Jacqueline Brown
Originally published between July 2016 and November 2019
Diamond Gable rating: ◆◆◆◆◆

A 5-book series (with a short freebie tucked into the middle) you can’t stop reading until the ending HEA.

1. The Light, published July 2016
2. Through the Ashes, published January 2017
2a. Before the Silence, free when joining the author’s email list
3. From the Shadows, published January 2018
4. Into the Embers, published October 2018
5. Out of the Darkness, published November 2019

I thoroughly enjoyed this sweet futuristic after-a-worldwide-EMP romance.

The romance focuses on Bria and Jonah, but love and sacrifice is also shown in Blaise & Josh, and more reservedly in East & Haz. The 6-month story is told from the heroines’ viewpoints—we don’t get to read the thoughts of the guys. Books 1, 2, and 3 are told from Bria’s viewpoint, and after East stays behind to help in the resistance, Books 4 and 5 alternate between Bria’s and East’s POV.

Love. Sacrifice. Wins and losses. Deep thoughts of broken people finding health and hope. As the series goes along, there’s an increase in paragraphs and pages about the character’s Catholic Christian beliefs, but I didn’t find them pushy or caricatured. It was meaningful to the characters and I didn’t feel preached at.

Each book ends with enough “happy for now” to be tolerable, but danger continues to lurk until the end of Book 5. Therefore, before starting on Book 1, check your budget to confirm you’re able to buy Books 2, 3, 4, and 5 as fast as you need to read the next book.

Used 20% of my box of tissues in Books 4 and 5.