With Every Letter by Sarah Sundin {book review}

With Every Letter

Book one of the Wings of the Nightingale series from Sarah Sundin, With Every Letter tells the story of a friendship between Lieutenant Mellie Blake, a flight nurse in WWII, and Lieutenant Tom MacGilliver, an engineer with the US Army.

From the Publisher

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 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?

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.

My Thoughts on With Every Letter

The first half of With Every Letterforced me to use my brain too much – it covered wide spans of time between chapters and spent too many chapters {in my opinion} building up to any type of excitement in the story line. While some of the details revealed in the first half of the book were necessary to the overall storyline, I struggled to stay engaged with the characters and the story.

The second half of the book, however, was fast-paced and thoroughly engaging. I found myself eager to turn the pages to see what happened next with Mellie and Tom – to discover the resolution of the conflicts that were introduced.

Overall, I enjoyed the book – its setting, the development of the characters, and the storyline. I’m hoping that book two in this series is able to jump right into the fast-paced story, unlike With Every Letter.

I give With Every Letter three stars out of five.

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Disclosure: I received a free copy of With Every Letter from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, in exchange for my honest review. Purchase your copy of With Every Letter from your favorite book retailer beginning 09/12/12.