullying, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, and Vomit
amanda_reads13's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
***Please check the warnings if you have any triggers involving children. This book should come with trigger warnings!!!
Beckett's if fulfilling his best friend, Ryan's, last wish. In his last letter, Ryan asks Beckett to get out of the army and go to take care his sister, Ella, and her children.
I don't think I have sobbed do hard reading a book. I loved this book up until about the 90% mark (see next paragraph). This is not your typical romance, you don't get a heartwarming HEA. This book is an exploration of motherhood, of loyalty, and of bonds forged through trauma. It is a story of forgiveness and the healing power of unconditional love.
I really thought this was going to be a 5 star for me. And then the last 10% happened. I knew something big was comingwhen they were getting their HEA with 4 chapters left. In one way I was completely blindsided, but in another way I had a feeling that something would happen to Cole. But man, that scene when Beckett finds Cole at the bottom of that landslide destroyed me. It was gut wrentching, absolutely devastating. BUT here is my issue: it didn't add anying to the story and did not need to happen. Yes, tragedies happen, but this last 10% was added for shock value and I don't like that. Haven't they been through enough? Ella has literally lost her entire family and went through her daughter almost dying of cancer, only for her son to be killed off. Why? They couldn't just get their HEA? This whole part should have been cut out.
Beckett is broken, raised in the foster system, he joined the army as soon as he could. He has never known love or emotional connection until he met his best friend Ryan. That connection altered the course of his life forever. Ryan lead him to Ella, who showed him what it was like to truly be part of a loving family.
Ella has not only lost her entire family, but now her daughter is fighting for her life. She is an incredibly strong mother who puts everything into protecting her children. She has major trust issues and has never felt like she has been able to depend on anyone. That is until Beckett. These two help each other heal and support each other through their grief and trauma.
Of course I can't not mention Havoc... The best doggie ever! I loved her and her connection to all of the characters.
Tropes: found family, brothers best friend, forced proximity
Beckett's if fulfilling his best friend, Ryan's, last wish. In his last letter, Ryan asks Beckett to get out of the army and go to take care his sister, Ella, and her children.
I don't think I have sobbed do hard reading a book. I loved this book up until about the 90% mark (see next paragraph). This is not your typical romance, you don't get a heartwarming HEA. This book is an exploration of motherhood, of loyalty, and of bonds forged through trauma. It is a story of forgiveness and the healing power of unconditional love.
I really thought this was going to be a 5 star for me. And then the last 10% happened. I knew something big was coming
Beckett is broken, raised in the foster system, he joined the army as soon as he could. He has never known love or emotional connection until he met his best friend Ryan. That connection altered the course of his life forever. Ryan lead him to Ella, who showed him what it was like to truly be part of a loving family.
Ella has not only lost her entire family, but now her daughter is fighting for her life. She is an incredibly strong mother who puts everything into protecting her children. She has major trust issues and has never felt like she has been able to depend on anyone. That is until Beckett. These two help each other heal and support each other through their grief and trauma.
Of course I can't not mention Havoc... The best doggie ever! I loved her and her connection to all of the characters.
Tropes: found family, brothers best friend, forced proximity
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Sexual content, Gun violence, Child death, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Cancer, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: War, Death of parent, Kidnapping, and Torture
aeicullen's review
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer and Child death
Minor: Gun violence
bookkatbaddie's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I made it through a very good amount of this book without getting too emotional. The end ruined me. I do feel like in the end it was a bit forced but it was also devastating and beautifully horrible. I don’t think I can even talk about this book out loud yet without crying. This book makes me furious for Ella and felt so real to me that I mourned her heartbreak like my own.
My issues lie mainly in the dialogue of this book and is the main reason I couldn’t give 5 stars. The twins especially -though I understand they are meant to be wise beyond their years- are seemingly just there to give these deep, teaching moment dialogues even though they’re 6. They don’t lash out or argue with the mom or behave in anyway normal to 6 year olds to the point of diminishing their character realism. The second main reason is the lack of focus on Beckett’s grief and trauma from his unit and his life. He’s not given any focus really on how he actually copes and pulls himself from grief. Especially with the ending, I feel he was robbed of being allowed to fall into the grief that any person in his position would have fallen to.
