Today I am pleased to feature
Home of Her Heart
by Shanna Hatfield
About Home of Her Heart:
All he needed was a bride…
Who said anything about falling in love?
Orphaned at birth and a loner all his life, the last thing
Sergeant Klayne Campbell needs is for feisty Delaney Danvers to entangle his
thoughts. Bravely volunteering for a top-secret mission almost certain to
get him killed, Klayne can’t bear the thought of dying utterly alone. All he
wants is to face death knowing his life meant something to at least one person.
Offering Delaney a marriage of convenience, he plans to leave behind a war
bride as his beneficiary. After just one night as her husband, Klayne realizes
he’ll do anything to survive and return to her.
The moment she met handsome Sergeant Campbell at a holiday party,
Delaney’s whole world shifted off kilter. Full of fun with an unquenchable zest
for life, she isn’t afraid to go after what she wants. And what she wants is
Klayne. When he prepares to join a hazardous mission, she seizes the
opportunity to give him a reason to fight his way back home — to her heart.
A tender, sweet romance rich with history and enduring love, Home
of Her Heart captures the era and emotions prevalent during America’s entry
into World War II.
~o0o~
Shanna invites all to
join her during her Facebook Event to introduce Home of Her Heart to
be held Thursday, August 10th.
To join the party, CLICK HERE.
My
Book Review:
This was a sweet whirlwind romance
between Delaney and Klayne, two characters caught up in the apprehension and
uncertainty of war. Their time together at the beginning of their romance was
short, and they made a quick decision that probably would not have been made
during times of peace and stability.
These two main characters
were each dysfunctional in their own way, each letting their fears about their
own imperfections, real and perceived, drive their decision-making processes.
It was interesting to see them work through these issues to strengthen their
relationship, although at times I felt like throttling both of them. There was
also a great cast of supporting characters that added depth and interest to the
story.
Most of the story dealt with
Delaney and her father working on the home front dealing with the challenges of
a wartime economy and labor shortages, and helping a child grieve the loss of
parents due to war, while she waited for word of Klayne. The World War Two
action Klayne was involved in centered around the bombing of Tokyo and other
cities in Japan in the spring of 1942. The author shared the dangers and
challenges experienced by those U.S. Army Air Corp B-25 crews who flew that
mission. The author indicated in her afterward notes she spent a great deal of
time researching that mission and what happened to the men who flew it. The
details from her research came out in her writing.
I enjoyed this book and
would recommend to those who enjoy clean, World War Two romance.
~o0o~
To purchase Home of Her Heart,
~o0o~
About Shanna
Hatfield:
Convinced everyone deserves a happy ending, USA Today bestselling author Shanna
Hatfield is out to make it happen, one story at a time. Her sweet historical
and contemporary romances combine humor and heart-pumping moments with
relatable characters.
When this hopeless romantic isn’t writing or indulging in rich, decadent chocolate, Shanna hangs out with her husband, lovingly known as Captain Cavedweller.
When this hopeless romantic isn’t writing or indulging in rich, decadent chocolate, Shanna hangs out with her husband, lovingly known as Captain Cavedweller.
She is a member of Western Writers
of America, Women Writing the West, Sweet Romance Reads, Pioneer Hearts, Sweet
Americana Sweethearts, and Romance Writers of America.
Follow Shanna online:
Excerpt:
Klayne
wasn't sure how he'd allowed a group of his comrades to talk him into coming.
He much preferred spending time alone. Tonight, though, he hadn't wanted to be
stuck with only his maudlin thoughts for company. When a handful of fellow
members of the 17th Bombardment Group invited him to join them, he grabbed his
cap and went along. Now, he wondered if he'd be better off back at their barracks
where he can lose himself in a book. The novel he'd been reading, The Keys of the Kingdom by A. J. Cronin,
about an unconventional Scottish Catholic priest struggling to establish a
mission in China, had been quite engrossing.
His
mine played over the plot as his piercing blue eyes flickered over the
guests. Perhaps his maudlin thoughts were preferable to this crowd. It wasn't
hard to see the majority of those in attendance were pretending to be happy and
in a celebratory mood.
In
truth, the majority of the country floundered in a sea of grief and devastation.
Three weeks earlier, Japan had bombed Pearl Harbor, wreaking destruction and
shocking a nation that had clung to peace instead of chasing war. Upon America’s
official entry into war with Japan and Germany, Klayne and his fellow U.S. Army
Air Corp members knew it was only a matter of time before they were sent on a
mission from their current base at Pendleton Field. He’d never heard of the
Wild West town in northeastern Oregon before arriving in Pendleton back in the
summer, after the Army air field opened.
