ARC Review of A Handful of Fire by Alexis Alvarez

This is one of those books that will grab you and won’t let go, even after you read it. It will stay with you, its that good. The emotions in this book are deep, there is a lot of angst but it isn’t too much, just enough to move with the story-- It was such a serious book with serious issues , that you keep reading because the story draws you in, the characters have you so invested. I loved every moment and hated when the book ended.
Shai is one, if not , the best children therapist around and she was hired by Gabriel to his bitter and angry 10 year old son Michael whose cancer is in remission. Michael is one super smart kid, he did calculus and had the vocabulary of a college student. Gabriel really , in the beginning had no patience with his son’s outbursts or language with his father and there was a lot of friction between them until Shai comes into their lives. Michael connects with her and she is able to instantly get to him whereas Gabriel isn’t at this point. She is trying to help them both reconnect and help Michael with whatever is causing him pain and issues which also might help Gabriel with why he has no patience with his own son.
This story shows not only the pain of the son but the pain of the father and the anger and angst that comes out of that. At times I DIDN’T LIKE Gabriel-he acted like a spoiled child whereas Michael acted more grown up. Shai helped both of them with their issues but Shai had things in her past that she never let interfere with her work. Michael and Shai developed such a beautiful bond that others saw and immediately jumped to her crossing boundaries and tried to get her off Michael’s case, which hurt Shai. She tried to pull back but she was so intertwined with both father and son, she couldn’t. She was too attached and it was hard to pull away until a misunderstanding caused a rift between Gabriel and Shai and there was a time that they didn’t talk. I was soooooo angry at Gabriel. Does he repair that rift or will he pull up his big boy pants and repair that most real relationship he has had since his wife’s death? 
This is one beautiful and complex romance story that has several twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. If you love romance stories like this, you will adore this book, like I did.

My rating: 4.8 stars ****
"I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***