It's the 1940s and Dolly Chandler is running a boardinghouse in her family home in Blackberry Springs, Alabama. Many people have flocked to the area to work at the plants producing military weapons and equipment. Some of the boarders have brought their painful pasts with them but maybe staying with Dolly and her husband and getting to know the other people in the house, will help set them on the path to healing. And of course discovering a secret diary from the 1800s will be interesting as well.
This book is probably best classified as Christian fiction although I wouldn't say religion is a huge part of the story. For me this was much more a story of friendship and people finding a way to move on from hurt and pain.
The book is pretty much split into two different parts. The first part involving Anna, a married woman from the Midwest who is having marital issues with her husband, held my interest more than the second storyline of a veteran returning home from war. I appreciate the author trying to shine a light on the effects war has on soldiers but I don't think she pulled it off very successfully. It was also frustrating that a character you spent half a book getting to know, is pretty much sent to the back burner in order to introduce a new storyline. Alternating chapters from the characters' perspectives might have worked better than first half, second half stories.
Even though this was over 300 pages, it was a pretty quick read. I think if you are in the mood for something that has characters with good hearts, this might be a safe bet.
I won a free advance copy of this book from the publisher and BookishFirst.
This book is probably best classified as Christian fiction although I wouldn't say religion is a huge part of the story. For me this was much more a story of friendship and people finding a way to move on from hurt and pain.
The book is pretty much split into two different parts. The first part involving Anna, a married woman from the Midwest who is having marital issues with her husband, held my interest more than the second storyline of a veteran returning home from war. I appreciate the author trying to shine a light on the effects war has on soldiers but I don't think she pulled it off very successfully. It was also frustrating that a character you spent half a book getting to know, is pretty much sent to the back burner in order to introduce a new storyline. Alternating chapters from the characters' perspectives might have worked better than first half, second half stories.
Even though this was over 300 pages, it was a pretty quick read. I think if you are in the mood for something that has characters with good hearts, this might be a safe bet.
I won a free advance copy of this book from the publisher and BookishFirst.