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bookishnerdyandcurious 's review for:
Protect
by Paisley Hope
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
To be honest, I don't know that I would have picked this up if I hadn't heard two (maybe three?) podcasts talk about it last week. All raved about this book and hell, I do love to see if I can either understand the hype or prove it wrong. (Okay, whatever. I viewed it as a challenge. I have trust issues. And yet I still do this to myself.) I mean, it's got some of my favorite tropes, so we'll see if it holds up, right?
Even with all the raving, I was not prepared at all for all the emotions. I mean, I knew that grief was going to be a thread throughout, but I was knocked on my ass at how much it affected every character, which then affected me. Of course I cried while reading this... I started early on and just continued. This could have been a much different book if it didn't have the heart that it did - I mean, we start by seeing this family of firefighters (they're so much more, but we'll keep it simple for this) and their community come together to celebrate a lost life and learning about the two people who were pulled apart at a young age come back together 5 years after another loss. Violette ran from her hometown and the man who hurt her in high school when her twin brother died from injuries sustained in a fire. She comes home with her 4 year old daughter Hollie (of course I'm gonna like her name) after divorcing her husband and needs the support of her family as she picks up the pieces and starts a new life. But when Rowan is brought into the burn unit with injuries sustained in a fire similar to her brother, she has to face the man who hurt her all those years before and who has never stopped loving her. Rowan hurt Vi in high school to protect both her and her brother, his best friend, and he's never forgiven himself. When he sees that Vi is back in town, he's determined to make her his again... and when he meets her little girl, he's head over heels for both of them. Now just to convince Vi.
This was probably one of the best representations of grief, anxiety, and panic attacks and how they manifest in different people of all ages that I've read in a while. I was not a fan of the flashback chapters - I know that this story needed to tell the past and I'm not even sure how it could have been told differently, but they just pulled me out of the flow of the story. But without them, you don't get the full impact of why Rowan did what he did at 18 and how much he lost when he lost Violette then. Did they bug me enough to make me stop reading? Absolutely not.
Even with all the raving, I was not prepared at all for all the emotions. I mean, I knew that grief was going to be a thread throughout, but I was knocked on my ass at how much it affected every character, which then affected me. Of course I cried while reading this... I started early on and just continued. This could have been a much different book if it didn't have the heart that it did - I mean, we start by seeing this family of firefighters (they're so much more, but we'll keep it simple for this) and their community come together to celebrate a lost life and learning about the two people who were pulled apart at a young age come back together 5 years after another loss. Violette ran from her hometown and the man who hurt her in high school when her twin brother died from injuries sustained in a fire. She comes home with her 4 year old daughter Hollie (of course I'm gonna like her name) after divorcing her husband and needs the support of her family as she picks up the pieces and starts a new life. But when Rowan is brought into the burn unit with injuries sustained in a fire similar to her brother, she has to face the man who hurt her all those years before and who has never stopped loving her. Rowan hurt Vi in high school to protect both her and her brother, his best friend, and he's never forgiven himself. When he sees that Vi is back in town, he's determined to make her his again... and when he meets her little girl, he's head over heels for both of them. Now just to convince Vi.
This was probably one of the best representations of grief, anxiety, and panic attacks and how they manifest in different people of all ages that I've read in a while. I was not a fan of the flashback chapters - I know that this story needed to tell the past and I'm not even sure how it could have been told differently, but they just pulled me out of the flow of the story. But without them, you don't get the full impact of why Rowan did what he did at 18 and how much he lost when he lost Violette then. Did they bug me enough to make me stop reading? Absolutely not.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cursing, Death, Car accident