The Song of David (The Law of Moses)

Amy Harmon delivers another unique, thought-provoking, powerful and beautifully written love story. In The Song of David, we get the story of Tag who was first introduced to us in The Law of Moses. He was such an important supporting character there that I was delighted to find out he’d be getting his own book. David ‘Tag’ Taggert is an MMA fighter, but while he has muscles and charisma (not to mention those damn dimples), he can talk or fight his way out of everything, and he also has such a big heart you can’t help but fall in love with him, again. When he moves on with his own life after Moses’ and Georgia’s story in The Law of Moses, he meets this girl that fascinates him. She’s a simple woman, but at the same time not simple at all. Amelie Anderson is beautiful. She knows what she wants, and is not afraid to ask for it. She’s not intimidated by who or what Tag is. While both their worlds could not be any more different, they do understand each other and embark on a journey through life with ups and downs. I loved these characters. I loved their conversations, their touches, those moments where Tag is Tag and other where it’s just David and Amelie. The way they discover each other, grow towards each other and the way they slowly fall in love. I loved Henry and the way he reacts to sudden situations. I loved Georgia and Moses and how their characters still grow and their story continues in this book. I loved the whole team. This is not just another ordinary love story. This is an Amy Harmon book, it’s “A Different Book”. There’s nothing ordinary about Amy Harmon books. Amy Harmon makes you think, she’ll make you reflect on your own life. What would you do in certain situations or when you are faced with things you never thought would happen to you? How would you handle it? Do you accept the help when it’s offered, or do you think you can do it all by yourself? Making decisions isn’t always easy, it changes things in your life one way or another. And of those around you. Sometimes you might feel alone, even if there’s a whole team behind you to support you and fight with you. While reading this story, you’ll go through a myriad of emotions. Sometimes you’ll be angry, other moments will make you laugh, and other times you’ll just want to hug the book and cry, whether it be from happiness or sadness. But in the end, I know one thing; this isn’t a story you read, it’s a story you’ll experience. From the first page until the very end. And that’s one of the things I love the most about Amy Harmon books, you never know what to expect. Her books aren’t those where you want to skip passages and move on to the dialogue. The way she writes, forces you to read every single word, not only because of the lyrical way it’s written, but also so you can savor each word. It’s pure beauty.

I feel like this is a book that I should have adored but instead I just really liked it. Now that may seem a weird thing to say since really, what's the difference but honestly, there is. This is not to say that I didn't really really enjoy this book because I absolutely did. It's just that, for me, by the end I felt like something was missing even though I can't put my finger on what exactly it was missing. Things I loved: *A totally unique way of structuring a story. Having Tag tell his story via tape but having Moses be the narrator in the present time. *Because the story was told so uniquely, we get a serious and very open look into the lives of Millie and Tag and even Millie's brother Henry. *Lots of Moses. *Henry. His character was brilliantly written. He added so much depth to the story. I was blown away by his portrayal and his characterization. *The beautiful love story that slowly developed between Tag and Millie. Things that made this not a perfect 5 stars: *The slow and quiet build to the story. Again it wasn't bad at all, it's just since the story was set up in such a unique fashion, I felt like I had a wall between me and the main characters at times. I felt a more direct connection to Moses than I did to Tag and Millie sometimes. *There was a feeling of dread throughout most (honestly all) of the story in which it made my reading experience feel like I was walking on eggshells a lot of times so that I didn't tip the balance (Obviously I couldn't actually influence the story but it felt like I could, which on second thought is actually a really good thing because I was so invested in the story, I guess) *At the conclusion of the story I felt a little at a loss. I don't want to give away any spoilers so hopefully this isn't that, but I think for me while I'm reading, especially something has emotional as this, I need something finite and concrete. I'm not sure if I got that even if the ending was hopeful in a way. It's taken me a while to understand my feelings about this book and obviously from my rambling, I don't think I've still come to terms ;) I don't want to sway anyone from reading this book. That is not at all my intention. In fact it's opposite. This book is really a literary masterpiece. It's just a book that I personally haven't quite understood my reactions to. Will I read it again? For sure. Do I adore Amy Harmon? Absolutely. Is this a case of it's not you it's me? Probably.

