Holding Onto You is the second book in the Burnt Ashes series, released on August 30th. I enjoyed this one even more than the first—it pulled me in deeply and left me thinking about it long after I turned the last page.
Once again, the story resonated with me personally because of my own experience with the loss of a brother. Mac continues her journey through grief, and there’s a moment in the book that stopped me in my tracks:
“It feels strange smiling… She says that the smile doesn’t feel like betrayal. My grief hasn’t disappeared. My love is still here, but it started sitting heavy with it. Nowhere to go now I know where it belongs. It reaches out toward him, towards all of them, like a quiet offering. Today I walk away with it, not away from it. Sometimes the bravest thing we can do is open the door we’ve kept closed, especially when what’s behind it is everything we’ve lost.”
This passage perfectly captures the complexity of grief—how love and loss are intertwined, how you don’t move away from grief but rather with it. I felt this so much.
While grief is at the heart of the story, this book is also about love, protection, and support—love between Mac and Logan, and the unwavering protection and support Mac receives from the band. The authors also wove in some unexpected twists that brought suspense and kept me turning the pages.
Overall, Holding Onto You is a moving continuation of the Burnt Ashes series. It’s heartfelt, emotional, and beautifully explores how love and grief can coexist.