Book Review — Beyond What Is Given by Rebecca Yarros

“I. Am. Always. Yours.”

• Buy BEYOND WHAT IS GIVEN (Kindle)
• Buy BEYOND WHAT IS GIVEN (Paperback)

So, I’ve literally been meaning to read one of this author’s books for over a year and I’m so glad I finally did because I loved it!!! I finished reading this book with my heart racing and SO full of happy feels!!! Even though the story started a little slow and on the light side, oh-my-gosh did it ever get ANGSTY!!!!! There was this whole complex “situation” going on that kept me flipping pages like crazy!!!!!! And I loved that the story kept surprising me too!! If you’re looking for a romance with a swoony, sexy Alpha hero with a heart-breaking past and quite a unique storyline, then definitely try this book!! 

I’m actually going to share the blurb with you first to give you an idea for the story…

Be careful what you wish for…

Lt. Grayson Masters is focused on graduating the Apache helicopter course, and the last thing he needs is his gorgeous new roommate Samantha Fitzgerald distracting him. While her smart mouth and free spirit are irresistibly irritating, he can’t deny their off-the-charts chemistry, no matter how hard he tries.

Having just been expelled from college, Sam has no business digging for Grayson’s secrets while she’s hiding her own, but that doesn’t stop her from trying to tear down his walls. Each barrier she busts through drops one of her own, though, and she’s not prepared for the truth: another woman laid claim to Grayson’s heart long ago.

Falling in love is something neither Grayson nor Sam can afford, and when that line is crossed and secrets are exposed, they’ll learn that sometimes it’s the answered prayers that will put you through hell.

Sam and Grayson may have gotten off to a rocky start, but it brought a smile to my face, because you could easily feel the sexual tension between them. There were definitely sparks between them, that’s for sure!

His lips quirked up at the corners. Almost a smile. “Right. I’m not going to say that I’m not insanely attracted to you. I don’t lie. Ever. Plus, I’d have to be dead not to realize the way you affect me. But I’m not in any position to act on it, and let’s be honest — you’re not, either. But I think we can stop picking each other apart and be friends.”

“Friends that are insanely attracted to each other?”

But I was so curious about this ‘other girl’ in his life. Who was she? What was their history? And more importantly, what was their current situation like? I needed to know. But then when it was revealed, my heart broke even more for Grayson. I mean, what a difficult and emotionally taxing situation to be in.Like really, what an amazingly good guy. The strength with which he handled everything just made me melt.

Don’t ask me why but tortured Alpha heroes have always stolen my heart just a little bit more than any other kind of guy. More than bad boys or rock stars or any others you can think of. But if you throw in a tortured past, my heart just goes right out to them. The contrast between the pain and vulnerability in these strong, good, protective men never fails to tug at my heart strings.

I will say though out of honesty, that I found the first third of the book to be a little slow. Not bad at all beacuse I was enjoying it from the start, but I actually did put it down at one point (maybe around 17%) for a bit because I was looking for something a bit more intense at the time. Well……. All I can say is that I’m SO glad I picked it back up because around the half way mark (or a little before), things start to get angstyyyyyyyyy!! Ahhh! This whole heart-wrenching “situation” was brimming with it!!

“She’s this wrecking ball who tears down my defenses and makes me feel, forces me to live. My need for her is about the same as my need for oxygen.”

Now here’s the thing, I’ve been debating whether or not I should mention what exactly this “situation” is in the review because I mean, it’s a wee bit of a spoiler for those of you who like to know nothing. But at the same time, before I started reading, I personally had wanted to know what it was (I just like to know these things, don’t judge) and I couldn’t find reference to it anywhere soooooo, for those of you who just like the comfort of knowing, you can click the spoiler below. Totally up to you.

I really loved the way the second half of the book was like this non-stop ride with surprising turns, intense feels, and just a lot of genuinely difficult things for everyone to work though… hard choices with a lot of people’s feelings on the line. I was totally into the story and completely emotionally invested.

“You kick-started my heart and brought me to life the minute you opened your mouth and dished my own shit back at me. You gave me something to fight for, a reason to see beyond the shit hand fate had given me, and start imagining a future. And when I think about my life, you’re all I see. You’re it. You’re my miracle.”

Oh, now just to address the whole series/standalone thing. This book is a standalone within a series of standalones. There are crossover characters between the books but the author has really set them up in such a way that you can genuinely read any book completely alone. Technically, there are two other standalones before this one and, while they are very highly ratings and I’ve heard amazing things about both of them (readers love them!!!!), I also haven’t read either one personally and I was 100% fine diving straight into this book. The couples from the two previous books do show up in this book but I was never confused by anything I read so the choice is totally yours whether you want to read all three books or just this one alone. Again, I was totally fine reading this alone, but if you want them all, I’ve listed them below.

All in all, this was a great read, especially for fans of military romance! It had everything I could want in it — swoon, hotness, intense feels, strong angst, a tortured Alpha hero, a strong heroine, and a story with twists and turns, and characters I fell in love with. It’s definitely a new favorite!

Rating: 4 — 4.5 stars! Standalone contemporary romance 

• Buy BEYOND WHAT IS GIVEN (Kindle)
• Buy BEYOND WHAT IS GIVEN (Paperback)

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*** FLIGHT & GLORY SERIES ***

Each book is a standalone about a different couple.

FULL MEASURES
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EYES TURNED SKYWARD
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BEYOND WHAT IS GIVEN
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