Posted on by Jacquie Biggar

This week’s #BookReview Theme is Redemption- Wilder by @RebeccaYarros, Home Again by Kristin Hannah #readingcommunity


Photo by Stanislav Kondratiev on Pexels.com

Redemption is one of the most powerful themes in life.

We all have things we’re ashamed of. Things we wish we could do over. This week’s book reviews explore that emotion and the power of healing we can find if we just take the first step.

Redemption:

noun. an act of redeeming or atoning for a fault or mistake, or the state of being redeemed. deliverance; rescue.

Click the covers to learn more about each book.

The posts on this site may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission should you make a purchase using a link.

Wilder (The Renegades Book 1) by Rebecca Yarros

I’m Paxton Wilder.
Motocross phenom & adrenaline junkie.
I have more tattoos than scars.
And I’ve never seen a stunt I couldn’t pull off–
Or a girl I can’t get off.
Until she walks in.

This one has all the feels!

The opportunity to join a year-long cruise around the world with the Study at Sea program is too good to pass up for Leah and her friend, Rachel. Unfortunately, Rachel ends up sick and can’t join the trip until the second semester, leaving Leah to manage on her own, something she’s determined to do- it’s time.

This type of experience would normally be out of Leah’s means, but she is accepted on as a tutor as part of the work-study program, though she doesn’t expect the lavish suite or the hotter-than-sin neighbor in the next suite, who just happens to be the student she’s supposed to help.

Daredevil Paxton needs this year of study to go smoothly; everything rides on the outcome. His father will pull the plug on his extreme sports documentary if he doesn’t get his grades up, and he needs this documentary. It’s the only way to right the past and save his team, The Renegades. He doesn’t have time for a relationship- if only his new tutor wasn’t so intriguing.

I don’t want to give away too much of the story other than to say these two are damaged souls and the growing connection between them is full of emotional pitfalls. Paxton does everything full speed ahead but is also deeply devoted to his best friends. He never expected that devotion to cost him the love of his life though.

After a devastating accident, Leah closed down, and even now, two years later, suffers debilitating flashbacks and nightmares. Paxton challenges her to overcome her fears and live life to the fullest, but then her world crashes and she doesn’t know if she can ever pick up the pieces.

There are steamy love scenes but it’s the storyline that captivated me- a must read!

Home Again by Kristin Hannah

Years earlier Angel abandoned Madelaine—and fatherhood—to go in search of fame and fortune. His departure left Madelaine devastated, but now he reappears and seeks help from the very people he betrayed—as a patient in dire need.

Cardiologist Madelaine Hillyard has worked hard to prove her success to a father who couldn’t care less, but it comes at the cost of a relationship with her daughter, and now that Lena is an angry teenager, things are coming to a head. Thank goodness Maddy has her best friend and priest, Father Francis, by her side. Then a ghost from the past comes home and turns Madelaine’s life upside down.

Bad boy and Hollywood hero Angel DeMarco is on the fast track to an early grave. Years of drug and alcohol abuse, a dissolute lifestyle, and a heart weakened by a childhood illness catch up to him and sends Angel to Seattle hospital where he is placed on the waiting list for a heart transplant. He’d sworn he would never come back to his hometown and memories he’d buried deep. Then Mad shows up, his cardiologist, no less, and just as he’s ready to release himself from surgery and dive back into a bottle, tells him he’s a father. And that’s not even the biggest shock to come.

It wasn’t about words or apologies or memories—it was about the simplicity of love. Just that. Love. A brother’s love, a father’s love, a family’s love. And love wasn’t like bodies—it didn’t go away, not ever. It stayed there inside of you, tangled in moments and memories.

Home Again- Kristin Hannah

This story had me weeping so many times. I don’t want to ruin the book for readers, so I won’t say anything else other than you need to read this!

Fall colors at the lagoon- so pretty!

34 Replies to “This week’s #BookReview Theme is Redemption- Wilder by @RebeccaYarros, Home Again by Kristin Hannah #readingcommunity”

  1. Oh my, these sound like great reads. Like you, Jacquie, redemption is a favorite theme of mine. Thank you for sharing your reviews. I’m hopping over to Amazon. ❤️

    Liked by 1 person

      1. They can be heart-wrenching as a reader but usually have a payoff of an end success. As the writer, it offers more depth. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  10. A pretty picture of the lagoon, Jacquie. It looks so peaceful. And thanks for the book reviews. I do enjoy books that are so beautifully tender that they make me weep. Home Again sounds wonderful. As does Wilder. Thanks for your recommendations.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. It’s heartbreaking, Robbie. The author tells us at the end that she got the idea from a talk show where a father revealed he received a new heart from his daughter who died in a car crash. Beautiful but sad at the same time.

      Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.