Returning home to a sick and angry father, painful memories and an impossible love!

Returning home to a sick and angry father, painful memories and an impossible love!

Great and Precious Things by Rebecca Yarros was an extremely captivating and emotional reading experience. The story of Camden Daniels reluctantly returning home to help care for his sick father, encountering his father’s anger and accusations and reliving the memories of his past immediately grabbed my attention. The author’s talented writing style and description of Camden’s unfriendly welcome and his haunting guilt over the death of his brother pulled me in and made me feel his pain and rejection. Willow’s heartfelt loss and her complicated relationship with Camden, left me wanting to learn more about their past. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this emotionally charged and heartfelt contemporary romance story and I highly recommend it. You’ll absolutely love this story!

Six years have gone by since Camden Daniels walked away from his small town of Alba, Colorado. Although he swore to never return, a call from his father for help has him heading home. However, his homecoming is far from ideal. Twenty minutes with his father and he’s already been shot, ridiculed and judged. He knows his brother Alexander needs help taking care of their father but his return has stirred up his painful past of coming home from war without his brother Sullivan and being blamed for his death. Camden was shattered by Sullivan’s death and continually wished that he would have sent another squad into battle, always asking himself “what if”. When his father throws him out, once again holding him responsible for Sullivan’s death, he finds himself returning to his Uncle Cal’s house, a house that became a home after his mother’s death. As he reflects on past memories of his mother and her death, his close relationship with his Uncle Cal and his brother’s death, it’s easy to feel his pain, loss and regrets. Returning home also brings up his feelings for Willow, the woman he loves but can never have. Will Camden find out why his father asked him to return home? Will he and Alexander, his perfect brother and mayor, be able to take care of their father on their own? Will he be able to put the past behind him and look to the future?


Willow loved Sullivan Daniels and was devastated by his death. She’s managed to pull herself together even though everyone’s afraid to mention Sullivan’s name in her presence. Her relationship with Camden has always been complicated and she’s always felt that Camden barely tolerated her. The night of his return he protected her from being shot by his father by jumping in front of the bullet but then he told her to go. She can’t stop thinking about Camden and then her mother asks her to return some items to him at Uncle Cal’s place. Knowing there is something she’s stored in her spare bedroom that she needs to bring to Camden before he comes looking for it, she decides to drive to Uncle Cal’s house. What is it that she’s been keeping from Camden? Will Camden finally let her in? Will their families ever heal from Sullivan’s death and the painful loss of what might have been? Will they discover that some things are too precious to ignore?

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Great and Precious Things by Rebecca Yarros. I absolutely fell in love with both Camden and Willow and the very precious relationship they shared. I admired Camden’s determination to do whatever it took to help his father even if that meant going up against the town and his well loved brother the mayor. I absolutely enjoyed how Camden was eventually able to win over a town that always viewed him as “trouble” and how Willow was willing to stand up to her powerful father to help Camden achieve his goals. The unique setting and well developed characters in this story were extremely well written. The characters, their relationships, struggles and ultimate happiness had me fully invested in this story, often feeling like I was part of the story. The sensitive subjects of early onset Alzheimer’s, it's heartbreaking challenges and the right to choose how you wish to live and die was handled in an empathetic and respectful way. The final realization that Alexander wasn’t really that perfect and that Camden often went to great lengths to protect the people he loved didn’t come as a big surprise but it definitely made for a great and entertaining reading experience. I really enjoyed this fast paced story and I was sorry when it ended. Great and Precious Things was an exceptional story, one I know I’ll want to read again!

I received a copy of this book from Entangled Publishing through BookishFirst in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. Thank you!