Home and Away: A World War II Christmas Story by Dean Hughes-Blog Tour Review

 Posted by  Blog Tours, Book Reviews, Sheila's Reviews
Nov 062015
 
Home and Away (1)  

Product Details:

  • Title: Home and Away: A World War II Christmas Story
  • Author: Dean Hughes
  • Hardcover: 208 pages
  • Publisher: Shadow Mountain Publishing (September 29, 2015)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1629720933
  • FTC, FYI: I received a review e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Book Description:
A historical fiction novel told from the perspective of a son fighting on the battlefields of Europe during World War II and his mother, struggling with worry and uncertainty about her soldier son while she tries to keep a semblance of a normal, happy Christmas holiday back on the home front. Norma Hayes has always tried to make Christmas special for her family, but 1944 will make that more difficult with money being tight and wartime rationing making everything hard to come by.

 Aware of his mother’s hardships and the worry from having her eldest son at war, second son, Dennis, is determined to buy his mother a special gift this Christmas, a lavender blue dress he hopes will bring her comfort as a symbol of special times gone by and the hope of a brighter future with the family reunited at war’s end. 

Meantime, on the long campaign to free Europe, her soldier son carries on as best he can, the horrors of war taking its heavy toll on armies and civilians alike. On a battlefield far from home in Holland with his 101st Airborne battalion, he catches a familiar scent of lavender which briefly transports him back to the home front to the perfume scent his mother wore, giving him a short respite and reuniting the family once again if only in his imagination. This historical fiction novel is a nostalgic and tender story about the power of love, the reality of war, and the hope we all have that things will turn out all right.

My Review:
Once I stopped crying after reading the end of the book, I started writing this review. The actual review is not posting for another week, but I had to write down the emotions I was feeling right now.

First let me say, if you buy any new Christmas book this year for your family, Home and Away: A World War II Christmas Story by Dean Hughes is the book to buy!!

 Now, this isn’t the first time that a Dean Hughes story has made me cry. No, he is responsible for many tears shed at my house through the years while reading one of his many novels. I can guarantee that this story will touch your heart, whether or not it’s Christmas time, but it will make it just that more special to read during the holidays.

This story is one that will make you appreciate your family more, your freedoms, and those who are in the military. The spirit of Christmas is strong in the book as the Hayes family is preparing for Christmas. With the war on, supplies and money are scarce. Middle son, Dennis, is going to high school and working an after school job to earn money to buy something nice for his mom for Christmas.His older brother is off fighting in the war in Germany and the family worries if they will ever see him again. This book shows the many miracles and gifts that can be found.

This book is so heart warming that it is the perfect family read-aloud for this Christmas. I know that is exactly what I’m planning on doing this December.

Purchase Home and Away: HERE
add to goodreads
Meet Author Dean Hughes:

Dean Hughes was born in Ogden, Utah on August 24, 1943. He started telling people in junior high that he was going to be a writer, but he did not become serious until he took a creative writing class in high school. During his senior year in high school he started his first novel.

He attended Weber State University studying English, and received a Masters in creative writing and a PhD in literature from the University of Washington. Before he became a full-time writer, he taught English at Central Missouri State University for 8 years. Hughes has also taught creative writing at Brigham Young University.

Hughes was 35 when his first book was published. He has written and published over ninety books. Much of his writing is targeted to children and young adults (particularly sports-themed and World War II-era books), although he is also well known to adult readers of LDS Fiction for “Children of the Promise” and “Hearts of the Children” series, set in World War II and Vietnam War eras respectively. He is one of the writers largely credited with the rapidly increasing quality of Mormon literature in recent years. in 2011 one of his books,Midway to Heaven, was made into a movie.

Dean Hughes is married and has three children and nine grandchildren.
In March 2008, Hughes received a Lifetime Achievement award at the inaugural Whitney Awards.

In September 2013, Hughes celebrated the publication of his 100th book, Through Cloud and Sunshine.

In April 2014 he was awarded a lifetime-achievement AML Award.

Blog Tour Review of An Unexpected Angel, by Janet K. Halling

 Posted by  Blog Tours, Sheila's Reviews
Dec 092012
 

Product Details

  • Title: An Unexpected Angel
  • Author: Janet K. Halling
  • Paperback: 120 pages
  • Publisher: Cedar Fort, Inc. (October 9, 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1462111033
  • ISBN-13: 978-1462111039
  • FTC FYI: I received a review e-copy in exchange for an honest review.
  • Review by: Sheila
Book Description:
Sometimes finding peace means finding a difference perspective.
  
 Ella Davies, is focused, independent, and driven. Her hard work is finally paying off and she is on the brink of great success. But what no one knows is that her frantic drive is born not from a desire to succeed, but from a need to forget – forget her past, forget her guilt, and mostly, forget the tragedy that changed her life forever.
                  
