Review - Home Fires

HOME FIRES
Written by: JANA RICHARDS
Published by:  The Wild Rose Press, Inc
ISBN: 978-1-61217-240-8
Pages: 100
Pub Date: 2012

A young British woman, Anne Wakefield, who served as a nurse during WWII, arrives in Emerald, Saskatchewan, a tiny village on the Canadian prairies to meet up with her fiancé, Anders Gustafson, a soldier whom she met during the war. To her surprise Anders doesn’t pick her up at the train station, but instead his older brother Erik, was also a solider and has a bad limp to prove it, does. He basically keeps quiet and takes her to the family farm where she meets his mother, Astrid, and his sister, Ingrid. But there is no sign of her dear Anders, all except for a letter that would change her life.

    It seems when Anders returned home, he married a local girl, Signe, and took a job in another city. Anne is embarrassed, but not as much as the Gustafson’s family, whom are left to cleanup Anders's mess.

    Anne wonders if she should return to England and stays with the family for a few days to think about. As she tries out the simple farm life, a relationship between Annie and Erik blooms rapidly, and Annie promises to herself that she will reunite the two estranged brothers, Erik and Anders.

    I was unaware before reading this novella that there was ever a “War Bride,” but this it is not fictional. There were many Canadian soldiers that married women from overseas during WWII. The author does a remarkable job capturing the emotional rollercoaster that Annie is on from the moment she learns that her fiancé Anders has married someone else, as if his feelings for her instantly changed when he returned home. The older brother Erik is displayed as a typical solider with physical wounds from the war and suffering from emotional childhood trauma, mostly from his late father treating him differently than Anders. Back then when a situation similar to this occurred, the brother (older or younger) would step up, do the right thing, and marry the woman. This is exactly what Erik is suspected to do in Home Fires.

    From the opening narration, I was hooked into the simple, but heartwarming plot. There are a few passionate love scenes, which I was a bit surprised to find in a novella, but it added more depth and realism to Erik and Anne’s relationship. Home Fires is a sweet, fast-paced read that should satisfy all historical romance readers.

*I would like to thank Goddess Fish Book Tours for providing me with a copy to review. 

Jana will award a $25 Amazon GC to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour. The tour dates can be found here: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2012/04/virtual-book-tour-home-fires-by-jana.html 

About the Author:

Jana Richards has tried her hand at many writing projects over the years, from magazine articles and short stories to full-length paranormal suspense and romantic comedy. She loves to create characters with a sense of humor, but also a serious side. She believes there’s nothing more interesting then peeling back the layers of a character to see what makes them tick.

When not writing up a storm, working at her day job as an Office Administrator, or dealing with ever present mountains of laundry, Jana can be found on the local golf course pursuing her newest hobby.

Jana lives in Western Canada with her husband Warren, and a highly spoiled Pug/Terrier cross named Lou. You can reach her through her website at http://www.janarichards.net