{From My Bookshelf}: With Every Letter- Sarah Sundin

With Every Letter

 (Book One in Wings of the Nightingale Series)

By Sarah Sundin

If you've stuck around this blog for any length of time you'll have come up with the quite accurate idea that I'm a romantic. I don't need anyone to teach me how to dream, how to propose (or help him propose) or how to make a match. I count it one among many "severe-ish mercies" in my lifetime that I have gone through my girlhood years knowing next-to-no eligible young men. Honestly, I didn't need the distraction. Which is why, as a general rule, I stay away from romance novels. It isn't that I think they are bad, or harmful. (though some might fit the bill) It's just that my poor little fluffy mind doesn't need help imagining or longing for that All -Elusive Someday. On occasion, even an over-abundance of BBC films can throw me into a slight state of discontentment that I'd do better to avoid.
But when I won Sarah Sundin's latest book, With Every Letter, in a giveaway, I knew I had to take a whack at it. First of all, it was free. Second, it had a beautiful cover. Third, it was set in WWII. Fourth, I could tell she'd done her research. Fifth, it had to do with a romance conducted through letter-writing. I was hooked. When the book came in the mail I ambled over to the picnic table we've somehow neglected to remove from the roadside the past several winters, and started to read. Once started, there was no going back. This gal is good.

"Before I start this letter, I must be clear that I'm searching for friendship, not romance. I don't want to mislead you or toy with your affections. I do apologize if you hoped for a romantic letter from a perky beauty..."

Thus runs Lt. Mellie Blake's first letter to her anonymous correspondent. Gotta love her frankness! This is what tipped me off to the fact that this book would be different than a lot of romance novels. It was going to actually be pure.
With Every Letter follows the young, insecure, but compassionate and loving Lt. Philomela (Mellie) Blake--a young flight nurse in WWII. But because I'm never that great at synopsisises...synopsi? Whatever. Since I'm not that great at those, I'll give you the blurb on the back of the book. It's enough to grab anyone's interest!

        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 moral-building program. Lt. Tom MacGilliver, 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?

Isn't that interesting? I thought so. This book did not disappoint me in any way, shape, or form. In fact, I ended up falling way harder for the characters than I thought I would. Here, therefore, is a list of my favorite things and my thoughts about With Every Letter...

1. Lt. Mellie Blake: Perhaps I identified with Mellie because of her heart for Christ and loving spirit, but I will also admit that Mellie's insecurities and doubts sometimes about whether a man could think her attractive enough to see her and only her sound an awful lot like some of my doubts and fears when I take my eyes off Christ. The way the Lord {and Sarah Sundin. haha!} bring Mellie through this is beautiful and humbling. I also appreciated the fact that she is definitely not looking for romance. Actually, she resists officially meeting Tom to the point of exasperation for me--sitting back here knowing Tom loved her and how...AHHH!

2. The setting: WWII is a great enough setting...but Sarah Sundin set the book in North Africa, Algeria, and the lower Mediterranean which was just really neat. I mean, who has read a book set in those places? Not me. Plus, Lt. Blake is one of only 500 flight nurse to serve the US during WWII! Really neat.

3. Sarah's research: As an author, I know it's tough to do your research thoroughly--and she has done it. By George, she's done it! You feel like you're in Algeria during the 1940's. Seriously!

4. How Mrs. Sundin portrays Christianity: there comes a point in the life of your book when you've got to determine how your relationship with Christ and your world-view will come out in the story. Some books/authors turn preachy and unrealistic with that OSS (Obligatory Salvation Scene) we all cringe over. Others omit all mentions of religion and Christianity. But both Mellie and Tom and Christians and their personal relationships with Christ are a huge part of the story, which I really liked.

5. The romance: You were waiting for that, weren't you? ;) Unlike many stories, I felt like Mellie and Tom's romance was realistic, beautiful, and pure. They begin with a mutual desire for only friendship and therefore their relationship is built upon encouraging one another in the Lord, learning the heart of the other...discussing important things...all of that. Then you get the romantic tension building. Tom's struggle (which I can't discuss at length here, not wanting to spoil the plot for you) with physical attraction toward an "acquaintance" is portrayed so honorably I wanted to cheer. Without being inappropriate {which a lesser author would default to}, Sarah let us know that Tom felt attraction toward this one woman (not lust, mind you.), and described and played out his struggle for honor in so great a way that you like this guy a lot. A whole lot. Ahem. So much that you kinda-sorta-wish-he-was-real-and-not-confined-to-the-page.

And the last scene? Great Snakes. I didn't see such an "AWWWW!" moment coming and it totally made my day when I read it. That, darling, is how I want to be loved. That is the kind of man I want to marry. That is what love is supposed to look like. *sniff*

In conclusion: Not having read any other "Christian historical romances" and not knowing how much actual history they put in amongst the kissing, I am sticking my neck out and saying Sarah Sundin has it down pat for the perfect formula of romance and actual historical plot. I found myself enjoying this book an actually thinking that my brother might enjoy it--Tom's side of the story is strongly supported and written so the book is an even split between guy and girl. Because of the fact that this is a romance and the author does deal with their increasing physical attraction toward one another (though in a very mild, gentle, innocent way) and because of high danger/action/emotional tension in the rest of the plot, I would recommend With Every Letter for ages 18+, though mature, younger readers would enjoy it as well. I say 18+ merely because it's my personal opinion that younger girls don't need to be focusing on romance just yet. ;)

But trust me. You'll love it. I know you will.This is how historical romance ought to be written!