Almost Home {A Book Review}

**Book received for consideration. Post contains affiliate links. All thoughts are 100% my own.

More often than not, it seems like life is full of unexpected twists and turns. If we were to go back even just five years ago, most of us would not be able to predict exactly where we would be today. Despite our best laid plans, sometimes things just don't go quite how we pictured them in our minds. Still, though these changes may shake us we often find that through them God puts us just where He wants us in that given time, surrounding us with those that will make an impact on our life.

The new novel by Valerie Fraser Luesse, 'Almost Home' is a beautifully written reminder of just that:

With America's entrance into the Second World War, the town of Blackberry Springs, Alabama, has exploded virtually overnight. Workers from all over are coming south for jobs in Uncle Sam's munitions plants--and they're bringing their pasts with them, right into Dolly Chandler's grand but fading family home turned boardinghouse.
An estranged young couple from the Midwest, unemployed professors from Chicago, a widower from Mississippi, a shattered young veteran struggling to heal from the war--they're all hoping Dolly's house will help them find their way back to the lives they left behind. But the house has a past of its own.
When tragedy strikes, Dolly's only hope will be the circle of friends under her roof and their ability to discover the truth about what happened to a young bride who lived there a century before.
Award-winning and bestselling author Valerie Fraser Luesse breathes life into a cast of unforgettable characters in this complex and compassionate story of hurt and healing.

With any good story, it really is the characters that make it, isn't it? You can have a great plot, but without captivating characters it's going to be tough to draw the reader in and hold their attention. It is the characters that we fall in love with, the characters who keep us reading through to the end to see how they turn out. And let me tell you, this book has some great ones! I loved the eclectic bunch of boarders who found themselves thrown together due to life's unexpected plans. They were well developed with unique traits, both good and bad and you couldn't help but root for them throughout. What I loved most though was that while it took place during WWII, a reality so far off from our own... the stories were very much relate-able even in our own modern world. Sure, the specifics may have changed, but the feelings and the struggles are all very much the same.

Throughout these struggles though, this group is brought together by a little mystery.

When I was a young I loved stories that featured a little something secret. Hidden passages, unknown rooms and the like. What kid doesn't? But let's be honest, I think we'd all still get a little excited over the idea. The idea of a mysterious couple and a pirate's treasure? Well, that's certainly enough to gather my intrigue... just as it did for our hodge podge of boarders in this tale.

Now, I don't want to give too much away... but I absolutely loved this book. It had just the right blend of drama, of faith, of sorrow, of romance and of mystery...all rolled into one beautiful story! If you're looking for the next book to add to your reading list, this one is worth checking out!

'Almost Home' is available to purchase today!