“Sometimes, despite time, distance, and a significant amount of ignoring it, the past never quite went away. Over the past two days, everything Jess had run from had spilled over the wall of the past and covered her present like gravy. Lumpy, bitter, burnt gravy. Every emotion she’d worked hard to bury had risen to the surface, making her mind a muddled swarm of incomplete thoughts and sharp colors.”

Opening lines of A Pursuit of Home by Kristi Ann Hunter

The conclusion to Kristi Ann Hunter’s awesome Haven Manor series, A Pursuit of Home was always going to be a Christian historical romance…which it is but it is also a fabulous mystery adventure! I loved Jess from the first book but she really sparkles in this novel. Derek, our historian, is the perfect companion for this journey and the two bounce off each other creating delightful, entertaining and heartfelt dialogue.

As with all history, there isn’t just one version and Kristi uses this to set the stage for a great discussion of the meaning of truth. I enjoyed the story, which was a page-turner, but I really appreciated how the characters develop in the novel, how they wrestle with who they are and what they want from life.

I love Kristi’s humour and there are several laugh-out-loud moments as Derek tries to match Jess’s physical capabilities and Jess attempts to remain patient with the scholarly Derek and his endless wanderings off of the topic. It is such a lovely role-reversal!

It’s a five out of five on the en-JOY-ment scale and highly recommended!

From the back cover:

In early 1800s England, Jess Beauchene has spent most of her life in hiding and always on the move in an effort to leave her past far behind her. But when she learns the family she thought had died just might be alive and in danger, she knows her secrets can only stay buried for so long.

Derek Thornbury loves the past, which has led him to become an expert in history and artifacts. He knows Jess has never liked him, but when she requests his help deciphering the clues laid out in an old family diary, he can’t resist the urge to solve the puzzle. 

As Jess and Derek race to find the hidden artifact before her family’s enemies, they learn as much about each other as they do about the past. But can their search to uncover the truth and set history right lead to a future together?

I received a complimentary copy of the book from Bethany House. through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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