Customer Reviews

Homeward My Heart (Daughters of Fortune, Book 4)

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4 star:		(3)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

By 1946, the euphoria felt by World War II ending has changed to dread as a Cold War has gripped the globe. Churchill describes it quite well with his Iron Curtain speech splitting Europe between western democracies and communism. People deal with the aftermath of the global conflict and the new confrontation in different ways.

American Cameron sits in a restaurant in Nuremberg, Germany while her beloved husband Alex does likewise in Moscow pretending that they are dining together. The US Embassy has served as an intermediary, but soon afterward Alex is imprisoned in a Soviet prison.

Her sister Jackie raises her three and a half years old daughter Emi by herself as her Japanese spouse died during the war. Friends and even family have cut off Jackie and Emi because of the Japanese connection that remains raw.

The third sibling Blaine cannot cope with a half-Japanese niece as Emi reminds her of being tortured in the Philippines leading to a miscarriage. However, the three sisters band together with the common goal of freeing Alex from his Soviet prison.

HOMEWARD MY HEART is an exciting look at the beginning of the Cold War and the aftermath of World War II on an American family. The story line grips the audience once readers understand that Cameron and Alex are dining "together" at a distance that parallels the coast to coast of the United States. The sisters are delightful as they struggle to find a commonality, which turns out to be the rescue of Alex. Though there are some unrealistic twists, everyone will agree with the siblings of his father when he toasts his wonderful daughters and their melting pot spouses.

Harriet Klausner

This book is the last in a series of 4. The setting is pre World War II, World War II and post WW II. With the characters you are living it and learning how it must have been to be alive during that time. It is riveting and you will not put any of the books in the series down. I recommend it to anyone. You will want there to be a 5th book.

Thank you Mrs. Pella, for creating a series that is realistic and easy to relate to. I loved the series and would definitely recommend it! It was excellent writing, and I had a hard time putting it down. Unlike some christian authors, who write fluff and fairy tales that no average person can relate to, this was a book that most people could relate to in some way or another.

***note there be minor spoilers here***

WWII ends with a happy note for Cameron, but her emotional trials are just beginning.

Jacki's husband never came back from WWII, but she doesn't hate the Germans becuase she just views them as having done their duty, just like her husband. However, her magnimanous views about one's enemies aren't shared by many, especially not when it comes to the Japanese. She joins her sisters in Russia to help Cameron emotionally and do all she can to help find that long lost elusive older brother.

Blair suffered much in the Phillipines physically, emotionally, and spiritually. She hates herself for not being able to move on and be able to accept her niece. She and Gary are back but they're mostly bit players in this book.

The main story focuses on Cameron and poor Alex.

What a wonderful author she is! I am an avid reader and I was capitvated by this series. I ate it up! Now, I must say, while I was reading the first book...she took a while laying the foundation of the 3 girls. So, I truly did think geez...lets move on. I am one who sticks with a book though. I take a long time deciding on a series but once committed, I usually stay with it and never have regretted it. I realized later on in the series why she took her time giving us such an understanding of the formation of each girls character. Their character carries through the whole book, their strengths, their weaknesses formed by their upbringing, then through trials of life, seeing how each of them overcame those weaknesses by using the strengths that God had given them. I cannot say enough about her intellegence in writing. She gives you an indepth eye into the hearts and lives of those who went through the bombing of Pearl Harbor and how it intricately affected so many lives. Beautifully Written!

The three daughters of Keagan and Cecilia Hayes have survived World War II and their harrowing adventures around the globe. But the story is not complete by any means. Cameron's husband is stuck behind the Iron Curtain in Russia and she is determined to get Alex out. Blair and her husband are in Washington DC for Gary's work at the Pentagon. Jackie, a young war widow facing racial discrimination for having married a Jap, and daughter Emi live in L.A. near Keagon and Cecilia.

Cecilia, diagnosed with cancer and not wanting her secret to die with her if she did not make it off the operating table, decides to tell her three daughters about her son, Semyon, in Russia.

Armed with desire to meet Semyon and to assist Alex to escape Russia to the West, the three daughters get visas to go to Russia. Gary, with Blair, will be in the embassy in Russia. Their adventures of intrigue, working with a Russian agent and an American embassy official, keeps them constantly looking over their shoulder and taking circuitious routes to loose their shadows.

Alex had been drawn into espionage by an unscrupplous American at the embassy with the promise of escape to freedom to join Cameron. But he is caught, imprisoned and tortured, using his past drug addiction to get Alex to name others. Russian Agent Anatoly Bogaradski befriends Alex and Cameron. He is able to arrange for a meeting for the three daughters to meet Semyon. Their heroic plan of escape succeeds for Alex, but Anatoly is caught.

This book is written in such a way to draw all pieces of this saga to a satisfactory conclusion. The historical component is a good reminder to us of the world during the Cold War and the many atrocities to the people living under the Communist Regime. May we never forget. May we enjoy the liberty of living in freedom.

After waiting a year for this book to come out, I had to reread the first three books to refresh my memory. It was well worth the wait! This book helped tie up all the loose ends from the previous books. The war is over and everyone must adjust back into their normal lives. Cameron returns to Europe as a foreign journalist but she is unable to get into Russia to be with her husband. In D.C., Gary and Blair are coming to terms with the horrible things they experienced during the war. Meanwhile, Jackie is left to raise her daughter alone and face the prejudice for marrying a Japanese man. The three very different sisters come together for one special cause, to try to save the man that Cameron loves. This book was absolutely amazing! I just wish that the series wouldn't have to end but at least it's going out on a good note! This is a must read for anyone who loves the Daughters of Fortune series as much as I do!

Although WWII has ended, the Hayes sisters find that their lives are anything but peaceful. Cameron, the oldest, finds herself distracted from her journalism career since she is spending most of her time trying to return to Russia to reunite with her estranged husband Alex. Middle sister Blair tries to enjoy Washington, D.C.'s social scene with her senator husband Gary, yet the question of whether they will ever have children plagues her. Finally, Jackie is adjusting to life without her Japanese husband, Sam. She loves her young daughter, Emi, but struggles with prospective boyfriends who can't abandon their anti-Japanese prejudice and tension between her and still-racist Blair keep her from true happiness.

This story of sisterhood, faith, and change is the best in the series. It's clear that Pella knows about and loves Russian settings, and the historical backdrop of post-WII Russia and oppressive Communism adds depth to the story. "Homeward My Heart" also stands apart from the other books in the series since for once, all three of the sisters are united for a significant portion of the story. Their connected, but different, stories keep the book flowing seamlessly. The stories end well, too. With an arrest, a prison escape, a meeting with a long-lost family member, and a new romance, the series' loose ends are tied up with drama and realism.

The "Daughters of Fortune" series is not as engaging as Pella's "The Russians" series. However, readers who have kept up with the saga will appreciate that in this case, the best did come last.

I don't remember to be honest if the two copies of this book were advertised as new or good. I ordered the books of this series from different sellers and the problems that I have had with all of them will probably deter me from ordering this way another time. Again as in the other books that I ordered in this series the pages on all sides are darkened by sun or time. On the bottom pages there is a black marker slash. One of the books had a deep crease in it half way down the front cover. I bought one copy for myself but the other one was to be a gift. I don't feel that I can give it as a gift in this condition. I was very disappointed when I received the two copies of this book.

If I had received the book I ordered I would be happy to give a better review however since the book was never received I am unable to rate it. I would like to have my account credited because I paid for something I did not receive.

Thanks