Almost Home is a delightful Southern Historical story set in the 1940s. I loved the characters and the boarding house setting sets up a wonderful set of circumstances. This book is so charming and I loved reading it.

Almost Home is a lovely historical novel set in a boarding house in 1940's small town Alabama. Recommended for fans of historical fiction and inspirational fiction.

This was a story that kept me guessing until the end. And left me wanting more. What a wonderful description of how a group of strangers became friends and all survived the depression and the second world war. The story takes place in Blackberry Springs, Alabama. You will genuinely care for Ms. Luesse's characters. We have a wonderful mix of people, who have all suffered lose and find themselves at Dolly's boarding house. It would be hard to pick a favorite. We have an unemployed couple of professors from Chicago, an estranged young couple from the Midwest, a widower from Mississippi, and a shattered young veteran struggling to heal from the war. There are a couple of outstanding neighbors as well, a young widow named Daisy and a special older blind neighbor named Lillian. There is so much to this book. You will learn what it means to help your neighbor. How to be a true friend. And how sharing helps the load grow lighter. This could have been a dark and sad novel, but I loved the way this author was able to draw hope out of the darkness. I enjoyed this story so much and I would definitely recommend it. I received a copy of this book from Revell through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Book Court - Where I'm the Judge and Jury

CHARGE (What is the author trying to say?): To explore the effects of World War II and the Great Depression.

FACTS: A family home becomes a boarding house as a couple tries to save their home. Their assorted guests are all fleeing something. A young couple runs from their failed farm, professors flee their closing university, a widow escapes the pain of losing her young husband, and a veteran flees the horrors of war. Can they find what they were searching? Can the home be saved? Can a local treasure legend be solved? This is a sweet story of healing and redemption.

VERDICT (Was the author successful?): Guilty, as charged. A very pleasant read.

#AlmostHome #NetGalley

"Almost Home" is a story that is beautifully shared and will have the reader longing for a circle of people to live life with such as the characters in the book. Blackberry Springs is a place that is changing so much due to World War II and Dolly finds her home changing and her life both after she opens her open to be a boardinghouse. As Dolly connects with newcomers to town and neighbors, she realizes she needs them all just as much as they all need her home and each other. Tragedy and changes can create a wedge between people, but it can also build a tie just as strong and result in hope. Reading this book painted such vivid pictures for me, as the author's style of writing is so descriptive and flowy, it felt as if I was a part of the story. I loved getting to know the characters, they all became so real to me and I loved learning their stories and seeing the bonds that they all built with each other. As the intrigue and backstory of the house draws them even more together, I loved seeing this play out and this aspect of the story as it added an additional element to it. I am looking forward to reading what Valerie will write next!

Almost Home is a pretty good read. I enjoyed this book. I give four stars. I recommend it for other readers who love a well written and clean fiction.

I liked this book very much. It pulls you in from the start and makes you want more.

Great setting, time period and characters. A southern novel at it’s best for sure. I enjoyed this book and learned a few things along the way.

I highly recommend this book. It’s a 4.5 stars from me.

Thank you NetGalley and Revell for a copy in exchange for an honest review. Loved it!!

You know that this will be a Southern novel when the author starts out by talking about “Yankee carpetbaggers” as boarders, but this genuine language brings out the charm of the owners and the setting - southern Alabama!
Miss Dolly and her husband, Si, rent out rooms to the Clanahans, a dreadful couple, Anna and Jesse Williams, a young couple who need a fresh start, Dr. and Mrs. Hastings, university professors who need jobs, and Joe Dolphus, a widower in search of work.
The Clanahans are ordered to leave the house the first evening that Anna and Jesse are there for insulting their hosts and Dolly’s cooking!
The house they live in, which Dolly calls “Little Mama’s house”, is a Southern landmark, which is lovingly cared for by its’ owners, is a farmer “river pirate’s house.” Dolly and Si changed an old barn into a roller skating rink, and they are planning on making a lake for the whole community to enjoy and to help pay for the taxes on their home.
You will have to read the story for yourself to find out how living with Dolly and Si changes and enriches everyone’s lives, and how a decades-old mystery is solved!