Amy Harmon told us a story in The Law of Moses about embracing our differences and our labels. She gave us Moses and Georgia and through them, demonstrated the importance of celebrating our labels rather than rejecting them as if it's a bad thing to be different. She did that again in The Song of David. Amy Harmon, through Tag and Millie, just took another label, a stigma, a so-called limitation, and kicked it in the teeth. As humans, we're afraid of things that we don't understand. We put each other in boxes based on how we look or where we come from or what we think we're capable of. Amy Harmon writes stories that make us embrace the boxes, celebrate them, be proud of them and then break out of them. David "Tag" Taggert was the suicidal alcoholic Texan that Moses Wright found himself inexplicably bound to in The Law of Moses. In a mental facility, a brotherhood was forged, an understanding. Moses had no one who believed in him, Tag had no one who was strong enough to help him fight his demons. The two agreed to stick together, to hold on to each other when there was no one else. The Song of David opens with Moses discovering his friend is gone. Tag has disappeared without a trace and Moses is determined to hold up his end of their bargain and bring him back. The Song of David moved me. This story is told in a way I've never seen before. The entire book is written through the alternating perspectives of Tag through his cassette tape recordings, and Moses as he listens to them. It's such an unexpected, refreshingly fantastic way to read a story and it was utterly brilliant. I loved being inside Tag's head, hearing and seeing his thoughts as he relays them to Millie through his recorded memories. He's a magnetic character, Tag, one I didn't entirely appreciate in The Law of Moses. But getting to know him here in The Song of David, I felt wholly captivated by him. His strength, his kindness, his honesty, the way he looks at the world, the way he longs to save and protect the people he loves. But more so, I love the way he is loved. The way Millie describes their interactions, the way he is with Henry and his Tag Team, seeing him through the eyes of Moses Wright, my heart bursts with happiness and sadness for David Taggert. The way Amelie Anderson sees David Taggert, a way the rest of the world can't, and the way Tag sees her when everyone else won't, is devastatingly beautiful. Hearing Tag's recordings, the trail of breadcrumbs he left down memory lane for her. All the ways these two characters grew to know and see and love each other in the only ways they can. It's magical. It made my heart dance to a song I can't quite adequately describe in words. Just open this book and listen to the song. From very early on in this book, I felt this gnawing emotion that I couldn't place. I'm not sure if it was sadness or joy, to be completely honest. I just felt overwhelmed, like I was fighting the urge to cry for pages and pages. It may have been desolation over not knowing where Tag had gone, knowing he was out of reach to these characters that loved him so dearly. Maybe it was this misplaced sense of awe and pride I felt for Millie, for her strength, for how brave she is to chase a dream when the world tells her she can't. Maybe it was just the lightness that surrounds me every time I open a story written by this author. I don't know, but for so much of this book I was gripped by a heaviness in my chest and I came away wondering how Amy Harmon does this to me repeatedly when no one else ever has. I've never been so afraid to finish a book in my life. Honestly. I was at war with myself more than once, a part of me so eager to go on, another part of me insisting I stop to take deep breaths in between the tears that I couldn't even decide where they were coming from. Hope battled resignation battled fear the entire time I read, as it did for Moses and Georgia and Millie as they listened to Tag's story. There's this devastating sense of foreboding on every single page. I believed I knew what was coming, and I was terrified of it. But peppered through the sadness is humor and joy and love and friendship and a deep sense of hope that demanded I push on. This story, The Song of David, is such a stark contrast to The Law of Moses in a lot of ways. But if there's one poignant commonality running through both stories, it's the loss and recovery of hope. Like Moses, Tag was a runner. Both wanted desperately to escape their existences as they knew it, to quiet their pain in the only way that made sense at the time. Their respective stories took them through their own heartbreaking journey from wanting to die to praying to live. This story is powerful and poignant and, like every Harmon story, it changes the way you look at life. To watch this larger than life character go from seeking death so desperately to craving life so ardently, is humbling. Tag is both David and Goliath in this story, both the giant and the giant slayer, both the savior and the one who needs saving. He's the embodiment of power and strength and vulnerability and surrender. He's a warrior and his song is about a man who fights no matter what he's up against. Whether he believes he'll win or lose, he never taps out. This book came as a surprise in so many ways. I was surprised by how immediately I became consumed by it. By how much I loved David Taggert and Millie Anderson. By how angsty and unexpectedly sexy it was. By how much this story felt very-Amy-Harmon-esque, and yet not... it felt different. There's so many things I could praise Amy Harmon for with regard to her brilliant story telling and stunning writing style... the masterful way she weaves a story together, the voice she gives to her characters, the flawless manner in which she delivers a story that stays with the reader forever. I can say with certainty that I know I loved this book because of how it devastated me. That's a truth that seems so obvious yet it never occurred to me until I was gut-punched with it in this story. A book, a song, whatever it may be is truly brilliant when it's powerful and profound and poignant enough to utterly devastate you. The Song of David is devastating and beautiful and perfect.

