When I Come Home Again is definitely up there as one of my favorite reads of the year. A second chance story full of heart, it digs deeply into the ways that regret and guilt affect relationships.
Brenna and Craig were characters with a lot of history. Brenna required quite a bit of patience on my part as I watched her slowly begin to recognize her part in all that had happened. I really liked the flashbacks, especially their first date.
Craig was a character that I met in the novella Ordinary Snowflakes, which was such a great story, by the way! In that book, Craig’s fun personality and how great he was with children was apparent. In When I Come Home Again, the reader gets a deeper look into who Craig is. He must navigate through some incredibly difficult things, including opening his heart to two foster children with a lot of emotional baggage.
I loved this book from start to finish and look forward to reading more in the series. The novella, Ordinary Snowflakes, is definitely fun to read as an introduction to the character of Craig Erikson, but if you haven’t read it, don’t worry, When I Come Home Again stands on its own.
(5 stars)
I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
When a family crisis calls him back to Big Prairie, will Craig Erikson be able to work through past mistakes and the tragedy that had sent him searching for a new place to call home?
Brenna Blaum had been sure of three things in her life—her brother, her running, and her dad’s star receiver. But in a matter of a year’s time, everything she’d counted on fell apart, leaving her devastated. Seven years later, she’s stable again. She has a supportive boyfriend, fulfilling career, and close friends. She keeps her past heartache where it belongs—in her rearview mirror. Until the man who broke her heart finds his way back to Big Prairie.
Craig Erikson had it all—popularity, success, and the love of his high school coach’s daughter. But after a year of mistakes that ended in a tragic accident, he’d left Big Prairie—the place he’d thought to always call home—hoping that without his antagonizing presence, Brenna would be able to heal. Now his mother desperately needs him, as do two young boys in her care. Craig has little choice but to return for good.
Unsure that she can forgive him, Brenna does her best to avoid him. Irritated that she ignores him as if they’d never meant anything to each other, Craig becomes determined not to allow it.
Life in a small town forces their interaction, making them confront their unresolved issues and igniting emotions that have smoldered for seven years. As Craig and Brenna are pushed together, can they endure the hard places still littering their lives? If so, is it possible to find their way back to love and home again?
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jennifer Rodewald is a Christian author of fiction who is passionate about the Word of God and the power of story. Four kids and her own personal superman make her home in southwestern Nebraska delightfully chaotic.
Born in Colorado, she experienced both the seclusion of rugged mountain living and the busy streets of a Denver suburb during her growing up years. Somewhere in the middle of college, she married a Husker and found her way back to the quiet lifestyle of a rural area, which suits just fine.
Blessed with a robust curiosity, Jen loves to research. Whether she’s investigating the history of a given area, the biography of a Christian icon, or how nature declares the glory of God, her daily goal is to learn something new. Aiming to live with boundless enthusiasm, her creed is vision, pursuit, and excellence, and she incorporates that pursuit as a Christian writer.
Jen lives and writes in a lovely speck of a town where she watches with amazement while her children grow up way too fast, gardens, and marvels at God’s mighty hand in everyday life.
Britt Reads Fiction 