Full Measures: Rebecca Yarros (Flight & Glory) Paperback – 11 Jun. 2024

One of the first things about this book that grabbed my attention when I began reading were the names for the children, December 'Ember', April, and August 'Gus'. I thought this was quirky, cute, and definitly makes the characters memorable.Within the first few pages it feels like your heart has been torn from your body, stamped all over, and then put back again. It is so heartbreakingly sad and I sobbed my heart out with big ugly crying. While I was wiping away the tears I loved getting to see how Ember is with Gus, how caring and thoughtful she is to her younger brother, and those who have younger siblings can probably agree with me that they can be very annoying at times, and after they receive the devastating news, how strong she is to keep her family going while trying not to break down herself.Riley is a complete and utter hypocritical ass, from the moment he is mentioned, added with his lack of support for Ember, I knew I wasn't going to be impressed with him. Kayla, Ember's so called friend, what a friend you don't need or want around, and if she is a friend I would love to see what enemies do to Ember. Kayla is just as bad as Riley and I was happy to see Ember close the door on their friendship no matter how much it hurt her to do it.Josh *sigh* I think we all need a Josh in our lives. His secret wasn't what I was expecting, and I do feel sorry for how Ember discovers it, but in all honesty although I can see her side of the story it could have been a lot worse than it was. Yes he made a HUGE mistake in keeping this from her, but he did it to protect her, and I think this is his only failing. He is sweet, romantic, polite, and generally an all round nice HOT character.Sam is a great antidote for Ember, and she helps Ember see some facts that she really needed to see. She is there as a friend when Ember needed one, a shoulder to cry on, a person to have fun with on girly nights, and a supportive person that doesn't let Ember wallow too much.I loved every page of Full Measures and read it in one sitting, I even gave up a caffeine fix so I could concentrate entirely on the book, considering I could quite happily live with a caffeine drip then you know how addicted I am to it, and how much I must have loved Full Measures to give up on my caffeine.The emotions are real and hard hitting and make Full Measures that much more powerful. They draw you in fast and hard into the pages and you don't want to stop reading, no matter how much your heart feels like its been stomped all over, or how hard it is to read through the tears pouring like Niagara Falls from your eyes, or how much you want to throw the book away either from anger or from the sexual tension.

This is a book that is soaked in heartbreak. From the first chapter when (Dec)Ember starts to go through the worst summer of her life. The light in the darkness? The long time crush and boy next door Josh. Their relationship is such a slow burn despite them both having feelings for each other for a long time and there's plenty of angst and push and pull. This certainly doesn't feel like a debut and I'm excited for the rest of this series for sure.

Emotional from start to finish.This book was amazing and had me sobbing practically every chapter.It was a brilliant insight into what a family of someone in the army may experience.Josh and Ember were perfect for each other but other things kept pushing them apart.I loved every moment of this book and haven’t been so emotional while reading in a long time.Rebecca creates the best characters and her books are so easy to read.I would definitely recommend that you read this, but be prepared for an emotional rollercoaster.

Full Measures provides an emotional insight into the lives of military families. How something as simple as a knock on the door can tear the foundation of a family apart. The way in which families of active servicemen revolve around the fear of loss. The raw emotion of loss, anguish and grief as opposed to the pomp and circumstance of military burials is poignantly portrayed.December/Ember is a wonderful selfless character that develops exponentially throughout the story. She is a little bit of a control freak, having a life plan that she has diligently followed for the past few years even when it isn’t what she really wants. She goes along with things in order to please other people rather than putting her own needs first. She is the backbone of her family.I adored Josh and he always said the sweetest things. However, I do have an issue with something that happened or I think happened and it made me very annoyed with him for it (vague much, lol). Their shared memories of high school add another element to the romance within the story. The plot twist concerning Josh was pretty obvious but executed in such a way as not to be too predictable. I would really have liked to see some of the scenes from his perspective in order to fully understand some of his actions.The narrative is chock full of heart wrenching emotion; the way in which people deal with grief and the repercussions for the other members of the family stood out within the plot.I would have liked to see a longer time-frame for the epilogue but it did round the story off nicely.

Loved this book, I would highly recommend. Could not put it down from start to finish. My new favourite author.

Fell in love with Josh the minute he entered the story! Loved this story. Can't wait for Jagger's story next.I think Rebecca handles the material in the book in such a way that the reader can feel everything the characters do and she is very sensitive to the loss and grief they are experiencing.