Hallowed Ground
Flight & Glory #4
Rebecca Yarros
Genre: New Adult
Release Date: January 25, 2016

There are some debts you can’t repay.

Josh Walker is loyal, reckless, and every girl’s dream. But he only has eyes for December Howard, the girl he’s craved since his high school hockey days. Together they have survived grief, the military, distance, and time as they’ve fought for stolen weekends between his post at Ft. Rucker and her college at Vanderbilt. Now that Josh is a medevac pilot and Ember is headed toward graduation, they’re moving on—and in—together.

Ember never wanted the Army life, but loving Josh means accepting whatever the army dictates—even when that means saying goodbye as Josh heads to Afghanistan, a country that nearly killed him once before and that took her father. But filling their last days together with love, passion, and plans for their future doesn’t temper Ember’s fear, and if there’s one thing she’s learned from her father’s death, it’s that there are some obstacles even love can’t conquer.

Flight school is over.
This is war.

Want a book that will make you feel all the way from your head down to your toes? Want a story that will leave you breathless and stunned? Look no further. Rebecca Yarros continues to amaze me with her brilliant writing. Every book in the Flight & Glory series is a spectacular story of love, loss, and meaning. Her books touch your heart and leave you needing a moment to collect yourself. It has been a while since I have actually had tears streaming down my face while reading a book. Sure I tear up, but actually tears rolling down my cheeks… Not too often these days. Hallowed Ground is a beautiful and heartbreaking story. I was so nervous going into this book. The teasers and initial reactions were making me hesitant. I knew I would read it, without a doubt, but I found myself preparing mentally before I read the first word. What I found was remarkable.

Rebecca needs to wear a pin on her lapel that says “World’s Best Writer.” She is one of those authors that will grip your soul and pull your emotions out. Not only is the general writing and story flow wonderful, the emotion and characters are tangible. At times, while reading, it was excruciating. I cried. At times I was giddy with laughter and smiling like a fool. It seems like I had become jaded from reading so many stories that when something truly spectacular comes along, I am left in awe. I know I am going above and beyond with my praise, but the continuation of Ember and Josh’s story was not what I expected but exactly what I wanted and needed.

This book deals with so many rough themes. There is war, tragedy, and pain. It felt like this story broke away from the series in a subtle way. Each book before this has great depth and emotion, but this one has something raw and gritty. Ember and Josh have fought valiantly for what they have. They are established. Their time together and apart creates a couple that is ready for anything. I love how you never doubt their love for one another in this book. So often in a book about war and pain you wonder if their love is enough to conquer what is happening. In Hallowed Ground it was never a question. The love and connection between these two will withstand anything. It makes things harder to feel and process but the base foundation of love, friendship, and soulmates is never in doubt.

As much as I could go on and on, I will stop rambling. This book is beautiful. Point Made. It is harsh and cry worthy. Ember and Josh are by far my favorites. They have that factor that hundreds of stories are written about. For me, they are up there with famous couples like Romeo & Juliet, Jane & Edward, Cathy & Heathcliff, and Darcy & Elizabeth. They have that spark and tenacity that will hook you into the story, gripping your emotions, and making you hope that there is something to hold onto in the end. And Hallowed Ground has a story to hold onto, filled with characters to love and a book to immerse yourself in.