The Summer That Melted Everything by Tiffany McDaniel

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis:

 The Devil has come to Breathed, Ohio, in the form of a bruised and tattered thirteen-year-old boy. He’s come answering an invitation. Fielding Bliss, the son of a local prosecutor, is the first to meet the devil, shortly before taking him home, where the Bliss family welcomes him. 

 Assuming that he’s a runaway, the Bliss family allows him to stay until his own family shows up to claim him. But when word spreads that the devil has come to Breathed, not everyone is as welcoming to this self-proclaimed fallen angel. Murmurs follow him, tensions rise, along with the unbearable and unusual heat wave that rolls into town right along with him. 

 As strange accidents start to occur, some in the town, riled by feverish heat, start to believe that the pretend devil is exactly who he claims to be. While members of the Bliss family wrestle with their own demons, an extremist drives the town to the brink of a catastrophe that will change Breathed, Ohio, forever. 

What I Think:

 So the book community only goes by rates of 1 star to 5 stars, but can we bend the rule a little so I can give this one 10 stars? 

 So far, this book has to be my most enjoyed read of the year. Not one chapter of the book was dull. From the very beginning it lured me in and kept me hanging on every page. During the reading of this book, my gut was churning the whole time. Now that I’m done, I honestly don’t know how to feel. Like, how can a book make me feel this strongly? 

 Tiffany McDaniel has this natural gift for threading words together. Every character in this book, each member of the Bliss family; Sal, Elohim, Dresden, even the shadowed town goers, all had such depth and substance to them. The dialogue between characters was rich and the internal dialogue was just as great. All the sub plots were wonderfully woven together to amount to one bold main conflict. Which is what? 

 Sometimes the line between good and evil is blurred and sometimes doing the wrong thing can feel like the right thing at the moment. 

 If I had to use one word to describe this book, it would be “profound.” My copy of this book is overwhelmed with sticky tabs. Wisdom is in every chapter. There were also mini stories through out the book from several of the characters, flashbacks and other splendid surprises. Tiffany’s story telling was amazing by the way. I think this book exceeded Tiffany’s intent. It transcends it’s plot. The content is like an unkept secret. 

 Although a couple stones were left unturned, it didn’t stifle the satisfaction I had when I arrived to the end. I was pleased with the ending. Some books leave you needing closure from the unexplained or the lack of answers but this book was in a class all of its own. 

 It’s accurate to say that this book was beautifully heart-breaking.