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 has yearned for 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 schooling at Vanderbilt. Now that Josh is a medevac … 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.
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This book was gut wrenching, yet amazing. You thought Josh and Ember were on their way to their HEA after Full Measures, but that was only the beginning of their story. My heart was literally aching throughout this whole book. There were happy moments, devastatingly sad moments, and ones I wanted to throw my kindle. I was so frustrated with Josh and Ember while they navigated this new road together. Fortunately for my shattered heart, the story came full circle and my heart was mended in the end. This book/series gives me a whole new respect for military relationships. This was such a great series. I’m a little sad it’s over…although I don’t know how much more my poor heart could take.
Hallowed Ground by Rebecca Yarros is the fourth book in her Flight & Glory series. I have to admit that I didn’t read the other books in the series so I was a little lost in the beginning but the story just opened up and let me in. I truthfully can say that you can read this as a stand alone. You’ll need to know two things:
1) Have LOTS of tissues because you’ll need them frequently, trust me on this.
2) The ending left me scratching my head wondering what happened between the wedding and the Epilogue set 5 years later. Did Josh get out of the Army and was now flying privately? Or was he still in the Army? Other than that Hallowed Ground is worth all of the 4.8 stars that I’m giving it.
Ember (December) Howard is in her final year of of Vanderbilt University and is finally living with Josh Walker at Fort Campbell. She needs to decide if the upcoming Archeology dig in Ephesus but when Josh’s unit gets deployment orders to Afghanistan will she go or stay while he’s gone? When a Med Vac goes wrong for Josh and his buddy Jagger his crew will have to decide if they can save both of them. Will Ember be able to survive the casualty visit or will he be the ultimate sacrifice?
Josh Walker loves ice hockey, flying helicopters for the Army, his buddies Will and Jagger and Ember. He’ll wonder if Ember can survive his deployment especially when a RPG takes out both helicopters and his friends sacrifice will be enough to get him through the recovery of them with the nightmares. Will he try to alienate Ember? Yep in more ways than one plus I wanted to smack him a few times for pushing the woman he loves away. When it all comes down to can he convince her that their love can survive everything?
I loved this book! One of the thigs that bummed me out about Full Measures was that it felt like the story was a little incomplete. Hallowed Ground makes up for it!
Josh and Ember have now been together for a couple of years. Josh is through flight school and Ember has graduated from college. But between military commitments, grad school, and friends, things aren’t easy. Especially when Josh ends up deployed.
Josh and Ember continue to fight for their happily ever after in Hallowed Ground. I absolutely loved this story!
Sometimes people do things for the sake of love, even if it’s something they don’t necessarily want to do, and no one knows this to be truer than December Howard. She loves Josh, and the idea of him returning to Afghanistan haunts her, that place has taken so much from her and she can’t imagine giving it the opportunity to do it again. She is hoping her love for Josh will be enough to keep him safe, but she also knows that it’s not always a guarantee and that has her scared to death. The possibility of losing him is unbearable, but she must put those feelings aside now and make the most of the time they have together now… before the war he signed up to fight calls him back to Afghanistan.
Josh Walker’s heart belongs to December Howard, together they have survived and conquered so many things, so he has know doubts that they can survive him making one more trip to war. The idea of leaving her behind is haunting, but duty calls and he must do the job that he signed up for, even if there’s a chance he may not make it back to her. He wants to make the most of the time they have together now, and make sure she knows how much he loves her, and make her believe that they can get through this, just like they have so many times before.
After reading the synopsis for this story I knew it was one that I had to read, and I am happy to report it was everything I expected and so much more! This beautifully written story captured my attention right from the start and held on tight all the way through. Josh and December’s story was packed with emotion, passion, intensity, heart and I truly enjoyed every minute I spent reading it!! Definitely a very impressive NetGalley find for me, I look forward to reading more from this author in the future!!
Highly recommend you give this one a try, it is sure to touch your heart, and provide you with few hours of some very enjoyable reading!
ARC requested through NetGalley and kindly provided by Entangled Publishing, LLC in exchange for a honest review.