Variation reminded me of why I fell for Rebecca Yarros' writing in the first place. With the huge blow up of the romantasy genre as of late, it's easy to forget that she is soooo good at the contemporary/NA. There's a balanced blend of family, drama, heartbreak, love and romance and I just simply enjoy Rebecca's writing style. Allie and Hudson's story is definitely more than meets the eye and as the different layers unfurl, I found myself more captivated.

Trust. Loss. Guilt. Sacrifice. Truth. Forgiveness. Love.

An endearing, yet heartbreaking, friends to lovers second chance romance about letting go of the past and finding your own path. Choose what makes you happy and follow your dreams because a lot can change in five minutes or in one summer.

I'm never disappointed with a Rebecca Yarros book. They are always packed with heart and emotion, and this book is no exception. At times, I was laughing. At times, I was crying. At times, I was on the edge of my seat. But in the end, I was twirled into the intricacies of this storyline.

"Follow your heart, and take care of what I'm leaving behind."
"Messy is where the best parts of life happen."

What a great rom-com - the stakes were high, it had wonderful tension and a fab slow burn. Definitely more emotional themes, I really enjoyed this one. Great steam but not TOO much. Loved the plot. Highly recommend to romance fans!

Ballet, buried secrets, and a love that refuses to fade.

Allie Rousseau, an elite ballerina, is used to performing under pressure, especially with her mom always expecting perfection. But after an injury throws her future into question, Allie heads back to her summer home to heal—only to find that the memories she tried to bury come rushing back.

Hudson Ellis, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer who’s been living with the regret of leaving Allie behind when he went off to basic. Their past is messy, and the secrets Hudson carries make things even more complicated.

I loved every second of this story and was so excited to get to read it early. I am a huge fan of Rebecca Yarros!

The chemistry between Allie and Hudson is so raw and emotional—you feel every bit of that unresolved tension and heartache between them.

When Hudson’s niece shows up at Allie’s doorstep, looking for her birth mother, things get even more tangled, and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough to see how it all played out.

This book had everything—love, regret, healing, and second chances—and Rebecca Yarros absolutely nailed it.

It’ll break your heart one moment and have joy the next.
If you want a story that makes you feel everything, this one’s a must-read.

Thank you Amazon Publishing, Netgalley, and Rebecca Yarros for this ARC!

I can't tell you how excited I was to receive an ARC of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review, which i gladly accepted. Rebecca Yarros is one of my favorite authors. I adore her even more for being an ally to the Jewish community. I've read every contemporary romance book that Rebecca Yarros has written. The only books I haven't read are the romantasy series.

Variation is a former best friend / turned lovers trope. Hudson Ellis and Alessandra Rousseau are 17 years old when they first meet. Hudson rescues her and her younger sister Eva from a boat. They become best friends, although Alessandra/ Allie and her 3 sisters are ballerinas and have a strict training schedule. Hudson aspires to be a Coast Guard / search and rescue swimmer. He lives in Cape Cod w his parents, brother Gavin, and sister Caroline. Something happens, and Allie's sister Lina dies in a car accident. Allie can't remember most of the accident. In any case, they stop talking/seeing each other for 10 years.

Fast forward, and Allie is a principal ballerina in her mother's Metropolitan Ballet Company, Hudson is a SAR swimmer for the Coaat Guard in Cape Cod. There's a long lost relative and a fake dating scheme. The scenes were hot when they finally gave into their desires. There are many obstacles for Hudson and Allie. I absolutely loved their journey. I had guessed something major going on with Allie's mom, mostly because of the field I work in. 5🔥 out 11/19/24. Highly recommend.

Listen, I haven’t read Fourth Wing yet because the series isn’t over, so Rebecca’s contemporary romances will have to tide me over until then. And I am NOT complaining!! Variation hit me right in the gut but put me back together again. Her writing is so engaging, there was never a moment I was bored. Highly highly recommend!!!

