***POSSIBLE SPOILERS PRESENT WITHIN
REVIEW***
Wow! Right
from the beginning this is one raw and painful read. A family is devastated
from the loss of their beloved father, husband, and son when his life is taken
so unexpectantly from his recent military tour. The family is beyond gutted
with the news, and it comes down to the oldest daughter, December holding the
family together. You will cry from this devastation. I cried from this
devastation. It was painful and sad. From the grandmother who had lost her
husband and now her son, to the devoted wife with two loving daughters, and his
only young son now the only “man” in the house...it took my breath away. It was
so obvious just how much this man meant to his family and how much he was truly
loved.
There was
so much that went on in this novel that I was deeply connected to the story.
There was cheating and a past high school crush that became a reality. Intimacy
for the first time was explored. Unimaginable heartache and loss was depicted.
Grief and loneliness touched lives as well. It was pure hell, but as time went
on and the loss was more or less accepted, the healing process began. So
mind-boggling of how such a loss affects everyone differently. And, that’s just
what this did to this ravaged family. Everyone was affected so differently.
I loved the
characters’ names – December (Ember), April, August (Gus), and June. Very
creative!! Quite the character young Gus was! He was just too young to really
understand the impact of the loss that his father truly had on the entire
family. Sure he missed him and was sad, but the kid was a blessing to this
suffering family.
But, what
about the romance? Well, Josh Walker was Ember’s high school crush. A few years
older than her, she never thought that she would have a chance with a guy like
him. Experienced. Every girl’s dream. He’s just so magnetic. Delicious. Perfect.
At the present time, he is Gus’s hockey coach. He makes his presence known.
And, when Ember is devastated over another unforeseen situation, Josh doesn’t hesitate
by making his interest in her known. Josh is just everything that Ember needs
at the moment. Confident. Protective. But, most of all, a distraction from all
the chaos that his been going on around the family. Unfortunately, there’s a
secret Josh is keeping that he knows would end their relationship. It somehow
is connected in a way to her dad. How does Ember react when the inevitable
happens?
Oh, I can’t
say enough good things about this novel. It was so sad, but it portrayed a
family who eventually came together when they really needed to. Protecting and
supporting each other when such a tragic loss destroyed their world. It wasn’t
just a romance, but also a novel portraying survival and healing. The love
between Ember and Josh was powerful. And, once Ember realized just how
compelling it truly was, she knew that her place was with Josh. He was her
forever irrevocably so...
He
brought my hand over his heart, where the fire in his tattoo began. “I’ll carry
it with me, Ember. You.” He tapped my hand against the flames. “Here. Always.
It’s you, fire and ice; everything I know that’s December.” ~ Josh (Chap. 25)
“The
love that filled this room was the stuff of movies and legends. It was the
happy ending of every fairy tale, the epilogue of an epic love story. Epic love
stories needed epic loves.”
~ Ember (Chap. 26)
Review Written, 2/11/15
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