My issues lie mainly in the dialogue of this book and is the main reason I couldn’t give 5 stars. The twins especially -though I understand they are meant to be wise beyond their years- are seemingly just there to give these deep, teaching moment dialogues even though they’re 6. They don’t lash out or argue with the mom or behave in anyway normal to 6 year olds to the point of diminishing their character realism. The second main reason is the lack of focus on Beckett’s grief and trauma from his unit and his life. He’s not given any focus really on how he actually copes and pulls himself from grief. Especially with the ending, I feel he was robbed of being allowed to fall into the grief that any person in his position would have fallen to.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Cancer, Child death, Death, Grief, Terminal illness, and War
Moderate: Medical trauma, Medical content, Violence, Gun violence, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Death of parent, and Torture
obxhokie's review
dark
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Couldn’t put it down though I did cry three or four times so if you’re not into that, move on. A story of love and loss that kept me up turning pages until the very end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Torture, Child death, and Gun violence
katie_lacour's review
challenging
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I’m really mad because this book could’ve been a 5 star read. However, the execution just didn’t happen, leaving me frustrated and sad.
Things I would change:
1) The ending. It was absolutely unnecessary to the plot, and I feel like if the author didn’t want to make it a complete happily ever after she could’ve discussed their ongoing struggles with mental health (ptsd), learning to trust, etc. But instead I feel like she tried to go for the shock factor and break the reader’s heart. It did nothing to contribute to the plot in my opinion, and it felt rushed and not even fleshed out. The characters processing the ending doesn’t even occur.
2) There were some weird lines in this book that bordered on racist or problematic. “I knew he liked his coffee like he liked his women, Black and strong.” This just rubbed me the wrong way for multiple reasons. First, no characters in the book are diverse whatsoever, so this line just felt like the author was trying to check diversity off the list, almost with tokenization. It also felt weird to compare Black women to coffee. Like I know how he liked his women how he liked his bread, stale and white? Idk. It seemed a bit to me like objectification/when people see value in BIPOC because they’re “exotic.” Maybe the author meant for it to be empowering for strong Black women, but that’s not how it came across. The author also used the term “Indian summer” which has racist origins. Again, not the end of the world, but when there’s no diversity in the book it makes you wonder. Finally, the author has the FMC talk about abortion like it’s murder. While everyone is entitled to their own opinion on abortion and women certainly should make choices on their potential pregnancy and birth without pressure from others, this portrayal came across as slightly problematic to me, especially in today’s day and age. It’d be one thing for the FMC to say “Oh I didn’t want to have an abortion, that’s just not something I’d be interested in/I want to keep the fetuses.” But for her to call it murder is sus, and combined with the rest it just rubs me wrong. The glossing over of special ops too without acknowledging that they can cause harm was a bit off-putting to me. This book just felt like it was written ten years ago instead of recently and has me wondering who this author really is. It also has me questioning if I want to read Iron Flame if the author is going to include stuff like this in it too.
3) I think the whole not telling her who he was the whole entire book was dumb. I get it at first, but the fact he kept it from her for so long was so irritating to me and I would have written that storyline differently.
4) There were so many parts that weren’t believable. Her not getting child support?? Her ripping up the check for the kids?? Like say what you want about your pride but not taking half a million from a complete douche bag is the LEAST he can do for your kids. She’s a bad mom to refuse that money on their behalf instead of putting it towards things that benefit them like college savings. The school giving her crap about the child’s attendance is ILLEGAL. I was literally in Children’s Hospital of Colorado for two weeks and I had a social worker there going to bat for me with the school district to help me make up my schoolwork. Not only that but they 100% followed through with it. No school would be that stupid or insensitive. Also love how the daughter can’t be around the customers but she’s fine to go to school and run around with kids all day who pick their noses and don’t wash their hands. At the very least her and her family would likely be going around wearing masks/disinfecting since she’s immuno-compromised.