As someone who loves all the other non-dragon writing from Yarros, I was very hopeful Variation would have the same vibes as some of my favorites, like In the Likely Event or The Last Letter (both of which I loved) but I just didn't feel like this was written as well as her other contemporary romances. The storyline didn't really do it for me, especially at the beginning. I liked this book but didn't love it.

This book strikes the perfect balance of spice, and the plot is engaging from the very start. I took my time finishing it because I wanted to savor each chapter and extend the experience. Rebecca, the author, brilliantly made me reflect on the events of the first few chapters while introducing new twists to the plot!
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Full review with spoiler will be posted on my Goodreads week of Nov 19th.

As always a 5/5 for me! No one does emotions like Rebecca Yarros. Allie and Hudson will live in my head rent free for a long time!

I was lucky enough to read a Net Galley ARC copy of Variation. I absolutely loved it!! I have been in a bit of a reading slump lately and Rebecca pulled me right into this one. I was completely gripped from the start (as I always am with her books) and I fell hard for Allie and Hudson. It felt so good to be dying to find stolen moments to read again and despite being busy, I was desperate to find time to binge it!

Allie and Hudson had so much chemistry and the steam was definitely five stars!!! There were several moments I found myself holding my breath and on a roller coaster of emotions - I was so invested in both the main characters and their families!! I loved how Yarros intertwined their lives as secrets were revealed.

This was an epic love story about two people destined for each other - filled with second chances, a sprinkle of fake dating, the one bed trope, and even some military elements.

I highly recommend you run out and read this as soon as you can!!

There is just something magical about the way Rebecca Yarros writes. This book gripped me from the first chapter and never let go. You could feel the yearning and angst between Allie and Hudson. The characters in this book range from charming to funny to detestable. But they are all so well written and vivid that they seem real.
This is the story of Allie, a ballerina and Hudson, a rescue swimmer. They knew each other as teenagers and were brought back together as adults by some twists and secrets that just keep getting more interesting as the book progresses.
Yarros does a fantastic job of letting the reader see all sides of the coin, just not all at once. This is an emotional roller coaster of a book, and I enjoyed every second of it.

Everytime Yarros releases a book, it’s like the birth of my child. I fall so insanely in love with each and every magic filled book damn near instantaneously. I am forever in aw of how insanely talented this author truly is.

Yarros’ ‘Variation’ is a one of a kind, once in a life time book. The complexity of Hudson and Allies story had me face first from beginning to end just trying to grasp the true complexity of it. The depth of this story is on another level. It’s what puts this author on another level. Yarros carved and carved until I found myself so deeply immersed, that this book was all I saw, all I felt.

Variation was filled with twists and turns. Family secrets, and a hell of a lot of tension.

Alessandra and Hudson are like Fire and Water. They are so different in so many ways and yet, I have never seen two characters compliment each other more. Their chemistry was off the charts; palpable. Their growth and understanding? Beyond compare.

This book is truly remarkable. This is not just your average “Romance.” It is so so much more. I highly recommend getting your hands on this one.

Ahh I devoured this story, Allie and Hudson have me all the feels this was a fantastic story and Ms yarros really knows how to bring the heat. Highly recommended

***Thank you to the Rebecca Yarros team & Netgalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review of this book.***

“Truth always differs depending on who’s telling the story, and in complicated situations, there are countless variations.”

I looked up the definition of variation on Google after seeing how often it was used starting in the third chapter.

Variation Ballet - Variation: A choreographic process in which known and defined elements (e.g., specific movements, movement phrases) are separated from their original relationship and restructured in a different pattern; male or female solo in a classical ballet.

Variation - a change or difference in condition, amount, or level, typically with certain limits

I feel that these definitions fit well with why I believe RY used the word in her title of this book. It was important for the main characters to focus on themselves before committing to a relationship together. The way their relationship changed over time, and how they grew apart vs together while pushing each other to fulfill their dreams. It fits! What I didn’t love was the dramatic overuse of the word throughout the entire book. At one point I felt annoyed with myself that I didn’t count how many times the word “variation” pops up to comment about in this review. I may read it again just for that alone lol!!

