In the wake of a broken engagement, Emily Freeman is left to sew together the pieces of her life. A single phone call changes her future from bleak acceptance to overwhelming opportunity. Her family can’t help her find her artistic spirit — something she needs now more than ever. Desperate for rejuvenation, Em goes on a journey to find herself. Only she finds so much more…Jacob Madison has … more…
Jacob Madison has never regretted walking away from pursuing music professionally since the moment his daughter was put in his arms. Jake needs time to get back on an even beat with her now that she’s a teenager. But soon he finds himself face-to-face with a woman who stirs fires deep inside despite her icy demeanor.
Nothing is what it seems…
For Em to achieve her wildest dreams, she’ll have to conquer her two biggest fears — love and death. And she’ll have to do both while protecting those she loves from the hardest thing imaginable.
Herself.
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This is Emily & Jacob’s story. Like the previous books, it doesn’t go into the past a lot, but there’s a lot of drama in the 2nd half of the book, some of which feels a bit exaggerated. The ending seems a bit stretched out, a bit long because of this. However, it’s still nice to read more about the Freeman siblings.
Em and Jacob are two people who have been through a lot and when they meet it starts off rocky but continues to spark. Can they get past the pain of the past and be together. Great characters and storyline. Amazing series. Highly recommend
There are many things you can count on in a Tracey Jerald book; having your heart broken into a million pieces is one of them but witnessing a love so strong, will put it back together again.
Each of the Freeman siblings have had a heartbreaking beginning and Emily Freeman’s story is no different. Time and time again, Emily’s heart is put through the wringer, she tried to protect herself and those around her as much as she could, but once Jacob Madison and his daughter comes into her life, her life is never the same again.
I was immediately consumed with Emily’s story, the things she witnessed and how it affected her life was devastating, but watching her realize her strength and seeing her slowly starting to believe was beautiful. Even though her fear of loss and death is prominent throughout their journey, Jacob’s patience and love for her is strong, and the relationship that is developed between Jacob’s daughter, Jenna and Emily is genuine. But another blow shatters her new found life, but not by just one incident but two. One was sadly inevitable (gutted me so much!), but no less heartbreaking, but the other when emotions were running high and horrible words were spoken, that was gut-wrenching. That particular scene was excruciating and I was not sure if it was ever going to be forgivable, but with Tracey Jerald’s brilliance, love endures.
I love this family so much and I have been so fortunate to have the opportunity to be provided with an early copy. I can not wait until the book is released and other readers can read this beautiful story!! Like all the other books about the Freeman siblings, I highly recommend it!
Where do I start?! Each book in this series just keeps getting better and better! I was hooked right after Free to Dream and have anxiously awaited each story of the Freeman’s ever since! Every time I think I found a new favorite story the next one grips me a little more than the last. Although Colby is still my main man, I was captured by Em and Jake! Em’s struggle with love and heartbreak is near and dear to my heart and also her connection with Mugsy. Music is such an important part of my life that I felt a deep connection to Jake and his part of the story. It has been at least a few months since I have read a book that got actual tears to flow and this one did it for sure! In the most heart wrenching and also most beautiful of ways! If you have not started this series, it is a must read for sure! The legend of the Amaryllis is such a unique and creative way to create these amazing stories and portray the wonderful characters 🙂
Although this is the first Tracey Jerald story I have read, it will definitely not be my last.
Emily And Jake both carry the scars of their pasts. In order for them to act on the attraction for one another, they need to face some truths. Sometimes you need to hit rock bottom in order to reshape your life.
This story was heartbreaking beautiful. The emotions from highs to lows but underlying with love had me captivated and invested in finding out how the story ends.
Everyone is deserving of love.
Wow what a ride! This book is defiantly a roller coaster ride of emotions. Emily has some demons that interfere with her life considerably and although Jake is battling demons of his own, he is determined to help Emily past hers. This is a must read book but have tissues handy and be ready to have your emotions all over the place.
5 Emotional Rollercoaster Stars!!
WOW!! JUST WOW!!! This book and this series has consumed my life for the last few weeks and I can honestly say I’m a different person after reading these books. This book is Emily’s book and if you’ve read the previous books, which I HIGHLY recommend, you know this girl is part of the glue that holds this broken family together in ways I don’t think she understands.
The thing is, Emily is somewhat broken too and while I’d like to say this book is her chance to get her HEA, it’s not an easy path to get there. There’s so many secrets and pain that this beautiful woman has to endure some of it we see in flashbacks and some is within in this book. I was almost broken by what takes place!!
Jacob is a man that has a past that has changed how he looks at life and what actions he takes and when he meets Emily well, he begins to feel things he hasn’t in a while…but it’s not smooth sail for these two. There were moments that I just couldn’t understand why Ms. Jerald would put them in certain situations. But, this amazing author sees the bigger picture of where Em and Jacob would end up…and thankfully I hung in there to the very end!!
