I was shopping at an outlet mall and saw a large Books-a-Million store. Of course I had to check it out and was pleasantly surprised at the selection of Christian fiction they had in the store. I noticed on the front cover the image of a lady dressed in Civil War era clothing, and having just finished a wonderful novel set in this time period by Lynn Austin, I was still in that mindset. In reading the back cover it looked like this was a more modern story taking place in a house that had been around since before that war. I had never read this author before and was glad to find something new.
I was hooked from the first chapter. A young bride marrying a widower with two children moves into the house belonging to the deceased first wife's grandmother. The children had lived there all their lives and the couple thought it would be best for them to continue to live there. At the wedding reception held at the home, the young bride Marielle hears talk of ghosts, an ancestor who was a spy for the union (the setting is Fredericksburg, Virginia), soldiers buried in the cellar, and more. Over the course of the novel Marielle's curiosity about the house and her discoveries uncovers the secrets of the line of women who have lived there from the Civil War until the present.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book for a couple of reasons. For starters, I love historical fiction and its setting is not far from my own home. The author does a wonderful job of intertwining the past and the present, and the women characters in the book all must make similar sacrifices in the name of love. In the end you see a cycle of unhealthy choices get broken. The references to God are subtle but very evident. A good book to recommend to a friend that might shy away from Christian fiction, fearing it would be too preachy. This is just an intriguing story that shows how love and forgiveness can heal hearts.
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