Review- Flame by Tara Heavey

Warning: This review may contain spoilers. Please read the following text at your expense and risk.

Synopsis:

Single mother Rachel and young son Ember are on the run from something. Or is it someone? Something or someone dark and threatening. They hope that they are running towards a better life, a life of hope and light. But will they be able to remain unseen and fully escape their past? To create the future that they both desperately long for and deserve, in the heart of the beautiful and verdant Irish countryside. Perhaps finding healing in the magical landscape itself. Maybe. Just maybe. With the help and romantic attentions of Ben the solitary woodsman and the surprising friendship of Madame Cyn, the bosomy and outspoken cafe-owner. And a friend that Rachel could never have imagined. A ghostly presence from the distant past, this time a positive force. Add to the mix a mystical forest and the sudden appearance of an orphaned fox cub ... Through it all. Can the flame of hope and love be kept alive? 

I’ve never felt so guilty for taking so long to read a book! I swear by the old gods and the new ones (GoT that reference? Eheh).

What can I say about this book? A strong character who grows throughout the book, who teaches us lessons, who inspired me the most. A strong story with heart-breaking moments.

How would it be if you were alone with your child, running for your life, followed by a dark past that still threatens you?

That, somehow, is Rachel’s reality.

Tara Heavey’s writing is beautiful. What stroke me the most about this book was how she handled the issue of domestic violence. She captured the fear of Rachel in such a way that I could fear for her as well.

Rachel and Ember, the characters that I highlight from the book, are fighting their battles. They are as strong as a mother and a child can be and their bond is so tight and intense that you can see that their strength comes from it. There is evolution since the beginning ‘till the end, and I appreciated it the most!

Also, Rachel seemed very real to me. She has flaws, virtues and has a background story that justifies her behavior. She becomes fierce when it’s about to protect her son, Ember, and she has moments of weakness, like everyone. Rachel’s capacity for forgiveness after all she’s been through is also remarkable.

During my reading of the book, with the switch of points of view between Dermont and Rachel, at some point, I began to feel anxious about their reencounter. Would Rachel be able to save herself and her son once again, or would Dermont’s eagerness for revenge win? Both seemed quite possible to me.

What It happened too fast, in my opinion, was the relationship between Rachel and Ben. It seemed a little bit forced at times.

Rating: 4.5/5