The Song of David (The Law of Moses) Paperback – June 13, 2015

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.

“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.’

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!

Ms Harmon got me again. The tears, the heart ache, the joy in every moment. This was a beautiful story. But that ending, cue the tears.I could write plenty more but you need to experience these books for yourself.Ms Harmon is a wordsmith and she draws you in.

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.

The Song of David by Amy Harmon5 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…”