Once again, I love the story Amy Harmon told us. I absolutely adore her writing it touches me each and every time. My Kindle is always full of “highlights”, all the sentences and quotes I found insightful. This book is no exception to the rule as you’ll see below. Words have power and used correctly, they move some deep part inside of me that makes me bawl like a baby, laugh out loud, tighten my throat, fill me with awe and wonder… In The Song of David, Amy used her magic wand to weave a beautiful and poignant tale about a self-destructing man. He is at war with his past actions until he found a home when he met that incredible blind girl and her flawed but so loveable brother. Perk of that story: we don’t have one hero but three incredible heroes. David may be great with his flaws, his drawl, his hero complex but Millie was brilliant and Henry was touching. In my mind, the real hero is Millie, even if the book is named after David. I absolutely loved that girl. She became blind but instead of wallowing in self-pity, sheltering herself from the outside world, she embraces life fully. Even if she is afraid all the time, she imagines new challenges and goes after her dream because: ”After a while, I realized if I allowed myself to be too afraid to do anything, that I wouldn’t just be blind, I might as well be dead.” That girl has more guts than most. I won’t tell too much about her as I don’t want to spoil that story but I can say she is a pole dancer and dares going to Tag’s bar alone. She auditions in front of strangers, in an unknown environment and gets the job. Each night, she comes alone to give her show. ”I used to dance and do gymnastics. I used to leap and turn. I could do it all. And I didn’t need a pole. Just like I used to walk down the street and chase my friends and live my life without my stick. But that isn’t an option anymore. That pole means I can still dance. I don’t need to see to dance in that cage. If that means I’m not a classy girl, so be it. It’s a tiny piece of a dream that I had to give up. And I’d rather have a piece of a dream than no dream at all.” Chapeau bas for Millie because ” The world was a scary place for most people. For Amelie, it was downright lethal. She was completely vulnerable. If the world is too flat, people like me will slide right off. And yet she didn’t hesitate at all. When Millie fell for David (yes, it’s a love story), she could not see him with her eyes but she could see him with her heart, her touch. She could see the “real” David. And Amy once more gives us a lesson: our eyes are not as important as our heart to really see people. We have to pay attention to the small details and not let us be distracted by the outer appearance, the big picture. Stop running and moving all the time, stay still and really observe. Take notice of these tiny details. Enjoy life, the sun, the air, the sounds of the birds… “I found myself hoping David wasn’t a good looking guy. I hoped he wasn’t good looking because it didn’t matter to me, and it would make him less desirable to everyone else. I thought if he were homely, it would make him more open to someone like me. (…)But I knew he was beautiful. It was in the way he carried himself, his confidence, his kindness.” The book is more than a pure love story. Built like a thriller, we have to find the missing person “sans” killer. The story is about David/Tag Taggert disappearing act and his friends looking after him. Where is David? Is he alive? Millie, the girl he loves, Moses and Georgia with the whole Tag Team are collecting clues he left behind to find him “before it’s too late”. David had suicidal tendencies and Moses made a promise once. To always catch David, look after him, never let go and make sure he does not kill himself. And that’s what he intends to do. ” Tag Taggert became my best friend. When I needed him most he held on to me, and he didn’t let me go. So now I have to find him. The thing that scares me the most, is maybe he’s found his answers. Maybe he knows exactly what he’s doing. Exactly who he is. Maybe he’s figured the world out.” Through the tapes he left for Millie, we can read about their love story and David journey. I loved that little trick used by Amy and I loved seeing Moses and Georgia. It was like a huge epilogue of Moses and Georgia’s story! He narrates his past, his life as a charming Texan and a ladies man. David tells us his fights and his guilt. He sees his many flaws but does not realize he is a hero and a savior, always defending weak or oppressed people. Son of a rich man, he did not want to follow in his father’s shoes: ” It was a road I hadn’t built, and I’m convinced you can’t ever be completely happy walking on someone else’s road. Someone else’s path. The way to true happiness is to forge your own, even if your road isn’t straight. Even if there are bridges to build and mountains to tunnel through. Nothing feels as good as paving your own way.” When he met Millie he fell hard for her and wanted to settle for the first time in his life. She is a package deal with her younger brother, Henry. Henry was so, so loveable. Rattling on sports fact better than any encyclopedia, without friends, hair too long and never combed, he lived in his own world. He was like Yoda, spurting out bouts of wisdom under the guise of sports statistic. He reminded me a little of Bailey, one of my favorite characters in Amy’s book. They are both weird, different and you could overlook them but they play a major role in the stories with some wake-up call at crucial moments. Oooups, as usual, my problem seems to make short reviews for Amy’s books as I could go on and on. Just know this book is another diamond and cherry on top, we have an incredible epilogue happening many, many years after the end of the story. I loved it! So fans of Amy and any reader looking for a well written thriller/love story, get set: read!

