From the Embers

Title: From the Embers

Author: Aly Martinez

Genre: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Adult, Fiction, Suspense

Published: 28th April 2021

Pages: 240

Start Date: 23rd October 2022

Finish Date: 23rd October 2022

Summary

In the aftermath of tragedy, it’s strange the things you remember.

The deafening boom as the house exploded.

The paralyzing fear as I searched for my wife.

The blinding smoke burning my eyes as I carried her out.

But carved into my soul for the rest of my days would be the earth-shattering realization that the woman in my arms wasn’t my wife.

Bree and I were the only survivors not that either of us were truly living after that night. As a single dad with nowhere else to go, I moved into her guest house. And somehow, through the guilt and grief, we forged an unlikely team.

It took years, but I watched the gradual return of her smile, slow and life-altering.

The two of us could sit outside for hours, talking about nothing, and it filled the massive hole in my chest with new life.

I may have carried her out of that fire, but the truth was, Bree saved me.

As we healed, the secrets and lies of the past smoldered in the ashes, threatening to ignite again.

Our love was born from the embers, and together we would go up in flames.

Review

Bree and Eason are pretty incredible. I loved them from the get go. They’re married to each other’s best friends, although their relationship was never the best. When tragedy strikes and they lose their spouses, they only have each other to go on and so they form a united front for the kids even though they’re totally devastated and grieving. They form the best of friendships and that eventually turns into love. However, since this is an Aly Martinez book, nothing is really what it seems and there are secrets that are uncovered and twists and turns I didn’t see coming, even though I always like to think I have all figured out.

This became my top book of 2022! In the first few chapters we get to know two couples, the two guys are best friends and the two girls are too. They live in the same neighbourhood and are both raising families. Rob and Bree have two children, a successful business and a very happy marriage. Eason & Jessica have a baby daughter, Jess is a stay at home mum and Eason is a talented songwriter still working towards getting his big break. This is a source of contention between Eason & Jess.

Eason is a devoted husband and father, always willing to do whatever it takes to keep his family afloat. Jess wants what her best friend Bree has and she makes sure that Eason knows his shortcomings as a provider for their family. Despite all that, Eason continues to keep trying to make things better for them all. Even if it means giving up on some of his dreams.

Everything changes one tragic night and believe me, when it happened I was like WT actual F and I went back to re-read it 3 times to be sure I hadn’t misread anything. Eason, Rob, Jessica and Bree’s lives go up in flames and there are only two survivors left; Eason and Bree. The guilt of not being able to save everyone messes with Eason, all the what ifs that run through your mind in the aftermath of a tragedy weigh heavily on him.

However, life has to go on, Eason and Bree are now single parents, grieving the loss of their partners and trying to put one foot in front of the other. When Bree invites Eason and Luna to live with her it was the last thing he expected. They do not have a good track record as being friends but logically it makes sense, after all they understand what each other is going through. Leaning on each other while they grieve will hopefully give their children a stable family home as they adjust to life without their loved ones.

Bree is a bit of a spitfire who likes things to be done a certain way, she has rules and expectations. Eason loves to flout the rules and get under her skin, he brings the fun into the house, pushing as many boundaries as he can get away with. And over the next year and oh so slowly they begin to develop feelings for each other. It’s a slow burn that takes seed, initially out of grief and friendship but developing into so much more.

Being with Eason has changed Bree, she sees him in a whole new light, the way he cares for his daughter and her children, how he freely gives love and support to them all. The version she had in her own mind; mainly tainted by Jessica; was nothing like the reality of him. She sees now how he had always put others first and had not ever really had the support he deserved.

I loved everything and totally grieved with both Eason and Bree, for their loss and the devastating truths that were uncovered. I also loved that their love developed over time and that they didn’t just jumped each other the first chance they got. I loved Eason so much, that man was just all sorts of special. And Bree, she was amazing. Such great characters and character development. And the kids! They were precious!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️