Disclosure: I received this book to review; opinions shared are mine.

Recently I had the chance to read My Father’s House by Rose Chandler Johnson.  This novel is based in the sunny state of Georgia — you can almost smell the peaches and taste the sweet iced tea while you read it.

If you’ve ever longed to return to the easy days of childhood, this book is for you.

If you loved The Help and Sleeping With The Enemy, this book is for you.

If you understand what it’s like to struggle in life, and rise above those obstacles, this book is for you.

My Father’s House is an excellent choice for readers who want to envision the details of a story.  Author Rose Chandler Johnson included many descriptions of the setting, making it easy to picture in the mind’s eye.  The text frequently mentions God and scripture, and comes across as a generally clean romance. Still, there are some strong themes (including some violence) presented in My Father’s House of which conservative readers should be aware.  Note that there are several mentions of bedroom activity in this book — nothing is described in vivid detail, but it’s clear what happened.   I did not find these to be offensive, although it’s not something I’d read with my preteen daughter.

In this story, we meet a young belle named Lily Rose.    Although her mom was emotionally detached, Lily Rose was well loved by the rest of her family.   She was pampered by a doting father, adoring brother, and devoted housekeeper/nanny.  For the first part of the story, she seemed very spoiled and self-centered.  It was easy to see how she made certain life decisions based on whims.   Lily Rose learned what many of us come to find out, unfortunately — to listen to those who are wiser than us.   Some of the prose is rather cheesy (do people really notice the perfect symmetry of a man’s face?!)  and I rolled my eyes a few times, thinking about Lily Rose’s bad judgment.

As the story went on, however, I came to appreciate the way Lily Rose grew into her own skin.  The southern charm of the first few chapters turned into a thrilling suspense situation.  The characters were vividly painted by Johnson, and I could imagine the drawl of the characters as well as the beautiful scenery of the deep south.  The downfall? I didn’t feel that enough time was spent on the end of the story. I needed more of a conclusion.  Perhaps there is a sequel in the works.