REVIEW: Variation by Rebecca Yarros

In Variation by Rebecca Yarros, Eleven years ago, Allie Rousseau was in her mid-teens, forever striving to be the perfect ballerina to make her demanding mother–a ballet legend in her own right–if not happy, then at least somewhat satisfied. But it never worked. Allie’s only moments of joy seemed to come from her stolen time with her best friend Hudson Ellis. A guy who had his own ambitions to become a rescue swimmer in the Coast Guard. Their relationship, which had been turning into something that felt more like romance than friendship, was torn apart after tragedy struck Allie’s family, forever altering their lives. So, when Hudson appears in her life once again, this time asking for her help with his own family dilemma, Allie’s first instinct is to push him away. A decade has changed many things but not her anger over how it ended between them. But as the truth about that fateful day comes out and she spends more time in Hudson’s orbit, Allie might be convinced to give him another chance.

‘Inside, I was imperfect, and unkempt, and chaotic, just like him. And he alone had the power to quiet the chaos.’

Hudson knows he screwed up eleven years ago. But there were severely extenuating circumstances that Allie doesn’t know about. Leaving for basics and going through the rigorous training to become a rescue swimmer was all that kept him going most days. And now that Hudson is stationed back in Haven Cove, he’s grateful to be near his family, being there for them the way they’ve always been there for him. It’s when his adorable and devious ten-year-old niece Juniper asks for his help that Hudson questions his move home. It brings him way too close to the Rousseau house where evidently his first love, Allie, is rehabbing after an injury on the stage nearly cost her the career in ballet she’s worked so hard to attain. He knows that if their worlds collide again, the way it will if he helps Juniper, Allie could turn him away in a heartbeat. But if there’s any chance that he can not only help his niece but also get to spend time with Allie, any pain–and groveling–on his part will be worth it.

“I just figured out why you build walls. They’re more like barricades. Ironic that I’m in the military… But I suspect you’re the one fighting wars.”

VARIATION was another epic, angsty, sweet, sexy, and sweepingly romantic novel by one of my auto-buy authors, Rebecca Yarros, who took two kindhearted people with a tragic past and gave them the reunion–and the future–they so desperately deserved.

‘She existed, and I was hers.’

CW: View Spoiler »Dementia, sibling death (car accident), infertility, adoption, verbal abuse. « Hide Spoiler

I’m completely on board for anything Rebecca Yarros writes, but since contemporary romance is where I first read her work, I think that will always be my comfort zone with her. (Although I do love her fantasy novels!) And boy wasn’t VARIATION filled to the brim with emotion. ALL the emotion–even the messy, raw feelings that puts the characters as well as readers through their paces. I do rather enjoy that Yarros makes sure her couples have a hard-won HEA not only because it makes it more realistic, but also because it enhances the reading experience to follow the ups and downs until they get that touching ending where everything *finally* falls into place. So satisfying.

Hudson and Allie…wow, did they have some history behind them. Second chance is one of my favorite tropes and Yarros did a fantastic job with their complicated, tragic background as well as the saga surrounding both of their families. I appreciated that there were some pivotal scenes from Allie and Hudson’s past that were detailed out. There were still a lot of surprises as we learned more about how things truly happened eleven years prior during the event that tore them apart. But seeing how much Hudson and Allie had grown, changed, and yet how much they still loved each other was honestly as heartbreaking as it was heartening.

I’ll admit that I’m not a fan of lies of omission, in real life or in fiction. So, where there were a few over the years in Allie and Hudson’s story, that was my only teensy point of contention. Otherwise, Yarros wrote a character-driven romance where I fell every bit as head over heels for our military hero–a Coast Guard rescue swimmer!–and ballerina at the height of her career as they did for each other. The tenderness between Hudson and Allie and the hope that they would eventually work everything out is what drew me through to the terrific epilogue that left me smiling.

QOTD: Are you a fan of ballet or have you ever studied it yourself?

Book Info:

Publication: Published: November 19th, 2024 | Montlake |

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Fourth Wing comes a new contemporary romance about the summer a celebrated dancer returns home and unearths years of family secrets with the Coast Guard rescue swimmer she never forgot.

Elite ballerina Allie Rousseau is no stranger to pressure. With her mother’s eyes always watching, perfection was expected, no matter the cost. But when an injury jeopardizes all she’s sacrificed for, Allie returns to her summer home to heal and recover. But the memories she’s tried to forget rush in and threaten to take her under.

As a Coast Guard rescue swimmer, Hudson Ellis knows that hesitation can mean the difference between life and death. He’s always prided himself on being in the right place at the right time, especially when it came to Allie Rousseau…until the night he left for basic. After the biggest regret of his life, the secrets he keeps mean he can never be with the one woman he wants more than his next breath.

When Hudson’s niece shows up on Allie’s doorstep, desperate to find her birth mother, Allie finds herself in an unimaginable position. Allie and Hudson’s past and present might be endlessly complicated. The thread that tied them to each other all those years ago may have unraveled, but the truth could pull them back together, or drive them apart forever.