Yesterday’s Tomorrow by Catherine West is a touching love story, played out against the backdrop of the Vietnam War.

First off, from reading the synopsis, I wouldn’t have realized that this was Christian fiction. For me, I don’t think it would have affected my decision to read it, but I know that a lot of folks like to know details like that up front. And, as such, there aren’t the hot sex scenes that it has the potential for. There are tender moments, but anything racy happens way off screen. And faith is a major part of the story, although it rarely felt forced or preachy. I think for these characters, their questioning and relying on God made sense.

This one really sucked me in. West portrays Vietnam realistically, but without too much gore. I felt like I was there with Kristin, I loved the orphans, felt for the nurses, cried over the dead and injured men. And in the midst of all this chaos and violence, she and Luke find partners in each other. The banter between those two and their friend, Jonno, is spot on. They made me laugh, cry; they were real, at least in my head.

I’ll provide a slight spoiler, but since this is at heart a romance, I’m sure you already know it has a happy ending. I actually had to peek ahead to double-check though. It looked questionable at times, for a couple of reasons.

I loved this one. It has a richly developed setting and characters who I truly cared about, who I felt like I knew. I was laughing and sobbing, hoping and worrying along with them.