Book Review: Margaret from Maine by Joseph Monninger

Synopsis: Brought together by war, separated by duty, a love story for the ages

Margaret Kennedy lives on a dairy farm in rural Maine. Her husband Thomas—injured in a war overseas—will never be the man he was. When the President signs a bill in support of wounded

veterans, Margaret is invited to the nation’s capital. Charlie King, a handsome Foreign Service officer, volunteers to escort her. As the rhododendron blossoms along the Blue Ridge Highway, the unlikely pair fall in love—but Margaret cannot ignore the tug of her marriage vows.

Review:This book was a real page turner! I figured it would take me a couple of days to read, as my reading time has been so limited lately, and instead I stayed up til 1am to finish it! It was what I expected and so much more! The author delves into the issues of wounded soldiers returning home, and how families cope, and the entire issue of loyalty- both to country and to one's spouses. The characters are strong, people you WANT to know. I wasn't expecting the way the book ended- it was in retrospect, exactly right for the characters, but at the time I finished it I was shocked somewhat! 

This is definitely a MUST read for the year!

About the Author: 

Joseph Monninger has published fourteen novels and three non-fiction books. He has twice received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and has also received a fellowship from the New Hampshire Council for the Arts. 

Joseph Monninger grew up in Westfield, New Jersey and attended Temple University on a football scholarship. He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Upper Volta, now Burkina Faso, from 1975-77. As a teacher at one time or another at the University of New Hampshire, the Lincoln School in Providence, Rhode Island, The American International School in Vienna, and at Plymouth State University, Joseph Monninger has spent thirty years in classrooms. During the summers he directed academic enrichment programs at Williams and Amherst Colleges.He has been a licensed New Hampshire Fishing Guide and has fly-fished from New Zealand to Wyoming's Wind River Range. He lives with his wife, Wendy, and his son, Justin, in a converted barn near New Hampshire's Baker River. Check out his webpage for more!

Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this ebook, free of charge, from Netgalley, for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it