Home and Away w/ $25 Amazon or PayPal Giveaway

A review copy was provided

HOME AND AWAY

by Dean Hughes

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 a battlefield far from home in Holland with his 101st Airborne battalion, her soldier son 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.

My Review
I cannot even image what this would be like for I have never had anyone from my family be away because of war or even active military duty.

My heart and thanks goes out to all those who serve our country!

Dean Hughes has been one of my favorite authors for a very long time and his books are always a delight.

Even though this book deals with wartime absence and coming home wounded it also tells a tender story of a family with feelings, and hopes, and fears, and emotions, and love.

It also tells of the effects of wartime and the rationing and the penny-pinching...A splurge on a dress would have been a very big deal.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book!
A GREAT read!

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About the Author

Dean Hughes has published books for readers of all ages, including the bestselling historical fiction series Children of the Promise. Through Cloud and Sunshine is his one-hundredth published book. Dean holds a bachelor’s degree from Weber State University and master’s and PhD degrees from the University of Washington. He has taught English at Central Missouri State University and Brigham Young University. Dean and his wife, Kathleen Hurst Hughes, served a mission to Nauvoo, Illinois. The parents of three children and grandparents of nine, they live in Midway, Utah.

Fresh Courage Take

Book Details
Author: Dean Hughes
Release Date: May 2014
Publisher: Deseret Book
Genre: Historical

I LOVE THIS SERIES!
CAPTIVATING!
TOUCHING!

Trials, fears, and hardships are endured on both ends of the generational divide...

But each learns that family and dear friends is what it is all about.

A connection from the past into the future...

Serving one another...

Knowing that we only become stronger when we do what needs to be done...

But joyous blessings are promised to those that persevere.

You will read of how Will and Liz are forced to leave their beloved city of Nauvoo...

The struggle and decision for Will to join the Mormon Battalion...and how Liz goes on to the west with the help of her sisters.

"How many sacrifices will be required in order for the Saints to create Zion?"

Then you read the parallel story of Will and Liz's descendant, Jeff and his wife Abby, as they face the hardships of work and Church callings and lack of time as their lives become too busy.

"It is clear that building Zion in the latter days will require sacrifices, just as it did in the time of Jeff's ancestors."

"In this concluding volume of the Come to Zion trilogy, beloved novelist Dean Hughes provides a unique perspective on the struggles and sacrifices—and ultimate joy—of faithful Saints in any generation."

SO AMAZINGLY GOOD!
A TRUE MUST-READ!

DO YOU HAVE LDS PIONEER ANCESTORS?

AMAZON * GOODREADS

Book 1: The Winds and the Waves

Book 2: Through Cloud and Sunshine

About the Author

Dean Hughes has published books for readers of all ages, including the bestselling historical fiction series Children of the Promise. Through Cloud and Sunshine is his one-hundredth published book. Dean holds a bachelor’s degree from Weber State University and master’s and PhD degrees from the University of Washington. He has taught English at Central Missouri State University and Brigham Young University. Dean and his wife, Kathleen Hurst Hughes, served a mission to Nauvoo, Illinois. The parents of three children and grandparents of nine, they live in Midway, Utah.

(A review copy was provided, however, all reviews are of my own opinion :)

Through Cloud and Sunshine

Book Details
Author: Dean Hughes
Release Date: Jun 2013
Publisher: Deseret Book
Genre: Historical

I like to read the WHOLE book...including the preface and the author's notes. I find it fascinating what an author puts into a book.

I am always impressed with the amount of research an author must do to write about a different place and a different time.

Dean Hughes actually spent a season serving a mission in Nauvoo and pulls from those days for this book.

He also writes about how this is is 100th book. He has been "at it for thirty-four years." Sometimes he thinks about retiring as an author but says he is not ready "just yet."

He includes in this book about how the hardness of writing is the amount of information one can find now with the help of "Google." How much do you put in a book. How do you keep the book from being a historical text book vs. a novel.