I’m not going to say much more, because I just can’t. I’m still somewhat torn apart by this book and series and I keep thinking about it and all the Freeman’s. This family that is so complicated, complex, and endured so much, has buried itself in my heart and isn’t letting go anytime soon and this is completely due to the amazingness of Ms. Jerald and her ability to weave a story that draws in the reader, takes us on a wild, sometimes painful ride and when it’s all said and done we too want to be part of this family that stands up for and protects those that they love!
My introduction to the works of Tracey Jerald and she has gutted me. I can not believe how much this story touched my heart strings. Emily has seen so much heart break in her young life that she has decided that she is destined to be cursed in matters of love. When she finds her fiance with another woman, she decides it is time to escape her little corner of the world and disappear for awhile to regroup. She accepts the offer of her friend Dani to use the apartment adjacent to her summer home. When she runs into Dani’s cousin, Jacob, sparks fly but not the good kind. The two of them were at such odds that you with each other, you could feel the animosity. It is through the adoring eyes of Jacob’s daughter Jenna that these two begin to soften towards each other. They have to battle so many past demons and relationship failures that happily ever after does not seem likely for either one of these misunderstood characters. I must go back to read about the other members of the family. Their stories seem as equally haunting.
My introduction to the works of Tracey Jerald and she has gutted me. I can not believe how much this story touched my heart strings. Emily has seen so much heart break in her young life that she has decided that she is destined to be cursed in matters of love. When she finds her fiance with another woman, she decides it is time to escape her little corner of the world and disappear for awhile to regroup. She accepts the offer of her friend Dani to use the apartment adjacent to her summer home. When she runs into Dani’s cousin, Jacob, sparks fly but not the good kind. The two of them were at such odds that you with each other, you could feel the animosity. It is through the adoring eyes of Jacob’s daughter Jenna that these two begin to soften towards each other. They have to battle so many past demons and relationship failures that happily ever after does not seem likely for either one of these misunderstood characters. I must go back to read about the other members of the family. Their stories seem as equally haunting.
With each new book Tracey Jerald writes, she breaks my heart and puts it back together. Free to Believe was no different. Jake and Emily’s story had me in a testy mess the last quarter of the book. My heart was so broken over how Emily felt about herself. And damn that Jake for making it worse!!!
I was happy to see the groveling and growth on Jakes part. By the end of this book my heart was smiling.
If you haven’t read about The Freeman siblings yet, what are you waiting on??? I highly recommend this series!! I can’t wait to read Holly’s story.
Omgggg she did it again! I loved this book. IlovedEmily. I loved Jake. God i loved his musical ways. I loved Jenna. You know who i loved the most, the whole Freeman family! I missed them and loved every bit i saw of them! Ok lets talk about how much i loved Mugsy. That dog has a place in my heart now. God i just want to hug him and give him cuddles. So much emotions but so worth it. I highly recommend this series to read! Its such a great series.
This series has been amazing! I hope everyone has the chance to read all the previous books. This book could be read as a stand-alone but I think everyone would enjoy the journey even more by reading them all. Emily Freeman believed love was not in the cards for her when it came to relationships; so she settled. She felt obligated to be engaged to Dr. Bryan Moser because he checked all the boxes in as a boyfriend except love and she okay with that. In the past, anyone close to her suffered because she loved them. Once again, even though she was not in love with Bryan, she “stumbled upon” some distributing facts about him and decided to break the engagement. Her heart is weary, thinking that she was just not cut out to have type of relationship with any man until she met the sexy single dad Jake Madison. Jake would do anything for his daughter. She’s sixteen and since his divorce, she’s had a hard time to adjust without her mom in her life. Jake’s first meeting with Emily was harsh because of his preconceived perceptions of her. After getting to know her and some of things they have both been through, their bonds grows. Their sexual attraction for each other intensifies and they try to figure out how to cope with this intense need for each other. I can not tell you how much I enjoyed this book and I hope everyone has the chance to read this amazing story of healing a broken heart !
I always know one thing going into Tracey’s books and it’s that she is going to tear my heart out and stomp on it, then inevitability piece it back together again. Well she sure did that and more. Not only were the pieces put firmly back together but you couldn’t find any of the cracks that were once there. This story sure had all the feels. I felt like I was living this story. She weaves such a story line, that a lot of people can relate in some way to the issues they are dealing with throughout this series. I for one, can relate in some way to a few issues we have seen. Jake and Emily’s story is heartbreakingly breathtaking. Emily, so broken yet so strong at the same time even if she doesn’t believe it. She shows her true self through her designs. And Jake, so sweet and caring and so aware of Emily’s inner turmoil. He tries to slowly pull her in without scaring her off. He’s an absolutely amazing dad and musician. Then their is Jenna, Jake’s daughter who Emily builds this amazing relationship with, and has her own issues going on. Can they make it together after their hearts and souls are tested once again when the heartbreaking incidents happens? Can they believe in their love?