I was wayyyyy overly excited for this book… and maybe I wasn’t in the best state of mind, but I felt like it took me too long to get into. The first chapter had me hooked, but then I felt a little bored until about 1/3-1/2 way through the book when I suddenly couldn’t put it down.

I do want to make a point to say that I am not a fan of the fake dating trope, and miscommunication/hiding truths/lying throughout an entire book drives me absolutely crazy!!!!!! I have no idea how I got through this book without feeling like it was two stars because that’s normally how I rate books like this. RY just has a way with her stories to get me fully invested in her characters no matter what. This blows my mind!! If you want to know why I would read a book with tropes I hate, well…it’s because I go into every book blind so I do not get any spoilers at all. I also would read RY’s grocery list happily because I love every book I’ve read by her. That’s just a fact.

I did love the dual POV because multiple POV is my jam! I love that RY gives us insight into the minds of her main characters, and it helps us love them even more! I know nothing about ballet, so I felt bored 🫠 during a bunch of Allie’s chapters. I didn’t want to feel bored, so I’ll admit that I did a little research lol. I even YouTubed a bunch of ballet variations just to have them in my head while reading. The classical music is very relaxing! I think these chapters early on were the reason it took me a little longer to read this book than usual. I didn’t like that I kept putting it down during the first half, and I wasn’t in a hurry to pick it back up the way I usually am with Yarros books.

“Follow your heart and take care of what I’m leaving behind.” - chapter three this sentence comes up, and we have no idea how important it will be throughout the book 🤯🥰

🚁🏊🏻‍♂️🛟Hudson was perfection in every way! I loved his role in this book so much!! Usually fake dating tropes annoy me because both sides hold back how they feel until the very end, but Hudson was upfront and honest the entire way. I loved the way he communicated with Allie and took her seriously while also teasing her & giving us some banter. I don’t want to give away too much, but his character could not have been built better. I actually preferred his chapters to be honest. His character was my very favorite! I could just see his sexy body right there in front of me while reading, and I wanted to eat him right tf up! I kept waiting for more details of his job…his missions…any losses or mistakes or accidents?! I really wanted more here and I kept expecting it…

🔥holy smokes🌶️the spice🥵so sexy without being too much🤤

🩰💃🏼👸🏼Alessandra took me a little while to fall in love with. I felt for her early on, but there was just something about her that annoyed me. I took two days after finishing the book before I started to write a review because I didn’t want to be harsh, but I still don’t know exactly what it was about her that I didn’t love love. I do really admire that she acknowledged her flaws like being indecisive and a perfectionist. I just really loved her with Hudson because he brought out her shine and made her more tolerable. By the end of the book I loved Allie, and I felt like she’s a better person than me lol✨

Overall I really enjoyed this story. Did it bring me to tears? Not exactly…although I got close a couple of times. Did it make me laugh out loud? Nah, but I did enjoy the banter and the teasing comments from Hudson 😉. This one was not the usual roller coaster of emotions that RY gives us, but it was still a really good story. This book was 4.2 stars for me. The last 1/4 was the best of the book, and I could not put it down if I tried. I just wish the first half did what the second half did for me…if that makes sense.


Spoiler alert…….








….read no further if you didn’t read book…








✨last warning for spoiler✨










Okay, I could not for the life of me picture exactly what happened to Juniper at the end there. A wave crashed over the side of the boat and took her into the water? The one and only wave of the evening? Was it extremely rough seas? Aren’t they on a yacht?! It just seemed extremely far-fetched. Like an unrealistic reach for some much-needed drama. I was hoping that Hudson would get lost while rescuing in rough seas, so I got nervous every time he went to work lol. I expected someone to drown, so when Juniper jumped into the lake when no one was in there…I expected her to die or get close. Her leg got wrapped around some underwater brush?! That also was a reach for me. Both instances with Juniper nearly drowning felt unrealistic. That is just my opinion, and I’m wondering if others felt that way too. I needed a good cry, but I didn’t get that with this one. That’s okay tho because I still really enjoyed the book!

I always thought I would make a great ballerina, but then I tried it once and I had all of the grace of a sloth.

