The Reality of Everything by Rebecca Yarros
Series: Flight & Glory #5
Publisher: Entangled Publishing, Nook E edition, 363 pages
The man Morgan Bartley loves gave his life in service to his country and she has struggled to come to terms with the loss. In an effort to find something else to focus on, she decides to purchase a fixer upper in need of extensive TLC in the Outer Banks. What she doesn’t expect is for her new neighbor to up-end everything she has worked to bury. Meanwhile Jackson Montgomery lives for two things, his daughter and flying rescue missions for the Coast Guard. Getting involved with his complicated new neighbor was never in the plans.
This is a contemporary romance that reads really quickly and was quite enjoyable. I could have done without some of the family drama on Jackson’s side, but other than that I flew through this book and don’t really have many complaints. The main characters were fun, and I can actually really identify with Morgan’s choice to just uproot and lose herself in a new place. It was just so easy to identify with a lot of the choices she was making even if the reasons and circumstances are different.
Where this book surprised me was in its discussion of grief. Having read the synopsis before going into this I knew that Morgan had lost her partner, but I was not expecting a romance novel to delve so deeply into the grieving process. The topic was explored through a lens that we don’t often see outside of the literary fiction umbrella and I think that exploration did a lot for the story and the characters. Importantly, it’s also a reminder that everyone grieves differently and is entitled to their own process, no matter what.
All in all, a quick enjoyable read. I am quite likely to check out more by this author. 4/5 stars.
Flight & Glory Series
1. Full Measures
2. Eyes Turned Skyward
3. Beyond What is Given
4. Hallowed Ground
5. The Reality of Everything
Among Stories 