Just over two years ago, in May of 2013, I read novel titled A Different Blue. A Different Blue was my first novel written by author Amy Harmon, and reading this New York Times Bestseller signified the beginning of my love affair for her writing. I worked backwards, reading everything she published prior to A Different Blue. Since then, I have read each new novel released by Amy Harmon. I am now delighted to be reviewing Harmon’s latest work, The Song of David. The Song of David is a new adult contemporary romance that is loosely tied by the characters to The Law of Moses. Moses Wright and Georgia Shepherd are the primary characters in The Law of Moses, but we are also introduced to the best friend of Moses Wright, David “Tag” Taggert. Moses and Tag have a very interesting background, and Moses plays an important role in The Song of David. If you want the full effect of The Song of David, I highly recommend that you read The Law of Moses first. The Song of David is told from the perspectives of Moses Wright and Tag Taggert. Amy Harmon came up with a brilliant and unique way of telling this story. We are given a first person point of view directly from Moses, but Tag’s perspective is told by means of a series of cassette tapes which he specifically recorded for Millie. The cassette tapes are a fantastic medium for telling a story! At the beginning of The Song of David, we learn Tag has gone missing. He has a beautiful girlfriend and a “Tag Team” of supportive friends. He owns several successful businesses. He has a promising career as a MMA fighter. But Tag disappears without a trace, leaving nothing behind but a set of keys, a cassette recorder and several cassette tapes. Moses listens to the cassettes with Millie, as they try to figure out why he has disappeared. Tag recounts his memories of Millie, and we experience how the two of them meet and fall in love. Several nights a week, Tag offers pole dancing in the fight arena that is connected to his bar. Twenty-two year-old Amelie Anderson is hired by his bar manager to be a pole dancer in the arena cage. She’s beautiful, with delicate features, and a nice body. Her dancing is athletic, her smile is dreamy, and her eyes, large and luminous, but Amelie is also blind. It doesn’t make a difference to Tag that she is blind – when Tag meets Amelie, her smile takes his breath away. Silly Millie is the sweetest character. She may be blind, but she is very strong and positive, never lamenting her station in life. I think she may be my favorite character ever written by Amy Harmon. I have never been disappointed with anything written by Amy Harmon. I know that I can always count on a unique and thought-provoking story with each new book that she publishes. I continue to be impressed with her talent and creativity, and the genuine or natural feel to conversations which take place between her characters. Nowhere are these attributes more apparent than in The Song of David. Her writing flows naturally in this story. Conversations including Moses, Tag, Millie and her younger brother, Henry are heartfelt and full of wisdom. Harmon constantly triggered my emotions while I was reading this novel. I want to point out a couple of excerpts that I feel are worthy of mentioning. If you read The Song of David, pay close attention to what Tag has to say about Heaven. And I cannot finish this review without mentioning the passage where Millie makes love to Tag. This is truly one of the most beautiful love scenes that I have ever read. There is so much to love about The Song of David. One of my favorite things about this novel is that it felt like a continuation of The Law of Moses. Moses and Georgia get plenty of page time, and we are able to read more about their future together as a couple. I loved the mystery in this story. Harmon alternates between cassette tape recordings, which is their love story and everything leading up to Tag’s disappearance, and the discussion between Moses, Millie and other characters, trying to solve the mystery of his absence. After I finished reading The Song of David, I felt full of hope. The ending of the story truly left me smiling. I hope everyone who reads this review will read The Law of Moses and The Song of David. Both of them are 6-star novels, and The Song of David is now a 2015 favorite!

