BOOK REVIEW: Full Measures (Flight & Glory #1) by Rebecca Yarros

Full Measures (Flight & Glory #1)
by Rebecca Yarros
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

She knew. That’s why Mom hadn’t opened the door. She knew he was dead.

Twenty years as an army brat and Ember Howard knew, too. The soldiers at the door meant her dad was never coming home. What she didn’t know was how she would find the strength to singlehandedly care for her crumbling family when her mom falls apart.

Then Josh Walker enters her life. Hockey star, her new next-door neighbor, and not to mention the most delicious hands that insist on saving her over and over again. He has a way of erasing the pain with a single look, a single touch. As much as she wants to turn off her feelings and endure the heartache on her own, she can’t deny their intense attraction. Until Josh’s secret shatters their world. And Ember must decide if he’s worth the risk that comes with loving a man who could strip her bare.

Review:

Why was it so damn hard to breathe?

Full Measures was an emotionally powerful book.  With healing and love woven together, this story was impossible not to cry while reading.  I was looking for a New Adult romance that would be an angsty, emotional ride and this fit that need perfectly!

I placed my right hand on the chilled exterior of the coffin and stifled my cry with my left. “I love you,” the whisper broke from me. “I miss you, and I don’t know what to do without you,” I cried. I dragged the frost- bitten air through my lungs. “But don’t you worry about them, not Grams, or Mom, April, or Gus. I will take care of them, I promise.”

Full Measures started out with an emotional bang.  It was impossible not to sob your eyes out.  Or cry through that first chapter.  It was horrific watching Ember Howard’s whole world blow up in her face.  Losing her father.  Watching her mother turn into a shell of a woman of who she was.  And she was left trying to help take care of her younger siblings, while not drowning in her own grief.  Watching Ember try and keep it together while everyone else fell apart had me lost in her agony. This book radiated her pain, and it was impossible not to feel every single thing Ember did.

I wanted someone to hold me, to tell me it was going to be okay, to assure me that my life hadn’t ended with Dad’s. I wanted solace, and comfort, and not to think about it for a while. Wasn’t there anyone else who could help carry the weight of this house?

Josh Walker stumbled upon Ember on the most horrific day of her life.  He had gone to school with her and was her little brother’s hockey coach.  His compassion was beautiful.  And I loved how he was always there.  That he could lend a hand and tried his best to help out where he could.  Yet Ember had her walls infinitely high.  She had a boyfriend.  Who I dubbed as a complete douche bag.  And a mother, sister and little brother that she now was like a parent to.  But one of my favorite things about Josh was that he would just show up.  Where others would say if you need help just ask, he stepped in there and helped.  It was impossible not to fall for how kind Josh’s heart and soul were.

“She’s going to be okay, eventually.”
“So are you.” He squeezed my hand gently before quickly pulling it away, careful not to brush the skin of my knee just below my hem.

Josh and Ember together felt inevitable.  Yet they didn’t have an easy path.  It slowly started out as friendship. And I loved how that led to more. Ember was so focused on doing what was right for her family. And I loved that Josh could then help focus Ember on her life. What she wanted to do. Josh was considerate, patient, understanding, protective, caring and such a beautiful book boyfriend. Yet Josh had been the ultimate player. And had girls fawning over him left and right. I loved two of the names Ember gave them haha.

“God, Ember.”
I said the only thing I could think of. “More.”
He lifted his head, staring into my eyes like he could see through my soul. “This isn’t what you want.”

My notes while reading consisted of tears, more tears and that I couldn’t stop sobbing throughout this story.  Ember’s loss and her family’s struggle to survive while going through the motions gutted me.  The emotions were so intense, real.  At times it felt like I was suffocating in all of their grief and I couldn’t stop the tears that constantly kept pooling in my eyes.  YET in the pages was also a beautiful love story.  And another beautiful story about family healing.  It was a rough journey, but by the end of his book my heart was so happy!

“Oh, and Ember?” I blinked in response. “I’m still your whatever, for whatever you need.”

Secrets can never stay hidden, for long.  And Josh had one that could tear him and Ember apart.  So I loved watching the struggle and the path it took.  The clarity moment was so beautiful! Yet I did have a hiccup with this story. Some of the lines just didn’t work for me. And while I do love cheesiness, I just wasn’t looking for it now. I think if I would have read this story when it first came out, it would have worked perfectly for me. But regardless, I’ll be jumping into the next book. I’m excited that Josh’s roommate is getting his own story. And while Josh and Ember’s story ended on a happily for now, you just know they will get their happily ever after. And I’m hoping we’ll get to see it in a future book!

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