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Rating: ❤❤❤❤❤ 5 out of 5 hearts

Review:

Combining the forces of Marcus Brotherton and Tosca Lee for a WWII novel was a genius idea. Marcus Brotherton, known for his war biographies, brings the gritty reality of the war to life, while Tosca Lee, historical fiction novelist, adds nostalgia and romance. Together, it's a novel of epic proportions and I think this is a duo that needs to collab more often! 

The Long March Home sucks you in and doesn't let go. Just when you think things might get better for our main characters, something else happens to tragically make their lives miserable (basically, it's the book version of Whac-A-Mole), and it really brought to light a lot of the atrocities prisoners in WWII had to go through. It's eye opening and heartbreaking- a ton of different emotions hitting you full force. 

With that in mind, this isn't a light read, not by a long shot. The characters smoke, drink, and swear, although the cussing only appears a handful of times. One character is a womanizer, although the book isn't in his perspective so we don't get any harsh content from there. Go into this book expecting a war novel, not a book that's part of the Christian fiction genre. 

But the harshest part of the novel is the violence. Horrible things are done to the prisoners, and the prisoners in turn are forced to do horrible things to themselves and other people in order to survive. This isn't a book for young teens or those triggered by that kind of violence, but for me, these elements made the story raw and eye opening.  However, personal tip: don't read this book while eating, unless you want to lose your lunch. 

There are plenty of romance aspects to the story, but at its heart, The Long March Home is definitely a story of brotherhood. Jimmy, Hank and Billy are a classic trio of guys who are brothers not by blood, but by friendship, and each of them is uniquely and realistically written. Their goal: to get home alive, all of them, no matter the cost. Brotherhood stories are my favorite, and with this one I was not disappointed.