This book started out very differently. It took me a few chapters to decide whether or not I liked the different approach: Tag talking through an audio journal, telling his story, then flashing to the present to Moses. The story grew on me, though, and I came to care about Tag and Millie. When I first discovered Amy Harmon, I was impressed that her books were "clean" yet still had grit and tackled difficult topics. She weaved perfect, deep, intricate tales of flawed characters. Her stories contained some supernatural aspects at times, but still, they felt very real. This book was a little less comfortable for me, not an insult, just a fact. The main character, Millie, is a blind pole dancer in a bar...not a stripper, but scantily clad. Millie is an amazing woman with depth and sincerity, but I still found her job choice to be uncomfortable. There was also more swearing than most of her previous books, so if that bothers you, be warned. One of the things I love about Amy Harmon's writing is that her words are beautiful. They evoke images, awaken senses and convey feelings like few authors I have ever read. Her writing style, while deep, beautiful and almost poetic, is accessible to ordinary, non-English-lit majors. That said, I felt this book fell a little flat on the beautiful. There were some parts that moved me towards the end, some words that evoked deep feeling simply because the word choice and order created something...beautiful, (Sorry, I cannot think of a better description!) but overall, the story was less than her others in a small but noticeable way. Is it still a good story? Yes. Will I pre-order her next book just as I did this one? Absolutely.

I've come to learn now that with an Amy Harmon book there will always be tears. It's a given and also a gift. A book that can evoke such deep emotions like that from readers is definitely a remarkable book and The Song of David was indeed remarkable to me. Even before starting reading his story, David "Tag" Taggert was already very dear to my heart. I met him in The Law of Moses as Moses best friend and between the two of them he was the optimistic, the caretaker, the flirt, the fighter in many ways. Now that I've read his story all those attributes just amplified themselves here making me love him so much more because he was an absolute fighter I'll never forget and his story one I loved to pieces. ♥ This book begins right about the time The Law of Moses ends so I strongly recommend reading that book first to be able to follow this story smoothly. So during the time both books connect, Tag is at a good place in his life; he loves his career as a heavyweight fighter, has a business and brand to run, and has a great team of friends that have his back. But when it came to romance no one had really caught his attention enough to want him to hang around for long, well, until Amelie "Millie" Anderson. She was like no other girl, she was incredibly independent, kindhearted, and had such profound ways about her. Those were things immediately captivated and strongly attracted Tag to her. So much so that he felt eager to learn more about Millie and so he did. “All the girls danced well. But I watched Millie. I watched Millie because she fascinated me. She was a brand new species, an intoxicating mix of girl and enigma, familiar yet completely foreign. I’d never met anyone like her, yet I felt like I’d known her forever.” Millie's brother Henry was also a big part of the story that together with her, they both change Tag's heart beautifully. They give him hope, strength, and so much love that I felt it pouring down the pages. They deeply touched my heart for that but also because even though every one of them, including Tag, had their own set of hardships they all learned to deal and kept going. And such spirits, bravery, and unity just blew me away. “Whenever you start feeling trapped or helpless, just close your eyes, and you have more space than you’ll ever need.” Something I adored about this book was how romantic it felt and I have to give major credit for that to Tag. From the male characters I've ready by this author, Tag has been my favorite. I loved that he never shy away from speaking out his feelings to anyone, he was always showing his love by protecting others, and his heartwarming personality melted my heart time after time.. Watching him fall in love with Millie and her of him was so beautiful to see, the two of them complemented each other in such perfect ways that I couldn't be happier for them. Their love truly felt like a miracle. “I’ve been suffering for a while now, Millie.” “You have?” she asked, clearly amazed. “Since the moment I saw you. It devastated me. And I love when a girl devastates me.” But like I said at the beginning, with every book by this author you can sure expect the tears. I can still feel the lump in my throat from all the emotions I've experienced and yes, not all of those emotions are from happiness but that's exactly that makes this story feel so real and profound. I think that love stories don't have to be perfect to be incredibly beautiful and this author is outstanding at giving us that. Imperfect epic romances that get under our skin and that pull at our hearts so strongly that we're only left feeling what she wants us to feel. And omg, how I felt this story in my heart, how I still feel it. “If heaven was the octagon, then she was my angel at the center of it all, the girl with the power to take me down and lift me up again. The girl I wanted to fight for, the girl I wanted to claim. The girl who taught me that sometimes the biggest heroes go unsung and