Send Down the Rain by Charles Martin ~ Book Tour and Review

Publisher's Description:
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Mountain Between Us comes a new, spellbinding story of buried secrets, lost love, and the promise of second chances.

 Allie is still recovering from the loss of her family’s beloved waterfront restaurant on Florida’s Gulf Coast when she loses her second husband to a terrifying highway accident. Devastated and losing hope, she shudders to contemplate the future—until a cherished person from her past returns. Joseph has been adrift for many years, wounded in both body and spirit and unable to come to terms with the trauma of his Vietnam War experiences. Just as he resolves to abandon his search for peace and live alone at a remote cabin in the Carolina mountains, he discovers a mother and her two small children lost in the forest. A man of character and strength, he instinctively steps in to help them get back to their home in Florida. There he will return to his own hometown—and witness the accident that launches a bittersweet reunion with his childhood sweetheart, Allie. When Joseph offers to help Allie rebuild her restaurant, it seems the flame may reignite—until a 45-year-old secret from the past begins to emerge, threatening to destroy all hope for their second chance at love.

 In Send Down the Rain, Charles Martin proves himself to be a storyteller of great wisdom and compassion who bears witness to the dreams we cherish, the struggles we face, and the courage we must summon when life seems to threaten what we hold most dear.


My Thoughts:
Once again Charles Martin has written a story that touched all my emotions and had me invested in the characters.  It's a beautiful story of lost dreams, great sacrifice, worthiness, PTSD, forgiveness, and the struggle of good and evil.  And as always there is a beautiful thread of redemption that all his stories carry.   And that is a lot to pack into one story but he managed to do it.   The story grabbed me in the very beginning and then kept hold of my interest and emotions right on through.  At first there is quite a few story lines being laid but it all starts to come together and presents the story of a Vietnam vet who despite everything he's seen and experienced and his longing to hide himself away, steps up when he comes across someone in need.  Charles Martin is my favorite author and once again he's proven why.  His stories just do something in my heart, make me really think and feel, his prose is lovely and I can't pick up another book for a few days while I mull over everything I just read.  The sentences and statements he makes throughout the book about forgiveness, good vs evil, and worthiness just took my breath away at times.  Highly recommend.

I rated this a 9.5/10   (Because Booklook does their star rating out of 5 and does not have a half star I will round it up to a 5 on their rating system)

Thanks to BookLook Bloggers for sending me a free copy for my honest opinion.  All thoughts are my own and I'm not required to write a positive review.