The
too-bright smiles and strained laughter of those attending this evening’s
gathering grated on Klayne’s taut nerves. Rather than a festive, jubilant mood,
he sensed an undercurrent of apprehension and despair among the partygoers. Life
had rapidly changed from a struggle to overcome the challenges of moving beyond
the Depression to grasping at every bit of hope and joy available because
tomorrow had become such and uncertainty.
Notes
tinkled from the piano in the opposite corner of the room and a dozen people
belted out popular tunes mixed with Christmas carols. Klayne had spent
Christmas day flying with a patrol along the West Coast, watching for signs of
a Japanese attack. He'd only returned to Pendleton that afternoon.
Instead
of convincing himself he might enjoy a party, he should have known better and
stayed at the base.
A
barely restrained cringe accompanied his next sip of punch. He held a bit of
ice against the roof of his mouth and listened as the singers did a fair job on
“O Come All Ye Faithful.”
The
scent of bayberry from the candles burning on the mantel beside him might have
made him nostalgic, if he owned any pleasant holiday memories. He inhaled a
bouquet of perfume from the women in the room, tainted by the underlying odor
of alcohol. The aroma of food wafted to him as the hostess maneuvered through
the room with a tray of meat-filled hand pies, still steaming from the oven.
Klayne
was starving, but he didn’t move from his hiding spot by the Christmas tree. He
didn’t belong at this party. He didn’t belong anywhere. The military had
provided the closest thing to a home and family he’d ever known. Even then, he
didn’t make friends, didn’t form attachments. From experience, he knew it only
ended in more heartache and loss.
Out of habit, his eyes again scanned
the room. His gaze passed by the doorway then backtracked, settling on a dark-haired
woman who strode in with a laughing blonde. The fair-haired woman was lovely
and decidedly feminine, but didn't keep his interest.
From his undetectable position, he
studied the brunette. The lights in the room glimmered off the hair she'd
rolled away from her face and pinned in a cascade of curls at the back of her
head. She exuded vibrancy and humor, a stark contrast to the haunted
expressions of most in attendance. A ready smile brought out a dimple in her
left cheek. He had no doubt that dimple left men befuddled for miles around.
The long red velvet evening gown she
wore seemed similar in style and elegance to the dresses worn by many of the
females in attendance at the party. But when she swung around to greet the
hostess with a warm hug, her skirt flared out, revealing a pair of black and
red cowboy boots. The sight tugged a grin from him, doubling his interest
in this unusual woman.
His eyes traveled from her boot clad
feet back up to her face and his heart skipped a beat, then another. The woman
looked familiar. Indeed, she looked exactly like a girl who'd entranced Klayne
during the famous Pendleton Round-Up back in September. The community encouraged
the soldiers at the base to join in the annual event. Klayne had no interest in
being packed elbow-to-elbow into bleachers among the cheering crowd, but the
lure of witnessing the rodeo performance drew him there.
When a trick rider raced into the
arena and performed a series of jaw-dropping stunts, Klayne hadn't been able to
look away from her. He couldn't explain what or why, but something about that
woman had drawn him unlike any other. A vibrant, lively spirit had practically oozed
from her and fill the stadium at the rodeo with her presence.
Just like the woman now brought the
room to life. If Klayne was given to fanciful thoughts, which he definitely was
not, he would have said her entry into the room was like turning on the lights
or switching from shades of gray to a rainbow of color.
One of the singers at the piano waved
to her, trying to get her to join them, but the woman shook her head and looped
her arm around her friends shoulder. The two girls made their way over to a
group of women speaking with a group of men from Klayne’s squadron.
Briefly, the woman greeted them, left
the blonde with their friends, and made her way around the room, speaking to
everyone. She’d just turned from addressing an older man she seem to know well
when she noticed him spying on her from around the Christmas tree.
Her head tilted to the right and she
gave him a long, studying glance. When her gaze met his, something electric arced
between them. Curious if she felt it too he watched a slow smirk pop out the
dimple in her cheek again. He’d never seen a woman smirk before and found it
entirely fascinating as she walked across the room with purposeful strides.
The woman wasn't the prettiest he'd
ever seen. Her nose was a bit too broad and slightly crooked, as if it had been
broken in the past. Her chin was slightly too sharp, inarguably stubborn. Her
hazel eyes were bright, lively, and inquisitive. But her lips, oh those
tantalizing lips, we're absolutely made for being kissed well and often.
Stunned, he realized something about
her appealed to him more than any woman he'd ever met.
“What
kind of man spies on a woman from behind a Christmas tree?” She asked, stopping
in front of him and crossing her arms in front of her chest.