the most important battles are the ones we don’t think we can win.” Aside from Tag, Millie, their captivating romance, and every character in the story; I also loved how the plot was assembled. I was amazed at the originality of it, how from the moment I started reading I was surprised and then surprised yet again just to be then immediately engrossed into the story and eager to see how everything was going to unfold. Moses presence was another fascinating component in this book, with him there it felt like both books were merging together and I loved that so much because both stories have come to be very special to me so combining them like that couldn't feel more perfect. “Moses told me once that you can’t escape yourself. You can run, hide, or die. But wherever you go, there you’ll be. I was pretty empty for a long time. It took a while to figure out what fills me up.” This was another unforgettable story by this author. Another story to love and reminisce over but also a story that felt different to me. Different like a song of love because this story felt like a tune, a dance even where my heart was beating right along the intensity of two other fascinating and strong-willed hearts. ♥♥ And like Tag said, “a song isn’t something you can see. It’s something you feel, something you move to” and there's no doubt I felt and moved to the rhythm of this beautiful love story. :')

“I’ve been suffering for a while now, Millie.” “You have?” she asked, clearly amazed. “Since the moment I saw you. It devastated me. And I love when a girl devastates me.” There are some books that you just know will be a 5-star read before you even crack it open, this book was definitely one of them! Having read The Law of Moses where we first met Tag and then reading the blurb for this book, I just knew that this was going to be an incredible book and I was not wrong! This book is a standalone, you don’t have to read The Law of Moses to understand what’s going on here but I think you definitely should read TLoM before you read this one. First off because if you read this first and then ever plan on reading TLoM several things will be spoiled for you and secondly to fully appreciate the depth of the relationship between Moses and Tag you really should experience how they met and forged their friendship which occurs in TLoM. I really think you’d be doing yourself a disservice if you read this book before or without reading TLoM. Trust me on this. Besides TLoM was a fantastic book so really it’s a win/win situation! First off I would like to say that the way Amy Harmon chose to narrate this book was pure genius. It’s not every day you hear of a romance novel narrated in alternating POVs between the lead male character and his male best friend. But given the storyline it totally worked and I loved seeing so much of Moses in this book. It was completely its own book but at the same time it felt almost like a sequel to TLoM because we got to see so much of what’s happened in the time since that book ended. But the way the narration was structured in this book, Tag’s portions on the recordings and Moses’ reactions and thoughts from listening to them really made you read the book sort of holding your breath. There was a huge element of the unknown and a sense of foreboding that hung over the whole thing pretty much right up until the end. Don’t let that alarm you though because woven in so perfectly was plenty of humor, a breathtaking love story and the important message to never stop fighting. “Tag Taggert is the best fighter in the universe.” If you read TLoM then you know Tag as the hot headed, larger than life Texan who up until meeting Moses had a death wish. During their time together in the psychiatric facility they both ended up in they sort of saved each other and made a pact that when they got out Tag would take Moses along with him to travel the world and all Moses would have to do was to keep him alive and make sure that he never gave up the fight. When this book starts out, Tag has up and vanished and Moses is determined to do anything he can to continue to honor that promise by bringing him back. For much of this book we have no idea what has happened to Tag or where he is, but we get to see through his eyes as he falls in love with the incomparable Amelie (Millie) Anderson. We get to see into the heart of this fighter as he reveals a side of him that not many people are lucky enough to see. I love how incredibly loyal he is to his friends and to his Tag Team and especially how wonderfully he treats Millie and her little brother Henry. “If the world is too flat, people like me will slide right off.” Millie is a dancer at Tag’s bar and she is not at all what I was expecting! Amy Harmon has such a knack for creating strong female leads and Millie was no exception. She inspired me time and again with what she made of the crappy hand she was dealt in life. Her self-sufficiency and the way she took care of Henry and how strong she was for Tag was truly awe inspiring. I thought she was a perfect complement to Tag and I loved watching their story unfold. I also loved Henry, he was such a special secondary character and a perfect addition to this book. Some of the most profound moments in this book are the result of something he’s said/done. “I can’t see my way forward,” I repeated, giving her my back, willing the churning in my gut and the swaying in my head to ease. “I can’t either,” Millie said softly. “But it hasn’t stopped me yet.” This book will make you laugh, make you angry, might make you cry and it will also keep you guessing the whole way through. But it will