"Almost Forever" by Deborah Raney ~ A Review

I actually am a little late posting this review.  It was the last book I finished in 2013 but had totally forgotten that I didn't post it to this blog.  So a little behind but I finally got it on here.  It was great one to wrap up 2013 with.  I was pleased with total count of 41 books read for the year.  This year I'm really going to try to shoot for that elusive 50 mark.  Probably if I would just quit watching all these competition shows on the tv I could go beyond that goal.  Maybe 2014 will be the year.

Brynne Hennesey volunteers at a local Homeless Shelter. She finds it fulfilling and it fills all the loneliness she feels when her husband is gone with his job as a firefighter. Because of some events that had happened at the shelter her husband feels she should not be there for her own safety. But Brynne cannot stop volunteering and does it behind his back while he is on shift. The the unspeakable happens when Brynne is at the shelter one night. A huge fire breaks out and burns the shelter to the ground. Five firefighters lose their lives, including her husband and the husband of the shelter director. As they try to find the cause of the fire Brynne realizes she cannot remember some of her own actions during that night. While she tries to cope and move on with her life, she meets Garrett who lost his firefighter wife in the blaze. The death of his beloved wife has left him staggering with unbearable loss and guilt for not protecting her in some way. As their friendship develops Brynne comes to some realizations that will in all likelihood end the budding relationship with Garrett and very well may consume her with her own brand of guilty feelings.

 I love a story that grabs me right from the beginning, and this was one of those. The story built with tension right from the beginning even as a bit of background was being laid with the tension filled relationship of Brynne and her firefighter husband. It doesn't let up throughout as fire investigators try to figure out the cause and Brynne's memory lapses interfere with her moving on from that night of the blaze. Garrett and Brynne's relationship is a sweet one as they form a friendship that is first based on shared grief and then quickly becomes stronger. But when revelations start to come forth from the fire they must both dig deep to forgive the person who caused it. I love how the author approached forgiveness in the the context of the story. She really delved into various depths of it and explored against the backdrop of a horrible tragedy. This was a great read and I'm looking forward to the other two books in the series.