Olivia Marsten's life is pretty simple and happy. She is living in a small town in the Midwest when World War II breaks out. In order to help with the war effort, she takes a job at the local hardware store, maintains a victory garden, and heads up the recycling drives in her town. One day her best friend, Billy, who is about to go off to war himself, decides to propose marriage to her. Olivia has never been in love and she is not really sure that she has romantic feelings for him. But if she says no to Billy's proposal, will it ruin their friendship?

One day after Billy's proposal, Olivia is almost run over by a drunk driver and handsome stranger named Peter swoops into town and saves Olivia's life. As she spends more time with Peter she realizes that she is attracted to this new man in her life much more so than her best friend Billy. A good part of the story is taken up with Olivia trying to decide what to do about these two men in her life.

Peter is immediately smitten with Olivia, but he has a secret. If he tells her who he really is, then the truth could cost him the chance of being with Olivia. Peter was captured in the war in France and now he is a prisoner of the United States. But on the way to the POW camp, his train is derailed and he escapes with another prisoner. Peter's father is actually an American so Peter sounds American and there is nothing about him that gives away his true identity.

TAKE ME HOME started out with a very strong and promising plot. But the second half of the story that is centered in Millers Creek becomes very stagnant. I was tired of reading about Olivia's dilemma over the two men in her life. Despite the fact that some parts of the novel were slow, TAKE ME HOME has a unique perspective for an historical novel set during World War II.

Book Summary

TAKE ME HOME

Olivia Marsten never imagined she'd be a war bride. But when her childhood best friend surprises her with a marriage proposal, she reluctantly accepts. She can't bear to send him off to serve in the Navy with a broken heart . . . even though her heart belongs to someone else.

Sparks fly the moment mysterious stranger Peter Becker lays eyes on Olivia. He never hesitated to pull her out of harm's way-risking his own life to save hers. Yet as kind as he is handsome, Peter harbors a dark secret. The son of an American soldier, he was forced to join the Reich's army to protect his German mother. Now an escaped POW, he's determined to spend every moment he can with beautiful Olivia before he must turn himself in.

But a dangerous enemy Peter knows all too well is on the loose, threatening the fragile future he and Olivia are building together. What happens when the truth of Peter's identity comes to light? And can their love withstand it?