This is such a lovely story. I do adore books where the couple meet when they are young but things happen and they become estranged only to meet up in the future when they are mature and ready for each other.

Hudson Ellis is like the ultimate book boyfriend. So strong. So sexy. So full of secrets and drama. I want to throw myself in the ocean and have him save me (a warm ocean though, not a cold one). It’s his job, he’s a rescuer, I’m not just expecting him to throw himself randomly into a body of water (ooohhh, he can throw himself randomly at my body though).

Allie Rousseau is the ultimate ballerina. Damn though her family is complicated.

Rebecca Yarros always gets me hooked. I was invested from the start. What was going to happen with the precocious Juniper. Would Caroline stop being a bitch? Why is Sophie so nasty? What is Hudson scared about? Why did he disappear without saying goodbye? Can I smack Eva about the face because she deserves it? How do I get rescued by Hudson?

Honestly, there is so much going on. Brilliant read.

Oh my goodness, where to begin. Rebecca Yarros has done it again!
Variation was absolutely amazing. The way this story was told was absolutely beautiful and hit all the different emotions in the best way possible.
Allie and Hudson are the perfect characters, they were done so beautifully that you can relate to both of them in different ways.
All of the other side characters, they were also brilliant and very much needed for this whole story. I loved the different settings, whether we were indoors or outdoors.
Highly Recommend reading this one!

*Thank you to Rebecca Yarros and everyone for the chance to read the e-arc of Variation*

Variation is a book that constantly twisted my heart strings. The character building that Rebecca Yarros does makes you connect to each and every character. I absolutely loved Hudson and Allie. The way they were able to build their love over the 11 year gap. They way they were able to support each other in different ways. I love how for each of them, they just wanted the other to achieve their greatest dreams.

I also loved how Rebecca was able to depict the different familial relationships. Not every mother is the best friend to the daughter; sometimes they are the most toxic person in their daughter’s life. It was nice to read a book that was so real in that department.

ARC Review
Alessandra is a ballerina, Hudson is in the Coast Guard. She is under immense pressure to be the best dancer, she is graded on the harshest scale. He is an outstanding swimmer and he job is to literally save people, can he save her from losing herself?

Weighed down with guilt and fueled with anger after being ghosted by her best friend she pushes herself to her limit to win the affection of her mother who is impossible to please. Allie sustains a career threatening injury forcing l her to return to her childhood home to rehab and focus on healing so she could go on and perform in the fall. While she is there she meets Hudson’s niece at her door sharing news that she can’t ignore forcing her to cross paths with the one who broke her heart.

Will she be able to forgive herself for her past? Can she forgive him? Can’t she help this fan out with her dilemma? Alessandra has some challenging choices to make.

Fake dating
Coast Guard
He falls first
Second chance

Rebecca Yarros did it again. She's masterfully woven together a story of pain, heart ache, friendship, love, hope, and second chances. The back-and-forth between points of view allows the reader to fall deeply for both Hudson and Allie, and everything they've endured both together and apart. Their history is complicated, but their present even more so, paired with complex emotions tied to their past experiences. I couldn't put this book down. I was so caught up in rooting for them, for their families, and for the happily ever after that I didn't want to stop reading for anything. By the time I reached the end, I was so fully caught up in every single character from this story that I couldn't help but be sad it was over, and I couldn't keep following their lives with them.

Oh, Rebecca!! You did it again!! This book stole my heart and made me fall in love with the characters. I love Annie and Hudson so much! Right when I thought I had everything figured out, you proved me wrong time and time again.

This book is a second-chance, fake dating, ballerina romance, and it was so good from start to finish. I couldn't put it down and was super sad when it ended. Seeing Annie and Hudson bond over their niece and fall in love for a second time while forgiving each other for past mistakes warmed my heart. The big secret in the book was not what I was expecting. I had my theories on it and was completely wrong. The secret helped unite the story and made me appreciate the characters even more! Buckle up on this one; it may rank among my top 3 favorite romance books by Rebecca! Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Publishing for the ARC and allowing me to read such a beautiful story!