With Every Letter Book Review

Wings of the Nightingale Series

Book One

SUMMARY:  They know everything about each other - except their real names

     Lt. Mellie Blake is looking forward to beginning her training as a flight nurse.  She is not looking forward to writing a letter to a man she's never met - even if it is anonymous and part of a morale-building program.  Lt. Tom McGilliver, an officer stationed in North Africa, welcomes the idea of an anonymous correspondence - he's been trying to escape his infamous name for years.

     As their letters crisscross the Atlantic, Tom and Mellie develop a unique friendship despite not knowing the other's true identity.  When both are transferred to Algeria, the two are poised to meet face-to-face for the first time.  Will they overcome their fears and reveal who they are, or will their future be held hostage by their pasts?

      Combining a flair for romance with excellent research and attention to detail, Sarah Sundin vividly brings to life the perilous challenges of WWII aviation, nursing - and true love.

REVIEW:  Mellie and Tom both have difficult pasts they prefer stay hidden.  Tom's father murdered two famous people and was executed for it; his crimes following Tom wherever he goes.  When people hear his last name, they automatically assume Tom has the same killer nature as his father.  As the child of an American father and a half Asian/half American mother, Mellie grew up in both Asia and America, but always felt like she never fit in in either place.  Never having any childhood friends due to her father's work, Mellie is finding it difficult to make friends as an adult.
     This is a great book.  I like how Mellie and Tom were honest with each other, even though they had never met and how they they keep writing when everyone else in their group stops.  They both overcome many obstacles and change in a positive way through each other's support and encouragement.  I like how when Mellie really screwed up and almost ruins some friendships, she admits her mistakes and lets her friends take their time to heal.  This says a lot of someone who never had a friend before.  The author did an excellent job and has done a TON of research.  I would highly recommend this book and can't wait for the other two books in this series to come out.

This book was provided by the author for review without compensation.  I am also reviewing it for the publisher, Revell, without compensation.

Sarah Sundin is the author of A Distant Melody, A Memory Between Us, and Blue Skies Tomorrow.  In 2011, A Memory Between Us was a finalist in the Inspirational Reader's Choice Awards, and Sarah received the Writer of the Year Award at the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference.  A graduate of UC San Francisco School of Pharmacy, she works on-call as a hospital pharmacist.  During WWII, her grandfather served as a pharmacist's mate (medic) in the Navy and her great-uncle flew with the US Eighth Air Force in England.  Sarah lives in California with her husband and three children.