JUNE FIRST by JENNIFER HARTMANN

‘She claimed me like the sunrise claims the morning sky with lightness and blush, promise and wonder. She claimed me like a cyclone, funneling through a quiet town, taking no prisoners. She claimed my good and my bad, my light and my dark. She took my broken, ugly bits and molded them into something worthy of display. She turned my agony into art. June claimed me in a way that could ultimately be defined by a single word: Inevitable.’

Tragic, forbidden, overwhelmingly emotional, and with a melancholy and sombre tone weaved through its entirety, June First had us clutching our kindles with tears in our eyes and hope in our hearts. ‘He said he’d always protect me…but he has no clue that he’s the one striking me down.’ Jennifer Hartmann began an epic love story in the most heartbreaking of ways. A mere six-year-old boy experiencing tragedy, loss, and violence of which no child should ever have to experience. Grief-stricken lost and confused, his entire life changes in what feels like seconds.

‘I know I’ve pushed her away, I know that. It’s been killing me. But I promised her I’d always protect her, and as long as I’m alive, I will. I knew it wouldn’t be easy – I knew it would be a damn hard promise to keep, but hell…I had no idea it would be this hard. I had no idea the one person I’d need to protect her from was me.’

The writing was heartfelt, vivid, and infused with harrowing passion. But not only that, it was entwined with visions of love, hope, and dreams. “Never underestimate a man willing to wait forever for the woman he loves.” This Author never fails to make us feel like the outside world has completely disappeared, as we live inside hers, our whole entire being compelled by her words and incredible characters. The story of Brant and June is quite the epic love story. From an ugly beginning morphing into something wonderful, to an emotionally confusing middle shrouded in self-condemnation, comes agonising heartbreak and beautiful honest and innocent love. It was an incredible journey, a passionate journey, where every single character counted to make this such an all-encompassing story.

‘He knows every dent and divot in my heart, and he knows how each one got there. He’s tasted my tears and silenced my fears. But he’s not mine.’

Wow, it’s no surprise really, why Jennifer Hartmann finds herself in our top ‘must read’ Authors. She is incredible, her words steal our hearts. And with pages and pages of highlighted passages, we know this is yet another story of hers that will be re-read again and again. ‘Passion is meaning. Passion is purpose. And tragedy is simply the risk we take in order to experience it.’ June First fights for family, it fights for the ones who are lost, the bruised and the battered ones. It fights for understanding, compassion, and acceptance. But ultimately…ultimately, it fights for love.

“When the day comes and you regret this, I pray you can forgive me.”
“I’ll never regret this. Never”
‘I’ll never regret you.’