Variation: A Novel

Instant USA Today, Amazon Charts, and Publishers Weekly bestseller.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Fourth Wing comes a new contemporary romance about the summer a celebrated dancer returns home and unearths years of family secrets and deep regrets with the Coast Guard rescue swimmer she never forgot.

Elite ballerina Allie Rousseau is no stranger to pressure. With her mother's eyes always watching, perfection was expected, no matter the cost. But when an injury jeopardizes all she's sacrificed for, Allie returns to her summer home to heal and recover. But the memories she's tried to forget rush in and threaten to take her under.

As a Coast Guard rescue swimmer, Hudson Ellis knows that hesitation can mean the difference between life and death. He's always prided himself on being in the right place at the right time, especially when it came to Allie Rousseau...until the night he left for basic. After the biggest regret of his life, the secrets he keeps mean he can never be with the one woman he wants more than his next breath.

When Hudson's niece shows up on Allie's doorstep, desperate to find her birth mother, Allie finds herself in an unimaginable position. Allie and Hudson's past and present might be endlessly complicated. The thread that tied them to each other all those years ago may have unraveled, but the truth could pull them back together, or drive them apart forever.

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464 pages

Average rating: 7.73

259 RATINGS

9 REVIEWS

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ljzsreadsandreviews

Mar 13, 2025

10/10 stars

This book is a new obsession. I was addicted from beginning to end with close to nothing I didn’t like. I always love a dual POV so I enjoyed getting both Allie and Hudson’s perspectives plus I liked how we start the story where they first met, as kids. The gap between the prologue to current day left a lot for us to figure out and I predicted a good amount but there were still surprises which I truly appreciated. I was able to picture the Cape Cod setting so vividly and don’t even get me started with these characters because I’m straight up attached. I loved Hudson and his family whole heartedly. Allie was maybe the only piece that occasionally bothered me but I understand the rationale of her character enough where it didn’t ruin the overall likeness of the book. In the end, I cannot stop thinking about this book and although I have read other contemporary works from Rebecca Yarros, this was another reminder that I need to pick up more of them!

Larayagunter

Mar 04, 2025

8/10 stars

I was shocked how much I enjoyed this book. This was the first contemporary romance I’ve read of Rebecca Yarros and damn if she can’t do it all. Give me a ballerina and a military man and you have me hooked! The spice was STEAMY but there was also a plot with a few twists I didn’t expect. Loved it and an easy read!

oOKareenaOo

Feb 22, 2025

5/10 stars

It was okay. It lacked the spark of her other works.

Anonymous

Feb 11, 2025

8/10 stars

RIP to my sleep. I literally stayed up all night reading this.

Easily 4.5 - 4.75 â

Allie and Hudson have a vice grip on my heart, omg talk about swoon worthy and all the little twists, some were predictable - I think as intended - and others are what kept me up all night finishing the book.

The only thing that didn't seem to come entirely full circle for me was the mother's story, but other than that this book was absolutely delectable

lecblocksom

Feb 04, 2025

8/10 stars

I loved the pace and the plots of throughout the book. Normally when I read a book on my Kindle and I love it so much, I buy a physical copy to read it again, and this is one of them.