This is a southern story. Set in Alabama in those good 'ole days. Dolly's home is the place that Jesse and Anna find themselves, after they've lost everything they owned. They've forgotten why they fell in love and almost lost each other in the bargain.

Dolly. She opens her doors and makes her boarders feel like family.

There's also the story from the past...about a new bride and groom who vanished on their wedding day. Nobody knows what happened to them, it was believed that they drowned.

Dolly's friends are determined to find out what happened.

Along the way, they find themselves again.

This is a sweet and heartwarming story. That hint of mystery kept me turning pages. I also enjoyed the depths of each character as they discovered again their purpose in life.

Disclaimer: I receive complimentary books from various sources, including, publishers, publicists, authors, and/or NetGalley. I am not required to write a positive review, and have not received any compensation. The opinions shared here are my own entirely. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

Genre: WWII, historical, Christian fiction.

My Rating: 4 stars.

My Recommendation: 16 up.

My Favorite Character/s: Each of the characters is one of a kind, and I love following each of their stories. I can't say I have a favorite though since each one made the other better. They were people bonded into a family by tragedy, friendship and an eternal Love.

My Thoughts: This story opened on an easy to follow and mesmerizing description of what life was like during WWII. I loved this story, it was so interesting and a new look at WWII for me. The whole book was so deep and the characters' struggles so real that the book just kept me swiping from one page to the next.

Warnings: There are suggestions of . . . not ghosts but I'm not sure really what to say what but like the house was "living". Which made me uncomfortable.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for my honest review, and I am truly happy to provide it!

This story will make you laugh and cry. I did not want to put this book down. This is the type of story that shows how people take care of other people during crises. These were people’s that didn’t know each other but who grew to love one another. They grew to be a family even when they were not related. I loved the characters and how they interacted. I received a copy of this book from Revell for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.

I anxiously awaited to read this and when I first started it, I literally read almost half of it right off. The gentleness of the characters and the way their lives become weaved together. There is a sweetness to the description and I just love how unique the characters are.

Something happened to my enjoyment of this book a little over halfway through. The fault may be mine, since I don't have as much time to read now, but there was a disconnect with the characters as well. I wanted to see more of Anna's story, although I loved Reed and Daisy's story. And then the mysterious story from the past came into play, and unfortunately, it distanced me more from soaking in each character.

Saying all that, the romance was sweet and made me happy. The spiritual content is good, although a couple strange "Pentecostal" moments that I didn't agree with. I love the setting and I could totally picture the style and way of life following the Second World War.

If you love a story weaved with several characters and a slight hint of mystery, then this one is just for you.

With the United States highly involved in WWII, the small town of Blackberry Springs, Alabama, is running over with people wanting to work in the government's munition plants. Realizing they need extra income to pay the taxes on their large house and land, Dolly and Si Chandler long time residents of this little community open up their home and rent bedrooms to single men and couples who have come south to work. Their boarders who come from different backgrounds find a home in their house until they can get back to their real home or have enough money to establish their own home. The boarders are treated like family by Dolly and Si and end up becoming a part of their extended family. And with a little bit of romance from those who lived in their house many years ago and also from those who are currently living in their house, this book is a truly wonderful story with beautiful, flowing language.
And thanks to NetGalley for the ecopy for my Kindle!

This is a book about survivors, some young, some middle aged and some eccentric, makes for an interesting read……It’s the 1940's and Dolly Chandler is running a boardinghouse in her family home in Blackberry Springs, Alabama. It is at a time of World War two and some are looking for employment and some of the boarders have brought their painful pasts with them. A young couple having marital problems, 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. Dolly is a motherly figure and her old family home is a haven for the boarders. And of course discovering a secret diary from the 1800s will be interesting as well. Reading the diary about a pirate and his marrying the preacher’s daughter and the mention of buried treasure and their disappearing on their wedding night has everyone’s attention.This is a delightful book and the characters are very interesting…..I was given a copy from the publisher via netgalley and these words are my own.

