Book Review: It's You

by: Jane Porter

It's You was given to me by BookSparks in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a fan of Jane Porter's women's fiction. I didn't even realized that one character was from another story. I found that tidbit in a review. This takes place in Napa, along with Jane's Brennan Sister's novels. I loved those stories, it's just been awhile since I read them.

Craig is the bachelor vineyard owner along with his brother Chad. Craig is there with his Great Aunt Edie. Ali and Edie are the main characters of this novel. Ali lives in Arizona, but makes the trip to visit her father after he has a fall. Ali is recovering from the loss of her fiancé and mother, within 6 months of each other. Edie is a crotchety old lady in the retirement community her father lives in.

It is healing for Ali to be in Napa. It gives her something to focus on, and let's her open up to new relationships. Friendships with new people, figuring out her relationship with her father, deciding what she wants. She was on such a straight path with her Andrew. Now that he is gone, she feels adrift, and so very angry.

I felt this was such a realistic look at love and loss. How to recover and move on, reminding us there is no real rule. You just have to keep moving forward, and keep moving forward. Push when you feel like giving up. But this just makes her more angry at Andrew. He gave up, how could he? Ali has to figure out how to forgive him and move on.

Edie gives us a startling look at the reality of war from within Germany. She was there as WWII was beginning. She was American, but gave up her citizenship to marry a German officer. People hear that and immediately judge Edie, never realizing there is so much more to this story. Franz was the love of her life, and a true German citizen.

He was fighting for Germany, his Germany. It is hard, especially as Americans, to understand that not all Germans during WWII were Nazis. Maybe not enough, but there were citizens fighting against what Hitler was doing. People who were rightfully horrified by what was happening in their country. But no one bothered to try and understand this about Edie.