also take your breath away over and over again. There were so many lines or conversations between Millie and Tag or Tag and Henry or Henry and anyone that just made me sit and say “whoa” because it was that deep and profound. I highlighted so many parts of this book and I love reading back through them and taking a moment to reflect on the meaning of such simple phrases. There were so many allegories in this book (heck Henry was full of them!) about fighting, living, love, music, hope, miracles and the list goes on and on. There were so many things that had a deeper meaning than what was simply stated that I feel like I should go back and re-read this book sometime to try to soak them all in. For as meaningful and layered as this book was it wasn’t preachy or convoluted, all of the lessons and messages were simply stated and relatable. This book is classified as romance but I think that it could be read and appreciated by just about anyone, that’s one thing I’ve come to learn and love about Amy Harmon’s books. “I love to fight,” I teased. “I know,” she answered, and her voice was tender. “And that’s the thing I love the most.” I know I’ve said a lot here but I probably still haven’t done this book justice, it’s one of those books that sticks with you long after you’ve finished and one that you have to sit and reflect on for a while. It’s wonderfully written and a devastatingly beautiful in its story, I would highly recommend this to anyone. Tag, Millie, Henry and of course Moses and Georgia aren’t characters that I will ever forget. ‘Millie told me once that the ability to devastate is what makes a song beautiful. Maybe that’s what makes life beautiful too. The ability to devastate. Maybe that’s how we know we’ve lived. How we know we’ve truly loved.’

The Song of David by Amy Harmon 5 stars!! “He was clearly telling a love story. And my experience with love led me to believe this story would not end well. Love stories tend to be tragic.” It is no secret that I am a huge Amy Harmon fan but every time I open one of her books I never know what to expect, I never know what journey I’m going to be taken on, I just go with the flow and expect the unexpected. Her stories are always unique, always heart felt and always extremely well written, she is one of the masters of story-telling and this book is no different. “…I’m all or nothing, all the time.” I will say, I highly recommend you read The Law of Moses before reading this book. Moses is quite an integral character in this book and I feel you would benefit knowing the complete history between Moses and Tag as you read this story. Told in dual POV by Tag and Moses, the way in which Amy Harmon has delivered this story is pure genius. For a romance you would never have thought, but this works and it works amazingly well. “Since the moment I saw you. It devastated me. And I love when a girl devastates me.” “I’ve never devastated anyone before…” Tag was introduced in The Law of Moses and this is his story. Once again, Amy Harmon delivers a character that you cannot help but fall in love with. Tag is a big man with a huge heart. While he is tough and angry on the outside, he is a pile of mush on the inside but only a few ever get to see that side of him. Tag is an MMA fighter, he uses this as an outlet for his anger and this man holds a lot of anger. We know his back story, we know where Tag and Moses met and we know that they saved each other and borne from this is a friendship that is so deep and a friendship that will last a lifetime. This relationship is prevalent throughout as the importance of friendships is really hammered home in this book. “We’d run away together as lost boys looking for Neverland and somehow managed to come full circle as men.” For me this was a book of two halves, from the very first word I was drawn in and as you read the beginning you cannot help but get that deep sense of foreboding. I spent the first half of the book on tenterhooks, waiting for the cards to fall while silently falling in love with another two characters. “…the world is too flat, people like me will slide right off.” Millie was an amazing character, she is one of the strongest female leads I have read about in a long time. While most would have given up and thrown in the towel Millie was made of stronger stuff. She was resilient, she never gave up, she made the best of the hand that she had been dealt, she was strong, she was empathetic, she was loyal, she was just a beautiful character inside and out. You knew where you stood with Millie, she told it how it was, she didn’t sugar coat, but sometimes you need someone like that, she was refreshing and she was just what Tag needed. “Men have always fought. Women have always danced. We’re as old-fashioned as it gets…we’re timeless.” While most would never have given Millie a second glance or the time of day Tag was different, while others ridiculed and only saw the surface, Tag took the time to get to know the person underneath. They were total opposites, but they worked and they worked so well together. They brought out the best in each other and they gave each other what the other one needed. They may have been opposites but they were the final two pieces of a puzzle and when they last two pieces fitted together a beautiful story was born. “Bulls***. You collect lost causes and charity cases like old, white women collect cats.” As I said above, we are introduced to two new characters, Millie being one and her brother Henry being the other. I have to mention Henry, he was adorable. Another misunderstood kid that had struggled with life in general. He had his issues