Rebecca Yarros
February 25, 2020
Entangled Amara
Blurb: 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.
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I have been a bad book blogger in the past two weeks. I’ve been doing an unconscionable thing. I’ve been reading and not writing the reviews in a timely manner. The one I feel worst about is this one.
Great and Precious Things may be one of the best books I’ve ever read from Entangled and I wish that I had shared my feelings with you when they were still fresh and intense. Now they’re only semi-intense, but still.
One thing I’ve noticed about people is that we like to think that we give people second chances, but we seldom do. We don’t believe that people can change. We presume that once we know them, they are going to remain the same. And, that’s part of the premise of Great and Precious Things.
Camden Daniels was once the town screw up. He joined the service, went to war, came home, and everyone still expected him to be a screw up even though he was a hero. No one allowed him to be someone else. Everyone kept trying to push his buttons so that he’d show his true screwed up self, show his short fuse. But Cam learned things in the service and one was to have patience, hold back his temper.
Cam and his dad never had a good relationship. Now his father has early onset Alzheimer’s and it seems that now they won’t ever have a chance. Is there anything more heartbreaking than not being able to construct a relationship with your parent? But, even more, Cam learns things about how his father really felt about him that tug so much at the reader’s heartstrings.
Willow is the girl he always loved and could never have because before he left for the service, she became his younger brother’s girl. And then his younger brother died after he gave an order not knowing his brother was in the squad. Now, Willow can never be his girl.
There are so many genuine emotions running through Great and Precious Things, so many misunderstood people, so many misunderstood actions, that the reader cannot help but feel every one of them. Please understand that this is not superficial angst but emotions surrounding loyalty, family, betrayal, sacrifice, love, all emotions, feelings, that reach so much deeper. While this is called a romance novel, it’s very much a relationship novel delving into relationships between friends, lovers, and family.
As a reader of John Steinbeck’s East of Eden, I appreciated the use of quotes and the similarity with misunderstood brothers and the complexity of family relationships. And, I very much appreciated the extra depth it gave Great and Precious Things.
Great and Precious Things shows that a romance novel can be so much more than hugs and kisses and superficiality and wedding dresses. Many thanks to Rebecca Yarros for writing such a beautiful and feeling novel.
I highly recommend Great and Precious Things.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
rating:
5 out of 5 butterflies
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