I finished this book a week ago today and honestly, I’m still not recovered. I was on a streak of 4 star books and every book since I finished this one has been 2 to 3 stars. Nothing is gripping me and I’m not invested in the characters. I think I’m a victim of book hangover and this one won’t let go.
While all the Freeman books can be read as standalones, I do not recommend doing so. To fully grasp each story and be present, I think it’s important to start at the beginning. Free to Believe picks up about a year after Free To Breathe ends and I was not prepared for events that transpired in that year. HOWEVER, once I got over my anger at the author (which I communicated to her of course), I see why Emily had to take the journey she took.
I don’t want to give any spoilers but I will say this. Be prepared. I went on an extreme emotional roller coaster with this book. I was mad at the beginning, then amused but cautious, then probably mad again, then scared and by the end sobbing with both sad and happy tears. Literally, sitting on my couch, sobbing at certain scenes. It’s a good thing my husband wasn’t around because he would have been so confused and probably made fun of me.
I loved this book. I can’t stop thinking about and if it wouldn’t gut me again, I’d read it again right now. Absolutely the best in the series so far. Please please please do yourself a favor and pick this series up.
And side note, there’s a minor character in the book who has the same name as me with the same spelling. I maybe squeed out loud and messaged the author immediately.
Warning: if you don’t like smut, these aren’t the books for you. Some graphic content in each book dealing with abuse of all kinds so be warned and take care of yourself while reading.
My thanks to Tracey for always being amazing and allowing me the privilege of reading her books before they hit the shelves. I am so glad to have you in my life.
I received this book for free but all opinions are my own.
I loved Free to Believe. This was an angst filled, emotional and romantic book full of twists and turns. This was one of my favorite books of 2019.
A highly engaging story about family, healing and love
Book 5 in the Amaryllis series (including the holiday novella), while this can be read as standalone, due to the complex family history and large number of characters carrying over from book to book, for maximum enjoyment I recommend reading the series in order.
I’ve been a fan of the series since book 1 and they just keep getting better. There’s so much emotion and I found Emily’s story particularly touching; as typical for this series, I was switching from laughter to tears and back again often during the course of the story.
One of the reasons this series has quickly become a favorite is not just the great characters (which the series has in abundance), or the expert way the author makes me both laugh and cry (sometimes at the same time), but at the sense of family and love I get from the Freeman siblings, this group of people who came together to form their own family when life tried to kick them in the teeth. I love the secondary characters here as much as the primaries, even the ones I love to hate (I’m looking at you, Bryan!); they just add so much to the story. In fact, there’s more than one non-Freeman secondary character I’d love to get more background on; in particular, one very minor character (Dr. Corey Whitacre) was so well sketched I found myself immediately hoping we’ll get a short story or novella for her some day—pretty please?
While in many ways, this is my favorite story in the series so far, there was a rather pivotal section that felt jarring to me and made me hate Jake for a bit. I’m sure that was the author’s intent and she certainly gets points for evoking the emotion, but I REALLY don’t like hating main characters—wanting to wap them across the back of their head to knock some sense into them I’m perfectly okay with, *grins*—but Jake’s reaction was so extreme and felt so entirely out of the blue for me, I even went back to see if I accidentally skipped a couple of pages. Maybe a little more setup in Jake’s headspace first would have made a difference, but I had trouble forgiving him completely. I loved Emily so much though, I was willing to forgive Jake for her sake, if that makes any sense. While it wasn’t enough to make me not love the story, it did bug me, and yeah, I guess you could say I was deeply engaged with the characters, lol.
Another wonderful, highly engaging story about family, healing and love. 5+ stars
B2B Kelly
I have taken so much time to digest this book because it hit so many emotions, from love to disgust/hatred. The prologue set the whole feel of the book. The way Emily feels about herself truly gutted me because no one and I mean no one should ever think they deserve what she thought.
Emily is a very independent, strong, and very talented young woman. She has the love of her family however, can she have the love of anyone else or will she lose everything? Emily has not had it easy like all of the other Freeman family except she now has the world at her fingertips. Will this be a dream come true or will she be crushed under the pressure. While figuring this out Emily meets someone that has her second guessing what she thought about herself. Will this second guessing help her or will it crush her dreams?
Jacob Madison is an alpha male that has the tendency to over due his bossy side. He is a single father that has made all of his decisions with Jenna in mind. He doesn’t want a distraction in the form of an “Ice Queen”. However, once he gets to know Emily for who she really is he sees the walls that she has constructed around herself. Will he be able to break these down without completely destroying Emily and himself? Jacob has many secrets (not in the bad kind) that have put him in a great position to give Jenna what she needs.
The chemistry between these two is off the charts and had me rutting for them from the very beginning. Tracey was able to capture these characters in a way that made me fall in love with them from the very start even though at times I really wanted to reach into the book and beat the crap out of them for things they said or did.
I really can’t wait to read more about these characters and the rest of the Freeman family.