I found this passage very interesting:

"I suspect that if Joseph Smith or one of the Apostles from his time were to preach in a worship service today, he might shock a modern congregation. For one thing, he would probably look unkempt. Men often owned one suit of clothes, cut and sewn with rough fabrics, and instead of sending those clothes to a dry cleaner, they brushed them off and kept wearing them. They surely looked rumpled, and they didn't bathe or shave as often as men do now. Their teeth were often bad, and as people grew older, they usually had spaces where teeth has been pulled. But more than anything, their sermons probably would have sounded strange to us. Not only did they speak for hours, but they often speculated, starting with an idea and developing it right on the spot. Joseph Smith was not as flamboyant as some, but he was full of surprises. Many of his speeches offered a new 'take' on the doctrine, and he liked homey analogies, humor, and sometimes a challenge to enemies of the Church."

 Dean Hughes also tells about the amount of drafts he goes through before his wife, his toughest critic, will say she really likes it. That is the most important endorsement he can receive.

And now you know a little more of what authors put 
into the books that we SO LOVE READING!

Book Description
Nauvoo was supposed to be the kingdom of God on earth, but Will and Liz Lewis are learning that it takes more than dreaming of Zion to make it a reality. Sickness, poverty, and just plain human nature add to the struggles for the Lord's people, but every now and then a glimpse of heaven shines through. Just when things are starting to get settled, though, the old problems start rearing their heads, leaving Will and others wondering if they will be there to reap the harvest they have so carefully sown.

Meanwhile, Jeff and Abby—in modern-day Nauvoo—are dealing with challenges of their own. As their newborn baby fights for his life, they must come to grips with their personal faith. Can they, like their ancestors, continue to trust in God when there seems to be no trace o Him in their trials?

Beloved novelist Dean Hughes skillfully interweaves the stories of two couples separated by five generations and 150 years, providing a unique perspective on Church history and showing how much we can learn from those who went before us.


This series continues to be an AWESOME story!

Book 1: The Winds and the Waves

About the Author
Dean Hughes has published books for readers of all ages, including the bestselling historical fiction series Children of the Promise. Dean holds a bachelor’s degree from Weber State University and master’s and PhD degrees from the University of Washington. He has taught English at Central Missouri State University and Brigham Young University. Dean and his wife, Kathleen Hurst Hughes, are the parents of three children and grandparents of nine, they live in Midway, Utah.


(A digital review copy was provided for this review. However, all reviews are of my own opinion :)

The Winds and the Waves

Book Details
Author: Dean Hughes
Release Date: May 2012
Publisher: Deseret Book
Genre: Historical

This book is WONDERFUL!
I LOVE how the author takes one character and then parallels that story with the story of the descendant of that same character... a fun way to portray not only a story, but a family history.

Life has struggles no matter what generation you live in and as you understand your past family history, it helps you with your future determination.

Will is a tenant farmer in 1840 and feels trapped by the economy and social status.
Will's descendant, Jeff, feels trapped by the economy of modern-day and the loss of his job.

Will sets out to find a better life.
Jeff sets out to find a better life.

Will joins the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and set out for the land of Zion.
Jeff finds himself working on a house in Nauvoo, Illinois and finds out it is right across the street from the land Will owned.

Watch as these two try to make the best of life even if they are thrown into "the winds and the waves."

Three quotes I really liked from the book...

"If this life doesn't turn out so well, we have eternity to be with God and feel His happiness."

"Prayer wasn't a good-luck charm,...it was a means of discovering God's will." 

"You have to remember what Zion is all about: we're going to raise each other up by working together--not by climbing over one another, the way it's done most of the time in this world." 

It is fun to see Jeff display some of his great-grandfathers tendencies!
Also included is some very interesting and inspiring Church history!
An AMAZING read!




About the Author
Dean Hughes has published books for readers of all ages, including the bestselling historical fiction series Children of the Promise. Through Cloud and Sunshine is his one-hundredth published book. Dean holds a bachelor’s degree from Weber State University and master’s and PhD degrees from the University of Washington. He has taught English at Central Missouri State University and Brigham Young University. Dean and his wife, Kathleen Hurst Hughes, served a mission to Nauvoo, Illinois. The parents of three children and grandparents of nine, they live in Midway, Utah.

(A digital review copy was provided for this review. However, all reviews are of my own opinion :)