Overall, I liked the premise and the characters for the most part, but I’m really disappointed because it could have been so much better and the author really got in her own way with this. The more I think in this book, the less I like it. No book is perfect but I cannot see past these flaws.
Things I would change:
1) The ending. It was absolutely unnecessary to the plot, and I feel like if the author didn’t want to make it a complete happily ever after she could’ve discussed their ongoing struggles with mental health (ptsd), learning to trust, etc. But instead I feel like she tried to go for the shock factor and break the reader’s heart. It did nothing to contribute to the plot in my opinion, and it felt rushed and not even fleshed out. The characters processing the ending doesn’t even occur.
2) There were some weird lines in this book that bordered on racist or problematic. “I knew he liked his coffee like he liked his women, Black and strong.” This just rubbed me the wrong way for multiple reasons. First, no characters in the book are diverse whatsoever, so this line just felt like the author was trying to check diversity off the list, almost with tokenization. It also felt weird to compare Black women to coffee. Like I know how he liked his women how he liked his bread, stale and white? Idk. It seemed a bit to me like objectification/when people see value in BIPOC because they’re “exotic.” Maybe the author meant for it to be empowering for strong Black women, but that’s not how it came across. The author also used the term “Indian summer” which has racist origins. Again, not the end of the world, but when there’s no diversity in the book it makes you wonder. Finally, the author has the FMC talk about abortion like it’s murder. While everyone is entitled to their own opinion on abortion and women certainly should make choices on their potential pregnancy and birth without pressure from others, this portrayal came across as slightly problematic to me, especially in today’s day and age. It’d be one thing for the FMC to say “Oh I didn’t want to have an abortion, that’s just not something I’d be interested in/I want to keep the fetuses.” But for her to call it murder is sus, and combined with the rest it just rubs me wrong. The glossing over of special ops too without acknowledging that they can cause harm was a bit off-putting to me. This book just felt like it was written ten years ago instead of recently and has me wondering who this author really is. It also has me questioning if I want to read Iron Flame if the author is going to include stuff like this in it too.
3) I think the whole not telling her who he was the whole entire book was dumb. I get it at first, but the fact he kept it from her for so long was so irritating to me and I would have written that storyline differently.
4) There were so many parts that weren’t believable. Her not getting child support?? Her ripping up the check for the kids?? Like say what you want about your pride but not taking half a million from a complete douche bag is the LEAST he can do for your kids. She’s a bad mom to refuse that money on their behalf instead of putting it towards things that benefit them like college savings. The school giving her crap about the child’s attendance is ILLEGAL. I was literally in Children’s Hospital of Colorado for two weeks and I had a social worker there going to bat for me with the school district to help me make up my schoolwork. Not only that but they 100% followed through with it. No school would be that stupid or insensitive. Also love how the daughter can’t be around the customers but she’s fine to go to school and run around with kids all day who pick their noses and don’t wash their hands. At the very least her and her family would likely be going around wearing masks/disinfecting since she’s immuno-compromised.
Overall, I liked the premise and the characters for the most part, but I’m really disappointed because it could have been so much better and the author really got in her own way with this. The more I think in this book, the less I like it. No book is perfect but I cannot see past these flaws.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, War, and Child death
Minor: Medical content, Racism, Grief, Gun violence, and Religious bigotry
jmb367's review against another edition
emotional
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
It was a 5 star read until the last 10%. The book set up one child to die for the majority of the book and then pulls a bait and switch, killing the other twin. It wasn’t necessary for either to die in this supposed romance. WTH happened to a HEA? It should lose more than just two stars for the emotional manipulation, which was completely unnecessary and really just cruel. I’m so disappointed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer and Child death
Moderate: Gun violence
antidietleah's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Grief, Gun violence, Violence, and War
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Abortion and Abandonment
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