Almost Home, a novel by Valerie Fraser Luesse, opens in 1944 in Blackberry Springs, Alabama. Americans are having a difficult time and some have come to work in a munitions plant. The novel tells the story of the boarders staying at Dolly Chandler's once grand family home. They are a varied group, each with their own story. However, they are not the only ones with a story. The house, with its own story, plays an important role in the narrative.

There is so much about this book that is engrossing. The author brings to readers a collection of diverse, charismatic characters who are now living away from their own homes. We follow them as they deal with their struggles. Enduring and beautiful relationships are formed. It became obvious that the family they became was as important as the ones they were born into. This story is a reminder that good people do exist, as do second chances. There is a current of mystery throughout that adds intrigue to the story. Beautifully written and packed with emotion, Almost Home is wonderfully readable novel. Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Revell and NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Readers will absolutely fall in love with the characters in Luesse's Almost Home. These are people that you will want to be friends with. The setting is a close knit community in the country not far from Birmingham, Alabama in the mid 1940s. Josiah (Si) and Dolly Chandler have opened their home to borders in an effort to pay their taxes and save the home that had been in Dolly's family for years. Never ones to pass up an opportunity to minister to people (not to be confused with preaching to them), Si and Dolly touch the hearts of many who become as family. As a result these people begin to heal and to care for those around them as well. This most especially includes the young couple whose marriage is faltering, a war widow, and a wounded soldier. The story is made even more fun by a backstory involving a mystery including a Robin Hood like river pirate.

Not only will historical fiction fans enjoy this story, but so will those who love someone who is serving or has served in our modern military. The visible scars of these warriors may not be the ones that impact them or their families the most.

I am grateful to have received a copy of Almost Home from Revell via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. I was under no obligation to write a positive review, and received no monetary compensation.

I loved this story, one that you try to read slowly so you don’t miss anything, and then one that you have read faster to get the answers. I did figure out the end, or at least part of it, early on, but needed to keep reading to confirm.
The story made me want to get a room at Si and Daisy’s, and spend my time with these loveable characters, and their caring for each other.
A remnant time after the depression, and we are at War, but these people are survivors, and fate or God puts them together, and we get to be there with them.

I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Revell, and I was not required to give a positive review.

This novel emphasizes the hard times during WWII. Dolly and her husband owned up her family's house to boarders when people came searching for jobs offered by the army. This novel is a story about the people who lived in the boarding house and the closeness they had. The diary from the pirate's wife was intriguing since it gave answers to the local folklore. The characters were sweet and wholesome with a few exceptions. For the most part the story was believable with a few surprises.

This book feels like being wrapped in a warm hug. If you're looking for a cozy, sentimental read that settles slow and stays awhile, this one hits the spot.

Filled with lovely characters, a mysterious local legend, and a good dose of romance, Almost Home feels like coming home--to people and a place you'll grow to love.

What an incredible book! Almost Home by Valerie Fraser Luesse is like a warm hug that stays with you for a very long time.

I loved the cast of characters and I will miss them all, although some stand out more than others - like Reed and Daisy, Anna and Jesse, Miss Lillian and especially Si and Dolly. I feel like I just stepped back in time, took a trip down South and then somewhere between last night and this morning, realized I was reading a book and I was not really there! What a disappointment. LOL!

Dolly and Si Chandler run an interesting boardinghouse that helps its tenants in more ways then just providing a place to sleep and eat. Within its walls friendships are made, love is found and mysteries are uncovered. It is a delightfully restful place where you wish you could stay (if only it were real)!

Valerie Fraser Luesse is a new author to me and one I will be closely watching. If you enjoy historical fiction and characters that are so real they jump off the pages and into your heart, you will love this book!

Book provided courtesy of Baker Publishing.