and Millie had been there for him through thick and thin, but his relationship with Tag was heart melting. Henry needed Tag and Henry gave Tag another sense of purpose. To see these two together was smile inducing, their relationship was a joy to see unfurl and the growth in Henry as a person was an amazing side story. You cannot help but fall in love with Henry, such an inspirational character. This is another Amy Harmon speciality, her side characters can be just as integral to the overall story and their presence just as important and Henry definitely fit’s the bill, he was akin to Bailey from Making Faces. “He’s the eyes. I’m the heart. He’s the hands, and I’m the head.” The second half of this book is where Amy Harmon becomes an emotional powerhouse, if I didn’t have a lump in my throat, I had tears in my eyes which slowly progressed to a constant river of salt water. Few authors have that emotional impact, that punch to the gut but Amy Harmon delivers it effortlessly. Such is the character connection that your heart just breaks as this story unfolds before your eyes., the plethora of emotions you go through on this emotional journey will leave you feeling drained but you will know that you have read a great book, an amazing book. This is an emotional gauntlet, your emotions constantly on the edge, but at the end of the day this is a story that is full of hope, of love, of understanding and most importantly friendships. “This was where we started our journey. And this is where it ended.” This was a perfectly balanced book, you had that sense of dread, but it was lightened with some great dialogue, great one liners that will have you giggling and laughing. Yes it is emotional, but it is also uplifting. Amy Harmon always manages to do this to me, her words, the sentiments, the flawless writing always deliver a story that you will never forget. A story that will stay with you forever and characters that will leave their imprint on your heart. The Song of David is one of my favourites of Amy Harmon’s and is definitely a book I will never forget and will re-read time and time again. “Let me be your best of burden, my back is broad to ease your hurtin…” As usual, I was not disappointed, I am just left in awe at this author, she never fails me and once again has delivered a perfect, poignant story. I seriously cannot recommend this author highly enough. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do…”

I expected this book to be a tear-jerker, and cry I did, but even with tears streaming down my face I was surprised by the elation and hope I felt towards the end of the story, which I'll say led to a perfect conclusion. That epilogue was so beautiful I wouldn't want it any other way. Amy Harmon is now my favourite author forever not just because of her way with words and superb story-telling skills. She's all that but what makes her extra special is her ability to take the reader on a journey of redemption, faith, hope and love, even as she delivers a gut-wrenching story that is full of heartaches and angst and make you feel a full range of emotions.

Amy Harmon has the capacity to grip your heart with every one of her stories. Her happy endings are usually also full of sorrow, so I should have been prepared for this book...yet I still wish it could have been EASIER on me, while still loving every heartfelt and dramatic page. Be prepared to cry.

What a beautiful tribute to life. It’s hardships, challenges, and accomplishments. Finding the right person to complete you. You always make me cry. Love your writing.

"You can't see a song. You feel a song, you hear a song, you move to it. Just like I can't see you, but I feel you, and I move toward you. When you're with me, I feel like I glimpse a David nobody else knows is there. It's the Song of David, and nobody else can hear it but me." I finished reading this book at 3AM and was crying like a baby. It doesn't take much to get me teary-eyed but some books just make me ugly cry like crazy!! This book was one of them. I did the same with The Law of Moses! "He's the yes. I'm the heart. He's the hands, and I'm the head." The writing in this book is different than I am used to. It's told from David and Moses POV. David is telling his story and how he met and fell in love with Millie. It was beautiful and heartbreaking to see how David was struggling with certain things. Moses played a big role in this book and we saw a lot of his POV which I loved. Moses is one of my favorite characters EVER and just loved reading about him and seeing what he was up to. "Whenever ou start feeling trapped or helpless, just close your eyes, and you have more space than you'll ever need." Millie was such a great character. I loved how her relationship developed with David over time. They started as friends and became more. They both complemented each other. I thought they were the perfect couple. They both grew as individuals and as a couple. I also adored Millie's younger brother Henry, he added something special to the story. I enjoyed David and Henry's conversations, a couple of them were funny while others were heartbreaking and sad. "The most intimate thing we can do is to allow the people we love most to see us at our worst. At our lowest. At our weakest. True intimacy happens when nothing is perfect." I appreciate the way Amy ended this book. I am so glad she decided to write David's story because he deserved it to be told. Moses and David's friendship is one of a kind and so beautiful, they've been through so much. If you are looking for a very emotional tear-jerker then look no further because you found it!