 Ella’s strategy seems to be working but on Christmas Eve she meets Cohen, a strange man with an even stranger purpose. Cohen catapults Ella back through time and forces her to confront not only her own pain, but the pain of those long since passed. In the process, Ella learns about courage and compassion and that in the darkest hour, no one is ever alone.
An Unexpected Angel – Excerpt (All rights reserved)
                  Somewhere there was a rhythmic humming—a kind of a swooshing sound that increased and decreased in volume at regular intervals. She couldn’t remember where she was. Her whole body ached, and her head felt as if it would explode.
                  Ella groaned and opened her eyes. She was still in the gym, lying crumpled against the weight machine. The treadmill had stopped, and the rhythmic sound was coming from the man riding the spinning bike, which sat nearby.
                  Her fingers trembled as she felt the goose egg on the side of her head. Her face was on fire, probably scraped on the belt, and her knees were bloody, also from the belt.
                  Suddenly she stiffened. There was a man riding the bike! A man riding the bike. While she had been lying there unconscious. Had he just sauntered in and climbed on without seeing her at all or had he viewed her inert form without concern? That was cold, even for New York City. Gingerly, she turned her head to look at him.
                  It was the clerk from the deli, and he didn’t stop pedaling as he glanced her way. “Oh good, you’re awake.”
                  She stared up at him in mute astonishment.
                  He reached for his water bottle and took a long drink. “I’m glad you woke up on your own,” he said pleasantly. “I was about ready to pour this in your face, so you can thank me for sparing you an unexpected shower.”
                  Ella grasped the weight machine and pulled herself slowly to a sitting position. Her head was throbbing, and her stomach lurched. “I could sue you for failing to come to the aid of an injured person,” she snapped rather feebly.
                  The man studied her contemplatively. “Hmmm, yes, you would think of that, wouldn’t you? But I’m not too worried, Ella. You’re not going to sue me and we both know it.”
                  She opened her mouth to snarl a retort but stopped abruptly. “How do you know my name?” she demanded. “And what are you even doing here? You don’t live in this building.” She hesitated, realizing she wasn’t sure. “Do you?”
                  He jumped off the bike and held out his hand. “You should get up. Want help?”
                  She shrank away from him. “Don’t touch me! Who are you, and how do you know my name?”
                  “Well, it’s simple really. My name is Cohen, and I’m your guardian angel.” He broke into a brief but rapid tap dance routine and finished with flair. And with jazz hands.
                  Ella stared at him in perplexed silence, unsure if he was a hallucination or just crazy. “Uh-huh. Right,” she finally said, groaning as she pulled herself to her feet. A wave of nausea hit her, and she stopped, doubling over and willing herself not to vomit. She for sure had a concussion.
She tried to think. Should she go to the hospital? Or maybe just go home and try to sleep? She didn’t know. She made a move toward the door, but Cohen tap-danced over to block her path.
                  “Get out of my way,” she snapped at him with more bravado than she felt.
                  He grinned. “Can’t do that. You and me, we have business tonight.”
                  For the first time, she felt a small dart of fear. Cohen wasn’t exactly menacing, but he certainly was strange. If he attacked her, would she have the strength to fight him? If only her head would stop hurting!
                  “What do you want?” she asked.
                  “I already told you, I’m your guardian angel. Well, not technically an angel, but that word will serve as well as any other. Anyway, I’m here to help.”
                  “Sure. Like you helped me when I was unconscious a minute ago? If that’s your kind of help, no thanks.”
                  “No, not that kind of help, silly.”
                  “Look, whatever you’re on, whatever you’re offering, I’m not interested. Just leave me alone, please? I’m sore and tired, and my head is killing me. I need to go lie down.”
                  “Oh, right. That.” He made some sort of vague gesture and instantly her nausea subsided and the pain in her head vanished.
                  Chills raced up and down her spine, and she stared at him, “Wait . . . what’s . . . what’s going on?”
                  “Okay, no more joking around.” Cohen looked suddenly serious. “Here’s the deal. You need help and there’s a lot you need to learn. Only you’re far too stubborn to admit it. You might not even know how much help you need. But I know; so here I am.”
                  The pieces were starting to fall into place. “Wait . . . Christmas Eve . . . guardian angel. This is some kind of a joke, right?” she said before adding sarcastically, “What’s the matter, Jacob Marley was busy? Clarence already got his wings? Or wasn’t he on duty tonight?”
                  He grinned. “Both good men. But you got stuck with me. Although, all things considered, maybe it’s me who got stuck with you. You can be quite unpleasant, do you know that?”
                  Ella snorted derisively. “So when does the Ghost of Christmas Past show up? Or is he waiting for me upstairs?”
                  “Dickens took some liberties. It doesn’t exactly work like that. At least, this time it won’t.”
                   “You have exactly one second to get out of my way or I’m going to start screaming at the top of my lungs!”
                  Cohen cocked his head to one side and gave her a brief shrug of resignation. “Okay then, you win. Can’t say I didn’t try.” He stepped smoothly to one side and swept his arm in a wide arc toward the door. “Be my guest.”
                  Throwing him what she hoped was a withering glare, Ella marched past him, flung open the door—and stepped into a nightmare.
My Review:

 How amazing is it when a short book, only 120 pages long,can make you sit and cry and cry? An Unexpected Angel is truly an unexpected read.Main character Ella is an unlikable,lonely and straight forward lawyer. The story begins on Christmas Eve. With nuances of Dicken’s, A Christmas Carol, Ella is taken on a journey of self-discovery and forgiveness. Each experience that Ella has, draws her closer to her real self. Ella has hard a sad life, losing her mother and sisters at the age of nine. She has never recovered from this loss or fully healed her relationship with her father. With the help of her guardian angel Cohen, she learns many things in one night. There are many tender moments in this story that will leave you reaching for the tissues.
Will I share this story with my kids and other family members? 100% yes! I loved this book so much, I plan on buying several copies to give to family members. The messages found in this book are so important I HAVE to share it with my loved ones. This is a 5 star book that you will want to own and share this Christmas.
Author Bio:
                  Janet Halling discovered her love of writing at the age of six when her story of a lonely duck won a first grade writing contest. She has a degree in Marketing Communications and lives with her family in northern Utah. She is currently working on her next novel.

 

Online Content:
TV interview (Recorded 11/27/12 for Good Things Utah ABC4)