Hello and Happy New Year, though we are technically in the second month of 2024. January was a busy month for me, but I kept my writing up by participating in the Bloganuary challenge on my other blog. I also found time to read one of the many novels I got for Christmas.

Today’s review is of Great and Precious Things by Rebecca Yarros, an author who’s become somewhat of a household name in the book community due to her fantasy novels Fourth Wing and Iron Flame. I previously reviewed her historical romance novel The Things We Leave Unfinished back in 2021. Great and Precious Things is also fiction, including themes of family and forgiveness.

Camden “Cam” Daniels returns home to his native Colorado after serving in the military for several years. Despite his success, Cam is riddled with guilt and grief for indirectly causing the death of his younger brother Sullivan during a deployment six years earlier. Sullivan’s death caused a rift between Cam and his father, Art, and tension with his older brother Xander. However, Cam is on good terms with Sullivan’s former girlfriend Willow Bradley, friendship that soon turns to love as Cam confront some past conflicts.

I could relate to several elements of this novel – a small town that sees an increase in tourists during a certain time of year and how everyone wants to know everything about everybody. Yarros added some more unique elements, like Cam’s father experiencing early onset Alzheimer’s in his 50s. Art’s desire to add a “do no resuscitate” indication to his medical records is what brings Cam back to his hometown, although this is challenged by Xander. I liked the depiction of adult children struggling to take care of their aging parents, something that happens every single day.

There were parts of the book that I feel like were drawn out a little, like the relationship between Willow and Cam. The story includes several scenes where family and friends disapprove of them together, which was not surprising, but I feel like it played out one too many times. Other than that, I enjoyed the story about families reconnecting after years apart and the importance of leaving the past in the past.