This is a beautiful story of a group of people, each struggling in their own way, coming together to form a special kind of family -- the family you choose. Loss has brought them all to Dolly's and Si's boarding house in Alabama during the thick of World War II, but love will bring them together in ways none of them imagined. A young couple trying to escape their failure, a young woman trying to escape the ghost of her husband, and a young man trying to escape the demons of the war that injured him in so many ways will all find solace and a place of belonging with a couple trying to escape their own financial struggles and grief. Valerie Fraser Luesse transports readers back to the 1940s with a heartwarming story with lovely characters and the relationships between them. I sincerely enjoyed her first title, Missing Isaac, and Almost Home lives up to those expectations, and then some. Looking forward to promoting this title with family, friends, and colleagues!